Matisyahu In ConcertMatisyahu participated in a Spanish music festival over the weekend despite efforts from a Valencia-based organization dedicated to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The BDS campaign was started in 2005 by a group of Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause against Israel. The BDS movement pressured the Rototom SunSplash music festival to remove American Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu from the lineup, insisting he clarify his position on Palestinian statehood. Matisyahu quickly condemned the BDS movement and their attempted boycott, saying he could not be “coerced into political statements” and said politics played no part in his music. Festival organizers apologized for initially canceling his appearance, saying, “Rototom SunSplash admits that it made a mistake, due to . . . the campaign of pressure, coercion, and threats employed by the BDS Pais Valencia which made it think that the normal functioning of the festival could be threatened.”

Matisyahu and his fans successfully quieted the BDS movement at the festival. In order to more fully counteract the BDS movement, however, there must be opposition not only to the boycott attempts, but also to the divestment and sanction movements as well. Matisyahu’s global fan base utilized social media, crowdsourcing, and other means to overcome this boycott. Israel Investment Advisors, LLC offers an antidote to the divestment movement, managing portfolios of Israeli securities and Israel-focused investment strategies.

Investing foreign dollars in the Israeli stock market is the most specific and direct answer to the BDS’s efforts at divestment. Foreign involvement in Israeli securities can be volatile, with similar risks to many other foreign stock markets. For more information on Israel Investment Advisors, LLC visit www.israelinvestmentadvisors.com.

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