Teenagers worship Lorde but the Kiwi pop princess is very wrong to boycott Israel

New Zealand’s pop princess Lorde advertises the next leg on her world tour. Twitter, December 19:

MOSCOW — ST PETERSBURG — TEL AVIV — LET’S DANCE.

And the anti-Israel Twitter trolls just started rolling in. A Palestinian activist called “Justice” on Twitter, December 19:

Don’t play in Tel Aviv while they have the Palestinians under a brutal occupation! Very disappointed in you! Boycott Israel!

Twitter: the website where everyone is an expert on the Middle East. Medical student “Maureen” on Twitter, December 19:

I’m afraid your art will just be used to further a certain political agenda over another. Please consider that the only way to achieve any degree of equality or justice is by pressuring Israel through peaceful ways to do so; boycott from the international community is a main one.

The big social media response led to this open letter to Lorde asking her to boycott Israel. New Zealand’s anti-Israel activists Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab on New Zealand’s Stuff website, December 21:

In 2017, Lorde, reignite the spirit of 1981 and show the world that New Zealanders are the progressive forward-thinking people we say we are. Please join the artistic boycott of Israel, cancel your Israeli tour dates and make a stand. Your voice will join many others and together we can and will make a difference.

And did Lorde cave in to the anti-­Israel boycotters? The pop star on Twitter, December 21:

Noted! Been speaking with many people about this and considering all options. Thank you for educating me, I am learning all the time too.

Yep. Lorde’s statement to the media, Monday:

I have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and I think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show … I’m not too proud to admit I didn’t make the right call on this one.

Interestingly, Lorde hasn’t cancelled her trips to Moscow and St Petersburg. What’s happening over in Russia? Britain’s The Times, yesterday:

Russia’s main opposition leader has called for an election boycott and promised nationwide protests after he was barred from running for president … The decision by the central electoral commission clears the way for President Vladimir Putin, 65, to reclaim the Kremlin practically unopposed for a fourth term — which would extend his effective rule over Russia to 24 years.

None of this is going on in Israel. Time magazine, September 26:

Since early April, a wave of attacks against homosexual men has been reported spreading across the region of Chechnya, a deeply conservative part of Russia that is predominantly Muslim. The details were gruesome; local police had allegedly rounded up dozens of men and tortured them in secret prisons … Several of the victims had been beaten or tortured to death.

But Lorde still wants to go to Russia? Israel is the bad guy? It simply beggars belief. NBC News online, yesterday:

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Russians, including the leader of Chechnya … (Ramzan) Kadyrov oversaw “disappearances and extrajudicial killings” and … he’s believed to have ordered the killing of one of his political rivals. The rival had accused Kadyrov of personally carrying out torture.