{"id":49943,"date":"2026-09-25T00:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T07:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=49943"},"modified":"2026-09-28T12:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T19:48:18","slug":"boy-george-warmly-received","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2026\/09\/25\/boy-george-warmly-received\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy George warmly received"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Approximately 800 members of the Metro Vancouver Jewish community and allies were at Temple Sholom on Sept. 9 to hear musician Boy George in conversation with Rabbi Dan Moskovitz. Wearing a bright orange hat, the 65-year-old performer reflected on his Jewish friendships and his song \u201cWe Will Dance Again,\u201d which he performed live for the first time ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing Boy George, Moskovitz recalled a letter he penned to the artist after first hearing the song. \u201cI wrote, I just wanted to give you a hug, not just from me but from thousands of people in my community, because we\u2019ve felt, as you have, that the world has lost its sense of humanity and is upside down. You\u2019ve put it right side up, and we thank you for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boy George explained that the impetus for \u201cWe Will Dance Again\u201d was attending the Nova exhibition in London, England. There, he met some of the survivors, and heard firsthand from the father of a young British man who was murdered on Oct. 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI looked at a wall filled with photographs of people who had been murdered that day, and I saw so much beauty, love and radiance in their faces,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI said to myself, I\u2019m going to write a song about it, one that will say something unequivocal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"photo
Boy George spoke with Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, but performed at Temple Sholom on Sept. 9. (photo by Rhonda Dent Photography)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He added that he didn\u2019t discuss the song or its subject matter with anyone ahead of time and chose artificial intelligence rather than a human collaborator because \u201cAI doesn\u2019t argue with you or tell you, \u2018You can\u2019t say that!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a beautiful experience writing and recording it and, afterwards, it made me feel emotional and I was sobbing,\u201d he said. \u201cI had no idea what was going to happen, and I didn\u2019t think about it before I hit \u2018post.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moskovitz asked Boy George why he\u2019d taken this stance. At first, the musician said he had no reason. Then, he tried to explain. \u201cI kept hearing the word genocide over and over, and I thought, why can\u2019t I, as an artist, question that as a concept? I\u2019ve been to Israel and I know that word makes no sense. In London, no one Jewish is attacking anyone \u2013 the Jews I know are beautiful and funny. I\u2019m loud, I have a big mouth and I have opinions. I\u2019m here to say, my Jewish friends are beautiful people and I\u2019m not going to turn my back on them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"photo
Boy George performed at Temple Sholom on Sept. 9. (photo by Rhonda Dent Photography)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Boy George said he forged his first close friendship with a Jew when he was 15 years old and that he has fasted many times and celebrated many Jewish holidays over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe silence in the last few months has been so disappointing to me,\u201d he said before discussing the backlash he experienced after releasing \u201cWe Will Dance Again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most disappointing thing is that I know some of these people don\u2019t care about anything, least of all Palestine,\u201d said Boy George. \u201cThese are people with no political instincts. If you\u2019re going to choose a conflict, there are many you could choose.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said many friends have turned on him since the song\u2019s release, \u201cbut I\u2019m 65, I couldn\u2019t care less. Jew love is true love!\u201d he announced to applause and cheering from the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As someone with Irish blood \u2013 his mother was Irish \u2013 Boy George expressed his shock at the level of antisemitism coming from Ireland. \u201cThat\u2019s not how I was raised to be, and my mother would be proud of me today,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the fallout from the song has taken a toll, he admitted. \u201cI\u2019ve had some really horrible things threatened on me, and it is scary. I\u2019ve had to question myself, are you mad? Why have you done this? It is what it is. I don\u2019t have a reason. But my Instagram following has gone up, so being canceled works!\u201d he joked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think, to turn on Jewish people in this moment is so disgusting,\u201d he added. \u201cI can\u2019t get my head around it. I\u2019ve been to Israel many times and I\u2019ll be going back there to perform in a couple of months. My reaction to people telling me not to go, is f**k off. I don\u2019t hate Netanyahu. What the f**k was he supposed to do? I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to run a country!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the upside, Boy George said the outpouring of support and gratitude he\u2019s received from Jews worldwide has been overwhelmingly positive. \u201cPeople I haven\u2019t heard from in 40 years are reaching out to thank me for this song,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got so many Jewish friends, and I\u2019m not going to turn my back on them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young Jewish mother and member at Temple Sholom took to the podium to thank Boy George for what he represents. \u201cYour words in \u2018We Will Dance Again\u2019 are the words we\u2019ve all tried to speak over the past three years,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be here, but you are here, standing with us, with my people, my synagogue, my rabbi, with my kids. You\u2019re courageous and resilient in the face of so much anger and hate, and your message of hope and peace is brave. For writing this song at this time, we thank you. Words can\u2019t [express] how much we appreciate and love you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moskovitz agreed, presenting the gift of a shofar to the artist, who also performed \u201cKarma Chameleon,\u201d one of Culture Club\u2019s biggest hits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoy George is a mensch, an ally, our friend,\u201d said the rabbi. \u201cHis music and voice have been guided by a willingness to speak the truth as he sees it even when that truth is unpopular. He\u2019s helped reshape our culture to see outsiders with greater empathy and, right now, he\u2019s a voice of courage, compassion, empathy and a hero for humanity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren Kramer<\/strong>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Approximately 800 members of the Metro Vancouver Jewish community and allies were at Temple Sholom on Sept. 9 to hear musician Boy George in conversation with Rabbi Dan Moskovitz. Wearing a bright orange hat, the 65-year-old performer reflected on his Jewish friendships and his song \u201cWe Will Dance Again,\u201d which he performed live for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":49944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[25021,3439,4330,3036,22725,8370],"class_list":["post-49943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-boy-george","tag-dan-moskovitz","tag-israel","tag-music","tag-oct-7","tag-speakers"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49946,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49943\/revisions\/49946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}