JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Tourism Ministry has asked musician Leonard Cohen to perform a concert in the Arab-Israeli city of Nazareth.
Cohen is set to perform Sept. 24 in Ramat Gan Stadium on the last concert of a world tour. His only scheduled performance in Israel sold out in a few days and is being billed as “A concert for reconciliation, tolerance and peace.”
Following consultations with Ramiz Jaraisy, Tourism Ministry Director-General Noaz Bar Nir approached Cohen’s producer to hold a second concert in Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab city and home to a 40,000 capacity outdoor amphitheater especially built for the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI.
Cohen had wanted to perform in Ramallah, but Palestinians canceled the concert because of the performance in Israel, among other reasons.
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