Assaf, an Israeli-American, writing at Daily Kos provided an interesting account of the intent of some Israeli actors to boycott newly built theaters located in West Bank settlements (see the BIG UPDATE),
The downside is evident in the title, Major Israeli Theaters Embrace The Settlements (+BIG UPDATE!), as it represents Israel’s colonialism as a fait accompli.
Some cultural news from Israel:
Several of Israel’s leading theater companies have agreed to perform in the new cultural center in the settlement of Ariel, due to open on November 8. The companies include the Habima National Theater, the Cameri Theater, the Be’er Sheva Theater and Jerusalem’s Khan Theater.
Ariel lies 20km inside the West Bank, deeper than any other sizable settlement. The divided highway leading to it – the best road in the West Bank – is open to Israelis only, and lacks any signs naming the numerous Palestinian towns and villages flanking the road. According to Peace Now’s 2006 settlement land report, 35% of Ariel’s area was confiscated from private Palestinian owners by military fiat. The rest is public land. No patch of Ariel’s lands was rightfully purchased. Occupied Palestinians are allowed into Ariel only with special permits.
Richard Silverstein’s coverage included the photo above of the cast of Cameri’s production of Caucasian Chalk Circle invited to perform in the settlement of Ariel, but refused.
Israeli Actors Refuse to Perform in Settlements
After Israel’s leading theater companies announced they would appear for the first time in an Israeli settlement, 40 Israeli actors, directors and producers signed a statement refusing to perform. They were to grace the boards of a new center for the arts, performing some of the treasures of the world canon (among them Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle) for the good burghers of Ariel, known to its boosters as the “capital of Samaria.”
The artists’ statement said:
“We express contempt regarding the intent of the managements of theater companies to appear at Ariel’s new hall. We will refuse to appear in Ariel and in any other settlement. We call upon the management to restrict their theatrical activity to the sovereign borders of the State of Israel.”
So in the midst of the present right wing Likud government’s project to annex most of the West Bank, there are still detractors inside of Israel, left wing refusniks, who are willing to boycott Israel’s colonialism in the name of Palestinian rights.
“there are still detractors inside of Israel, left wing refusniks, who are willing to boycott Israel in the name of Palestinian rights.“
I think you spoke a bit carelessly there. Would that they would boycott Israel. Unfortunately, they are only boycotting the occupied territories. And one cannot help wondering whether they would also boycott the even more blatantly illegal colonies in the Golan Heights.
It was one of those “oops” moments and a slight revision was applied. As you say, if only….
Wikipedia note:
There will be more wars before this thing is settled, but not in our lifetimes, methinks.
Of course, keeping the Golan has absolutely nothing to do with security, nor did taking the Golan in the first place. It was always, and remains, all about expansion and exploitation of territory containing good agricultural land, and, even more, water. The colonization of the Golan is so brazenly illegal that even the most determined hazbarists – you know, the ones who can easily come up with the usual legal mumbo jumbo to justify colonizing the OPT – tend to clam up completely whenever I ask for a legal justification for their Golan activities.
It’s also interesting how they are trying to equate Syria with the Evil Iran while carefully ignoring the fact that Bashshar Al Asad has proven he is no threat to Israel, and in fact has made numerous peace overtures, in addition to being a signatory to the Arab League peace proposal.
If Israel ever succombed to peace overtures its colonization program would be over. Hence the war footing it maintains and the pugnacious press releases and actions that follow.
I would guess that it is premature to expect any progress on the occupied Golan Heights until the West Bank is annexed, and then one can only hope for the best. Shebba Farms is kept for no other reason than its agricultural value but also to let Lebanon know who is still boss.
“If Israel ever succombed to peace overtures its colonization program would be over.“
Indeed, because those intransigent A-Rabs would never accept continued illegitimate colonization of their land as part of a peace agreement. Therefore, the Arabs are the only real impediment to peace.
I don’t remember who it was, but one Palestinian official equated the “peace process” so far as a negotiation over how to divide the pizza while one side is gobbling it up as quickly as possible.
Erekat made that analogy several months ago. Netanyahu’s latest claim, that if he froze the colonization process (expanding settlements), his government would fall and presumably there would be no peace negotiations.
Barak admitted in 2005 that if he had ever proposed withdrawing from a single settlement in 2000 (Camp David), not even his own party, Labor, would have voted for it. The Knesset is a factor in these negotiations no matter what is put on the table. Are we to believe that this more right wing Knesset would be more forthcoming about withdrawal? It’s a joke and now even the US is playing Abbas in this political game.
Indeed.
Writers Oz, Yehoshua, Grossman back artists’ boycott of Ariel settlement
Philip Weiss
August 30, 2010
Sami Michael was born and raised in Iraq, by the way, and has never been altogether thrilled with life in Israel as a Jew of Arab background.
Sadly there are many levels of discrimination in Israel, not only against Arab Israelis of Palestinian origin, but Jews from Arab nations also get second class treatment. But you already know that.
Israel’s humiliating discrimination against Arab Jews
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/4838496/Israels-humiliating-discrimination-agai
nst-Arab-Jews.html
The Askenaskis seems to have a superiority complex.
I know Rachel Shabi, and have had the pleasure of hosting her here for a book event.
Okay, we are learning more. Beautiful woman, journalist, looking for equality within Israel for Arab Jews.
http://www.rachelshabi.com/?page_id=2
If I am not mistaken, Iraq was the only Arab country to kick out its Jewish population after the 1948 Israeli-Arab conflict or war.
Iraq did NOT kick out its Jewish population. In fact, most Arab countries did not, and Egypt only did after the notorious Lavon affair created enormous suspicion of Egyptian Jews.
A number of factors led to the exodus of the bulk of Iraq’s Jews in 1950-51 – too complex to go into here – but they were NOT kicked out.
You said “most.” So which ones did? I always believed that there were two that applied a formal policy of expulsion, Iraq in 1948, and Egypt after the 1967 war. I am wrong, apparently, and need to do more research on this old issue.
Egypt did, Iraq did not, not ever. Iraq, in response to heavy lobbying, and more than a little bit of bribery by the Zionists, agreed to open the doors for Jews to emigrate if they wished. Prior to that there had been travel restrictions on Jews specifically to prevent them from emigrating to Israel. For one year the doors were open, and the Zionists were allowed to shuttle Iraqi Jews first to Cypress, then to Israel – to Cypress in order to thinly cover up the fact that the Iraqi government was not only allowing but in some respects facilitating the exodus of hundreds of thousands of its citizens to an enemy country. Thousands of Jews chose to stay, but most of them left for a variety of reasons.
There’s a lot more to this story, of course, and I don’t have time right now to cover even one tenth of it.
And as I’ve said before, you have much more to contribute than just comments on others’ diaries. Just mentioning it, that’s all.