JERUSALEM (JTA) — In more apparent fallout from Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bond flotilla, the American alternative rock band the Pixies canceled a scheduled concert in Israel.
The band was scheduled to perform Wednesday in Tel Aviv in its first concert in Israel.
"The decision was not reached easily, and we all know well the Israeli fans have been waiting for this visit for far too long," read a message received Sunday by the concert’s producers in Israel from the band’s management, according to reports.
"We’d like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond all our control have conspired against us. We can only hope for better days, in which we will finally present the long awaited visit of the Pixies in Israel."
Two other groups, Klaxons and the Gorillaz, canceled their scheduled performances in Israel following the deaths of nine activists during clashes with Israeli Navy commandos during the boarding of one of the flotilla’s ships early on May 31.
The cancellations come less than a month following the cancellation of British rocker Elvis Costello, who was making a political protest. Costello called the cancellation of his scheduled June 30 and 31 concerts "a matter of instinct and conscience."
"Intense pressure is being applied to foreign artists not to come to Israel," producer and promoter Shuki Weiss told the Israeli business daily Globes. "This is cultural terrorism."
