Boy George stands by Israel amid backlash over new song

British singer Boy George, one of the few international pop music stars to publicly express support for Israel, was welcomed in Jerusalem on Monday by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, AFP reports.

Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, received the former Culture Club frontman in his office. The singer is scheduled to perform two concerts in Tel Aviv. Herzog described the British star as “a formidable friend.”

Wearing a black beret, Boy George replied in Hebrew: “People of Israel, we will dance again!” – a reference to the slogan adopted in Israel following the October 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, the deadliest day in the country's history, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

The 65-year-old British artist released a song titled We Will Dance Again on his X account on July 26. The title is the English translation of the Israeli slogan Od Nirkod, used by survivors of the massacre at the Nova music festival, where more than 360 people were killed by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023.

Set to reggae rhythms, the song opens with the following lyrics: “You say genocide, I say war / When you're under attack, that's what your army is for.”

However, the British star's stance sparked widespread criticism, prompting him to withdraw from a musical production scheduled for August at a theatre in London's West End.

Boy George, a prominent figure in the LGBTQ+ community, is also scheduled to visit the site of the Nova festival massacre on Tuesday.

The Hamas attack killed 1,221 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally.

Israel's subsequent military campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 74,500 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Photo: Instagram/isaacherzog