Things I said in a Naples concert regarding a cultural Boycott of Israel

Hello all. I was very honored to perform in the opening and closing closing nights of the Naples Theater and Arts festival. The concert was beautiful, the audience, as always in that great city, warm and loving.

But, as we know, even the purest ray of light creates a shadow somewhere.

I would like to share with you some comments I made right before the end of the show. Here they are:

"Dear friends,

I am aware of the demonstrations against me, calling to boycott my concerts and Israel in general. I am not angry at these people, I believe their intentions are good. I prefer to assume they are simply misinformed.

I do not want to think in terms of left and right. For me, like race and religion, these are only semantic terms that serve to separate us, not bring us together. As I see it, there are only people. People who want to live, not to die. People who care for each other, who try to learn from their mistakes. People who keep their minds open always,  careful not to succumb to stereotypes and dogmas. People who are not afraid to sometimes change their minds and views, always staying true to one principle:  love your brother as you love yourself. To all these people, wherever they are, in Naples, in Palestine and Israel, in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, in America, Russia, China, Germany, Spain, Greece, in  India or Pakistan, on the smallest island or on the endless plains, in places whose names I have never heard……. to them, and to you, I reach out my hands in peace. "

May we know better days.

Love