Israel’s ambassador to Portugal has called for the cancellation of today’s concert by singer Kanye West at the Algarve stadium, considering it “a shame” to take part in the show of an artist who “glorified Hitler and promoted antisemitism.” In a video message shared on social media, Oren Rozenblat stated that Kanye West “publicly declared ‘I like Hitler’ and ‘I am a Nazi’,” in addition to having argued that “‘slavery was a choice’.”
This statement “deeply offended millions of descendants of the victims of slavery,” the ambassador noted, saying “this is not provocation, it is hate speech.”
For this reason, he argued, Portugal should follow the path already chosen by several countries and turn away the American rapper, citing as examples Australia, “which revoked his visa,” the United Kingdom, “where he was barred from entering the country,” but also France, Poland, Switzerland and Slovakia, where “his concerts were cancelled.”
Expressing surprise that someone who “glorifies Hitler, promotes Nazism and defends antisemitism” would have a stage in a stadium “that belongs to the municipalities of Faro and Loulé and, therefore, to their citizens,” Oren Rozenblat stressed that this should be “a red line in a democratic society.”
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The ambassador also stressed that this issue has nothing to do with Israel’s policy, but rather with the support of the Portuguese people for an artist who promotes discrimination.
“No one is obligated to agree with Israel. That’s not the issue,” he stated, asking those who intend to attend the concert whether they would do so if the artist in question promoted hatred against Black people, against Muslims, against Christians or against LGBT people.
“If the answer is no, why should it be different when the target is Jews?” he argued. The Israeli diplomat also revealed that he had spoken directly with the mayor of Faro, asking him to cancel the event or to appeal to the citizens of Faro not to attend.
“I sincerely hope that Portugal chooses to be on the right side of History. And cancels this concert. If this concert happens, it is a shame for Portugal, for the Portuguese, for the citizens of the Algarve and for everyone who attends this concert,” he concluded.
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Kanye West has a two-hour concert scheduled for today, at 9:00 pm, at the Algarve stadium, where the rapper will perform songs from his new international tour associated with the album “Bully,” in addition to covering various eras of his career.
The artist has made several antisemitic statements over the past few years, conspiracy theories about the Jewish community and statements praising Nazism. These statements resulted in the suspension of his social media accounts, the cancellation of contracts with global brands like Adidas and even bans on entering certain countries.
