Actually, “love” is a gross understatement. It is more a fanatic passion, an obsession, the lifeblood that has kept us moving and grooving through both the highs and lows of our everyday existence. COVID and its related tragedies – sickness, joblessness, death – did not seem real to either one of us until true horror hit home: concerts were canceled. I was holding tickets to at least half a dozen shows, including the opportunity to consummate my role as a father by taking my adult children to see The Rolling Stones.
Norman and I only half-joked during the past couple of months that the only true sign of the pandemic being over – much like the white dove flying back to Noah’s Ark – would be the return of concerts. And they have come back – with a vengeance. Artists are now rebooking canceled tours at a frenetic pace, and are excited to be playing again – anytime, anywhere.
Except maybe Israel.
Yes, once again, the world’s favorite punching bag has been hit with a (far-) left hook by the music industry. I say “again” because this is not the first blow landed by musicians. Almost always at the urging of vitriolic Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters – the undisputed flag bearer for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement – a handful of artists, including Lorde, Lana Del Rey and Elvis Costello (how could you, my favorite Imposter?!) – have, over the years, either canceled shows in the Holy Land or refused to play there.
BUT THE latest noise coming out of the music community is far more disturbing to me. Not just because of the sheer number of artists – over 600 – who recently signed a petition urging others to join them in their boycott against playing in Israel (or as they refer to it: “the settler-colonial project committed to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population”), but because of the document’s hateful and misguided one-sidedness. Allow me to share some additional edited tidbits:
“We are calling on our peers to publicly assert their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Complicity with Israeli war crimes is found in silence, and today silence is not an option… as the brutal Israeli bombardment of besieged Gaza claimed more than 245 lives… as residents of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied Jerusalem are continuously forced out of their homes… as millions of Palestinian refugees are denied their collective right of return…
“The legacies of systemic violence, racism and dispossession shaped by colonialism must stop. We call on all governments to stop funding all resources and technologies that back the Israeli state and their war crimes. Today, we speak together and demand justice, dignity and the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people and all who are fighting colonial dispossession and violence across the planet. We call for you to join us with your name in refusing to perform at Israel’s complicit cultural institutions, and by standing firm in your support of the Palestinian people and their human right to sovereignty and freedom…”
The full version of the letter and all the signatories can be found at musiciansforpalestine.com
It is almost impossible to read this diatribe and not want to strike back. Even for a peace-loving leftie like myself. Heck, I can even understand why some misguided individuals consider BDS a legitimate way to voice nonviolent opposition to what is going on in Israel; I myself will not support certain organizations or companies that stand in the way of a peaceful solution to the ongoing mess.
BUT THIS rant, like the BDS movement itself, lacks any kind of nuance, denies any historical context, attacks from the gut without a full understanding of the situation or caring who it offends. No wonder so many of the signatories come from the world of punk rock (how could you, my Queen of Punk, Patti Smith?!).
Though ironically, I think the most thoughtful response to an Israeli musical boycott comes from the ultimate punk, Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols. When he arrived in Israel to play a gig with his band Public Image Ltd over a decade ago, he was asked his thoughts on bands that agreed to play in Israel but then pulled out. “I think it’s disgusting… I’m here to say, ‘People of Israel, I support you 100%. As for your government, they can f*** off!’”
I guess when it boils right down to it that is what is most maddening about the “musical arm” of the BDS movement. Music can and should be used as a powerful tool for social change, to unite people and improve lives. Its healing powers cannot be overstated. Just read the amazing Oliver Sacks stories in Musicophilia. Or hear David Broza talk about his album East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem, recorded in east Jerusalem with Palestinian musicians (His message to those who want to boycott? “Come and use your voice here to back up all the people who are hoping and working for that change”).
We all know, in one form or another, the quote made famous by poet William Congreve in 1697:
“Music has charms to soothe a savage breast, or soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.”
Unfortunately, all much easier than achieving peace in the Middle East.