FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY, April 12th, 2015 – On the evening of Sunday April 12th, 40 New York human rights advocates from Adalah-NY, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews Say No,  and others protested the performance by Israeli singer Idan Raichel at the Beacon Theatre at 75th St. and Broadway. Idan Raichel calls himself a cultural ambassador for Israel and is an outspoken and uncritical supporter of the Israeli army (photos). His band, The Idan Raichel Project, is part of the Israeli government’s Brand Israel public relations campaign, which uses art and music to distract from Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights.

Although he presents himself as a proponent of peace, Raichel has strong ties to the Israeli military. In his endorsement of the right-wing US organization Thank Israeli Soldiers, he said that supporting Israeli soldiers “is a fulfillment of the Jewish ideal.” Raichel performed for the army before, during, and after its August 2014 attack on Gaza, which killed over 2100 Palestinians, including 500 children. Even more recently he began his US tour by attending a gala fundraiser for Friends of IDF.