The Irish Times and BDS – the Story of Why.

On Tuesday 7th May, BRICUP (British Committee for the Universities of Palestine) posted on their website and tweeted that Professor Stephen Hawking had declined an invitation to a conference in Jerusalem, to be hosted by war criminal Shimon Peres – he had joined the academic boycott of the apartheid styate. The story went around the world and was all over mainstream and social media on Tuesday evening.  My account is here.

By Wednesday there was some confusion with Zionist sources claiming that Professor Hawking was not going purely for health reasons, that he had not joined the boycott. Much of this stemmed from Cambridge University whose spokesman Tim Holt put that misinformation out, the issue was however clarified by Wednesday afternoon when said spokesman had to admit that Hawking had sent a letter to the conference organisers stating that he was declining to attend because he was respecting the Palestinian call to boycott, nothing to do with health grounds.

Hawking’s Letter: “I accepted the invitation to the Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a Peace Settlement but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank. “However, I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.”

Mathew Kalman wrote up the account here which vindicated his story and that of BRICUP who held the line throughout.

Even Zionist sources such as CiF Watch and much of the Israeli press had the story CLARIFIED as to Hawking supporting the boycott by Wednesday afternoon. It was also all over Facebook and Twitter.

So basically what happened here is that everyone interested and even some not interested in this knew the real story by Wednesday afternoon… EXCEPT that is Mark Weiss, the Irish Times correspondent from occupied Palestine (not that he seems to know that either…)

On Thursday his piece in the Irish Times he characterised the idea that Hawking might have been boycotting as a claim coming from “Pro-Palestinian groups” and followed it up by stating:  “However, Cambridge university spokesman Tim Holt said Prof Hawking’s decision was based strictly on health concerns. “For health reasons, his doctors said he should not be flying at the moment so he’s decided not to attend.”

Weiss then devotes most of the rest of his piece to Israeli concerns about the boycott and reports one especially vile suggestion that Hawking decommission his means of communication as it was supposedly designed in Israel. Note, this is written as if it were a normal suggestion, so the Irish Times runs a bigoted cut at Stephen Hawking’s disability with no disassociating comment or disclaimer. In Haaretz, this was actually described as “obscene”. It is outrageous that the Irish times should just publish such abelist hate speech without acknowledging it as such.

Apart from this being Weiss’s usual style of writing purely from the Israeli perspective, it is simply astonishing that there was no fact checking done on story of this significance concerning such an eminent person. As I said above, this information was ALL OVER THE INTERNET from Wednesday afternoon. The Irish Times has positioned itself as a voice of authority in Ireland and the self-satisfaction of the majority of its writers is difficult to stomach. While hating their opinions and agenda is one thing, for the facts to be so wrong is truly dreadful.

This annoyed me more than their usual schtick and I have some (Irish) time on my hands so I called the foreign editor and pointed out the inaccuracies and errors in the piece and let him know that the correct information had been widely available since the previous afternoon. He was pretty sniffy with me and when I asked would they clarify/correct, he told me he would “examine” the evidence first. Unable to fit back in my box, I mailed the information on to him – our exchange is below:

Dear     ,

I just spoke to you  on the phone about the erroneous information in the Mark Weiss piece on Stephen Hawking joining academic boycott of Israel.

In the IT piece, Weiss says: “However, Cambridge university spokesman Tim Holt said Prof Hawking’s decision was based strictly on health concerns. “For health reasons, his doctors said he should not be flying at the moment so he’s decided not to attend.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/stephen-hawking-pulls-out-of-major-presidential-conference-in-jerusalem-1.1386618

However, since yesterday afternoon, the clarification from Cambridge has been in the public domain, on twitter, Facebook etc.
This is the journalist’s account of the trajectory of the story:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/08/a-brief-history-of-stephen-hawking-s-boycott.html

This is the Guardian updated today, this was available from yesterday: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/08/hawking-israel-boycott-furore

Electronic Intifada yesterday afternoon:
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/stephen-hawking-confirms-he-pulled-out-israel-conference-due-boycott-not-health

I wrote this myself last night, so there was no shortage of sources for either the IT or Weiss to verify the claims in the piece.
In fact a Google search for “Stephen Hawking boycott Israel” throws up 325,000 at the time of writing (Wed eve).

“There was an email exchange showing quite clearly that Hawking’s personal assistant and Tim Holt had both approved the BRICUP announcement that sparked my interest on Tuesday night. And there was Hawking’s letter, sent to the conference organizers on May 3 on Cambridge University letterhead, setting out clearly his reasons for pulling out: no health issues, all boycott. It had been copied to several other people. One of them was kind enough to share it with me.

“I accepted the invitation to the Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a Peace Settlement but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank,” wrote Hawking. “However, I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.”

To be honest, it is astonishing that the Irish Times would publish a piece such as Weiss’s without at least fact checking, especially when the person in question is so eminent and the issue so important.

———————————————————————

His reply:

Thanks for this. We were clearly behind events on this one and were not aware of Holt/Cambridge’s change. Will report the accurate situation asap.

———————————————————————

My response:

That’s good to hear. It strains credibility however, that Mark Weiss was ‘behind events’ on this given that even the Israeli press was reporting the correct version yesterday.

I would hope the Irish Times would give some coverage to the vile abuse that has been directed Stephen Hawking’s way by Israel supporters as reported by the Daily Express among other publications.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/397945/Outrage-over-disgusting-cripple-Stephen-Hawking-jokes-after-he-joins-boycott-of-Israel

He is also being subjected to much name calling and venom on his Facebook page from anti-Palestinian posters
https://www.facebook.com/iloveu.stephen?fref=ts

———————————————————————

 But the piece was not corrected that day, that evening,  nor has it been since.   In Friday’s edition, in a Weiss piece on Israel’s illegal settlement building, this is tacked on at the end:  “In a separate development, Cambridge university spokesman Tim Holt has confirmed that renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking did in fact decide to cancel his participation in next month’s president’s conference in Jerusalem due to the Israel boycott. Mr Holt had earlier released a statement claiming Mr Hawking decided not to travel for health reasons.”

That’s it,that’s the ‘correction’. That’s the standard we can expect from the Irish Times. So anyone who read the original piece on Hawking and who didn’t read the settlement piece the next day would still be MISinformed by the Irish Times.  Unless they read it elsewhere, they would believe that, as reported by the Irish Times,  Stephen Hawking had pulled it of a conference in Jerusalem for health reasons. They would be unaware of the immense boost given to the BDS campaign by someone of Hawking’s stature joining it. The online version still retains the original,  massive error.

The Irish Times has serious form for misreporting the cultural boycott of Israel and indeed launching a sustained attack on the IPSC (Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign), Raymond Deane in particular. Harry Browne documented it brilliantly here and it is worthy of re-reading as a reminder of how power misrepresents and distorts truth.  My own thoughts on that representation and attempts to dictate resistance are here too.

The reason I mentioned “venom” in my mail to the foreign editor is that the IPSC was consistently and wrongly accused of directing it at Irish band Dervish in order to get them to cancel playing Israel. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary not only being freely available on Facebook and being sent to them, they never retracted nor corrected this mischaracterisation of Irish BDS campaigners. Of course we can be absolutely sure that the Irish Times won’t look at any of the abuse directed at Hawking by supporters of apartheid, preferring to deal only in imagined venom. Indeed, they quoted one of the most egregious suggestions as if it were part of a normal discourse between human beings.

Their coverage of Palestine is risible and always, always through the prism of Israel’s rights/security, through that of orientalism and dehumanisation and othering, through racism.  Trying to get pieces by Palestinians into the paper is vnext to impossible, their voices surplus to requirements.

The question is WHY? Laziness, ineptitude, agenda? The lethal combination of all three?

The Irish Times,  the Story of Why – the end result “behind the events”.

The free availability of alternative media which is not only reliable and up to date, but not agenda driven, should push publications in the mainstream media to raise their standards, in this case it seems to push it to ditch them.

BDS apartheid until it ends.

There’s a Facebook page here to like: Stephen Hawking: Thank You for Supporting the Academic Boycott of Israel

Professor Stephen Hawking, BDS and the Zionists

On Tuesday 7th May, BRICUP (British Committee for the Universities of Palestine) posted on their website and tweeted that Professor Stephen Hawking had declined an invitation to a conference in Jerusalem, to be hosted by war criminal Shimon Peres.

“Stephen Hawking declines invitation to attend Israeli conference

We understand that Professor Stephen Hawking has declined his invitation to attend the Israeli Presidential Conference Facing Tomorrow 2013, due to take place in Jerusalem on 18-20 June. This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there.”

BRICUP

Wednesday 8th May, the Guardian, Reuters, the BBC and much of the mainstream media had picked up the BRICUP news and were reporting it as Hawking joining the academic boycott of apartheid Israel. Guardian headline:

Stephen Hawking joins academic boycott of Israel

Physicist pulls out of conference hosted by president Shimon Peres in protest at treatment of Palestinians

The Guardian even had an online poll asking

Is Stephen Hawking right to join the academic boycott of Israel?

in its Comment Is Free section (polling currently running at 67 Yes, 33 No – zio mobilisation not as big as usual? )

Then there was a twist in that it was being claimed that Professor Hawking wasn’t going to the conference purely on health grounds and that this had been confirmed by Cambridge University media contact for Hawking.  There were furious tweets going on and no doubt mass email and other communication between supporters of BDS, journalists, interested parties. I was watching the BRICUP twitter feed constantly…

Then confirmation came from Cambridge that:  “We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.”

This is what BRICUP had held to all along and it was great to see them vindicated and also to see hasbara organs such as CiF Watch have to retract their erroneous claims that Hawking was not pulling out for health reasons.

This is just a brief history of a brief history of Hawking’s support for BDS, it has been documented by Electronic Intifada, BRICUP, the Guardian and numerous other outlets. In fact a Google search for “Stephen Hawking boycott Israel” throws up 325,000 at the time of writing (Wed eve).

In fact I’ve just seen the Guardian writer, Matthew Kalman,  has documented the whole saga here and it seems there is some murkiness about how the issue and the information was handled by the Cambridge University spokesman….

 

The significance of Hawking’s courageous decision cannot be understated and it is testament to his stature, not just in the world of physics, that the hasbara spin was so furious today.       It is a HUGE result for BDS. It is serious solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The reaction to Stephen Hawking’s decision is as predictable as the day is long, the spin, the lies, the slurs, the smears, the scrambling. Palestinians and their supporters, those involved in boycott campaigns, solidarity campaigns and those choosing to boycott are well used to the vile Zionist bigotry that spews out regularly. From wishing more children had been killed when a Palestinian school bus crashes, to sending hate mail, to threats, the supporters of apartheid never fail to find new depths to which to sink.

Professor Hawking is no exception to those who have been on the receiving end of such vicious filth. Unsurprisingly his condition is central to much of the abuse coming his way, this just one example: “Someone should release the hand brake when he’s on a hill”. I say unsurprisingly because this is the level of ‘debate’ that we have come to expect from Zionist propagandists.  There are some examples here,  here and  here if you’re in need of a purge…
While such outpourings of hate are rarely surprising, they never fail to disgust and that is certainly true of the reaction to Hawking.

If you need a lesson in hasbara 101, the Stephen Hawking Facebook page is the place for you… viewer discretion required…

One of the favourite hasbara tactics is to enumerate Israeli success stories in technology, industry etc and to tell the BDS people that they need to STOP USING THEIR COMPUTERS. Well they think they’ve struck gold with Hawking, claiming that Hawking should boycott his own means of communication as it is Israeli made… here’s one: “Considering you benefit from Israeli technology in order to communicate, you are a hypocrite. Wishing you all the worst!”, there have been similar suggestions by other than internet trolls too, as can bee seen here:

“According to Shurat HaDin, an Israel law centre which represents victims of terrorism, the equipment has been provided by an Israeli hi-tech firm, Intel, since 1997.

“Hawking’s decision to join the boycott of Israel is quite hypocritical for an individual who prides himself on his whole intellectual accomplishment. His whole computer-based communications system runs on a chip designed by Israel’s Intel team. I suggest if he truly wants to pull out of Israel he should also pull out his Intel Core i7 from his tablet,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Shurat HaDin.”

Apart from how disgusting such a suggestion this is, how far beyond the pale of humanity it goes, it really is missing the point – boycott is a tactic not a principle. What is does though is illuminate for the billionth time how far Israel’s supporters are prepared to go, how it doesn’t even occur to them how reprehensible their words are, how they have become so desensitised to humanity by their treatment of the Palestinians that they don’t even seem to realise how their words read to other human beings.

What is unusual about the all too usual, sorry Zionist reaction is that, due to Hawking’s eminence,  much of this bigotry has been picked up by the mainstream media (Daily Express piece: Outrage over disgusting ‘cripple Stephen Hawking’ jokes after he joins boycott of Israel) and that outside the solidarity circles, Zionism’s true face is getting more and more frequent airings. The mask is slipping…

One of the world’s most eminent thinkers supports the boycott of apartheid Israel, that is a good day and the spinners can eat dust.

And BDS is UNSTOPPABLE!

Israeli Airstrikes are Latest in Series of Ceasefire Violations

Press release from Gaza Action Ireland  3 April 2013

Israel’s latest air attack on Gaza is an escalation of the terror people there have lived under since the end of November’s war on the Palestinian territory – says an ex-TD who has been working in Gaza.

“It’s important to remember that Israel had already violated the November ceasefire many times before it dropped bombs on Tuesday evening,” Chris Andrews, former Dublin South East TD, said this morning.

Andrews returned to Ireland a fortnight ago from Gaza, where he worked for several months with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

“My heart goes out to my friends in Gaza,” he said, “but Israeli violence there is continuous – from navy attacks on fishermen, to snipers shooting farmers near the border, to the violence of the siege itself, which keeps Gaza constantly short of essential supplies.”

“We condemn these new airstrikes,” Zoë Lawlor, a spokesperson for Gaza Action Ireland who herself visited the Palestinian territory earlier this year, said. “And we note that Israeli armed forces have killed four people in Gaza and wounded more than 90 since the end of the November attack. Their planes and drones constantly violate Gaza’s airspace and terrorise its people. Israel’s aggression never really stops.”

The latest escalation, in which Israel reportedly struck at fields in the north and east of the Gaza strip, comes amid protests from Palestinians and their supporters about the death of Maysara Abu-Hamdiya, a former general in the Palestinian Authority security services. A long-time prisoner in Israel, his throat cancer killed him just two months after he was diagnosed. Palestinian human rights groups say he was denied adequate and timely medical treatment in Israeli custody and was bound hand and foot to his bed when visited by his lawyer two days prior to his death.

Maysara is the second prisoner to die in Israeli custody this year, the first being Arafat Jaradat, who died from injuries inflicted while he was being interrogated.

Irish participant on ‘Freedom Flotilla’ comments on Israel’s “faux-apology” to Turkey

Gaza Action Ireland

PRESS RELEASE, 24/3/13, 13:00

Reacting to Israel’s apparent rapprochement with Turkey on Friday – and the much-publicised ’apology’ issued for the murders of nine human rights activists on the Mavi Marmara on 31 May 2010 – Gaza Action Ireland national coordinator FINTAN LANE has described himself as “disappointed and unimpressed by Israel’s faux-apology. This is cynical geopolitics rather than a genuine act of contrition. It is about power politics and getting Turkey back on side.”

Fintan Lane was one of a handful of Irish citizens who participated in the Freedom Flotilla and was on board the vessel Challenger 1 when the six-ship aid convoy was attacked by Israeli forces while on its way to Gaza. Lane subsequently took part in Freedom Flotilla 2 and Freedom Waves to Gaza flotilla, both of which tried to reach Gaza in 2011. He is National Coordinator of Gaza Action Ireland (formerly known as Irish Ship to Gaza).

Commenting on Israel’s apparent apology for the killings on the Mavi Marmara, Lane said: “This so-called apology has been issued simply to mend relations with Turkey, but the Turkish state had nothing to do with the Freedom Flotilla, which was organised by civil society organisations from across the globe. An apology needs to be issued to all those on board all of the ships that were attacked and, most importantly, the root issue needs to be addressed - Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza. The choice of words is revealing in that Israel speaks of possible ‘errors’ and ‘mistakes’ in their assault on the Mavi Marmara, but what happened was no mistake. I was alongside the Mavi Marmara when it was attacked and saw the ferocity of the Israeli operation – it was very deliberate and it was inevitable that people would die. They also attacked our vessel using a great deal of violence and several people were injured. Let’s be frank, the violence used against the Freedom Flotilla was designed to intimidate and dissuade international human rights activists from launching further flotillas. It was a calculated act of international terrorism.”

(Monument to the nine people murdered on the Mavi Marmara by Israel in Gaza seaport.  Zoë Lawlor)

He continued: “Since this so-called apology was made, Israel has made it clear that the siege of Gaza will continue. That is what people should focus on. Our nine colleagues were killed in international waters by heavily armed Israeli commandos while non-violently attempting to undermine Israel’s blockade. We must ensure that this is never forgotten. The illegal blockade of Gaza should be completely ended. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip must be allowed to rebuild their lives and their local economy – that necessitates an ability to import and export, which is being denied them by Israel.”

There were four Irish on board Challenger 1 (including Irish-Australian journalist Paul McGeogh). Two of those – Fintan Lane and Shane Dillon – are now active with Gaza Action Ireland.

*’Gaza Action Ireland’ was formerly known as ‘Irish Ship to Gaza’.

A Brief Encounter in Gaza

When I visited Gaza in January this year, there were many really memorable moments. One in particular really moved me and stayed with me. On our first day we were down town in Gaza city, just wandering around, soaking it all up.  Some of the lads stopped to buy nuts and we were waiting around for them just by the old gold market.  Two women came up to me and asked if I was from Dublin, that their brother lived there. I explained I was from Limerick and asked their brother’s name, it was Abraham Deeb. I said I didn’t know him and we chatted for a minute or two. The women went off about their business, but a few minutes later one of them came back and gave me a gift, a pretty, handmade keyring with the Palestinian flag on it. I was touched by this gesture, it was so lovely, I really can’t imagine it happening anywhere other than Palestine. To come across such warmth and unsolicited kindness just walking around a new place is really unusual,  not in Gaza it seems….

So I had my keyring as a special memento of my first visit to Gaza and I remembered the man’s name. Last week  a friend posted a link to Dervla Murphy’s upcoming talk about her book, A Month By the Sea, Encounters in Gaza on the IPSC page and someone posted this under it: “Would love to be able to go to this talk but I am in Gaza at the moment and I would strongly recommend my friends in Dublin to go.” His name? Abraham Deeb!

I saw the post and commented: “Abraham, are you from Gaza? When I was there in January, a woman came up to me on the street and asked if we were Irish, I said yes. She told me her brother lives in Dublin, I’m sure it was your name, and she gave me a little gift. A beautiful Gazzawi encounter “

His response: “Hi Zoe, yes I am from Gaza and yes that was my sister! She told me the story but she didn’t have your name. How beautiful!!”

Mine: “Wow! Mash’allah, that’s amazing! Please say hello to her, it was one of the highlights of my trip. What is your sister’s name?”

Abraham Deeb: “That is really an amazing coincidence. My sisters told me this story when I came over couple of weeks ago without knowing who you are. However, they were my 2 sisters, Aida who spoke with you initially and Nahla who gave you the token gift. They both send you their regards and say you welcome to come back and visit them next time. I sent a message to IPSC wondering if there are any Irish people in Gaza at present and got message back that a group might be coming in June. Unfortunately, I’ll be back in Ireland by then as I am leaving Gaza at end of March. I met some Irish people here and we will be celebrating Paddy’s day next Sunday. I would like to post this story on my FB if that’s ok with you? With best regards.”

Me: “That’s amazing Abraham, and please say hello to Aida and Nahla – I will meet them the next time I’m in Gaza insh’allah. There are a few Irish people there at the moment – I will message you. Of course you can share – I love this story!”

Such a brief encounter, such a coincidence…a real taste of how Gaza gets under skin – it’s the people – every time.

Hopefully I’ll meet Aida and Nahla in Gaza some day and Abraham in Dublin. And again, I love this story.

Israel blocks Chris Andrews – Gaza Action Ireland

 Gaza Action Ireland Press Release

Chris Andrews blocked from attending Patrick’s Day party in Jerusalem FORMER TD Chris Andrews has been invited to Alan Shatter’s Palestinian St Patrick’s Day party – but it appears he won’t be able to go, because Israel won’t let him travel from Gaza to Jerusalem and back again.

Mr Andrews, a Fianna Fail TD in Dublin South East from 2007 to 2011, has been working for the respected Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza City since shortly after Christmas. A week ago he received an official invitation from Ireland’s representative to the Palestinian Authority, inviting him to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Jerusalem in the company of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr Shatter.Mr Shatter is attending the event tomorrow evening [Wed March 13] in the middle of his five-day visit to Israel.

“I was surprised to get the invitation, to be honest,” Mr Andrews said from Gaza today. “The Department of Foreign Affairs knows the restrictions that apply on travelling in and out of Gaza – but I thought maybe they were organising an exception for those of us based here,” he said. “It’s only about 50 miles across Israeli territory, but Palestinians are never permitted to make that journey. Only a few international officials and aid workers from the largest NGOs are allowed to do so,” he added.

A Department of Foreign Affairs official told Mr Andrews that while he and at least one other Irish person in Gaza might be permitted to exit Gaza through the Israeli crossing at Erez, Irish officials would not be able to secure permission from Israel for them to return to Gaza.

Mr Andrews entered Gaza 12 weeks ago via the border crossing with Egypt at Rafah, the southernmost point of the small, besieged Palestinian strip. “This illustrates the sad reality for the people of Gaza,” Mags O’Brien of Gaza Action Ireland said. “Students cannot attend university in the West Bank, and families cannot visit relatives, highlighting the fact that Gaza is indeed an open-air prison.”

In recent weeks Israel has tightened its grip on Gaza by restricting crossings by people at Erez and by reducing the flow of desperately needed goods into the territory. Israel has killed four Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 90 since the “ceasefire” agreement that ended last November’s war.

Lying Again, the Israeli Embassy in Dublin Just Can’t Stop

In January 2013, members of Gaza Action Ireland, including Hugh Lewis, Councillor for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, visited Gaza.  After the visit we had articles  and blogs published  describing the trip and the terrible situation that prevails in Gaza due to the illegal Israeli siege.  Mine is here – Visiting Gaza , Trevor Hogan’s piece in the Irish Examiner is here – Sport breaking down barriers . Hugh Lewis also had a piece in the Southside People entitled It’s Time to Listen   partly a response to fellow councillor Richard Humphreys  criticism of Irish NGO Trócaire’s campaign on behalf of justice for the Palestinian people, as well as an overview of what’s going on in Gaza.

He ended the piece with this:

“I invite anyone who questions the veracity of gross breaches of human rights in Gaza or in the Occupied Territories to visit and see the reality of the situation there for themselves.

We can no longer simply sympathise with those who are being oppressed; we must also answer their call for solidarity and action. We hope to invite some of those we met in Gaza to Ireland soon to share their stories.

It is time we listened.”

The Israeli Embassy had a response the following week, full of the usual hasbara tropes and lies about truckloads of supplies going into Gaza, about the shops overflowing with low cost goods, and of course rockets from Gaza. The piece as usual ignores facts, human rights reports, the 171 people murdered by Israel in Gaza in November and the near constant attacks on the civilian population there  by the world’s fourth largest military.

So far, so Israel – nothing new here, no surprises – you know the script, you’ve seen it a million times. In fairness to headwrecking repetition, the same article appears in the Sunday Independent almost every week and in everything the Embassy churns out.  It did end on an unusual note though, in fact with an invitation for Hugh to visit Israel.

“Free Gaza – yes! Free it from its radical Islamist terrorist leadership. In the meantime, Cllr Lewis is welcome to visit Israel and should write the other side of the story for Southside People.”

Wow! Not only is any hospitality most unexpected from this apartheid Embassy, it is also utterly disingenuous given that all the crew from the MV Saoirse, of whom Hugh is one, as am I, were kidnapped in international waters, robbed, illegally brought to Israel, imprisoned for a week, deported and then handed a ten year ban in 2011.  Our ‘crime’ – entering Israel illegally. The irony could kill you.

So, when the Embassy issued it’s optically ‘friendly’ invitation to Hugh Lewis in the Southside  People, in an attempt to whitewash its image, they knew they were lying, they knowingly wrote a falsehood. He is not welcome in Israel, he is barred from entering that state. To follow this up, Hugh wrote to the Embassy to inquire as to whether his ban was lifted and whether he could take up this most public of invitations.  They wrote back to tell him that the ban is still in place but that he is welcome to visit a piece of Israel here in Dublin (The Israeli Embassy).

So, yet again the Israeli Embassy in Ireland willfully lies in public, on top of its racist outbursts on social media, its treatment of Irish citizens and of course the barbarism it subjects the Palestinian people to, it is high time these liars were tossed out on their ear.

Visiting Gaza

(These are thoughts, some fully formed – many rambling, most disjointed. It is a bit all over the place, but it is what I have for now.)

Gaza has been on my mind, in my heart and in my plans for years- like all of Palestine. But I never could quite get there. My first time in Palestine coincided with the pull out of the settlers from Gaza so I couldn’t go. Since then I’ve tried to march there (Gaza Freedom March) and sail there, along the way meeting detention, sabotage, kidnapping and imprisonment. So this time was to be straightforward – permission secured from the Egyptian authorities….  After some wonderful days in Cairo wandering around, seeing the changes from being there during the Mubarak regime, when thousands of police and soldiers were deployed to stop a solidarity action with our Palestinian sisters and brothers in Gaza, chatting to, and being inspired by the revolutionaries; we headed for Rafah. We being my friends and comrades from Gaza Action Ireland, which was formed by Irish activists who were involved in Irish Ship to Gaza both on board the MV Saoirse and as shore team.  The aim of the group is to highlight and help undermine the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Watching the sun come up driving through the Sinai felt unreal, in fact nothing felt real until we got into Gaza which felt more real than almost anything I’ve ever experienced. At the Rafah crossing the mayhem and delays that people are put through were patent. It is outrageous that people living in Gaza have no way of their own to exit their country and that they can’t get into the rest of their country, it is criminal. We had a couple of hairy hours there as there was some issue with our paperwork and three of us were told initially that we couldn’t cross into Gaza. Having had very little sleep and having so much invested emotionally in this, I was totally freaked out until, thanks to our friend Claudia, we eventually got our clearance. We used some shekels that we had been given by Irish embassy staff when in Givon prison in Israel in 2011 to pay some of our taxi fare from Rafah, I sure enjoyed spending them that way.

Our purpose in going to Gaza was to create links with civil society groups there with the intention of raising awareness of the effects of the siege in Ireland and also doing what we can to help break the isolation that people are being deliberately subjected to. The visit was also to inform ourselves so that we can be better advocates in Palestinian solidarity. Personally, every time I’ve been to Palestine I’ve come back invigorated and determined to do my best to support the Palestinian struggle. This time will be no different I guess.

While there we were busy, we met the PNGO, members of the BNC (Boycott National Council), Al-Helal football club, people from the UNRWA medical teams, the Palestinian Olympic Committee, the fisherman’s union, artists, paramedics, playwrights, friends and of course our wonderful hosts the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR).

Before going, I found it hard to visualise life going on in Gaza amid the terrible war crimes perpetrated by Israel on the people there. It was the same before I visited Al Quds and the West Bank, I couldn’t imagine ‘normal’ life amid the checkpoints, the wall, the apartheid. It’s so far from our privileged experience living in Ireland that even though you know it, read it, hear it all the time, it’s difficult to get your head around. That’s one of the most inspiring things about Palestine, and this was brought home to me again in Gaza – the people are so unbelievably resilient. There is so much life and vibrancy, the history and culture of the place is striking. Visiting the museum, walking the streets, seeing the hustle and bustle in the main square, Gaza comes to life and boy is it great. The minute I got to the city I smelled Palestine, a smell I love, I saw Palestine, a country I love and I met Palestinian people, a people I love and admire so much.

Something that came up a lot in conversations and in meetings was that people there do not want Gaza to be seen or represented as a separate entity – it is as much part of Palestine as Jerusalem, Nablus, Bethlehem… I guess being part of a group called Gaza Action Ireland, we could be construed as solely Gaza focused but we are in solidarity with the people of Palestine, all of Palestine. The blockade and Israel are what attempt to set Gaza apart from Palestine but just as the people there resist that, so must we all. To me it is everything, Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza – all of Palestine from ’48.

Before I sailed on the flotilla in 2011, I visited the parts of Palestine I could get to as I knew I would get a 10 year ban if picked up on the Saoirse. My main impression then, even more than on a previous visit, was of how Israel is trying to divide Palestine into three separate entities and make it impossible for the people in the different parts to be with each other, to be unified. The opinion was expressed often that Israel wants to push Gaza into the Sinai, the West Bank into Jordan and to cleanse Jerusalem. What we also heard time and time again was that they are going nowhere, this is their land and they will stay, they will resist and apartheid will end. This is the will, the sumoud, the resistance that makes the Palestinians so strong and underlines how, despite this decades long and brutal occupation, they continue to live, to breathe, to love, to exist. Sumoud is my favourite Arabic word, it shows me the soul of the Palestinian struggle.

There is hope, there is immense strength but there is also terrible pain and suffering, all imposed by apartheid Israel. At our first meeting with our hosts the PCHR, the director Raji Sourani gave a talk that would grab you by the throat. Burning with the injustice of it all, he outlined the brutality and inhumanity of the siege, describing the  restriction of movement, war crimes, the prevention of the sewage treatment system being repaired, the disaster that is the water situation and so many more examples of Israel’s barbarity. He likened the situation the people of Gaza have been put in to Animal Farm, this is very resonant to me as I have long felt that what is being perpetrated on Gaza is a cruel and brutal social experiment. For sure weapons are tested on the people there too. The evidence of the most recent Israeli attack on the Strip is everywhere, as is that of the murderous 22 days of 2008/09.

On our last morning we saw the shell of a house that was bombed during the last attack on Gaza, the owner of the house had gotten a call from the Israeli military telling him his house was about to be bombed, he got his family out but didn’t have time to warn his neighbours and five people were killed. This kind of state terrorism is routine, straight from the apartheid playbook. In Rafah there is a mini museum to the November assault with some graphic pictures of the dead and injured. One picture really struck me, it is of an old man sitting in the midst of rubble, gripping his walking frame and looking utterly lost – it is heart wrenching.

So, while I am happy to have experienced and to write about all the vibrancy in Gaza, I can’t gloss over how all-pervasive the siege is, how it impacts almost every aspect of people’s lives. There are so many instances, so many stories of how the last attack, or the one before that or the blockade, hurt people, harm their lives. From the dire medical situation, the high rates of anaemia among children and pregnant women, the unemployment, the students studying whole years without books, the siege damages and blights lives and it has to end.

Meeting people

Meeting with the fishermen at Gaza Seaport was powerful, their experience is so raw and their job so elemental. Through their spokesman Zakaria Bakr, they told us of how they are subject to constant terrorism by apartheid Israel. Their boats are routinely thrashed, they are beaten, detained and shot and have seen their livelihoods decimated.  We met a man who had been shot by the Israeli navy, detained and then dumped on the road two days later, left to crawl back to his home from Erez untreated. These men come from long, proud traditions of fishing and just want to fish safely, freely and with dignity. What kind of abnormal situation prevails whereby people are prevented from going about their daily lives by brutal military assault? How is it possible for this to happen, to continue? I honestly believe that if people outside the solidarity community realised the extent of the violence of Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people, they would be campaigning for this to end. The media just gives skewed snapshots with the Palestinian narrative painted out and then goes away again until they report on the another Israeli atrocity- all through the prism of ‘balance’ of course.

The setting of Gaza Seaport was especially resonant as it was where the MV Saoirse would have sailed into.  Fintan Lane GAI co-ordinator had been sailing alongside the Mavi Marmara when Israel murdered nine of its crew in 2010, the monument to those nine men there is a real testament to solidarity .

Meeting the kids of the Al-Helal football club was sweet and lovely – they presented us with mini jerseys and we watched them training. Earlier that day we had watched some of their senior team’s match where the Israeli settlements used to be. Going to matches is something I do a lot, and with the sun shining, this was an idyllic setting –that’s part of what makes Gaza so difficult to process. There is so much ‘normality’, so much of people trying to live as best they can, yet it is in the context of this totally abnormal and crippling siege. The dissonance is big. Israel’s aim is to stop all the ‘normal’ stuff, to make it impossible, yet watching the kids running around, the people strolling through the city square, the life of it all, you realise they can’t make it impossible, the Palestinians won’t let them. This is “we teach life sir” country and it has power.

There’s so much more to report, meeting the incredible human rights defenders, the young BDS activists, meeting new friends – all of it was intense, informative and rewarding. I loved being brought around, breaking bread, having arghile and chatting to people. We went to the reading of a play, Tales of a City by the Sea, by Samah Sabawi and a brilliant questions and answer session afterwards, we walked the beach and watched the fishing.

It’s hard to know what will happen, the prevailing view of people we spoke to was of short term pessimism but long term optimism. The imminent situation there is dire and precarious, the Israeli war machine is unpredictable but global solidarity is growing and the people’s will is unbreakable. All I know for certain is that those of us who are privileged to live in safety, who have the choice to move, to be secure, to go there but to leave – we have to do our very best, work as hard as we can to support the Palestinian struggle, to campaign hard, to work for BDS because this has to end.

Being in Gaza was my dream, it was beautiful, it was shattering. The people we met were so great, I am honoured to have met them and overwhelmed by their kindness and courage. My friends and comrades on this journey are brilliant, they are fun and funny and good. One of the most positive things about being part of this movement is the people you meet along the way – I guess it comes from walking in solidarity with the very best of people.

But Gaza is also grim, it is hard, it is beyond my imagination and a visit is just that and I returned to my  safe life with all that entails. The siege is brutal and the isolation from the rest of Palestine and the world wrong, the very concept of it is cruel and twisted.  You wonder how the people can bear it but they do.  They have sumoud.

Gaza Action Ireland

2012 Summary of the Cultural Boycott of Israel

by DPAI (UK, Australia, Ireland, USA)

The year 2012 was an amazing year full of many successes in the campaign for the cultural boycott of Israel.  This summary focuses on the cultural boycott with an emphasis on musical artists and groups.

The fall of South African apartheid was preceded by the movement by artists of conscience to boycott “Sun City.”  A similar anti-apartheid movement is rapidly growing; and musicians increasingly do not want to perform in Israel.

The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Habima, Batsheva, and the Cameri Theater continued to be sent to perform abroad as “cultural ambassadors” for Israel.  This year people who oppose apartheid gathered in many cities to raise awareness of the complicity of these artists.  Almost all Batsheva performances were protested.  Demonstrations took place in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Italy, throughout the UK and in Edinburgh, Scotland.

January, 2012:  The Tuneyards cancel their gig in Israel.  The lead singer Merrill Garbus is a signatory of the Artists Against Israeli Apartheid pledge.[1]

Jacques Ranciére, acclaimed French intellectual and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Paris (St. Denis) writes that he will not violate the boycott, and cancels plans to give public readings at Tel Aviv University. [2]

February, 2012: Award winning singer-songwriter Cat Power (Chan Marshall) cancels her gig in Tel Aviv, tweeting, “MUSIC IS HEALING AND IT IS NOT HUMANE IF ALL CANNOT HAVE THE CHOICE, THE RIGHT, TO ATTEND. H E L P, A W A R E N E S S”[3]

New York Indie band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart announce they will not play Israel.  Israel’s “Walla” press reports the cancellation was political. [4]

Grammy-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson was scheduled to be the featured performer at the Holon International Women’s Festival.  Just days before her sold out performances, she politely bowed out, saying “As a human rights activist I identify with the cultural boycott of Israel.” [5]  Wilson received letters of thanks signed by solidarity groups from around the world.

Israeli TV uses the term “refuseniks” to refer to Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, U2 and Coldplay.  The term implies that these artists have a political reason to refuse to perform in Israel. [6]

March, 2012:  The cultural boycott moves to New York City as Batsheva attempts to present Israel’s pretty face through dance; Adalah-NY volunteers are ready with their own performance outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Palestinian dancer Hana Awwad writes, “Exhibits and performances by Palestinian artists are systematically banned, sabotaged, and closed down by the Israeli occupation. Artists themselves are targets of violence, arbitrary arrests, and deportations.” [7]   

Actors and artists sign onto a letter asking Shakespeare’s Globe in London to withdraw its invitation to Habima, and refuse to be complicit with human rights violations and the illegal colonisation of occupied land.  Thirty seven artists sign, including the highly acclaimed Academy Award, Emmy and and Golden Globe winning Emma Thompson. [8]

Staying true to punk rock, Zdob si Zdub from Moldavia keep Israel off their tour plans.  Punks Against Apartheid wrote a letter to the band in January, asking them to respect the boycott.[9]

April, 2012: The six member Irish band Dervish agrees to respect the cultural boycott, cancelling a series of planned shows in Israel, stating:  “At the time we agreed to these performances we were unaware there was a cultural boycott in place. We now feel that we do not wish to break this boycott,” and adding, “Our decision to withdraw from the concerts reflects our wish to neither endorse nor criticise anyone’s political views in this situation.”[10]  Fullset, also from Ireland, announce that they had not been aware of the cultural boycott, and cancel their concert in Israel on the back of the Dervish cancellation. [11]

The Mediterranean Delight International Bellydance Festival was slated to take place in Marrakech, Morocco.  When it was uncovered that the festival was sponsored by an Israeli belly dancer, a campaign against normalization successfully shut down the show.   Belly dancer Noor refuses to participate in the Israeli backed festival, and it was relocated to Greece. [12]

Qatar cancelled the Music and Dialogue Festival which featured Israeli musicians, scheduled for April 30 – May 4, marking another milestone for the growing anti-apartheid movement.[13]

Singer Macy Gray responds to a letter written to the Red Hot Chili Peppers asking them to boycott apartheid Israel.  Gray reaffirms her commitment to justice when she tweets to activist Tali Shapiro (Boycott From Within)  “Nvr give up the good fight Tali.  Yer a great human. “ [14]

May, 2012:  Huzama Habayeb, a Palestinian novelist, led an overwhelmingly successful academic boycott effort involving the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.  The Center’s planned book project titled Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women was cancelled because nearly half of the authors (13 out of 29) withdrew their literary contributions in protest of the inclusion of two Israeli authors celebrated amongst ‘institutionalised’ Israeli literary circles.  Habayeb wrote “My overly conscious heart was heavy. I cannot accept, ethically and morally, that my voice be shared equally with writers who reflect the voice of an obnoxious occupier” [15]  Regarding the large number of authors who refused to participate, the center’s Director Kamran Scot Aghaie writes, “On balance, the net result is that the book project is no longer viable. Therefore, we are discontinuing publication of this volume.” [16]

Slumdog Millionaire author Vikas Swarup cancels his appearance at the International Writers Festival in Israel. [17]  The Indian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (INCACBI) had written to him in February. [18]

Shakespeare’s Globe in London hosted Israel’s National Theatre Habima.  A twitter campaign using #loveculture developed by Israel’s UK embassy was  transformed into #loveculture hate apartheid, and made global trends.  As Habima performed The Merchant of Venice, streets were filled with people, signs, and Palestinian flags outside the Globe.  Inside, numerous people peacefully held banners, and mentioned Palestine throughout the performance.  British actor and audience member, John Graham Davies arose, delivering  Shylock’s famous line during the trial scene, saying  ”Hath not a Palestinian eyes?” – for a moment the production almost lost its balance.  Davies was then promptly removed by hired security personnel. [19]

June, 2012:  Israeli advisor to the Red Sea International Classical Music Festival, tells Haaretz “I can testify that more than once projects have been cancelled or postponed based on their ‘Israeliness.’ And again – these things are not said crassly, no one will say: we are conducting a boycott. The word boycott doesn’t exist, but the political situation of Israel also impacts this field.” [20]

Grammy-Award winning tabla player Zakir Hussain of India cancels his gig in Israel.  Hussain was contacted by the INCACBI. [21]

Pulitzer Prize winner and highly acclaimed author Alice Walker declines the publishing of the Color Purple by an Israeli publisher, stating:  “It is my hope that the non-violent BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, of which I am part, will have enough of an impact on Israeli civilian society to change the situation.”[22]

July, 2012:  When a celebration promoting Israeli culture in Switzerland attempts to include the Palestinian dance troupe Juthor, they withdraw.  Organizers of the International Folklore Encounters Festival, Fribourg had intended to bring Juthor onto the stage together with the Israeli group Shalom Israel. [23]

Rocker Serj Tankian releases Occupied Tears, raising awareness about Palestinian life under occupation. [24]

Ottawa musical group Three Little Birds sing Apartheid on CTV Morning Live, and are subsequently attacked by pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting Canada.[25]

Nino Katamadze’s five concert tour was quietly cancelled, Katamadze was contacted by Boycott From Within, and plans for a five concert tour in November were scrapped. [26]

Anti-apartheid fans of Hollywood actors Bruce Willis and Jean Claude Van Damme were relieved they cancelled their planned visit to Tel Aviv, where they were scheduled to attend a local premiere screening of their latest film Expendables 2. [27]

Controversial reggae artist Sizzla Kalonji cancels his gig in Israel after tweeting his disappointment that Obama had awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres. [28]

August, 2012:  The importance of the cultural boycott was emphasized when reports reassured disappointed and, at times, angry Israeli fans that the cancellations of concerts in Tel Aviv by the Swedish Cardigans [29] and by Lenny Kravitz were for reasons not related to the cultural boycott of Israel. [30]

Highly successful protests of Batsheva take place in Edinburgh, Scotland. [31]

An Israeli website announced that English electronica big beat group Prodigy would perform in Tel Aviv.  Emails from Prodigy’s manager showed claims the band would perform in Israel were completely false.  The same site also made false claims that Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Springsteen would perform in Israel in 2012.

The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-South Africa, Student Representative Council passed a resolution that calls for the full cultural and academic boycott of Israeli institutions, stating they “will not participate in any form of cultural or academic collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions and will not provide any support to Israeli cultural or academic institutions.”[32]

September, 2012:  Noted British theater director Peter Brook and the Bouffes du Nord theatre troop of France honored the call to boycott Israel, cancelling planned performances for December at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv.  Brook wrote: “The fact that the Cameri Theatre has accepted to support the brutal action of colonisation by playing in Ariel [in the West Bank] has made us aware that in coming to your theatre we would appear as a support for that brutal action. This forces us to decline your invitation to perform in your theatre. The decision is entirely ours, and not to come to you, it is our free choice.  We know that there are many amongst you and in your country who share our attitude and it is them we wish to support as well as the people of Palestine.” [33]

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are asked to accept the anti-apartheid call, in a campaign that unites thousands in support for the cultural boycott of Israel.  When the RHCP refuse to cancel their gig in Tel Aviv, internationally acclaimed Lebanese group Mashrou’ Leila, tweets “we will not be opening for the red hot chili peppers on september 6 in beirut.”[34]

Palestinian film directors refuse to participate in the filming of 24h Jerusalem, and production is halted.  Twenty directors, including Israelis, pulled out of the film project in support of the cultural boycott.  Though it appeared to be a benign film about culture, it was actually funded in part by the Jerusalem Development Authority, an organization implicated in numerous violations of human rights and illegal activities against Palestinians.  Enas aL-Muthaffar, filmmaker, wrote: “I refuse to be part of a peace propaganda machine that continues to ignore Israel’s cruel colonization of Palestine.” [35]

A survey done in Britain finds that one in four support a full cultural boycott of Israel by musicians. [36]

October, 2012:   Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker, Palestinian spoken word artist Remi Kenazi and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters join dozens of other cultural workers to call for Carnegie Hall to cancel the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance.[37]

Hip hop duo Rebel Diaz, artist Narcenio Hall and Cairo-based art collective Mosireen boycott the two-day 2012 Creative Time Summit in Manhattan because of the summit’s partnership with an Israeli organization that is funded by the Israeli government.[38]

Ramallah-based Palestinian MC Boikutt, Syrian singer Lena Chamamyan, Lebanese MC Malikah (Lynn Fattouh), and Palestinian DJ Sotusura all pull out of the Salam.Orient cultural festival in Austria, because it is sponsored in part by the Israeli embassy. [39]

Turkish band Baba Zula’s concert in Israel was cancelled, while obviously not all cancelling performers have the courage to publicly state their reasons, it isn’t a surprise when they don’t rebook.

Remi Kanazi releases Normalize This! on youtube in support of the cultural boycott of Israel, explaining why normalization cannot lead to positive change.

November, 2012:  The legendary Stevie Wonder (winner of 22 Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award) makes international news when he cancels a scheduled December performance at a Los Angeles fundraiser for Friends of the IDF(FIDF), an organization that raises money for the Israeli army. [40]  His statement is posted on the website of his radio station, Radio FREE KJLH 102.3FM.

The Cape Town World Music Festival had to do without one of its star acts when Pops Mohamed boycotted the event because of co-sponsorship by the Israeli embassy.

Ten talented young harpists bow out of the International Harp Contest in Israel, leaving only 22 non-Israelis to complete in the increasingly unpopular state sponsored event. In addition, acclaimed harpists Naoko Yoshino and Park Stickney also quietly cancelled their performances for the Harp Contest. [41]

At least 10 international actors withdrew from the IsraDrama festival, following last minute appeals asking them not to collaborate with the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv which performs in settlements. [42]

Zebda, a popular band from France, releases One life less-(une vie de moins), which draws attention to Israeli occupation, Gaza, and how children are affected by apartheid.[43]

Electronica musician and DJ Carl Craig of Detroit quietly cancels his gig in Tel Aviv.

Ross Daly, Giorgos Xylouris, Giorgos Manolakis, and Kelly Thoma cancel plans to play at the Israeli state sponsored Jerusalem Oud Festival, stating  “After all, we’re musicians with feelings and sensibilities, not music machines which can operate under all and any circumstances.” [44]

Roger Waters, musician and founder of Pink Floyd, explains the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in his address to the United Nations on behalf of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine: “It aims, as many of you know, to bring non-violent economic pressure to bear on Israel to force an end to its violations, an end to occupation and apartheid, an end to the denial of Palestinians’ right of return, and an end to Palestinian citizens of Israel being required to live as second class citizens, discriminated against on racial grounds, and subject to different laws than their Jewish compatriots. The BDS movement is gaining ground hand over fist. Just last week I was happy to write a letter of support to the Student Government of the University of California, Irvine, congratulating them on demanding that their University divest from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation.”[45]

December, 2012: The London-based Jazz group Portico Quartet, cancelled their planned concert for the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel.  The band courageously voiced their support for the cultural boycott, linking fans on their Facebook page to the Palestinian BDS National Committee’s website. [46]

Swedish virtuoso guitarist Andreas Öberg was congratulated for cancelling his planned gigs in Israel, honoring the call for a cultural boycott of the apartheid state.  Öberg let fans know about his cancellation on Facebook. [47]

A campaign launched July to persuade Woody Allen to shoot his next film in Israel failed.  The goals of the movie were to “enable Israel to enter the world’s imagination in a way a billion dollars of hasbara (public relations/propaganda) couldn’t possibly buy.”  In an open letter to Allen, he was asked “Would it not be more ingenious to develop a movie satirising Israel’s desperate attempts to obscure its crimes against humanity?” [48]

Looking ahead to 2013:
Bruce Springsteen’s choice to refrain from playing Israel in 2012 is a welcome one to anti-apartheid campaigners.  Multiple claims in the Israeli press, as well as several campaigns to pressure Springsteen to play Israel, confirm that there are still major efforts underway to convince The Boss to ignore the boycott in 2013.

Israel tends to ask bands who previously played in the apartheid state to return.  Bands whose members are Kabbalists are also often invited to play in Israel.  All artists are invited to respect the boycott, regardless of their spiritual commitments and if they have previously played in Israel.  Campaigns are already underway to educate artists involved with Lollapalooza Israel about the boycott.  The catchy “lollapartheid” has already been used to describe the festival.

Don’t Play Apartheid Israel
We are a group, of 850 members, representing many nations around the globe, who believe that it is essential for musicians & other artists to heed the call of the PACBI, and join in the boycott of Israel. This is essential in order to work towards justice for the Palestinian people under occupation, and also in refugee camps and in the diaspora throughout the world.

Original posting here: http://refrainplayingisrael.posterous.com/2012-summary-of-the-cultural-boycott-of-israe

Notes:
[1] 500 Artists Against Israeli Apartheid   http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5824
[2] Jacques Ranciére cancelled his visit to Israel http://thesip.org/2012/01/ranciere-cancellatio/
[3] BDS Victory: Cat Power cancels show in Tel Aviv http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-victory-cat-power-cancels-show-tel-aviv
[4] The Pains of Being Pure At Heart dismissed for political reasons
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&langpair=auto%7Cen&rurl=translate.google.com&tbb=1&u=http://e.walla.co.il/%3Fw%3D%252F6%252F2509963&usg=ALkJrhg9BlEd4I6ePpoln6_co901s_K56Q
[5] Cassandra Wilson cancels Israel show: “I identify with the cultural boycott of Israel”
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/singer-cassandra-wilson-cancels-israel-show-i-identify-cultural-boycott-israel
[6] From Israeli TV see 1.50 min [Hebrew] at:
http://www.mako.co.il/news-channel2/Channel-2-Newscast/Article-066c02822978531018.htm
[7] NY Activists protest Batsheva Dance Company performance in Brooklyn http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/ny-activists-protest-batsheva-dance-company-performance-in-brooklyn.html
[8] Dismay at Globe Invitation to Israeli Theater http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/29/dismay-globe-invitation-israeli-theatre?newsfeed=true
[9] Zdob si Zdub: Stand in Solidarity with Palestinians! http://punksagainstapartheid.com/2012/01/zsz-open-letter/
[10] Heeding boycott call, Irish band Dervish pulls out of Israel concerts
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/heeding-boycott-call-irish-band-dervish-pulls-out-israel-concerts
[11] http://www.facebook.com/FullSetBand/posts/432263436801746
[12] Israeli Orientalist Festival in Morocco Bellyflops http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/04/21/israeli-orientalist-festival-in-morocco-bellyflops/
[13] Israeli-Arab Normalization Hits a Snag http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israeli-arab-normalization-hits-snag
[14] The Blessings of 2012, an album http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=426830113999740&set=a.383361181679967.117866.100000182654841&type=1&permPage=1
[15] My ‘No’ says more, and matters more http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1894&key=texas
[16] Statement on the Cancellation of “Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women”
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/mes/news/5111
[17] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4223273,00.html
[18]  INCACBI Appeal to Vikas Swarup: Boycott the International Writers Festival 2012 in Jerusalem! http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1827
[19]  ‘Hath not a Palestinian eyes?’: Protesters disrupt Habima performance at Globe
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/hath-not-a-palestinian-eyes-protesters-disrupt-habima-performance-at-globe.html
[20] Cultural boycott biting, but quietly, Israel Festival’s classical music advisor admits
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/cultural-boycott-biting-quietly-israel-festivals-classical-music-advisor-admits
[21] Zakir Hussain Cancels Performance in Tel Aviv  http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1913)
[22] http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1917
[23] Palestinian group Juthour withdraws from International Folklore Encounters Festival in Fribourg  http://bit.ly/Yl9nvj
[24] Occupied Tears http://youtu.be/9Qtyw84F5DM
[25]http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/canadian-band-attacked-by-israel-lobby-group-after-playing-song-titled-apartheid.html
[26] Nino Katamadze Will Not Play Apartheid Israel http://www.usacbi.org/2012/07/nino-katamadze-will-not-play-apartheid-israel/
[27] Expendables 2:  Stallone, Willis and Van Damme will not come to Israel http://news.walla.co.il/?w=%2F6%2F2553554
[28] Sizzla Tweets about Israel  https://www.facebook.com/notes/dont-play-apartheid-israel/sizzla-tweets-about-israel/446169305432463
[29] Tel Aviv Cancelled!  MAYDAY! MAYDAY! http://www.cardigans.com/?sid=default&bfs=1
[30] Apartheid Israel: Lenny Kravitz is not Boycotting Israel, Be Reassured
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/08/apartheid-israel-lenny-kravitz-is-not.html
[31] Hora, EIF 2012, Review http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2012/edinburghinternationalfestival/horaeif2012review-11441
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/09/peter-brooks-courageous-support-for.html
[32] South Africa’s Wits University student council unanimously passes boycott of Israel resolution  http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/08/university-of-witwatersrand-student.html
[33]  Peter Brook’s Letter to the Cameri: “It is our free choice”
[34]  Lebanon’s Mashrou’ Leila cancels on Chili Peppers after latter refuses Israel boycott call
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/lebanons-mashrou-leila-cancels-chili-peppers-after-latter-refuses-israel-boycott
[35]  Jerusalem Development Authority Implicated in Boycotted Film Funding.
http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/09/04/jerusalem-development-authority-implicated-in-boycotted-film-funding/
[36] YouGov Survey Results http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/0kh4fq1eb8/Jewish%20Chronicle%20Results%20120924.pdf
[37] Open Letter from Artists to Carnegie Hall
http://adalahny.org/web-action/1002/open-letter-artists-carnegie-hall-cancel-israel-philharmonic-orchestras-performance
[38] Artists Cancel Creative Time Summit Appearances Over Israeli “Partnership” [UPDATE 7]
http://hyperallergic.com/58499/artists-cancel-their-creative-time-summit-appearances-over-controversial-israeli-partnership/
[39] Three more Arab performers pull out of Austrian music festival due to Israel embassy sponsorship
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/three-more-arab-performers-pull-out-austrian-music-festival-due-israel-embassy
[40]  http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/rights-groups-launch-petition-thank-stevie-wonder-canceling-israel-army-benefit
[41] Ten Harpists Bow out of Apartheid Israel Harp Contest!
http://harpsofconscience.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/ten-harpists-bow-out-of-apartheid-israel-harp-contest-thank-you-for-having-a-conscience/
[42]  http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4313061,00.html
[43]  One life less-(une vie de moins)  http://youtu.be/Cq2MpG4gQgk
[44] http://www.rossdaly.gr/en/news/102-oudfestivall
[45] http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/3140/roger-waters-specch-at-the-un
[46] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/portico-quartet-respects-boycott-of.html
[47] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/andreas-oberg-respects-cultural-boycott.html
[48] http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/07/10/woody-allen-please-refuse-israels-hasbara-bribes/

Imagining Death – RTÉ and its coverage of Gaza

Imagining Death – RTÉ and its coverage of Gaza

The media reporting on Israel’s latest deadly attack on Gaza has been appalling. I’m not sure if it is worse than usual but it is certainly dreadful. Irish media has tended to report from the Israeli perspective more or less constantly. The news bulletins lead with Israeli government or military statements, they focus on rocket attacks from Gaza, they refer to Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants. They describe Hamas targets being hit. They rarely talk of the Palestinian people in terms of our shared humanity, they don’t have names, jobs, lives – they are numbers, and inaccurate ones at that – “around 140 Palestinians”. “….in what Israel says is a response to rockets….the Israeli military says….the Israeli cabinet today…”

Friday 23^rd November on RTÉ radio 1, Pat Kenny said the number of dead Palestinians in Gaza after Israel’s murderous assault (my words) is “over a hundred”. That’s 62 “over a hundred” Pat, that’s 162 people – that’s a lot more than a hundred. That’s people, you know – human beings.

On Sunday 18^th November an entire family, the Al-Dalou family was murdered by Israeli bombs, four children, five women and two men were killed. There were other atrocities that day, in two separate missile attacks, two fathers and their young sons were killed, they were distributing water and maintaining the water service.

I was in Dublin that day where we had a report from a friend just back from Gaza. Among the many harrowing things he described was the strain that the hospitals are under due to the siege. I got into my car that night, turned on the radio to hear the news and listened to Richard Crowley’s report. Having described the deaths of the family, he then went on to imagine Israeli deaths – he said “They’ll increase the aerial bombardment, they’ve done that today.  The hope is to destroy as many Hamas targets as possible before any ceasefire and the danger of course is as they do that is that the civilian casualties in Gaza will rise and we saw evidence of that today with the death of about ten members of one family including several children. Now equally civilian deaths on that scale on the Israeli side could equally collapse the talks. Remember the Israelis have been very lucky so far with very few deaths, so really what the Israelis are hoping to do is to force Hamas to keep their heads down and reduce the numbers of rockets…”

So, instead of for once focusing on the actual Palestinians killed, Crowley hypothesised about the consequences of imagined Israeli deaths. We know that in the orientalist prism that these journalists operate, Israelis have primacy over Palestinians but for imagined deaths to take precedence over real deaths is astonishing.

The RTÉ Six One News that Crowley’s report comes from gave us this analysis: “11 people thought to be civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza apartment building. At least four children are reported to have been among the dead. It’s now thought that the Palestinian death toll has climbed to 65 but the Israeli president says that a supreme effort is being made to avoid civilian deaths.” Now this report was accompanied by footage of dead children being taken from the rubble of their home so either RTÉ is disputing that those children are civilians or the editor isn’t even listening to the script.

The next day, when twin babies and their parents had been killed (they had named one of the boys, Mohammed after his brother who they lost in Israel’s twenty-two day assault on Gaza in 2008/09) and in the wake of the Al Dalou family massacre, the RTÉ news website report on its front page had a picture of Israelis running ‘for cover’ in a shopping mall in Tel Aviv, this is incredible. There is obviously an element of laziness, of incompetence but there is also a clear agenda being operated here. Editorial decisions are obviously being taken to give the Israeli narrative of victimhood and to depict the Palestinians as violent and terroristic.

As well as increasing amounts of journalistic fallacy and inaccuracy, there is an utter lack of both empathy and context. Why are Palestinian voices not heard? Why are the numbers of their dead irrelevant? Why are they not at the forefront of reporting when they are the victims of overwhelming Israeli aggression?

Where is the context? Gaza is under illegal siege, the people there have nowhere to go to, they have rights as an occupied people, they don’t have an army, an airforce, there are no bomb shelters for people to go to. The people of Gaza are mostly refugees from Israel’s ethnic cleansing. Collective punishment is illegal under international law. These are not opinions, these are facts yet they are not mentioned by journalists ‘covering’ this.

It must be noted that until the ceasefire Crowley reported from Jerusalem, we are not told why he wasn’t in Gaza. Although he was able to interview Israelis there and in Tel Aviv and worry about the tourist industry, he never managed to report about the three Palestinians murdered in the West Bank by the IOF as they protested the massacre in Gaza. Conclusions. Draw them.

Among the many warcrimes committed by Israel in this attack, the targeting and murder of three journalists chimes. The apartheid state has long tried to eliminate those who would expose their crimes, they allowed no journalists into Gaza in 08/09. There has been almost no mention of the murder of colleagues by the Irish media.

On 19^th November on the news, Richard Crowley says that Israel’s “targeted assassinations can go horribly wrong”. To anyone, journalists especially, it should be obvious that bombing one of the most densely populated places on the planet can ONLY have the result of mass murder. This IS Israel – it is going horribly right. While we hear constantly about Hamas targeting civilian populations, or firing ‘indiscriminate’ rockets, we never hear this about Israel’s war crimes.

Tuesday 20^th November, RTÉ finally get around to interviewing a Palestinian woman living in Ireland. Fatin Al Tamimi’s sister lives in Gaza with her family. In order to provide the dreaded B.A.L.A.N.C.E that only seems to be required when Palestinians are finally given a voice, an Israeli woman who has nephews called up into the army was on too. Fatin’s segment was also heavily edited, leaving out much of her main points.

I am focusing on RTÉ as it is the state broadcaster, by far the most influential broadcast media in Ireland and is publicly funded and supposed to have a public service remit. There are huge issues with the print media and other radio and television outlets too, they are for another day.

Tuesday 20th on the Mary Wilson presented Drivetime, she interviewed Gisela Schmidt Martinin Gaza, working for the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Martin gave a very articulate interview which conveyed the horror the people of Gaza were being subjected to and then Mary Wilson put the Israeli side to her, she said that the Israelis would say they were responding to rockets. Not only was it unnecessary for Wilson to give the Israeli perspective, it is hardly off the airwaves, but she had just interviewed an equally articulate Israeli professor and at no point did she feel compelled to present him with the Palestinian narrative. This is constant.

Turned over to Matt Cooper on Today FM who was interviewing an Israeli whose mother had to move to another room because of rockets from Gaza. Now there are two things here: obviously I don’t want anyone afraid or threatened, but she has another room to move into and her government is the aggressor. I can bet everything I have that Matt Cooper would never interview a Palestinian with family in Gaza in such a sympathetic fashion. He would not allow them to assert, as he did this guest, that the Irish media is biased against his ‘side’ and that his government is not effective at getting the story of their victimhood across. Then I went to a vigil for Gaza.

On Friday 23^rd the RTÉ news carried a report from Gaza where Crowley said this: “Yesterday evening the bodies of two more members of the Dalou family were found  in the rubble of their home bombed in error by the Israelis four days ago.”

 IN ERROR? In fucking ERROR?

The Israelis have already stated that they wanted to kill a Hamas member in that building, that they targeted it deliberately. As Palestinian life is of no consequence to the Israeli war machine, they don’t make mistake, they just kill – sometimes it’s the ‘right’ person, sometimes not – whatever. But we hear all the time from our media about Palestinian indiscriminate rocket fire, but the few times they kill people are not referred to as ‘errors’.

Photo AP/Bernat Armangue

Why are these journalists so desensitised to the Palestinian people? Why do they refuse their humanness? Why don’t they look, really look at the facts? It’s an agenda, but is it that they have been pressured by the Israeli embassy? The government? What is it? Because it’s either incompetence or some form of extreme bias, or a lethal combination of the two.

While Hamas are demonised and depicted as unreconstructed terrorists who wish for the destruction of Israel, the truth of negotiations, of efforts to create and maintain ceasefires are ignored. Al Jabari’s role in the release of Shalit? His work on negotiating a ceasefire? Doesn’t fit the agenda, doesn’t get reported.

The filthy, racist rhetoric coming from within the Israeli far right never reaches the Irish airwaves. We don’t hear about the MKs calling fro Gaza to be crushed into dust, turned into a stone age. War criminal Sharon’s son’s vile calls to flatten Gaza, to unleash a Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the people there isn’t discussed, it doesn’t fit the narrative.

There are brilliant and unbelievably brave Palestinians blogging and reporting from Gaza, even CNN manages to put them on occasionally. You will not see them in the Irish media. Why not? Our media would have us believe that the world’s fourth largest military power, a nuclear armed state backed to the hilt by the US and the EU is under attack from besieged Gaza. Pillars of propaganda.

I might never finish writing this piece, it might go on forever as the media bias accelerates. I’ll stop here, for now – but this will continue. We have to keep challenging them, insisting they report both facts and context. No ‘side’ will be required then, the truth speaks for itself – that’s why we don’t hear it on our airwaves.

To close, Friday 23^rd, Richard Crowley, finally in Gaza asked a cousin of the Al Dalou family, as they pulled more of their dead from their bombed home: “Do you think you could ever forgive and make peace with the Israelis?” That was his question. In that context.

The prism? Israelis. The Palestinians? Ignored, dehumanised.

Pillars of Cloud, pillars of death, pillars of society, pillars of lies.

End the siege, free Gaza, free Palestine and BDS every minute until it happens.