The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), Australia’s leading organisation fighting anti-Semitism and hatred in all its forms, has commended Australian performer Natalie Imbruglia for resisting calls by the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement to cancel her Tel Aviv concert in March. Artists Against Apartheid-Australia, along with Boycott Israel and Don’t Play Apartheid Israel that have accused Israel of ethnic cleaning, colonisation and apartheid, have urged the singer not to perform in Tel Aviv. ADC Chairman Dvir Abramovich has written to the singer applauding her stance and expressing the ADC’s solidarity.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“We applaud Natalie Imbruglia for her clear-eyed and principled rejection of the attempt by BDS and anti-Israel activists to use her concert in Israel to smear, delegitimize and malign the Jewish state, Ms Imbruglia’s only ‘crime’ is that she wants to share her singing prowess with the people of Israel—Jews, Muslims and Christians. Engaging in malicious double standards and refusing to let the facts get in the way of their relentless campaign to denigrate and isolate Israel as the new South Africa, the extreme and biased BDS movement’s hostility against the only democracy in the Mid-east and the only country in the region where artistic expression is thriving, is tainted by strong anti-Semitic undertones. The only way to move towards a two-state solution is through constructive dialogue and negotiation, not cultural and economic vandalism that ultimately seeks to destroy the Jewish state. We congratulate Natalia Imbruglia for standing up to pure hatred and for using her talents to promote peace and tolerance in the Middle-east. “
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading civil rights organization fighting racism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677.