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"Alicia Keys has refused to cancel a scheduled concert in Israel, despite protests from activists and fans. The &amp;#039;Girl on Fire&amp;#039; singer is set to perform on July 4 in Tel Aviv, but has been publicly criticized by novelist Alice Walker and musician Roger Waters for agreeing to do the show in light of the current political situation between Israel and Palestine.   In an open letter issued last month Walker, who is pro-Palestine, told Keys to &amp;quot;stand united with all our brothers and sisters against racism, colonialism, segregation and apartheid&amp;quot;. She added: &amp;quot;Please, Alicia, do not lend your name to give legitimacy to the Israeli government policies of illegal, apartheid, occupation of the homelands of the indigenous people of Palestine.&amp;quot; Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, The Pixies and Santana have all axed past concerts in Israel in recent years in protest at the ongoing violence over the Gaza strip.  However, Keys has revealed in a statement to the New York Times that she has no plans to back out of the gig.  The statement reads: &amp;quot;I look forward to my first visit to Israel. Music is a universal language that is meant to unify audiences in peace and love, and that is the spirit of our show.&amp;quot; Watch the video for Alicia Keys&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;New Day&amp;#039; below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a487506/alicia-keys-rejects-calls-to-cancel-israel-concert/>