Tipping point: When boycotting Israel carries no downside

There have been rumors and urban legends (mostly unfounded, as it turns out) over the past few decades of various musical artists making public announcements that they don't want a particular religious or ethnic group to buy their albums or attend their concerts.

On the face this kind of alleged behavior is fairly easy to debunk since it would be the height of stupidity on the part of any artist to deliberately alienate a group of potential album/ticket buyers.  Think about it... with downloading, file sharing and various other forms of piracy, even the most successful artists are feeling the pinch.

At very worst, if someone truly felt antipathy for a given group, the conventions of political correctness would  demand that they be circumspect about where and when they gave voice to their feelings.

So when an artist comes out on so public a forum as their own web site and makes a statement that not only supports the boycott of a group, but announces his/her participation in said boycott... well, you have to assume that they have done the math and decided that either indulging their hatred outweighs the potential economic downside, or that their position is so mainstream as to carry little or no potential danger to - and might even enhance - their career.

Such is the case of British singer/songwriter Elvis Costello who recently canceled two scheduled concerts in Israel with the following statement on his web site:

It is after considerable contemplation that I have lately arrived at the decision that I must withdraw from the two performances scheduled in Israel on the 30th of June and the 1st of July.

...

There are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.

I must believe that the audience for the coming concerts would have contained many people who question the policies of their government on settlement and deplore conditions that visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security.

...

I hope it is possible to understand that I am not taking this decision lightly or so I may stand beneath any banner, nor is it one in which I imagine myself to possess any unique or eternal truth.

It is a matter of instinct and conscience.

It has been necessary to dial out the falsehoods of propaganda, the double game and hysterical language of politics, the vanity and self-righteousness of public communiqués from cranks in order to eventually sift through my own conflicted thoughts.

I have come to the following conclusions.

One must at least consider any rational argument that comes before the appeal of more desperate means.

Sometimes a silence in music is better than adding to the static and so an end to it.

I cannot imagine receiving another invitation to perform in Israel, which is a matter of regret but I can imagine a better time when I would not be writing this.

With the hope for peace and understanding. Elvis Costello

The truth is, by deliberately taking this decision in so public a manner (as opposed to not scheduling any concerts in the first place), Mr. Costello is indeed taking a place beneath a particular banner. 

By playing a concert in any country, an artist is not assumed to support all policies of that country's government.  But by actively participating in the boycott of a country, little doubt remains as to the artist's loyalties.

Not only has Elvis Costello not "dialed out the falsehoods of propaganda", but he seems to have firmly embraced them.  He has subscribed to the intransigent Arab narrative of senseless absolutism, and embraced the prevailing anti-Semitism that fashionably masquerades in his country (and around the world) as anti-Zionism.

In truth, by joining and publicly endorsing the boycott of Israel, this artist has thrown in his lot with the anti--democratic, anti-woman, jihadist movement that seeks the subjugation and eventual destruction of not only my country... but his own.

I used to think that it was counter-productive to demand that people choose sides.  I naively thought that thoughtful people could hold nuanced views about the myriad issues within this regional conflict; deploring the excesses and omissions of both sides in any conflict.  But so long as those who seek my destruction demand and receive such exclusive loyalty, I feel I have no choice but to demand the same so that I can finally know who will support me in the coming time of need.

Simply put, I now feel that you are either with Israel or against us.  No matter how he has tried to make it seem otherwise, Elvis Costello has chosen sides.  Have you?