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Leonard Cohen faces Palestinian picket at his Belfast show

By Emily Moulton
Friday, 24 July 2009

Belfast set for Leonard Cohen experience

Palestinian supporters are planning to stage a protest outside the Odyssey Arena this weekend.

They are staging the demonstration as part of a worldwide campaign to force the Grammy-winning artist to cancel his scheduled appearance in Israel later this year.

The Canadian (74) is set to perform in Tel Aviv on September 24 as part of his 2008/2009 world tour. But campaigners, including the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), want the musician to cancel the show.

After the Israeli date was announced, Cohen said a concert was scheduled in the West Bank.

He was to play at the 736-seat Ramallah Cultural Palace a day after appearing at the 55,000 capacity Ramat Gan stadium, near Tel Aviv.

But neither concert appears on the singer's official website.

According to The Guardian newspaper, the Ramallah event was to be hosted by the Palestinian prisoners' club and attended by families of some of the 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails of detention centres.

But the Palestinians cancelled the gig after the acclaimed performer refused to cancel his Tel Aviv show.

As a result pro-Palestinian campaigners have protested at his concerts around the world.

They are set to do the same in Belfast on Sunday.

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said pro-Palestinian supporters had pleaded with the musician to cancel the Tel Aviv concert. However, he has refused.

“Palestinian representatives and organisations campaigning throughout the world against the ruthless policies of Israel towards the Palestinian people — and particularly given the recent horrendous military onslaught on Gaza — have pleaded with Cohen to cancel this event in Israel in protest at its policies,” the group said.

“The Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has also written to the singer asking him not to go ahead with his Tel Aviv show.”

Last May a demonstration was staged by the ADALAH — a coalition of organisations including the National Council of Arab-Americans and Jews Against the Occupation — outside one of Cohen’s concerts at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Protesters are planning to leaflet concerts by the musician in the Republic this week.

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39 Comments

The conflict in Northern Ireland and the Israel-Palestinian dispute are separate, incomparable and irrelevant to one another and the latter should clearly not be used as a channel for sectarian allegience in Northern Ireland.

FYI: Leonard Cohen had planned to play in Israel and in Ramallah (Palestinian). This would be in keeping with a Two State Solution, apparently supported by everyone. It was PALESTINIAN pressure groups to whom this was unacceptable and in fact said that they would only allow him to come to Ramallah if he cancelled the Israel leg of the tour. This obviously is not in keeping with any two-state solution. It was the PALESTINIAN side who withdrew their offer.

Posted by Nicola Simmonds | 25.07.09, 22:57 GMT

As an Israeli, I actually thought it was a great idea for Cohen to play both Israel and Ramallah, we need every bridge possible between our two sides. Music should be about reconciliation – finding what we have in common instead of what divides us. I just feel so hopeless sometimes – like when will the disappointment ever end?

Posted by Annie | 25.07.09, 19:51 GMT

Cohen is the son of a polak immigrant who came to Canada after the 2nd world war. He is like my polak grandfather only that my grandfather immigrated to Israel. Basically he is one of us and you can't deny it. Don't forget that at the 1973 war he performed to Israeli soldiers...

Posted by yossi | 25.07.09, 18:18 GMT

Hi,I am from Israel and just saw a report in an Israeli portal about this issue with a link to this one and I had to say something.
I don't want to speak about the Palestine-Israel conflict because it has nothing to do with it.In the last 10-15 years there were very few artists coming here.some were afraid from terror attacks (I don't blame them) and some just gave up after getting threats.until the early 90's we didn't have Japanese cars (except Subaru),American junk-food (no McDonald's god forbid) and other stuff,because of an Arab embargo ("If you'll sell to them,we won't buy from you"). These days,there is no embargo but there is still a conflict,so how cars,food,music have anything to do with this endless war?
And if they think it'll help,why they do it in Belfast? you had enough problems,you don't need new ones now.The problems are here,no solution will come from Belfast or anywhere else.They can come and help their so called "brothers" here.

Posted by Haim | 25.07.09, 15:33 GMT

I dont understand really why the Arabs are not willing to put aside all the conflicts and just enjoy culter? or do they maybe jelece that he will be preform infront of 55,000 pepole in Tel aviv? after all he was palning to come to Ramalle as well... so what seem to be the problem? the problem is that Arabs hate jewish no metter what. like they kill my friend in the middle of a resterand in Jerusalem she was only 24 years old - and now she is dead!!
i am telling to all of those oranization - get a life! stop trying to create a face reality - i almost got killed case of suacide bummer!

Posted by Noa | 25.07.09, 12:35 GMT

Not a word from the Israeli embassy or from Cohen himself-

Posted by Kobi | 25.07.09, 12:35 GMT

How unreasonable can these people be, the man wanted to play both venues, the gaza show was cancelled by them, and now they want him to give up a soldout show why? so much for peace . i think his mistake was being generouswith his art, and it backfired on him.

Posted by kevin | 25.07.09, 09:55 GMT

How ignorant the posters here are, to be sure! In a democracy people are allowed to picket who and what they like. Cohen is fair game , if he plays in Israel he puts himself in the spotlight. He only said he would do a gig in Palestine after protesters asked him to cancel the Israeli tour. IPSC at least have some moral backbone, all you idiots seem to think about is yourselves and your sad rights to a Cohen concert....freedom comes with a price, something that Palestinian people have yet to have as for the past 61 years the Zionist have stolen their land and tried to terrorize them in their legal lands. Still the Irish have their own problems about land and who owns what I would have thought you would have had more empathy with the Palestinians...sad people here!!!!!As a Cohen fan I hope he cancel the Israeli concert he is always singing about existentialist angst lets see him do something positive for the Palestinian's before he pops his clogs!!!!

Posted by laix | 25.07.09, 00:20 GMT

Posted by laix | 25.07.09, 00:15 GMT

The usual mix of Admiral's daughters, screwed up republicans, impressionable Anglos and other people whose potty training has gone badly wrong! Leave old Leonard alone. He offered to do concerts in both Israel and Palestine, didn't he? Next step is, if we give aid to Israel we wont be able to give it to Palestine! Though I don't think that's going to happen somehow. Ha, ha

Posted by Luke Harper | 25.07.09, 00:04 GMT

why do people always have to drag politics into music. surely a musican should be able to play wherever they please.

Posted by Ivan Rawlinson | 24.07.09, 23:25 GMT

This is really stupid. He's a musician and has a right to play where he wants. I support the Palestinian movement but it isn't in protesting Leonard Cohen that the Palestinians will receive justice.

Posted by Diderot | 24.07.09, 22:36 GMT

Leave Cohen alone, his music has given pleasure, and still will in the future, to millions and these misguided misfits in their protests will only lead to possible trouble.
I want nothing to do with the Middle East conflict, we still have enough conflict in our own streets and need concerts like this by internationally famous artists to try and heal our still gaping wounds.
These misfits should concentrate on healing our own divides instead of worrying about other countries, (in which they can do nothing) and let the man entertain the music lovers among us.

Posted by john | 24.07.09, 22:28 GMT

Cohen is an admitted Zionist. After the 6 day war he flew to Israel to give concerts for the occupying army.

Posted by Mal | 24.07.09, 21:25 GMT

James. The quality of your comment is matched only by the level of your literacy. Unless, of course. you're being ironic (if you knows what that means!)

Posted by Hugh Mungus | 24.07.09, 19:33 GMT

I am mounting my own protest, against the truely awful music of Leonard Cohen !
Everyone is welcome.

Posted by YahooDee | 24.07.09, 19:14 GMT

How stupid people can be. The man is been equal minded after all.

We are all equal in the eyes of whatever god is your persuasion.

Mr Cohen plays to people who love his music in whatever country they live and is not political, religious, racial in his thoughts.

Posted by michael | 24.07.09, 18:54 GMT

Sinister (if vaguely pathetic) attempts at control and manipulation by the Palestinian lobby. LC can and will sing wherever he chooses to - stop whingeing and live with it!

Posted by Karyn | 24.07.09, 18:34 GMT

To all the people out there who wish to view this protest as a sectarian or anti-Semitic one I wish to point out it is neither. The idea is that if artists boycott Israel because of its defiance of international law and egregious human rights abuses then Israelis will realise that their government's policies towards the Palestinian people, whose lives they control, are unacceptable and so will change them. Perhaps this hope is naive and idealistic but it is certainly peaceful and is merely a form of petitioning and so does not deserve the angry responses of some of the posters on this site.

Posted by Richard | 24.07.09, 17:52 GMT