Go and see Paul Simon – an icon of New York’s Jewish golden age
If the time and place he was born into had been like today, we might never have heard of him. As if to underline the point, an organisation of ‘musicians and cultural workers’ is calling…
Assessment
Paul Simon's career is framed as a product of a specific Jewish New York era that no longer exists, making his upcoming performances a rare living link to that cultural moment. The juxtaposition with a Eurovision boycott call highlights how contemporary cultural boycotts of Israel create a different climate for Jewish artists. The piece suggests that the conditions that produced Simon's iconic status are gone, and that current political pressures may prevent similar figures from emerging.