Growing number of hip-hop artists cancel gigs in Israel: report

The number of North American hip-hop artists cancelling performances in Israel is on the rise, according to a report by Israeli news site Walla, with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign a key factor behind the phenomenon.

The article points to the growing connections between Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists and Palestine solidarity activists, citing the BLM platform published in August 2016, which slammed Israel as an apartheid state and endorsed BDS.

The Israeli report also referred to the influence of past political cancellations by Snoop Dogg and Lauryn Hill.

According to the article, US rapper Future cancelled a scheduled gig in Israel thanks to pressure by BLM and BDS activists behind the scenes, although the artist did not himself cite political reasons.

The report in Walla also cited non-boycott-related factors, such as high ticket prices and unrealistic ticket sales targets by concert promoters.

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