Ra Ra Ramallah
DISCO legends Boney M bowed to pressure not to sing one of their chart-topping songs during a gig in the West Bank last week, because the hit referred to the Jewish people's longing to return to the Land of Israel.
DISCO legends Boney M bowed to pressure not to sing one of their chart-topping songs¬† during a gig in the West Bank last week, because the hit referred to the Jewish people’s longing to return to the Land of Israel.
Organisers of the Palestinian Festival asked the German band not to sing their 1978 classic By the Rivers of Babylon¬† at their Ramallah concert as the chorus includes the line from the Book of Psalms, “Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion.”
“I don’t know if it is a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it and we were a bit disappointed that we could not do it because we know that everybody loves this song no matter what,” lead singer Maizie Williams told Agence France Presse (AFP).
Israelis and Arabs discoed together at the six-day festival, with many Israelis defying an official ban and travelling to the West Bank for Tuesday night’s concert.
International musicians are performing at the festival, which comes amid a Palestinian campaign to have international artists boycott Israel.
Zeddy Lawrence