Boy George meets Israel’s president and visits October 7 exhibition in Jerusalem

Boy George met President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Monday, November 2, during a visit to Israel. The gathering also included former Gaza hostage Elkana Bohbot and Sylvan Adams, president of World Jewish Congress Israel and a board member of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem.

Herzog thanked the singer for publicly supporting Israel and Jewish people. He said Israelis and Jews had faced widespread attacks in the three years since October 7, including discrimination in culture, art and music, fields he said should connect people. He praised Boy George’s message of solidarity and said his song “We Will Dance Again” had resonated with Jews and Israelis.

Boy George said the song and the experience surrounding it had changed both his outlook and how others perceived him. Some people no longer viewed him as they once had, while others were seeing him differently for the first time, a development he welcomed. He said the song had “forced me to grow up” and made him more conscious of emotional experiences and challenges.

Adams also expressed gratitude, saying Boy George had chosen to support Jewish people despite not being Jewish himself. Bohbot described the song’s title as having a meaning that went beyond music. He recalled being kidnapped from the Nova festival, where people had gathered to celebrate life and music, and said he was now free after 738 days in captivity. He thanked the singer for his friendship and for bringing his music to Israel.

During the trip, Boy George toured the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem’s exhibition “06:29 - From Darkness to Light.” Museum CEO Jonathan Riss and Adams led the visit, which also included Sigal Mansouri, whose daughters Norelle and Roya were murdered at the Nova music festival. The exhibition documents October 7 through accounts of the atrocities, rescue efforts, heroism and solidarity.

Its displays include photographs, among them work by photographer Ziv Koren, and testimonies from more than 40 women shown on large screens. Since October 7, the museum has provided a gathering place for hostages and their families and a platform for their accounts. Leaders, public figures and influencers from around the world have visited the exhibition.

Boy George said the exhibition’s straightforward presentation gave the accounts a powerful sense of humanity and allowed visitors to pause and consider the sadness behind them. Riss said the photographs and testimonies represented lost lives, devastated families and women carrying difficult experiences. He described preserving those accounts as a responsibility in the face of attempts to deny or obscure the atrocities, adding that the singer’s visit could help them reach wider audiences.

The singer’s connection with the Nova community began at the Nova 06:29 exhibition in London, where he encountered survivors and bereaved families. He subsequently released “We Will Dance Again,” accompanied by photographs of young people murdered at the festival. He recently announced that his second Israel performance, scheduled for November 7, would be dedicated to the Nova community.

Adams initiated the Israel visit and hosted Boy George. The trip was coordinated with Live Nation Israel representatives Guy Besser and Shay Mor Yosef, with participation from the Foreign Ministry.