Florida Lawmakers Aim to Cancel Lorde Concert, Citing anti-BDS Law

Lorde, oh Lorde Image by Getty Images

By Forward Staff February 9, 2018

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

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