Lana Del Rey has postponed her upcoming performance in Israel after she received backlash from fans and activists who argue that her visit would give Israel reason to justify their treatment of Palestinians. The singer released a statement Friday via Twitter explaining her decision to cancel her Meteor Festival concert, due to the inability to schedule a coinciding trip to Palestine.
"It's important to me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally. Unfortunately it hasn't been possible to line up both visits with such short notice and therefore I'm postponing my appearance at the Meteor Festival until a time when I can schedule visits for both my Israeli and Palestinian fans, as well as hopefully other countries in the region. Thanks, L," the singer tweeted.
Del Rey's justification for postponing her visit comes just one week after she posted a lengthy explanation as to why she thought it was important for her to attend the festival. She addressed the political connotation of her agreeing to perform in Israel in her initial post, stating, "music is universal and should be used to bring us together."
Lana isn't the first artist to cancel a show in Israel due to the political backlash. Lorde and Shakira both refused to perform in Tel Aviv earlier this year due to similar trepidations.
The cancellation comes on the heels of a recent campaign by pro-Palestinian activists calling for a cultural boycott of Israel. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, founded in 2004, initiated a petition urging Lana to pull out of her performance.
The festival's organizers released a statement in response to Lana's tweet, stating, "We do appreciate her for choosing Meteor to help her score some press attention."
