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Dionne Warwick

Dionne Warwick8 posts
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6 May, 2015

Will not be pressured into canceling Tel Aviv concert

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Warwick says she will not submit to pressure from Waters, who has called on entertainers to not perform in Israel.

[Ms. Warwick] would never fall victim to the hard pressures of Roger Waters, from Pink Floyd, or other political people who have their views on politics in Israel. Waters’ political views are of no concern to Ms. Warwick, as she holds her own unique views on world matters. Art has no boundaries. Ms. Warwick will always honor her contracts. If Ms. Warwick had an objection to performing in Israel, no offer would have been entertained and no contract would have been signed.

14 May, 2015

Calls Warwick ‘profoundly ignorant’

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Waters responds to Warwick’s comments about not succumbing to his pressure.

First, in my view, Dionne Warwick is a truly great singer.  Secondly, I doubt not that she is deeply committed to her family and her fans. But, ultimately, this whole conversation is not about her, her gig in Tel Aviv, or even her conception of boundaries and art, though I will touch on that conception later.  This is about human rights and, more specifically, this is about the dystopia that can develop, as it has in Israel, when society lacks basic belief in equal human value, when it strays from the ability to feel empathy for our brothers and sisters of different faiths, nationalities, creeds or colors.

I believe you mean well, Ms. Warwick, but you are showing yourself to be profoundly ignorant of what has happened in Palestine since 1947, and I am sorry but you are wrong, art does know boundaries. In fact, it is an absolute responsibility of artists to stand up for human rights – social, political and religious – on behalf of all our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed, whoever and wherever they may be on the surface of this small planet.