ANC joins outcry over Black Coffee’s Israel gig
THE ANC has weighed in on the debate around DJ Black Coffee’s performance in Israel, expressing its disappointment in his visit there.
Black Coffee was lambasted by social media users after he shared a video of his performance in Tel Aviv in Israel‚ saying it had been a sold-out event and that he loved Tel Aviv.
The tweet sparked widespread outrage among followers‚ who lambasted Black Coffee for turning a blind eye to the alleged oppressive law in Israel and the killings of Palestinians.
ANC international relations committee chairwoman Lindiwe Zulu issued a statement on Monday night‚ reaffirming the party’s call to boycott Israel.
Zulu said that at the 54 National Conference the party had decided to immediately downgrade the embassy in Israel to a liaison office.
“We have been witnessing unacceptable violation of children’s rights‚ human rights and internatio- nal law by the Israeli government. Further‚ we have been witnessing increased Israeli racism against Africans,” Zulu said.
“The cultural aspect of the boycott is critical in advancing the cause to ensure that we isolate what is clearly an apartheid government in Israel. “It is therefore with deep concern that the African National Congress has learnt of the recent visit to Israel of Mr Nkosinathi Maphumulo‚ known as Black Coffee.”
The statement said the ANC would like to discuss the calls for a boycott with people from the cultural sector.
In the wake of the debate that erupted around him‚ Black Coffee took to Twitter to defend himself.
“Like everyone else I have rights and free will and, no, Black Coffee is not a political party. I work as an entertainer to feed my family.
“To sum it up, I’ll take a bullet for my family‚” he said.
Attempts to get comment from Black Coffee were unsuccessful.