Nick Cave Responds To Brian Eno's Call For Boycott Following Last Year's Israel Concerts

Australian musician Nick Cave has shared his thoughts on Brian Eno's calls for musicians to boycott playing in Israel following Cave's shows there last year.

Prior to the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds performances in the country last year, Eno was among a group of musicians calling for Cave to cancel his November 2017 shows in Tel Aviv. 

According to Pitchfork, Cave has responded to Eno's via his Q&A blog The Red Right Hand Files, sharing that, "I simply could not treat my Israeli fans with the necessary contempt to do Brian Eno’s bidding."

Cave has responded to the question, "What are you thoughts on Brian Eno's stance on Israel?" which was submitted by a fan, as well as sharing part of an email written to Eno as part of his answer.

"I have received a number of messages broadly relating to this issue, so perhaps this is an opportunity to address this matter by sharing some actual correspondence I had with Brian Eno about it," said Cave.

"After announcing my decision to play two shows in Israel at the end of my world tour last year, Brian emailed me in the hope of persuading me to reconsider this decision," before continuing on to share the email written to Eno.

"Dear Brian,

Clearly the decision for The Bad Seeds to play in Israel is contentious for some people. But to be clear on this: I do not support the current government in Israel, yet do not accept that my decision to play in the country is any kind of tacit support for that government’s policies. Nor do I condone the atrocities that you have described; nor am I ignorant of them. 

I am aware of the injustices suffered by the Palestinian population, and wish, with all people of good conscience, that their suffering is ended via a comprehensive and just solution, one that involves enormous political will on both sides of the equation. As you know, I have done a considerable amount of work for Palestine through the Hoping Foundation, raising personally around £150,000 for the children of Palestine, so in a sense, I have already played the other side."

The email response continues on to say that Cave believes the "cultural boycott of Israel is cowardly and shameful," and why he believes its important for international acts to play in the country.

Cave concludes the fan response saying that he occasionally wonders if "The Bad Seeds did the right thing in playing Israel."

"I cannot answer that question. I understand and accept the validity of many of the arguments that are presented to me. Indeed, some of my dearest friends in the music industry found my decision very difficult to accept, but there it is, after much consideration the decision was made: I simply could not treat my Israeli fans with the necessary contempt to do Brian Eno’s bidding."

Read the full statement from Cave here. Eno is yet to respond.