AP July 22, 2020 – RAMALLAH

The lead singer of the iconic 1970s disco group Boney M said Thursday that the band was asked to skip one of its biggest hits in a concert this week.

Maizie Williams says Palestinian concert organizers told her not to sing “Rivers of Babylon.” The song’s chorus quotes from the Book of Psalms, referring to the exiled Jewish people’s yearning to return to the land of Israel.

Williams said she did not know if it was “a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it and we were a bit disappointed.” Organizers said they asked for the song to be skipped, deeming it “inappropriate.”

The Palestinian International Festival was set to continue Thursday in the West Bank.

Original 1978 footage with Karaoke subtitles.
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