Nick Cave has shared a letter he wrote in response to Brian Eno and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement after both called upon him not to play shows in Israel alongside the Bad Seeds in 2017.
"I think the cultural boycott of Israel is cowardly and shameful," he says in the email to Eno which was published as part of Cave’s project The Red Hand Files. "In fact, this is partly the reason I am playing Israel – not as support for any particular political entity but as a principled stand against those who wish to bully, shame and silence musicians."
Eno is an outspoken supporter of the BDS movement who frequently calls upon cultural figures to respect the call for boycott made by the organisation as well as Palestinians.
Cave’s letter does go on to say: "I understand and accept the validity of many of the arguments that are presented to me. Indeed, some of my dearest friends in the music industry found my decision very difficult to accept, but there it is, after much consideration the decision was made: I simply could not treat my Israeli fans with the necessary contempt to do Brian Eno’s bidding."
You can read the letter in full here.
