Dear Shakira,

We appeal to you to cancel your July 2018 concert in Tel Aviv. Between March 30 and April 15, Israel massacred over 100 Palestinians in Gaza, including children and members of the media clearly marked as press. Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem face daily humiliations and violence, including checkpoints, child imprisonment, home demolitions and more. The separate and unequal system that Israel imposes on Palestinians is a daily nightmare.

If you choose to follow through with your performance in Tel Aviv, it will act as an endorsement of Israel’s brutal military occupation. Canceling your Tel Aviv concert, on the other hand, would send a strong message that Palestinians, like all people, deserve equal rights and freedom. You would be following in the footsteps of artists like Lauryn Hill, Lorde, and most recently, Natalie Portman. You are well known as an advocate for children and for human rights. Please act now for the sake of Palestinian children, that they may have a future free of occupation and suffering. Please cancel your concert in Israel. 

Sincerely,