Well not quite. Stacey will not now be performing for the UK Zionist Federation’s celebration of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians that began in earnest in November 1947. Gil Scott Heron, on the other hand, is intending to appear in Tel Aviv some time in May, according to Ynet:
Poet, singer, musician, and renowned author Gil Scott-Heron is scheduled to appear at the Barbie club in Tel Aviv on May 25. Tickets will be priced around $40-50.
Scott-Heron will be promoting his new album, ‘I’m New Here’, his first to appear in 16 years, during which he battled drug addiction and served prison time for cocaine possession.
In other words he is probably seriously broke and is taking the shilling. I can’t think of any other reason why a leading anti-apartheid campaigner would be playing in the last of the colonial settler states.
There’s not much info to be had about Stacey Solomon’s withdrawal, if indeed it was a withdrawal, from the ZF event. According to her agent, the ZF seems to have jumped the gun by announcing her appearance in the first place. He wrote to activists to say that Stacey had never planned to be at the event because she has other plans for that night. So where did the ZF get this idea from?
The ZF has organised Israel Independence Day concerts in the UK for the last 20 years, marking Israel”s 60th birthday at Wembley Stadium two years ago with the biggest Israel concert to be held in the world on that day. It is expecting a large crowd this year for NOA, and for X Factor”s Stacey Solomon, who will also make an appearance.
Well apparently she won’t but given what used to be Gil Scott Heron’s expressly and actively anti-racist politics, he is a far bigger prize than my fellow Dagenhamite.
I’m not sure how displeasure at this collusion with racist war criminals by Gil Scorr Heron should be handled because it’s all so sad but people can make comments at the Guardian article about the man. You might also wonder why, if the performance line up for Israel is such a normal thing, is Gil Scott Heron not publicising the May 25 gig on his own website which lists gigs from April 20 to September 10, 2010.
Poor chap, must be ashamed and he must be shamed.
