While New Yorkers complain about the cancellation of The Hudson Project‘s Sunday lineup, Israeli fans lament the unfortunate cancellation of Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s Tel Aviv gig, scheduled for Thursday, July 17. The choice to cancel was made after increased airstrikes continue to pose real threats to the area. When you think about promoters canceling to avoid rain vs. canceling to avoid missiles, it really puts things into perspective. Although, musical deprivation for any reason is always disappointing.  Warner Brothers, Young‘s label, released a statement regarding the decision to cancel:
“It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we must cancel our one and only Israeli concert due to tensions which have rendered the event unsafe at this time. We’ll miss the opportunity to play for our fans and look forward to playing in Israel and Palestine in peace.”
Despite the disappointing, yet ultimately understandable cancellation, Neil Young still found a neutral way to spread musical peace amid the heightening violence, “I will be making donations to both the Louise Tillie Alpert Youth Music Centre of Israel, and Heartbeat, two organizations that teach music to Palestinian and Israeli youth simultaneously by enabling them to play music together.”  According to a  representative for the record label, Neil Young‘s ultimate decision did not derive from personal beliefs,, but rather concern for public safety. Donating to both Israeli and Palestinian charities is a great way to show solidarity for the whole of the human race, not just one nationality in particular. Even better is the charities support music education in an area that is semi-deprived of live music, at least from those artists who choosee not to perform there and/or are forced to cancel.
Prior to the official announcement, many people, namely the members of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) movement, petitioned online for Young not to perform in Israel. This movement often creates petitions to boycott or cancel performances scheduled in Israel in the name of Palestinian human rights. Last week, Roger Waters published his letter to Neil Young, which urged him to cancel what would have been the band’s debut gig in Israel. However, it was not Waters who did the convincing, but rather a representative for the police, who told Reuters the concert had to be cancelled so as “not to put people in Gaza rocket range at uncessary risk”.
-Alexandra Miller
[Source: JamBase.com]