J-LO V BDS
MEGASTAR BLOWS AWAY THE BOYCOTTERS
YOU’D BE hard pushed to find better publicity for your country than to have a touring J-Lo post pictures of the fun she is having there to her 100 million followers on social media.
In fact, the pop megastar probably did more for Israel’s image than the country’s tourism office could manage in an entire year.
It is not easy to get that kind of star to perform in a country that is constantly the subject of boycott calls, with anyone who decides to go ahead with a gig usually met with outrage and cancellation demands.
It is easier for big stars to avoid the drama and take their cheque from someone else. But not J-Lo — aka Jennifer Lopez — who wowed an Israeli audience of 50,000 last week as part of her It’s My Party tour.
She was not the only pop sensation this week to have ignored calls to cancel shows in Israel.
International women’s grassroots “social justice” movement CodePink tried but failed to deter pop icon — and fellow judge on American Idol — Lionel Richie from cancelling a forthcoming show.
In an open letter to Mr Richie, CodePink claimed his performance in Tel Aviv — scheduled for September 12 — would “act as an endorsement of Israel’s brutal systems of military occupation and apartheid.
“Cancelling your Tel Aviv concert, on the other hand, would send a strong message that Palestinians, like all people, deserve equal rights and freedom.”
In response, he blocked the movement on Twitter last Wednesday. In response, CodePink’s national codirector, Ariel Gold, called Mr Richie a “snowflake”.
Most big stars would ordinarily fly in then fly straight out after a gig — but not J-Lo. She flew El Al and made a point of sticking around, travelling to Jerusalem to document the fun she and her family were having on their visit to the Holy Land.
Instead of boycotting what Israel had to offer, she did the opposite, sharing her activities in the country with her followers on Instagram. In one post, she told them she was “in love” with Israel.
One can only assume this was not done without forethought, as seasoned professionals like her know their every move is analysed and interpreted.
Posting pictures everywhere she went, she made a point of celebrating the trip with her twin children and baseball legend fiancé Alex Rodrigez.
Her husband to be did not hold back from posting about the “amazing time we are having on my first trip to Israel”.
Writing on Instagram he said: “The people have been wonderful and have such energy. I will definitely be back and recommend visiting this incredible country!”