Gil Scott Heron was lined up to do a talk in London but was kept away by the volcanic dust cloud. Many anti-racists were hoping that he would be asked about how such an iconic anti-apartheid activist as himself could play in Tel Aviv, as advertised in the Israeli media and on his own site. He has now told a London audience that he will not be playing Tel Aviv but we await confirmation from him and his management. Tickets for the Tel Aviv gig are still on sale and the Israeli media have acknowledged the protests but are saying that he will be playing Tel Aviv.

If Gil Scott Heron is going to play Tel Aviv then he owes apartheid an apology. Leading activists from the African National Congress (ANC) have said that Israel is worse than South Africa was because Israel practises ethnic cleansing and segregation whereas SA only practised the latter.

So two questions need to be asked: is he playing Tel Aviv? If not, how did he agree to it in the first place?