I've told myself so many times before. But this time I think I mean it for sure. We have reached a full stop. Nothing's gonna save us ...

... from the big drop."

[full lyrics here]

What they meant was: Israel feels that it's been more than tolerant of Hezbollah's growing power and influence in Lebanon, not to mention their formidable military capabilities; and in this light the current confrontation was inevitable.

Reached our natural conclusion
Outlived the illusion
I hate being in these situations
That call for diplomatic relations

That is, Israel feels that the illusion of peace (in the abscence of a large-scale conflict like the one we're seeing now) along its northern border has been shattered, but that the need to keep up appearances in the international community are preventing her from conducting the current military campaign in the manner that she would most prefer.

f I only knew the answer
Or I thought we had a chance
Or I could stop this
I would stop this thing from spreading like a cancer

If Depeche Mode had the magic formula for peace in the Middle East, they might have spoken up and tried to prevent the events of the past few weeks, but alas, the Israel-Hezbollah confrontation was likely inevitable.

What can I say? (I dont want to play) anymore
What can I say? Im heading for the door
I cant stand this emotional violence
Leave in silence

Therefore, citing a need to remove themselves from the drama and retain a neutral perspective on the conflict, Depeche Mode had to cancel their wildly anticipated first ever concert in Israel.

Understandably, Depeche Mode's Israeli fan club is extremely upset. The world has been robbed of the oppurtunity to see tens of thousands of Jews singing "Personal Jesus" and "John the Revelator" in the Holy Land. Damn you Hezbollah! Why, Ehud, why?

This story has spread around quite a bit, from the NME to Jewish blogs to the evening news on Israel's channel 1. Well, this story happened to break on the day of the most pronounced lull (from both militaries) since the conflict began, so it was a slow news day.

I guess we'll never know the true reason why the show was cancelled ... officially, it was safety concerns cited by the tour crew, and I can't blame a group of unionized workers for not wanting to set up lights and video screens in a possible war zone. OTOH, that explanation would provide a perfect cover for the band's own apprehensions in playing the show at the current time. Remember, it doesn't matter who wins the actual war in real life, it's the propaganda war that really counts.