The Latina diva Jennifer Lopez aka J.Lo has been penciled in to play a concert this summer in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon park, the Ynet news site reported on Monday.
According to the report, Lopez, 46, agreed to the performance in recent days, marking her first concert in the Jewish state
In 2012 it was widely reported in the Israeli media that Lopez would perform at Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena, but the rumored concert never took place.
In performing in Israel, J.Lo would be joining other international artists scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv this summer, including Elton John, SIA, Deep Purple and Julio Iglesias.
With a career spanning some two decades, Jennifer Lopez is not only a top recording artist but has also led a successful career in acting, dancing, fashion and business. She is regarded as one of the most successful entertainers of Latin descent in the US, with almost 60 million record sales.
Activists from the anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, most notably former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, often try to pressure international artists to cancel performances in Israel.
Last week British folk artist Donovan canceled his scheduled performance in Jaffa is what is interpreted as a possible boycott.
According to to local music promoter Patrick Losinsky of ProgStage, the cancellation came as a last-minute surprise and although Donovan didn’t mention the BDS movement as the cause of the canceled concert, but said that it was clear that financial issues weren’t the reason.
Artists who have succumbed to BDS pressure and canceled appearances in recent years have included Lauryn Hill and Elvis Costello.
