Avicii, (Tim Berg) Swedish Electronica DJ and vocal artist is rising in popularity in the US, after many people heard his music on a Bud Light Platinum commercial during the 2012 Superbowl. (It is reported that 111 million people watched this year). He plans to tour South Africa at the end of March.
Avicii and his manager Ash Pournouri are being asked not to appear in Israel, and to respect the boycott. As part of their House For Hunger Tour the pair had planned to perform in Tel Aviv, but for medical reasons, Tim Berg was unable to travel under doctor’s orders. The DJ even posted a photo on twitter of himself in the hospital. On FB he apologized for having to cancel his show, saying “SO SORRY for not being able to make it to my shows this whole week. I was looking forward to every single night with my fans (Kingston , Amherst, Tel Aviv, Vienna and Rome) but the doctor’s are forbidding me to do any kind of work. I am dead set on making it up to all my fans and will get back asap with new announced dates!”
His manager Ash states on the Avicii facebook “I’d like to make it crystal clear that we will honor our commitment to completing the House For Hunger tour, as it is something Tim and I are very passionate about, as are our fans. ” // Ash
In honor of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian man facing death, now and on the date Avicii was planning to play Tel Aviv (Feb 2), Avicii is being asked not to reschedule his gig in Israel.
Khader was detained arbitrarily in 17 December 2011. Khader, who is a dad to two girls, a baker, and also a Masters student at Birzeit Univ., as well as a human rights adovocate, was arrested by masked soldiers in the middle of the night in his own home. Between the 18th and the 29th of January 2012, Khader was subjected to almost daily cruel and inhumane interrogations. During interrogations, he was shackled to a crooked chair with his hands tied behind his back in a position that caused him back pain. He said that interrogators threatened him constantly and verbally abused him and his family.
Khader Adnan began his hunger strike in protest of his ill-treatment in Israeli detention and his arbitrary detention without charge or trial (known as Administrative Detention). He is in danger of dying at any moment. His wife, Randa, who saw him for the first time since his detention on about 8 Feb. described his condition as rapidly deteriorating and that he has lost a third of his weight and his hair. It is his 53rd day on a hunger strike.
It would be unconscionable for Avicii to raise funds for people facing hunger while Khader is dying of hunger. The Israeli- inflicted hunger of the people of Gaza under seige also make it an act of disregard for justice for any musician outside of Israel to play in Tel Aviv.
Avicii might be interested to read these quotes from these Electronica artists:
Faithless: “ We’ve been asked to do some shows this summer in your country and, with the heaviest of hearts, I have regretfully declined the invitation. While human beings are being willfully denied not just their rights but their needs for their children and grandparents and themselves, I feel deeply that I should not be sending even tacit signals that this is either ‘normal’ or ‘ok’.”
Massive Attack’s Del Naja on the boycott of Israel: “I’ve always felt that it’s the only way forward … I think musicians have a major role to play, … I find the more I get involved, the more the movement becomes something tangible. I remember going to ‘Artists Against Apartheid’ gigs, and ‘Rock Against Racism’ gigs around the same sort of time. Bands like the Clash and the Specials had a lot to do with influencing the minds of the youth in those days.”
Del Naja refers to South Africa’s fallen apartheid system above, and today South African solidarity is very stong for Palestine. Watch Archbishop Desmond Tutu, speak of support for the boycott, on Feb 2: