Amnesty International pulls out of Cohen concert

Amnesty International has announced it was pulling out of its involvement with Leonard Cohen's concert in Tel Aviv. The announcement comes in the wake of many vociferous protests from around the world, including from its own members. This is a sensible move, but also a self-preserving one since it was becoming likely that it would lose support and members if it persisted with its administration of the concert funds and its partnership with the notorious Discount Bank. Link to Amnesty's statement at the bottom of this article.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/08/18/18616483.php

A Plea to Leonard Cohen

Here is an interesting point of view from someone who having been conflicted by the boycott appeal regarding asking Leonard Cohen not to perform in Israel finally came to the regretful decision that despite his deep affection and respect for Cohen, the right thing to do in the end was to add his voice to the general appeal and register his support for the boycott. I'm sure many people who are fans of Leonard Cohen, but dismayed by his decision to play Israel, will relate to this.

http://www.counterpunch.org/aloni08032009.html

Tel Aviv concert sells out

All 47,000 tickets for Leonard Cohen's Tel Aviv concert sold out within hours of going on sale, according to reports.

NYCBI condemns Amnesty over Leonard Cohen Israel support

The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel has written an open letter to Amnesty International calling on the human rights organisation to withdraw its support for Leonard Cohen's planned Tel Aviv concert, which it has been reported will benefit Palestine-friendly charities.

Among NYCBI's claims is that "the only Palestinian organization falsely reported in the Jerusalem Post article as being a partner in this project, the Palestinian Happy Child Center [PHCC], has confirmed that it is not taking part." LCBI could not however find a website for PHCC or any news coverage supporting this claim.