Protesters silence Israeli musicians in London

[IndianaGreen]

Protesters silence Israeli musicians in London

Performers stop to debate Israel's policy in Occupied Territories with activists

By Kim Sengupta, Diplomatic Correspondent

Thursday, 1 April 2010

A lunchtime concert in central London by a renowned classical quartet became a platform for protests against Israel in the latest manifestation of how culture has become enmeshed in the bitter politics of the Middle East.

Within the first 10 minutes of the performance by the Jerusalem Quartet at the Wigmore Hall a woman stood up to "sing out" her condemnation of Israeli policy, setting the pattern for interruptions by people strategically positioned among the audience.

The result was that BBC Radio 3's live recording of the concert had to be broken off under extraordinary scenes with the musicians engaged in a debate on stage with the protesters over the conduct of Israel in the Occupied Territories.

Campaigners against the perceived excesses of the Jewish state have been increasingly using education and the arts as means of exerting pressure, and calling for boycotts which have led to heated debates. The Jerusalem Quartet has been at the receiving end of this going back to 2008, when five members of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign faced charges for disrupting a performance in Edinburgh.

Bloggers described yesterday's protests. One wrote: "A woman rose to her feet and made a noise. For a split second, I was unsure what it was; then I realised that she was singing. 'Jerusalem' was the first word, followed by 'is occupied'. She proceeded to shout out denunciations of Israel, 'an apartheid state', the attack on Gaza, the use of phosphorous, and so forth, seeming to implicate the quartet".

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/protesters-silence-israeli-musicians-in-london-1932735.html

Please excuse me as I go to the bathroom to throw up in disgust!

:puke:

[RKP5637]

1. Same...

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[Gman2]

2. It is misdirected, for sure.

I back refusing business by those I disagree with. That said, there are many that I might not like, but should be allowed to shout thier shit. And I will even involve myself in backing their claim to shout their shit, unless it conflicts with standard social justice. It aint about Jews, or not Jews. It is about justice.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

3. Unjustifiable.

I'm all in favour of sanctions against Israel, but harassing individuals just because they're Israeli is immoral.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. They're ARTISTS!!!! They don't make policy.

Protesting a medium that brings together people???

[IndianaGreen]

5. Perhaps we should ban music by Mendelssohn, Johann Strauss, Offenbach

as well as music by American contemporaries like Gershwin and Bernstein. They were all Jews and, were they alive today, would all be responsible for the Occupation and Avigdor Lieberman.

Why not? The Nazis did the same thing!

DU needs an emoticon that can capture how I am feeling right now!

:puke: :sarcasm: :nuke: :mad:

[Recursion]

6. None of them were Israelis

And from the article I have no idea if the musicians were Jewish or Arab Israelis.

[Chulanowa]

8. IndianaGreen can't tell the difference, don't waste your time

[ProgressiveMuslim]

10. Do you support BDS in general?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

14. This isn't a B, a D or an S.

I'm in favour of many forms of BDS, but there's a big difference between boycotting Israeli musicians and disrupting their performances.

[azurnoir]

18. This hardly about Jews it was about Israeli's

conflating the 2 really does not help here

[IndianaGreen]

32. only one of their four is now a native Israeli, with one living in Portugal and another in Berlin

Are you going to attack an American military veteran because you consider him or her a representative of the US government, the Pentagon and their policies, such as the dropping of phosphorus on Fallujah?

That's the same thing that is happening here!:

Military service is compulsory for any Israeli citizen at the age of 18 and people such as the violin virtuoso Maxim Vengerov have served their time with the Israeli Defence Forces. However, as Jessica Duchen, the classical music writer, noted: "That means they're regarded wherever they go as representatives of the Israeli government, the IDF and their policies, such as the dropping of phosphorus on Gaza, the building of the 9-metre-high separation wall and the continued building/enlarging of settlements that, according to international law, are not legal. I'm afraid they do become fair game for the hecklers... It's a horrible dilemma if you love their playing but hate what their government is doing."

The Quartet pointed out that only one of their four is now a native Israeli, with one living in Portugal and another in Berlin. All four did serve in the army, but as musicians and not in combat. Two are also regular performers with Daniel Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which brings Arab and Israeli musicians together for classical concerts.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/protesters-silence-israeli-musicians-in-london-1932735.html

[shaayecanaan]

33. Neither are rugby players or cricketers...

yet attempted tours by the South African cricket and rugby teams were very frequently the targets of boycotts and protests against apartheid.

[proteus_lives]

7. Sickening.

[LeftishBrit]

9. That is just wrong. These are musicians, not politicians

[ProgressiveMuslim]

11. Not sure how I feel about this action, but the musicians served time implementing the occupation

for the state of Israel. It will be average Israeli citizens who turn this around, not politicians.

In general, do you believe citizens of Israel should be able to live lives uninterrupted while the boots of their gov't is on the necks of millions?

[cali]

12. Do you believe Americans should be able to live lives uniterrupted

while our gov't conducts two brutal occupations? How about Russians? Chechnya is at least as brutal an occupation as Palestine? Or how about the Chinese?

This is behavior that doesn't do a thing to help Palestinians.

[Chulanowa]

26. Have you been criticizing world criticism of us?

I'm sure you've heard the stories of Americans pretending to be Canadian when traveling abroad because of the shit treatment they get from people who know they're Americans.

Do you feel the citizens of a democracy shouldn't be held responsible for the results of their votes? 'Cause if I remember right, you're all gung-ho for starving and murdering Gazans because of who they voted for.

[cali]

27. I would most certainly criticize a disruption of a performance by American artists

or Russians or Chinese.

And you fucking well do not remember correctly. You made that up out of whole cloth as is your wont. you do it on a regular basis. it's disgusting but predictable, dearie. I've posted many, many times that I'm resolutely opposed to the Gaza blockade and I've posted my opinion that Cast Lead was a war crime. So don't fucking make up shit that I never said, honey.

Got it? Good. Maybe you'll learn. Nah. That's waaay too much to hope for.

[Chulanowa]

30. Then I don't remember correctly

I do apologize, you tend to melt into the herd a bit, Cali. Dunno why, exactly.

I stand corrected.

[oberliner]

13. Not sure how you feel about this action?

Unbelievable.

[shira]

16. Obie, why are you not for the collective punishment of all American, Brit, and Israeli citizens...

...whose countries are all engaged in brutal military occupations?

[ProgressiveMuslim]

20. Too bad you don't have that level of outrage about the status quo in Israel.

If more people felt the same level of disgust about Israel's never ending occupation as they do about disrupting musicians, we might not be in such bad shape.

[LeftishBrit]

17. Two points here..

One is that no, I do not support cultural boycotts of this nature. My views are the same as those of Whatsthebuzz below. Moreover, if I thought it might work, that would be another matter; but such actions will not stop the Occupation and will only give fodder to those who want to spread the false rumour that 'all Brits/ Europaeans/ foreigners are antisemites' - and thus make the Israelis more resistant, not less resistant to foreign criticism.

But secondly - even if I *did* support a cultural boycott, it should have been implemented by not inviting the musicians in the first place, or by simply not attending the event. Not by harrassing the musicians.

[whatsthebuzz]

15. Not right at all

Speaking as a former musician who loves music, music is a universal language. There are no politics in it. It's meant to be entertainment. It's just WRONG to disrupt a concert due to political views, plain and simple.

But I have read of incidents like this before. It might be different now, but for a while, there was an unofficial ban on Wagner's music in Israel because some Israelis knew that Hitler liked Wagner's operas so much. But there are also Israelis who look beyond that and see music for what it is--a form of art. A masterpiece.

The great Daniel Barenboim (who is Jewish) once conducted a concert in Israel and wanted to play a Wagner work at the end. Tristan und Isolde overture, I think. Much of the audience stood up and shouted in disgust at him. He proceeded to have a discussion with them (in Hebrew) about music and politics and told people that they were free to leave if they wished. Some stayed, some left. The orchestra started playing and those who left began banging on the doors to try to disrupt tie performance. It didn't work, and those who stayed appreciated the music.

Hearing about things like this makes me sad. Music should unite us, not divide us. (Oh, and if I got details of the Barenboim story wrong, feel free to correct me.)

[shaayecanaan]

34. Protestors shut down Saturday showing of South African play

From the archives of Opera News in 1978:-

About 150 anti-apartheid protestors on Saturday succeeded in blocking the doors to the South African play `Umbatha`, a 20-th century retelling of Shakespeare`s `Macbeth` in the setting of pre-colonial Zululand and featuring Zulu actors and musical ensembles...

...Protestors denied that their actions were misdirected, notwithstanding that the film`s cast was mostly Black. `Minstrel shows featured mainly African-American actors, but all of the money went to white theatre organisers. Should we have refused to boycott minstrel shows on that basis?` said Djonn Michaels, one of the protestors present at the theatre.

The troubled history of the play mirrors the difficulties of `Idi Tombi` a South African play which showed two years ago and which was also cut short due to anti-apartheid protests. That play also featured a largely Black cast. It is expected that theatres in New York will be cautious in inviting any further South African performances in future.

[azurnoir]

19. There are other ways to protest

this one was out of line

[ProgressiveMuslim]

21. Do you think it's out of line to disrupt speakers?

Trying to discern if your issue is with disruption in general, or disruption of the arts in particular.

My feeling about all this is hard to articulate. I get a real sense of first-worldism that there are some activities which rise above the level of mundane, of political... as though there are some human activities that count more, when we all "lay it down" and behave in a civilized manner. Yet this decision to take a break from brutality is really only a privilege of the powerful. The US and Russia and China may drop their belligerance for the 2-week Olympic run, but there still isn't enough food in Gaza or Zimbabwe. There is no break for that suffering. There is no period of "civilization" for those who suffer.

Whatzehuzzit's post above is apples and oranges. Whether Israeli Jews want to hear Wagner is an internal issue. Disrupting Israelis who participate in the occupation on an international stage is quite another.

And I CERTAAINLy don't have an issue with the disruption of those who speak in apology of Israel's actions.

[azurnoir]

23. Depends on the speaker when it was Michael Oren

or some other political speaker not so much, albeit that is sword that cuts both ways

There is also the fact that the disruption does make way for claims limiting freedom of speech, IMO organized boycotts would be a better way to go

[LeftishBrit]

24. I think that disrupting of speakers is sometimes an acceptable form of protest...

However, for me to endorse it, it would have to be in response to *what* they are saying; not just to what country they're from.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

25. I think cultural boycotts (not saying that's what the article is about) are complex.

I tend to support them (even tho i work with an arts group here in the US whose master musician is an Israeli Arab).

I thought this recent piece of Edward Said's widow was interesting. I share it not because it relates to the OP, but more generally to the question of culture and normalization:

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11138.shtml

Barenboim-Said Foundation does not promote normalization
Mariam Said, The Electronic Intifada, 17 March 2010

Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Ramallah, August 2005. (Mushir Abdelrahman/MaanImages)

On 28 January 2010 the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) issued a statement to the Qatari government calling for a boycott of Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) and condemning the Qatari Ministry of Culture for hosting the orchestra in Doha. The statement goes so far as to accuse Daniel Barenboim of being an ardent Zionist. I would like to point out that the PACBI policy is "to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel." It does not call for a boycott against all Israelis, but those affiliated with institutions that support the Israeli state and its policies and who do not express support for the Palestinian struggle against occupation. Daniel Barenboim and WEDO do not meet any of those criteria.

WEDO is but one of the many educational programs of the Barenboim-Said Foundation (BSF) which was founded by Daniel Barenboim together with my late husband, Edward Said. It is registered in Spain and the regional government of Andalusia is the main partner in this project.

WEDO is not a project for normalization. The yearly workshops in Spain are advanced musical summer courses. When students from Arab countries and Israel attend the same courses at any university around the world where the professor's competence is the reason for which they enroll, it is considered furthering their education, not normalization.

The only requirement to attend the workshop and become a member of the orchestra is musical competence and talent. The musicians have to pass rigorous auditions and the ultimate goal is musical education on the highest level. The BSF has been offering music education programs in the occupied West Bank in partnership with the al-Kamandjati Music Center. We are actively supporting the AM Qattan Foundation’s Music Center in Gaza, as well as pioneering projects in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. We also offer music education programs for Palestinians in the Galilee (we have a conservatory in Nazareth) and in Jaffa. The aim is to bring together all the Palestinians in Palestine through the language of music.

Most importantly, nowhere in PACBI statement is it mentioned that the WEDO was established by Edward Said as well as Daniel Barenboim.

By attacking the orchestra, PACBI is attacking the integrity of my late husband and his legacy. It is not the first time PACBI has used this skewed approach. The deliberate omission in the statement of any reference to Edward and his support for this project is a manipulation of the media and a conscious effort to mislead the Palestinian people. Edward passed away more than six years ago. I do not know what he would have said about all this today, but I know how he felt about this project and what he wrote about it. A couple of weeks before his death, when a Palestinian activist friend who had reservations about the project asked him about WEDO, Edward unhesitatingly replied in an email: "It is the most important thing I did in my life."

Denial of the existence of the Palestinians has been the essence of the Zionist project. When this method is used by Palestinians to deny one of their own, their most vocal advocate, a champion of justice and universal human rights who never tired of demanding their right to self-determination, it is an outrage.

Edward was a visionary and constructive critic who spoke truth to power. He was a courageous and original thinker who was not afraid of taking risks and going against the grain, who always thought in alternative ways that led to opening roads and building bridges. The only thing he most abhorred was criticism that was destructive.

Daniel Barenboim has also been courageous and issued many statements condemning the occupation and the Israeli policy on Gaza. He was also a close friend of Edward. They wrote a book together entitled Parallels and Paradoxes in which they articulate many of the ideas that WEDO is based on. Daniel's thinking has evolved over the years even though he and Edward did not agree on some issues. One does not have to agree on everything. The recent statement of PACBI indicates that the authors did not do their homework. Had they done so, they would have found more statements articulating Daniel's support for the Palestinian cause.

Last year in an interview with Yussuf Shayeb in the Ramallah-based al-Ayyam newspaper, Daniel stated that the work of the BSF has nothing to do with normalization. It embodies solidarity and consolidates against injustice and occupation. In the summer of 2006 the orchestra issued a statement against the wars on Lebanon and Gaza. In January 2009 during the assault on Gaza, the orchestra again stated that it "deplores all actions that lead to civilian deaths" and that it "represents an alternative model based on equality, cooperation and justice for all." These statements were published in all the concert programs. When last summer a concert planned as part of the celebrations for "Jerusalem -- Cultural Capital of the Arab World" was forbidden, the orchestra dedicated its concert in Geneva to "Jerusalem -- Cultural Capital of the Arab World."

The terrible irony is that by attacking the WEDO and the vision of Edward and Daniel, PACBI is doing exactly what Edward saw the western media doing to the Islamic world, as he wrote in his book Covering Islam. When former US President George W. Bush attacked Iraq in 2003, Edward Said responded with a lecture on humanism in Beirut and Cairo. Bush told the world: "you are either with us or against us." At a PACBI panel discussion held during Israeli Apartheid Week in New York City in March 2009, a Palestinian speaker said: "To those who profess to be our friends and talk only about humanism, we say ‘f... humanism’. You are either on board or not." I wonder what is the difference between him and Bush?

Edward's thinking about the conflict evolved over the years. In the end, no matter what the solution is, both peoples will have to live together. To do so we need to talk to the enemy and to break the wall that separates us. To him the WEDO was an experiment that broke down barriers of hatred and allowed the participants to get to know the other. It was also an educational project where music was taught on a sophisticated level to musicians who had talent. Today, it remains a humanistic endeavor whose results will bear fruit in the future.

Since Edward's passing, I have been actively involved in this endeavor. I too was in Qatar this past January and when introducing the orchestra I made a strong statement demanding freedom for Palestine.

Edward always reminded the Palestinians that they must fight on many fronts simultaneously. The WEDO is fighting on the cultural front; PACBI is fighting the same fight on another track. Many of us actively support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign and respect what it is doing. But equally, I have the right to ask that it acknowledge my involvement and the legacy of Edward Said in this project and respect the goals of the WEDO and the BSF.

Mariam Said is a retired banker and vice president of the Barenboim Said Foundation USA.

[cali]

28. those musicians who you insist perpetrated the occupation,

served as musicians during their mandatory service in the IDF.

[breakaleg]

22. It made the news. We are talking about it. It was non-violent.

In reference to the bit at the bottom about these Israelis being responsible for the wall, the occupation, the IDF, well, doesn't Israel hold ALL Palestinians for every act of violence committed by a few?

I'm not crying over this.

[cali]

29. it hardly helps the Palestinians and it doesn't produce anything productive.

And we're not talking about a nation holding so and so responsible, we're talking about individuals at a concert. It's rude and entitled.

[Chulanowa]

31. So what would you suggest?

Honestly, this sort of thing happens all the time, and there's a decent reason; people can't just fly to Tel Aviv to protest on the steps of the Knesset. So they take what outlet they can get. I personally don't see much point to it (it reminds me of the outrage against the Dixie Chicks, honestly) but i can understand what's going on.

And there's the off chance that it'll start sending the kind of message that the Israelis need to ehar - that the public of their major ally is getting fed up with their government's practices. It may not do much, but there's a long chance that it might put a bit of second thought to the mind of the Israeli voter.