Hecklers mar Jerusalem Quartet London concert

Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a performance in London by the acclaimed Jerusalem Quartet.

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(JTA) — Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a performance in London by the acclaimed Jerusalem Quartet.

The March 29 lunchtime concert, which was being broadcast live on BBC Radio, was taken off the air in the middle due to the disruption, the Jewish Chronicle reported. The quartet completed its program.

About five protesters took turns disrupting the concert with anti-Israel epithets at 10-minute intervals throughout the performance at Wigmore Hall, according to reports. They were removed from the audience.

Protesters in other countries also have disrupted the quartet’s performances.

In a statement, the quartet noted that all four musicians served in the Israeli army as musicians and not in combat, and also perform as regular members of Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which brings Israeli and Arab musicians together.

"We no more represent the Government of Israel than the audience at the Wigmore Hall represented the Government of the United Kingdom," read the statement.

Only one of the four musicians is a native Israeli; one lives in Portugal and another in Berlin. 
 

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