ISRAEL – Just days after a controversial Super Bowl performance, pop super star Beyoncé is now under fire for planning to perform two concerts in Tel-aviv this summer.
Beyoncé performed her new song “Formation” at the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday, where she faced criticism for its #BlackLivesMatter theme.
Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani criticized her performance and stated it was an attack against the police.
During the performance, her back-up dancers wore Black Panther-inspired costumes. Her dancers also posted an image to social media raising their fists with the black power salute backstage.
The Black Panther movement was formed following the assassination of Malcom X and drew heavily on his ideology.
Having visited the Middle East and specifically Palestine, Malcolm X was a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Even today, the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the U.S. has routinely expressed solidarity with Palestinians.
But now social media is an uproar once again following news that Beyonce was planning to perform in Israel this August. A hashtag #CancelTelAviv began trending within hours of the news.
“@Beyonce Black Lives Matter but Palestinian Lives Don’t. #CancelTelAviv,” said one user on Twitter.
As the concert is not yet confirmed, the BDS Movement – which fights for the boycotting and sanctioning of Israel – has also expressed its hope that the rumors about Beyoncé are false.
“The Palestinian BDS National Committee hopes that the rumors about Beyoncé performing for apartheid Israel turn out to be false, just as previous rumors about her performing there have turned out to be untrue.
As the Israeli government’s offer of free trips to Israel for Oscar nominees shows, Israel is becoming more desperate than ever to use culture to whitewash its crimes and deflect growing international pressure over its oppression of Palestinians,” the organization said in a statement.
Beyoncé is not the only American superstar rumored to perform in Israel this summer. Actress and Singer Jennifer Lopez is also in talks to hold a concert in Tel-Aviv.
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