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"Backing out of a concert performance with the legendary conductor Zubin Mehta is like skipping a golf date with Tiger Woods or a dinner with Julia Child. But the unthinkable is becoming epidemic as the world's great musicians skip Israel because they fear for their security or disagree with the government's policies," a leading newspaper in Washington reported.
The Washington Post said that influential sections of society, angry at Israeli actions against Palestinians, are pushing for a boycott of Israel that hundreds of university professors have joined.
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was forced to cancel an eight-concert tour in the US slated for August because no insurance company would cover the performances due to concerns about possible terrorist attacks, said Dalia Meroz, a spokeswoman for the orchestra.
"Fifty per cent of the foreign artists have backed out," said Mehta, the orchestra's music director. "In the current production of Richard Strauss's opera Salome, we have had eight cancellations in the cast."
Israel used to be a regular stop on the pop music circuit, but it has been more than a year since a mega star performed in Jerusalem.
This year, the Tel Aviv Film Festival was cancelled because the organisers feared no star would turn up.
The Post also said that some Norwegian supermarkets label Israeli products with stickers so customers can decide whether to buy them.
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