Celebrating Israel’s diversity
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, General, Israeliness, Life, Politics, Pop Culture, Social Justice
Tel Aviv turned into a multi-colored, multi-cultural sea of fun on Friday… wait, isn’t that Tel Aviv every day?
What made this day a little more colorful was the 13th annual Gay Pride parade, as thousands of revelrers celebrated the sexual freedom Israel offers by marching, dancing and waving rainbow flags from Meir Park to Gordon Beach, where a massive outdoor party awaited them.
Since the Madrid Gay Pride Parade has banned Israeli groups (and famed singer Dana International) from attending, due to Israel’s raid on the Gaza flotilla, there was even more reason to step up the celebrations in Tel Aviv this year.
For the first time, two separate parades marched at the same time, with an alternative ‘radical’ march running parallel to the traditional community one, organized by the ‘Marching toward Social Change’ coalition.
According to a report in The Jerusalem Post, the trauma of last year’s fatal attack on a counseling center for gay teens in Tel Aviv was not forgotten during the festivities. A moment of silence was held at Meir Park for the victims of a shooting last August at the Bar Noar that left two dead and 15 wounded. Parade organizers also set up a stand where people could make donations to help the survivors.
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni spoke at the event, urging Israelis not to give in to hatred and xenophobia.
“As a country which is proud of its values, justice and unique society, Israel must denounce hatred,” she said.
Labor MK Shelly Yachimovich also spoke, saying there was still much to be done in the battle against ignorance and discrimination, and for equal rights for the gay community.
“The time has come for the friends of the community to come out of the closet to ensure that this fight, a political one, will succeed,” she said, according to Ha’aretz, adding that there were many public figures and politicians still afraid to come out of the closet.
Friday could have been their opportunity, as they would have blended into the wild crowd without being noticed.
Caving in to cultural terrorism
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, coexistence, General, Israeliness, Music, Politics, Pop Culture
Placebo performing in Tel Aviv on Saturday night - no boycott here. (Photo: Orit Pnini)
You have to feel sorry for Shuki Weiss, the veteran dean of Israeli concert promoters. Things were going great for his two-day Picnic Music festival taking place over two spread-out days this week. The first night featured British rock bands Placebo, Klaxons and Gorillaz Sound System, and the second night, this coming Wednesday was bringing the long-awaited debut of the much beloved American alternative legends the Pixies, along with young British band the Editors.
Just days after the flotilla incident and days before their show, both Klaxons and Gorillaz canceled. No reason was cited, but you can guess what it was. And now just three days before their headlining performance, the Pixies have also bailed.
To their credit, first-night headliners Placebo still arrived, and with a couple last minute substitutions, the show went on to the enjoyment of over 7,000 fans. But the Pixies is something else – so anticipated and now so scorned by a fan base that idolizes them.
In a statement they released through Weiss, the Pixies somewhat ambiguously stated, “Events beyond all our control have conspired against us.” Nothing like coming right out and saying what bothers you.
Weiss, in his own statement, referred to a brand of “cultural terrorism” that was pressuring foreign artists to boycott Israel. Some, like Placebo, and veteran singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading who was performing to a nearly sold out house the same night across town in Tel Aviv, stood up to the pressure. Others like the Pixies, and Elvis Costello and Gil Scott-Heron before them, succumbed.
Now, more than ever, is the time for artists scheduled to appear here, to decide if they’re on the side of artistic freedom or a victim of cultural terrorism. We hope that Elton John, Rod Stewart and the rest who are slated to appear here this summer do the right thing.
Here’s Joan Armatrading doing the right thing at the Shoni Fortress on Friday night.
Israel takes over Toronto
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, General, Israeliness, Politics, Travel
Anti-Israel demonstrators outside the Israeli Consulate in Toronto on Thursday.
Only a couple hours after landing in Toronto this week, I was on my way to meet an Israeli official at the Israeli Consulate in downtown Toronto. Originally, the official was supposed to meet me at a nice hotel restaurant as his guest, and I was looking forward to the country finally paying for my lunch out of the taxes I’ve dutifully contributed every year. But it was not to be.
I received a call from the office saying that the top Israeli officials were not being let out of the building temporarily because there was a demonstration against Israel being held outside the building. Could I come to their office instead?
Goodbye free lunch, and enter a combat zone, I thought, envisioning having to fight through a picket line and angry anti-Zionists spitting on me as I bulldozed my way into the building.
But arriving a few minutes later, I saw a small group of maybe a dozen peaceful demonstrators holding Palestinian flags and handing out leaflets protesting the likelihood that the Israel was going to turn back the aid flotilla heading toward Gaza.
I approached one of the leaders, it seemed, named Basem, and asked him what was going on? Well spoken and passionate, he explained how Israel wasn’t allowing humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and was threatening to attack the flotilla if it approached shore.
“So you’re appealing to Israel, as a humanitarian gesture to allow the aid to enter Gaza,”?
“No, we don’t talk to Israel – we’re trying to make people aware of the awful things Israel is doing,” he answered.
So, rather than a direct appeal to Israel, as a future peace partner and neighbor to a Palestinian state, the protesters were instead seemingly more interested in making Israel look bad than in achieving their goals of getting aid to needy Gazans.
When I made my way -without opposition – into the consulate and met with the official, he said that the protesters consisted of “the usual suspects” and that his ‘imprisonment’ was just a precaution.
I’m not sure if the protesters knew that a day later, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara were going to be staying right around the corner in the swanky Four Seasons Hotel.
My hotel is directly across the street from it, and this morning, when I opened my blinds, I could have sworn I saw Sara out on the balcony looking down at the beautiful sunny Toronto morning. I wanted to shout out “Shabbat Shalom, Sara!” but I couldn’t figure out how to open the window.
And I doubt the security guards, a couple floors up on another balcony, would have been very pleased.
Protesters, prime ministerial delegations, security guards – for a couple days anyway, quiet, placid Toronto has turned into a Middle East hotbed.
GPO recommendations
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, coexistence, Food, General, Israeliness, Life, Travel, War
You don’t usually get Israel’s Government Press Office recommending restaurants in the Gaza Strip, as they were with this extremely ironic press release:
“In anticipation of foreign correspondents traveling to Gaza to cover reports of alleged humanitarian difficulties in the Hamas run territory, and as part of efforts to facilitate the work of journalists in the region, the Government Press Office is pleased to bring to your attention the attached menu and information for the Roots Club and Restaurant in Gaza.
We have been told the beef stroganoff and cream of spinach soup are highly recommended. You may wish to enquire of a possible discount upon presentation of a valid press card.
There is also the possibility of an enjoyable evening on the Greens Terrace Garden Cafe, which serves “eclectic food and fresh cocktails”.
A video of the club’s luxurious facilities may be viewed here.
Booking in advance is advisable, and as the website states, the Roots Club is fully equipped for hospitality and corporate events.
Correspondents may also wish to enjoy a swim at the new Olympic size swimming pool as reported in the Palestinian media to have been opened last week.”
It’s pretty funny to hear the GPO taking such an unusually sarcastic tone with their recipients, the local and foreign press based in Israel. Of course, they were attempting to show that Gaza doesn’t need the humanitarian aid coming in over the next week or two. Not sure they succeeded, but their tone surely had an effect, as more than one wire service and newspaper reported on the press release and the related issues.
Hebrewman
Filed under: Art, coexistence, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture
Marwa Abdel Karim sings a song by Sarit Haddad (photo: AFP)
There are nearly no Jews left in Iraq, but modern Hebrew is still being taught at Baghdad University to some 150 students, according to a recent AFP story. Never mind that learning the language was banned from the 1930s, there is a Hebraic department in the university, and in addition to learning the language, they recently held a festival of Hebrew songs and poetry.
The AFP reporter who wrote the story told of Marwa Abdel Karim singing “Filled With Love” (or Ahava Betochi), a Sarit Hadad song, to her fellow students. She found the song online, and is also somewhat bemused by her choice of language. But despite her friends’ ridicule and parents’ disappointment, she plans on continuing her studies in Amman and then wants to teach at her alma mater.
At one time, Hebrew-speaking Iraqis could get a job with former president Saddam Hussein’s intelligence services. But now that terrorism is the country’s major security concern, those jobs are much harder to find. Ahmed Saadun, another student of Hebrew, said he would check out the foreign affairs ministry and newspapers when he graduates. Still, he told the AFP reporter, he’s aware of the ironies in his situation.
Here’s the real thing, by Sarit Hadad:
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