Lauryn Hill said she cancelled her Israel concert because of inability to set up a performance in Ramallah. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – American hip-hop and R&B singer Lauryn Hill announced the cancellation of a scheduled concert in Israel only three days before the performance, following pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“I’ve wanted very much to bring our live performance to this part of the world, but also to be a presence supporting justice and peace,” Hill said in a statement on her website. “It is very important to me that my presence or message not be misconstrued, or a source of alienation to either my Israeli or my Palestinian fans.”

Hill added that she would “seek a different strategy to bring my music to all of my fans in the region.”

After rising to fame in the 1990s as a member of the hip-hop group The Fugees, Hill won five Grammy Awards for her solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” in 1998.

Pro-BDS groups have pressured numerous artists, musicians, and academics to boycott Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians. But a number of prominent musicians and bands—such as Madonna, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones—have rejected those calls and forged ahead with performances in the Jewish state.