The pop star Rihanna played a gig in Tel Aviv [in October 2013], despite many requests made to her by Palestinian and solidarity activists to observe the cultural boycott of Israel. As usual, BDS campaigners tirelessly posted messages on Facebook and Twitter pages asking her to cancel her gig. She went ahead anyway, so you'd think anti-BDS, anti-Palestinian ideologues would be happy. Not so. There was a furious reaction from right-wing Israelis and other Zionist fanatics when liberal Israeli paper Haaretz misreported the gig.
The paper initially claimed that the star modified the words of one of her songs to say "All I see is Palestine." Was this a minor concession to the BDS camp, perhaps trying to please "both sides"?
It seemed highly unlikely. And Haaretz's lack of video evidence (despite the thousands of phone-cameras present at gigs these days) made the story even more unconvincing.
My suspicions were confirmed, as the paper soon had to correct its story.
However, it also seems unlikely the story was a deliberate "lie" or an attempt to mislead, as some in the right-wing Israeli press claimed. It's far more likely to have been shoddy journalism, based on rumours and hearsay.
But in my opinion, there was a further factor: Israeli paranoia. Call it Israel's "The whole world is out to get us" syndrome.
One can easily imagine the rumours that might have swirled around Haaretz's Amy Klein, in her section of the audience:
What did she say? That wasn't the usual lyric.The very fact the bogus story spread around so quickly before being debunked (even making it onto popular American blog The Huffington Post) tells us something about the successes to date of the BDS campaign.
I think it was something about "Palestine"?
Maybe "All I see is Palestine".
OMG, I knew it, she's secretly on their side!
Cue freak-out and silly Haaretz story.
It is having a far-reaching impact amongst Israelis, showing that BDS activists are punching way above their weight, compared to their modest means. more
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