Meteor festival becomes latest battleground for advocates of boycotts of the Jewish state

A number of high-profile cancellations turned Israel’s Meteor music festival into the latest battleground involving the boycott movement.

The festival was meant to bring together indie groups from around the world in what organisers billed as a Woodstock-like “cutting edge musical journey that surpasses borders and distorts time and space”.

Instead, some 20 acts, including headliner Lana Del Rey, withdrew at the last minute amid apparent pressure from the BDS campaign.

Campaign organisers have claimed success, saying it reflects growing opposition to Israeli government policies among international millennials.

“The fact that these artists are cancelling is showing just how different the younger generation is viewing Israel,” said Diana Buttu, a Palestinian analyst who supports BDS – which stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions.

The campaign, founded in 2005, calls for such actions to be taken against Israeli businesses, cultural institutions and universities.

BDS said it seeks to end Israel’s occupation of lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war and what it describes as discrimination against Israel’s Arab minority.

It calls for the “right of return” for millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to homes their ancestors fled or were expelled from in the 1948 war over Israel’s creation.

The campaign compares itself to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and its non-violent message has resonated with audiences around the world.

Israel said the campaign masks a deeper aim of delegitimising or even destroying the country.

A growing list of performers, including Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman and singer Lorde, have canceled appearances in Israel in recent months out of concern over Israeli policies.

Del Rey joined that list on August 31 when she announced that she was withdrawing from the Meteor Festival after an intense BDS lobbying campaign. In a statement on Twitter, the Grammy-nominated singer said she was “postponing” until she could perform for both Israeli and Palestinian audiences.

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