The Rolling Stones are in the middle of a difficult time, but recently announced plans to soldier on and continue performing. They just announced a date in Israel, which has stirred some controversy.
The Stones are officially set to play Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv on June 4, reports the Jerusalem Post.
“This is a historic and very meaningful visit,” promoter Shuki Weiss said Tuesday. “In these days when we hear calls for boycotts from around the world, it’s not taken for granted that a band of this magnitude will come to Israel.”
While Weiss and other Israeli Stones fans may be excited about the show, The New York Daily News notes that some Palestinian supporters are calling for a boycott of the show.
“We appeal to your moral principles and your record of standing up for human rights and human dignity,” the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel wrote in an open letter to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. “We sincerely hope that you shall cancel this ill-conceived and particularly harmful concert in Israel.”
The Stones have been in the news recently because they had to postpone their tour of Australia and New Zealand. Fashion designer L’Wren Scott, Mick Jagger’s longtime girlfriend, died earlier this month and the group cancelled sold out dates. The shows will be rescheduled, possibly in the fall.