Leonard Cohen's Israel Concert Sells Out In A Day

JERUSALEM — Tickets for a Leonard Cohen concert to benefit Palestinian and Israeli peace groups sold out in less than a day, an Israeli ticket agent said Sunday.

The 47,000 tickets for the Sept. 24 concert at a stadium near Tel Aviv went on sale at 8:30 Saturday evening, and by Sunday afternoon they were all gone, ticket agent Avi Messing told Israel's Channel 2 TV.

"All of Israel is coming to watch Leonard Cohen. It's really great," Messing said.

Prices ranged from $90 to $315.

Cohen entertained Israeli troops during the 1973 Mideast war and last performed in Israel in 1975.

Adding Israel to his current world tour brought complaints from Palestinian sympathizers, and British fans posted a plea on the social networking site Facebook asking him to cancel the date in response to Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip in December and January.

Cohen's manager, Robert Kory, said the singer instead decided to make the concert a fundraiser for Palestinian and Israeli groups working for reconciliation.

Proceeds will be channeled into a special charitable fund in partnership with London-based human rights organization Amnesty International, Kory said.

Initial beneficiaries include a peace group made up of the parents of Israelis and Palestinians killed in the conflict called the Parents Circle-Family Forum.

Others are a children's health program run by the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv, an organization that brings together Israeli army veterans and former Palestinian fighters and a center for special needs children in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Comments

[sense11]

01:05 PM on 08/04/2009

wow an entire day, crazy stuff

[mzzanthrope]

08:49 AM on 08/04/2009

LOVE Leonard Cohen music/lyrics.

[JerryLevy]

12:26 AM on 08/04/2009

A great boycott Israel idea: give up your cell phone. It was invented in Israel along with dozens of medical advances and environmental innovations.

[piul05]

11:41 AM on 08/04/2009

You really sound like Mr." Everything Comes from India" from the British sketch comedy "Goodness Gracious Me".

Don't you realize how silly it is?

[corsair1917]

10:11 PM on 08/03/2009

his concert is on PBS right now.... really good!

[cinnamonlady]

10:59 PM on 08/03/2009

Yep! Just caught him singing "Suzanne." Beautiful.

[takeyourballandgohome]

08:29 PM on 08/03/2009

So didn't two nights in Boston not long ago, many tix over $250 each. What's the news with Israel?

[icastico]

07:26 PM on 08/03/2009

Cohen...great when he's good...and his failures are grand failures. Raising money for peace...hard to criticize that.

[Trickywoo]

07:26 PM on 08/03/2009

I was lucky enough to see his show when he came through Dallas earlier this year. They're gonna get the show of their lives in Tel Aviv! And I applaud his decision on donating the proceeds. He's a 100 percent class act.

[LeeCalif]

06:02 PM on 08/03/2009

I agree with MemoryAlpha:

" Observation:
Along with boycotting, this is the best strategy to combating Israel's apartheid policies. The money raised is going to a good cause. "

[JerryLevy]

12:25 AM on 08/04/2009

To use the word "Apartheid" to describe the only country in the Middle East that respects women's rights, gay rights, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and honest elections is purely defamation and nothing else. For your information, Memory Alpha also posted that using the word "terrorism" is a racist slur against Arabs. I guess you believe that too.

[GO-BAMA]

09:34 AM on 08/04/2009

I agree completely. Some people have no idea what they're talking about.

[Hirnlego]

08:11 PM on 08/04/2009

in practice its actually not as free as you make it seem

[jimpager]

04:37 PM on 08/03/2009

Cohen is GOAT...The lyrics of "Susanne" are magical. Wish we had more access to this
major talent.

[TankGirlz]

04:11 PM on 08/03/2009

This is the same Leonard Cohen that sang "Democracy"?

[Hirnlego]

08:08 PM on 08/04/2009

Yes

[KateinAZ]

01:43 PM on 08/03/2009

Ah, fond memories of the past when I listen to Cohen. What a gift he is to us.

[widdles]

10:50 AM on 08/03/2009

I watched the PBS "Leonard Cohen Live in New York" and was absolutely mesmerized by his performance. So I can understand his concert selling out so quickly.

[Clare53]

02:53 PM on 08/03/2009

I had planned all day to watch it, got distracted and forgot. I'm so bummed.

[MemoryAlpha]

10:21 AM on 08/03/2009

Observation:
Along with boycotting, this is the best strategy to combating Israel's apartheid policies. The money raised is going to a good cause.