Lorde labelled 'bigot' after cancelling Israeli show

A full-page advertisement was placed in a newspaper calling singer Lorde a bigot following her decision to cancel a concert in Israel.

The advertisment in the Washington Post was put by rabbi Shmuley Boteach and featured an image of the singer from New Zealand superimposed over a photograph of men running through rubble while cradling babies, reports aceshowbiz.com.

The headline read, "Lorde and New Zealand ignore Syria to attack Israel".

The body text of the advertisement included an allegation that Lorde's decision to cancel the gig showed how a "growing prejudice against the Jewish state" in New Zealand was "trickling down to its youth".

It also read that the 21-year-old songstress joined "a global anti-semitic boycott of Israel", while performing in Russia.

"While Lorde claims to be concerned with human rights, she hypocritically chose to proceed with her two concerts in Putin's Russia, despite his support for (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad's genocidal regime. Let's boycott the boycotters and tell Lorde and her fellow bigots that Jew-hatred has no place in the 21st century," the advertisement read.

Lorde cancelled her upcoming show in Tel Aviv, Israel after two New Zealand writers warned her that her performance in the country "will be seen as giving support to the policies of the Israeli government".

In a statement that was shared through the organisers of the event, Lorde explained that her decision came after she "had a lot of discussion with people holding many views, and I think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show".

Following her decision, Itzhak Gerberg, the Israeli ambassador to New Zealand, wrote an open letter to the singer, inviting her to a meeting.

--IANS

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