Rights groups launch petition to thank Stevie Wonder for canceling Israel army benefit gig

Ali Abunimah Activism and BDS Beat 30 November 2012

Stevie Wonder performs at a rally for President Barack Obama at UCLA in 2008 (source)

Michal Story Flickr

Palestinian rights activists have welcomed a decision by Stevie Wonder to cancel a scheduled 6 December performance at a Los Angeles fundraiser for Friends of the IDF (FIDF), an organization that raises money for the Israeli army.

The US Campaign to End the Occupation and the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel which had campaigned for Stevie Wonder to pull out, called on people to sign a petition thanking the music legend for his move.

“As a diverse group of people of conscience and organizations around the world, it is with great joy that we applaud your decision to cancel your performance for the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces,” the petition begins.

Earlier, FIDF confirmed Stevie Wonder’s cancelation in a press release. “Representatives of the performer cited a recommendation from the United Nations to withdraw his participation given Wonder’s involvement with the organization,” the release stated.

FIDF director and CEO, Israeli army Major General Yitzhak Gershon expressed “regret” and claimed that FIDF is a ” non-political” and “humanitarian” organization.

Gershon himself is implicated in war crimes committed when he commanded Israeli forces attacking Palestinians in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank during the second intifada.

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Comments

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ben roben replied on

just wanna say thank you Stevie Wonder. you still my icon.

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LInda replied on

Please read what Jesse Hagopian wrote: When it Comes to Gaza, Don't Let Obama Speak for African Americans.
'Like an olive tree planted by the water, we shall not be moved."

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Lonnie replied on

Happy to place my name on the "thank you card". Stevie Wonder is a treasure to the world and also a beacon of morality.

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Big_Steve-ie replied on

..In Japanese,
DOMOARIGATOGOZIAMASHITA.

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Artemis replied on

Hello? Fund raising for a foreign army in the US? What on earth? Have people lost their minds?

Any claim that FIDF is a ” non-political” and “humanitarian” organization... is a sick joke. Those who have witnessed "Breaking the Silence" or read their accounts (IDF soldiers who recount the shame of their actions in the occupied territories) know better. Israel's blind allies toss lies out into the public realm every day with the knowledge that honest people still believe what they are told.

Thank goodness Stevie Wonder listened to the voices of reason and justice.

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Alice replied on

is because he was afraid, to his career, to his money...not because he is against Israel. He more than once made shows for Israel, right, not for the IDF, but does it matter?

Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.