Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Elton John Asked To Sign Israel Loyalty Pledge Before Show, Producer Says

TEL AVIV — The Interior Ministry asked the producer of Elton John’s upcoming concert in Israel to sign a declaration of loyalty on John’s behalf as a condition of his appearance here in May, concert producer Shuki Weiss has said. The Interior Ministry called Weiss’ statement “wacky and crazy” and “a blatant lie.”

Speaking on a panel at a conference sponsored by Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynet on the struggle against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, Weiss said Monday: “Artists are refusing to sign a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a condition for coming to Israel. That was a demand made by the Interior Ministry as a condition for getting a work visa. Only two weeks ago Elton John was asked to sign a declaration of loyalty. That insane idea has been dropped.”

“Only two weeks ago Elton John was asked to sign a declaration of loyalty. That insane idea has been dropped.”

Weiss added that he had received an official request from the Interior Ministry “which transferred the handling of the work visa required of every performer who comes to Israel, to the Population, Immigration and Border Authority, which deals with work visas for foreign workers, and there you have to sign [a] loyalty to Israel [declaration].”

According to sources in Weiss’ office, the issue was dropped when the producer explained the problematic nature of the request. The British singer is scheduled to perform May 26 at Ganei Yehoshua in Tel Aviv.

“This is a blatant lie aimed at grabbing headlines at the expense of a government ministry.”

The Interior Ministry spokeswoman denied the claims, calling them “wacky and crazy.” “This is a blatant lie aimed at grabbing headlines at the expense of a government ministry. Never has any artist been asked to sign such a declaration. We are considering a libel suit against Weiss,” she said.

Later, Weiss’ office produced the standard form for obtaining an entry permit to Israel and pointed out what it considers the problematic clause, which reads, “I declare that I have never acted against the Jewish people or the security of the State of Israel.”

In response, the spokeswoman said, “What does that have to do with a declaration of loyalty? Why hasn’t Shuki Weiss, who brings foreign artists here every Monday and Thursday, ever raised an outcry over the years and waited until today?”

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.