Israeli pop star Ivri Lider's fame in his homeland has climbed steadily over a decade-long career, only increasing after he came out in 2002 [see Out, March 2007]. As proud of his country as he is of being gay, the singer even did double duty during his U.S. tour last year, serving as a goodwill ambassador. 
Then he got blacklisted from a concert to celebrate Israel's troops.
Israeli government leaders were panicking about the rising rates of no-shows for military service, which is mandatory for all adults. And Lider—who got a medical discharge after serving one month in the army—suddenly found himself the new star of a very unpopular campaign to shame celebrities with less-than-perfect service records.
In an exclusive interview with Out.com, Lider defends his decision not to sign a loyalty oath, opens up about his discharge, and tries to make sense of how he went from poster boy to fall guy.
Out.com: So last week you were all set to perform in front of 10,000 soldiers—until you were dropped from the bill.
Ivri Lider: They just called in the middle of the week and were like, “We want you to sign this paper.” I said, “Listen, I want to cooperate. I want you to be comfortable with this, but I can't sign something like this.”
What specifically were you opposed to signing?
I think asking an artist to sign a letter that starts with the word love -- "I love the army" -- is a little confusing. The word love is maybe not the right word to use. And at the end of the letter they had this part saying that I will be obligated to donate shows every year. It was a little insulting—it's something I've been doing for the last 10 years with no one asking me, just because I wanted to. And suddenly this commander will take all the credit? That was just not acceptable to me.
And what happened when you wouldn't sign the letter?
They canceled my part of the show, and it created a big fuss over here. The thing to understand is that the last few years less and less young people are motivated to actually join the army. And of course it's a big debate, an important one. But now this whole thing with the artists—it's one way to try to deal with that, though I'm not sure the best way. I feel like blaming the famous people is just too easy. (keep reading)
Then he got blacklisted from a concert to celebrate Israel's troops.
Israeli government leaders were panicking about the rising rates of no-shows for military service, which is mandatory for all adults. And Lider—who got a medical discharge after serving one month in the army—suddenly found himself the new star of a very unpopular campaign to shame celebrities with less-than-perfect service records.
In an exclusive interview with Out.com, Lider defends his decision not to sign a loyalty oath, opens up about his discharge, and tries to make sense of how he went from poster boy to fall guy.
Out.com: So last week you were all set to perform in front of 10,000 soldiers—until you were dropped from the bill.
Ivri Lider: They just called in the middle of the week and were like, “We want you to sign this paper.” I said, “Listen, I want to cooperate. I want you to be comfortable with this, but I can't sign something like this.”
What specifically were you opposed to signing?
I think asking an artist to sign a letter that starts with the word love -- "I love the army" -- is a little confusing. The word love is maybe not the right word to use. And at the end of the letter they had this part saying that I will be obligated to donate shows every year. It was a little insulting—it's something I've been doing for the last 10 years with no one asking me, just because I wanted to. And suddenly this commander will take all the credit? That was just not acceptable to me.
And what happened when you wouldn't sign the letter?
They canceled my part of the show, and it created a big fuss over here. The thing to understand is that the last few years less and less young people are motivated to actually join the army. And of course it's a big debate, an important one. But now this whole thing with the artists—it's one way to try to deal with that, though I'm not sure the best way. I feel like blaming the famous people is just too easy. (keep reading)
1 comment:
This is no surprise. The breed of fanatacism and blind jingoism at play in Israel is nothing short of chilling. It is this sort of twisted thinking that has led a generation of people to believe that their systematic oppression of the Palestinians and unquestionable devotion to religion are perfectly acceptable.
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