who by fire? - amnesty international steps out of and up to the fray

Doesn't seem the right time to tour Israel, Leonard.

With the international community failing to take action to stop Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people, and inspired by the international boycott movement that helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa, Palestinian civil society has launched calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, including an institutional academic and cultural boycott. Ninety-three artists, writers and other cultural workers have signed onto the Palestinian cultural boycott call. Palestinian boycott calls have inspired a growing international boycott movement which gained added momentum following Israel’s assault on Gaza last winter.

An artist has to make a living, it is true. However, it seems that prominent artists (such as Ken Loach) and intellectuals (such as Naomi Klein) are lending their weight to the BDS campaign which is hoping to end the injustice occurring in Palestine due to the Israeli occupation. Our governments and mass media totally whitewash the situation in the region, and actively support the occupation with their silence in the face of human rights abuse, with their foreign aid, and with their support of all Israeli actions regarding Palestine, no matter the methods or the consequences.

Amnesty International has now withdrawn from a "Cohen concert initiative" which was to see some of the funds of the Israeli concert go to groups working towards peace in the area. Palestinian groups were supposedly represented, but according to the article linked to, were not. The Palestinian-Israeli group, Combatants for Peace, who were to be one of the beneficiaries decided to not participate in the initiative as they felt the action of boycott sent a stronger message.

Considering that Amnesty and any NPO is always hard-up for cash, the stand taken is not only quite admirable, but also indicative of the strength the BDS campaign is gaining. September is just around the corner. I guess Cohen's concert is going ahead. I think the right call to make at the moment is to boycott, but I also think that art and music can generally do much to remind us of peace. However, Cohen's songs are not going to bring about the end of the occupation or brutality, but a boycott would bring the issue to light in many (but definitely not enough) quarters.

does leonard cohen have a sense of humour?

The following video is from John Barukhov, a very young guy (Israeli) who has a dark sense of humour and a great sense of justice. This is what he has to say for himself:

After reading "The ethnic cleansing of Palestine" by historian Ilan Pappe I decided to compose a song about the settlers whose presence makes a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict very difficult. From a zionists point of view I think it is a clever strategy to occupy the west-bank bit-by-bit. And it seems to work quiet well.
However, it is immoral to expand your territory on the expense of people who try to have a normal life there. Once this period in time will be regarded as a black page in the history of Israel.
By the way, I am not a self-hating-jew. I just dont [sic] agree with some aspects of Israeli politics.

I came across the video at the Artists Against Apartheid site.



A message for Leonard Cohen, too. He is set to tour Israel in September. The story is reported here.

what's going on? support your president 2 - write to Leonard Cohen 1

It seems that I am doing J-Street's job for them. Well, I guess that is what attempting to spread the word is all about. Joe Biden's words at the AIPAC conference:

You couldn't ask for a starker contrast in visions for America's role in the Middle East than Newt Gingrich and Vice President Joe Biden provided at AIPAC over the past 72 hours.

Gingrich called for military action against Iran and a "wait and see" approach to the two-state solution [1] -- while Biden pressed for tough, principled diplomacy with Iran and argued that a two-state solution is in the essential interests of Israel and the United States. [2]

Biden also spoke from the heart (as he tends to do!) about the politics of this issue during his speech, saying "you're not going to like this" before challenging Israel on the issues of settlements and the two-state solution. He rightly didn't let the Palestinians off the hook either - pressing them to end terror and incitement against Israel.

I don't know about you - but I liked what Vice President Biden said. We need to show the Administration the depth of the political support in our community for their approach on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - and that we reject the worn-out Gingrich / Bush / Cheney approach to the Middle East.

Click here to tell President Obama and Joe Biden you like their approach on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We'll deliver your petitions to the White House next week to show them the depth of the support we have in our community for their pro-Israel, pro-peace approach to the Middle East.

"Show me," said Vice President Biden at AIPAC's conference yesterday to the Israeli government, the Palestinians, and the Arab states.

He said that "Israel has to work towards a two-state solution" and that Israel should freeze settlement construction, "dismantle outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement."

To the Palestinians, Biden's call was to "combat terror and incitement against Israel."

On Iran, he repeated the Administration's commitment to "direct, principled diplomacy with Iran with the overriding goal of preventing them from acquiring nuclear weapons."

The "show me" message could well have been addressed to us - asking us to demonstrate for the President, the media, and our community that we stand with him as he pursues a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and tough, direct diplomacy with Iran.

Click here to add your name to tens of thousands of others who are standing up for President Obama's approach to the Middle East.

Thanks so much.

Isaac

Isaac Luria
Campaigns Director
J Street
May 6, 2009


[1] "Gingrich: remove Iranian regime," by Ron Kampeas. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, May 3, 2009.

[2] "Biden tells AIPAC: Israel must support two-state solution," by Natasha Mozgovoya and Barak Ravid. Haaretz, May 5, 2009.

And for those who don't visit the blog regularly, or who only read the political posts now and then, J Street is the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. Prior letters from them are posted here and here .
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Leonard Cohen is set to play Israel. Friends of mine saw him in Scotland and said he was marvellous. I missed him in Perth, and I am sure that tickets would have sold out long before I got there. There is an interesting post at Jews sans Frontieres (the comments section reflects that many don't know the mighty Cohen's works, though. Oh the shame) and there is a letter from "Jews, Palestinians, Israeli citizens, who hold his poetry and music in high esteem", urging him to please reconsider, here. There is an address on the Jews sans Frontieres if you wish to express your concern as well. I am hearby signalling my intention to one day write a post about artists and their contentions. Haruki Murakami, Alice Walker and Adrienne Rich among them.

Here is the Israeli newspaper, Ha'aretz's reporting on the upcoming Cohen tour and a UK call for Cohen to boycott.