Emel Mathlouthi announced on Wednesday the cancellation of a concert she was to give in her country, at the Hammamet International Festival. The Tunisian singer claims to have been accused of “normalizing” with Israel following a series of concerts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In July, Emel Mathlouthi gave concerts in East Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel, as well as in Ramallah, or even in the occupied West Bank. She had, however, not given a concert in Israel.
The 41-year-old singer rose to fame during the Tunisian revolution in 2011, with her song Kelmti Horra. She performed it at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 2015, awarded to the Tunisian national dialogue quartet. She was to perform next week at the Hammamet International Festival. Already in possession of their tickets, the spectators were informed that the concert would not take place.
“I am sorry to announce that our long-awaited concert in Hammamet has been canceled without official reason,” the singer wrote on Instagram. “We believe our last tour of beautiful Palestine caused unwarranted controversy accusing me of normalization.” “We would like to emphasize that these concerts were organized by Palestinians for a Palestinian audience. They do not contravene the directives” of the international pro-Palestinian movement BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
In a statement, the singer claimed to have been the subject of “a major disinformation campaign”. She added that she was not personally informed of the cancellation of her concert in Tunisia, the reason for which the organizers did not publicly give.
Artists performing in Israel often face fierce opposition from BDS, which calls for a boycott of Israel. The movement lent its support to the singer on Wednesday, saying it “distinguishes between artists who entertain the oppressors and those who stand with the oppressed.” “Arab artists who adhere to relevant BDS guidelines…contribute to our cultural resistance,” they added.
According to an AFP correspondent present at the Ramallah concert, Emel Mathlouthi sang the Palestinian ballad Wein a Ramallah at the end of the performance and waved a Palestinian flag. “It’s clearly a personal attack on me,” said the artist. “Everyone has been very supportive of me here because the Palestinians don’t want to be isolated, they want to see artists like me who come from other Arab countries and who speak Arabic,” added the singer, who entered Israel with a American passport. Asked, the organizers of the Hammamet festival did not comment.
