The lights are on but nobody’s home

January 7, 2009 - 9:49 AM by David

Barenboim -a little too close for comfort (Photo: AP)

One of the side effects of war is that people stop visiting. I somewhat light heartedly wrote at the beginning of Operation Cast Lead about cousin Steve, who was due to make his first trip to Israel on a guidance counselor tour. Well, the night before the flight took off, he bailed.

Having never been here before, he envisioned entering a country with bullets whizzing by, and rockets falling around every corner. Fair enough, if I was watching CNN or SKY, that’s what I might be thinking too.

But it’s still a bit discouraging, never mind that we were preparing a damn good meal for his first night here of broiled salmon, cream of cauliflour soup and baked potatoes topped with grated cheese, that American Jewish staunch supporters of Israel are preferring to stay at home during this time of need, when we could use a little moral support.

Of course, we didn’t expect any support from famed conductor Daniel Barenboim. His orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians cancelled two shows because of the war – and they weren’t even in Israel! They were slated for Qatar and Egypt, but Barenboim, known for his critical views of Israel’s policies, was evidently concerned for the musicians’ safety, not that I’ve heard of the IDF attacking Qatar recently.

But the most worrisome cancellation, in my mind, was that of Clarence B. Jones, an octagenarian academic from California, who was the attorney and one of the key speechwriters to Dr. Martin Luther King. Jones wrote a book last year focusing on Black-Jewish relations called What Would Martin Say, and I had set up an interview with him to discuss that issue in light of the inauguration of Barack Obama and the fact that over 80% of Jews voted for him, and in general to talk about the perennial question of whether Obama is ‘good for the Jews and Israel’ (Mr. Jones is adamant that he is).

Jones ‘regretably’ had to cancel his planned week in Israel, without giving an explanation. Again, it’s perfectly understandable. But given Jones’ supposed staunch support for Israel, and his assurances that the president-elect is on the same page as his one-time mentor King – who Jones claims was an ardent Jew and Zionist lover – it doesn’t sit very well. If this the backing we get from our friends, then we’re more alone than we think.

While Jones has no formal connection with Team Obama, his cancellation reconfirms something we already know – we’re in for an interesting 4 to 8 years.

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