Florida Lawmakers Aim to Cancel Lorde Concert, Citing anti-BDS Law
Lorde, oh Lorde Image by Getty Images
Florida Lawmakers are pushing to cancel Lorde’s scheduled concerts in the state after she cancelled her appearance in Israel to support the BDS movement, according to the Orlando Weekly.
Florida is one of 20 states that have a law barring state funds from doing business with entities associated with BDS, the movement to boycott, divest, and sanction Israel over the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Florida law states that businesses that receive state funds are prohibited from conducting business over $1 million with any organization engaged in a boycott of Israel.
Yesterday, Republican state Rep. Randy Fine sent letters to the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority and the Tampa Sports Authority asking them to cancel Lorde’s appearances there, scheduled for April.
“Florida has no tolerance for anti-Semitism and boycotts intended to destroy the State of Israel,” said Fine. “Current statutes are clear – local governments cannot do business with companies that participate in anti-Semitic boycotts of Israel. When Lorde joined the boycott in December, she and her companies became subject to that statute. The taxpayers of Miami and Tampa should not have to facilitate bigotry and anti-Semitism, and I look forward to the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority and the Tampa Sports Authority complying with the law and canceling these concerts.”
Fine and Speaker Richard Corcoran would like the state anti-BDS law to go further than it does. They are proposing eliminating the $1 million threshold.
Contact Avichai Scher at [email protected] or on Twitter, @avi_scher
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
