Herzog honors Boy George for standing by Jews

Boy George, the 1980s pop icon who became one of Israel’s most unexpected champions after Oct. 7, was honored by President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Monday, in a ceremony that also brought him together with a Nova festival survivor who spent 738 days in Hamas captivity.

Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog received the British singer, whose real name is George O’Dowd, along with Sylvan Adams, president of World Jewish Congress Israel, and former hostage Elkana Bohbot.

Herzog presented the singer with a sculpture of red anemones inspired by the memorial installations at the site of the Nova desert rave. Its dedication thanks him “for your unwavering support for Israel and the Jewish people, and for your inspiring music and artistry, reminding us all that we will dance again.”

“In the three years since October 7, Israel and Jews around the world have faced an onslaught of attacks,” Herzog said. “In the worlds of culture, art, and music, which ought to bring people together, we have seen a particular strain of discrimination against Israelis and Jews run rampant.”

He then quoted the singer back to himself.

“However, you stood up and said: ‘If you’re ever confused, I stand with the Jews. I don’t feel brave, I just need to behave like a human’,” Herzog said, calling that message from the song “We Will Dance Again” one “of moral clarity and decency” that “touched the hearts of Jews and Israelis everywhere.”

“The people of Israel love you,” Herzog added, “and thank you for standing with us.”

Boy George said the song had changed him.

“In some ways, the old Boy George no longer exists, because some people don’t see me in the way they used to, and a lot of other people see me in a new way,” he said.

“I like that. I feel like ‘We Will Dance Again’ has forced me to grow up. This experience has made me much more aware of what is out there emotionally and what challenges us.”

He also recalled growing up in a neighborhood with a strong Jewish presence, saying his childhood had felt in many ways “very Jewish,” and that he was glad to be able to show his support for the Jewish people and Israel.

For Bohbot, who was abducted from the Nova festival on Oct. 7, 2023, the song’s title carries particular weight. “For me, these words are not just the title of a song,” he said. “They are life itself.”

“I was kidnapped from the Nova festival, a place where people came to celebrate life and music. They tried to take away our freedom, but they will not take away our spirit. Today, after 738 days in captivity, I stand here free. Boy George, thank you for your friendship and for choosing to bring your music to Israel.”

Adams, who initiated and hosted the visit, noted that the singer had no personal stake in the fight. “George, you aren’t Jewish, but the Jewish people are facing this wall of hatred, this organized wall of hatred,” he said. “You have chosen to engage in this moral campaign against the haters, and for this we are eternally grateful.”

Boy George’s connection to the Nova community began when he visited the Nova 06:29 exhibition in London and heard the stories of survivors and bereaved families. He went on to release “We Will Dance Again,” accompanied by photographs of young people murdered at the festival. Its unsparing lyrics, aimed at Israel’s accusers, surprised many who knew him chiefly as an LGBT+ advocate.

Raised in a working-class Irish Catholic family and best known for Culture Club’s 1983 hit “Karma Chameleon,” he has said his decision to speak grew out of conversations with Jewish friends in the UK he has known since he was 15. “It’s insane that they’re feeling so unsafe, powerless and frightened,” he said.

Arriving by private jet over the weekend, he was welcomed at Ben Gurion Airport by Adams and Guy Besser, co-owner of Live Nation Israel. “I am here with you — out of love, out of a belief in peace and out of a desire for us to dance, live and celebrate together again,” he said.

After the meeting with Herzog, Boy George toured the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem’s exhibition “06:29 — From Darkness to Light,” which documents the Oct. 7 atrocities alongside stories of heroism, rescue and solidarity, told largely through the testimonies of women. Museum CEO Jonathan Riss and Adams led the tour, joined by Sigal Mansouri, whose daughters Norelle and Roya were murdered at the Nova festival.

“A place like this gives you an opportunity to stop and focus on the real sadness of these stories,” the singer said, lamenting that people “have time for gossip, but not for anything of real substance.”

The singer was scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the memorial site for the Nova festival victims in the Gaza Envelope.

He was scheduled to performs Nov. 4 at Tel Aviv’s Menora Mivtachim Arena with special guest Ivri Lider, and again on Nov. 7 in a concert dedicated to the Nova community and their families, with special guest DJ Ofer Nissim.

Bohbot closed his remarks at the President’s Residence with the singer’s own refrain. “On this occasion, I want to tell you: yes, we will dance again.”