Well-known American singer Lana Del Rey has cancelled her appearance at the Meteor Festival taking place in Israel between 6 and 8 September, saying she would postpone singing in Israel until she can also perform in Palestine. The 33-year-old singer issued a statement Friday saying, “It's important to me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally. Unfortunately, it hasn't been possible to line up both visits with such short notice, and therefore I'm postponing my appearance at the Meteor Festival until a time when I can schedule visits for both my Israeli and Palestinian fans, as well as hopefully other countries in the region." Del Rey was one of the headliners at the festival which also saw several other cancellations from bands in light of petitions from supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement asking performers to withdraw their participation in the festival. The BDS movement is a non-violent movement seeking to end Israel's occupation of Palestine. The BDS petition for Del Rey to cancel her concert gathered 14,500 signatures, saying that her performance would "cover up gross violations of human rights." Del Rey previously cancelled a performance in Tel Aviv in 2014 amid an Israeli bloody assault on Palestinian in the besieged Gaza Strip. Black Motion, a band from South Africa, British house producer Felix Weatherall, also known as Ross From Friends, Lo-fi artist How to Dress Well, Dead Boy, as well Khalas & Zenobia have all declined performing at the Meteor Festival. They join a growing list of musicians who have cancelled performances in Israel over the recent years, including Lauryn Hill, Elvis Costello and Lorde, among others. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
