What does it take to cool down the US funk metal band Red Hot Chili Peppers? A US State Department travel advisory, apparently.
The band has pulled out of a late August gig in Tel Aviv due to US government warnings against travel to Israel during the latest Palestinian uprising against 34 years of Israeli military occupation.
Another factor may have been at work, as well. The Peppers had been facing a widespread internet-based campaign to call off the show due to concerns over Israel’s dismal human rights record in the last several months, which have seen nearly 100 Palestinian shot dead by occupation troops.
The decision was a blow to the concert’s promoters and fans in Israel who, according to Agence France Presse (AFP), were looking for any sort of fun to divert their attention from the current uprising and the Israeli missile and tank attacks it has evoked.
Some 15,000 tickets had already been sold for the concert.
On a Red Hot Chili Peppers Internet discussion board, an impromptu survey revealed that 70 percent of the band’s fans agreed with their decision to cancel the show – Albawaba.com
