#BDS_Fail: Citibank, American Express pull support from Roger Waters concert tour
Both Citibank and American Express have withdrawn their support for former Deep Purple lead guitarist Roger Waters' concert tour over Waters' support of the BDS movement.
Citibank announced Tuesday that it was not sponsoring the upcoming
concert tour of Pink Floyd co-founder and Israel-boycott advocate Roger
Waters, adding that the bank had “no plans to work with this artist in
the future,” the Algemeiner reported.
The banking giant issued the denial in a letter responding to a
shareholder concerned about its relationship with Waters, who was accused by the Anti-Defamation League in 2013 of having “absorbed classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.” The New York Postreported last
week that American Express had refused to sponsor Waters’ North
American 2017 tour, but that Citibank would be sponsoring it instead.
“I want to let you know that Citi is not a sponsor of Roger Waters’
upcoming tour,” a Citibank official said in the email. “Two weeks ago,
Citi offered a limited time pre-sale of tickets for cardmembers for
select shows, as we do for thousands of concerts by different artists
every year. While advertised as the ‘official card’ for payment
purposes, the pre-sale was in no way an endorsement of the artist’s
personal views. The pre-sale has ended and we have no plans to work with
this artist in the future.”
A number of artists who were planning to play in Israel last year said that they felt threatened by proponents of the Palestinian-led boycott campaign against Israel. Despite these threats, major artists such as Alicia Keys, The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, and Bon Jovi have
performed in Israel in recent years. Typically, when entertainers
announces plans to perform in the Jewish state, boycott supporters make
public appeals and send private messages to try to pressure them to
cancel the concert; if a particularly prominent artist is involved, they
may receive an open letter from Waters.
Waters' recent performances have veered into anti-Semitic territory.
"For an artist to go and play in a country that occupies other people’s
land and oppresses them the way Israel does, is plain wrong. They should
say no. I would not have played for the Vichy government in occupied
France in the Second World War, I would not have played in Berlin either
during this time," Waters said in the interview with online magazine
Counterpunch.
Waters compared artists playing concerts in Israel to those who
performed in Nazi Germany.
"Many people did, back in the day. There were
many people that pretended that the oppression of the Jews was not
going on. From 1933 until 1946. So this is not a new scenario. Except
that this time it’s the Palestinian People being murdered."
He
said that there were parallels between Germany in the 1930s and Israel
of today, citing the ideas of extremist rabbis an example.
"They
believe some very weird stuff you know, they believe that everybody that
is not a Jew is only on earth to serve them and they believe that the
Indigenous people of the region that they kicked off the land in 1948
and have continued to kick off the land ever since are sub-human. The
parallels with what went on in the 30’s in Germany are so crushingly
obvious that it doesn’t surprise me that the movement that both you and I
are involved in is growing every day."
I hope that if Dr. Mengele has a son or grandson, he will experiment on Waters. Then this miserable worm will see that Israel is nothing at all like Nazi Germany.
Bar Refaeli to Roger Waters: 'If you're going to boycott Israel, boycott me too'
This is a day for posting tweets.... Bar Refaeli tweets to Roger Waters (in Hebrew):
רוג'ר ווטרס, כדאי שתוריד את התצלום שלי מהוידאו ארט בהופעות שלך. אם כבר חרם- אז עד הסוף.
— Bar Refaeli (@BarRefaeli) August 21, 2013
Of course, it's in Hebrew so he won't understand it, and she didn't use the @ key so he might not see it. But maybe I can help him see it....
@RogerWaters@BarRefaeli RT רוג'ר ווטרס, כדאי שתוריד את התצלום שלי מהוידאו ארט בהופעות שלך. אם כבר חרם- אז עד הסוף.
— IsraelMatzav (@IsraelMatzav) August 21, 2013
Translation: Roger Waters, you should remove my picture from the video art at your appearances. If you're going to boycott, then go all the way.
Aussie Dave tries to figure out what it all means here.
Flock Builder on how to conduct a National Referendum and simulation of the peace talks
Flock Builder explains how to conduct the National Referendum on
Israel's future and computer expert Geek Bizarre presents a computerized
simulation of the anticipated rounds of peace talks. Yes, it's the weekly LATMA update.
Roger Waters: 'Some of my best friends are Jewish'
In an open letter on his Facebook page, Roger Waters has responded to charges of anti-Semitism from the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Abraham Cooper, after Waters used a giant balloon of a pig with a swastika and a Star of David painted on it in a concert in Belgium two weeks ago. Waters' response: 'Some of my best friends are Jewish.'
“Often I can ignore these attacks, but Rabbi Cooper’s accusations are so
wild and bigoted they demand a response,” Waters begins his riposte,
then, addressing Cooper directly, writes: “I hold your outburst to be
inflammatory and un-helpful and would suggest it can only impede
progress towards peace and understanding between people. It is also
extremely insulting to me personally in that you accuse me of being
‘Anti Semitic’, ‘A Jew Hater’ and ‘Nazi Sympathizer.’”
...
In the letter, Waters responds to the allegations by claiming that
the Star of David was one of many symbols used in his show, including
“the Crucifix, the Crescent and Star, the Hammer and Sickle, the Shell
Oil Logo and The McDonald’s Sign, a Dollar Sign and a Mercedes sign.”
Waters points out that the pig has appeared at 193 performances
since September 2010, and last week’s was the first complaint. He
said “the pig in question represents evil, and more specifically the
evil of errant government. We make a gift of this symbol of
repression to the audience at the end of every show and the people
always do the right thing. They destroy it.”
In his letter, Waters contends that he has “many very close Jewish
friends,” including ”Simon Wiesenthal’s nephew,” and his two grandsons
whose “mother, my daughter in law, is Jewish and so, in consequence,
I’m told, are they.”
Perhaps emboldened by his extensive Jewish connections, Waters then
launches into an anti-Israel tirade. “In a functioning theocracy it is
almost inevitable that the symbol of the religion becomes confused
with the symbol of the state, in this case the State of Israel, a
state that operates Apartheid both within its own borders and also in
the territories it has occupied and colonized since 1967,” Waters
charges.
What a nice guy. I'm sure that if the 'Palestinians' get their 'state' he'll find many more Jews he can love.
We hear constantly repeated claims that the BDS'ers are 'only' anti-Israel and that they're really not anti-Semites, as if there's a difference between the two. Now, here's proof that at least one prominent BDS'er is an anti-Semite. It happened in Belgium on July 18.
Let's go to the videotape. You can turn off the music. I did.
“I came to the concert because I really like his music, without any
connection to his political stance toward Israel,” Alon Onfus Asif, an
Israeli living in Belgium told Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot.
“And I had a lot of fun, until I noticed the Star of David, on the
inflatable pig. That was the only religious-national symbol which
appeared among other symbols for fascism, dictatorships and oppression
of people. Waters crossed the line and gave expression to an
anti-Semitic message, beyond all his messages of anti-militancy.”
Next to the Star of
David, on the wild pig balloon, there was also a sign of oil
conglomerate Shell, and a graffiti message stating, “Everything will be
okay, just keep consuming,” and “What’s wrong with people?”
The pig’s hind quarters appear to feature a silhouette of a man giving a Nazi salute.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is outraged.
“With this disgusting display Roger Waters has made it crystal clear.
Forget Israel, never mind ‘limited boycotts promoting Middle East
Peace.’ Waters is an open hater of Jews,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper,
Associate Dean of the center in an email to The Algemeiner.
“The video is beyond shocking. The only books this bigot should be
getting should be with the Mullahs in Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood,”
Cooper added.
But the Anti-Defamation League doesn't even think it's anti-Semitic.
Another Jewish watchdog, the Anti Defamation League which criticized Waters in 2010
for “using imagery long associated with stereotypes about Jews and
money as part of a segment of his 2010-2011 ‘The Wall Live’ Tour,” said
that Waters’ pig was old news and in context was not anti-Semitic.
“This is the same thing he’s been doing for years,” said Todd
Gutnick, Director of Media Relations. “We believe there’s no
anti-Semitic intent here in the use of the Star of David symbol.”
No anti-Semitic intent? None? Abe Foxman must be on vacation this week.
El Al Israel Airlines has canceled its promotion of a concert by Roger Waters in Budapest that was on its web site after learning that Waters is a prominent BDS'er.
“This matter was
brought to my attention yesterday afternoon,” Sheryl Stein, an advertising/public
relations/social media manager for El Al, wrote in an email to JNS.org on Thursday. “Our Head Office
received my email this morning and I am pleased to say this issue was resolved
in a timely manner. On a regular basis, EL AL offers passengers packages to
cultural events around the world. As soon as this sensitive issue was brought
to our attention, the package was canceled.”
Waters accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing,”
“apartheid” and “international crimes” in a November 2012 address at the United
Nations, and last fall was also at the forefront of efforts to boycott an
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Does El Al live in cave? Roger Waters' BDS activities have been in every media source in Israel. How could they have scheduled him in the first place?
Richard Allen,
head of JCC Watch, an organization that is calling for the establishment of new
guidelines to prevent Jewish funding of activity that gives BDS a platform,
said he was “very pleased” by El Al’s quick removal of the Waters package. JCC
Watch is organizing monthly protests until it sees new Jewish community
guidelines on BDS, in response to the recent scheduling of events with Waters
and “The Color Purple” author Alice Walker, another high-profile BDS activist.
The Waters event that was scheduled for this spring was ultimately canceled,
but Walker appeared at the Y—which receives $900,000 in funding per year from
the UJA-Federation of New York—in late May.
Unfortunately, outside of Israel, there's a lot of indifference and misunderstanding about what BDS is and that it's as anti-Israel as they come. But at least in Israel we should understand the issue.
Paul McCartney received death threats for playing in Israel
If you're a musician and you play in Israel, they don't just threaten to kill sales of your music. The BDS'ers threaten to kill you.
When rock legend Paul McCartney came to Israel in 2008, he was, at
least to some extent, taking his life in his hands. Not because of
Israel's sometimes precarious security situation, but because he was
threatened by BDS (boycott, divest, and sanction) anti-Israel groups. “I
got death threats, but I'm coming anyway,” the singer was quoted as saying by Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs researcher Adam Shay.
“I got explicit death threats, but I have no intention of
surrendering. I refuse to cancel my performances in Israel,” Shay quoted
McCartney as saying.
The former Beatle is not alone.
Dozens of other artists who schedule dates in Israel are
lobbied, bullied, threatened, and even attacked at concerts by
anti-Israel groups who are bent on isolating Israel culturally, as well
as economically. Many artists, said Shay, claimed that their web sites
have been attacked by hackers right before their Israeli concerts.
Alicia Keys, who recently played a concert here last week,
supplies the latest example of intimidation faced by artists who play
Israel. Several of her fellow singers – notably Elvis Costello and Roger
Waters – urged her to cancel, calling Israel an “apartheid state,” and
Keys' Facebook page was littered with condemnations of her on the day of
the concert. Costello himself cancelled a concert in Israel in 2010, as
did Carlos Santana, after being hectored by anti-Israel groups. Other
notables who have cancelled planned concerts in Israel are Jon Bon Jovi,
the Yardbirds, Joe Lynn Turner, and the Pixies. Spanish singer Paco
Ibanez went one better, telling a French newspaper that he is boycotting
the Hebrew language, which he can speak, for political reasons.
And you thought the BDS'ers were 'non-violent.' They're about as peaceful as the suicide bombing 'Palestinians' they support.
National Council of Young Israel blasts 92nd Street Y for featuring anti-Israel speakers
The National Council of Young Israel has released a letter blasting Manhattan's 92nd Street Y for featuring anti-Israel speakers.
The
letter, which was signed by Young Israel President Farley Weiss,
Chairman of the Board Robert Levi and 1st Vice President Yosef Poplack,
referred to a number of instances over the past several months in which
the 92nd Street Y chose to showcase individuals who have publically
denigrated the State of Israel, including Roger Waters, a lead member of
the band Pink Floyd and a noted critic of Israel, and Alice Walker, a
celebrated author who regularly demonizes Israel.
"Your
decision to showcase personalities who openly denounce Israel and who
unabashedly malign the Jewish State in the public arena is particularly
troubling and antithetical to your core mission, and contrary to the
deep interests of your primary constituency," said the letter.
"While
we admire your longstanding effort to promote Jewish culture, we are
deeply concerned over your ill-considered programmatic decisions that
run counter to the interests of your own constituency. Extending an
invitation to noted anti-Israel personalities is counterproductive and
runs afoul of your desire to affirm a commitment to the State of Israel
and world Jewry. Individuals who denigrate the Jewish State should not
be welcomed with open arms at any venue that is associated with a Jewish
group or organization."
"We
respectfully request that greater care be given in the future to the
selection of featured speakers at the 92nd Street Y and ask that you
invite those who stand for and with Israel instead of those who call for
boycotting Israel."
Anti-Semite Roger Waters has responded to the cancellation of his lecture which was to take place on April 30 at New York's 92nd Street Y. This is from the first link.
I was invited by 92Y to take part in an interview at the Theresa L.
Kaufmann Concert Hall on the 30 th April this year. I checked out a
couple of previous talks on YouTube, and as they appeared to be serious
and measured discourse, I accepted the invitation to take part.
Things were complicated when the Opera House in São Paulo, Brazil
requested my presence for four full productions of Ça Ira, my opera on
the French Revolution, around conflicting dates. In the end, the date
for the dress rehearsal of Ça Ira fell on the 30 th April, and so,
reluctantly and very apologetically, I asked the team at 92Y if my
appearance could be re-scheduled. Assistant Director Jennifer Hausler,
who had been helping all along, couldn’t have been more understanding,
gave me some alternative dates in June and I accepted June the 19th.
Everyone was happy. Well, perhaps not quite everyone.
On April 3rd, my publicist in NY received a phone call from Susan Engel,
the Director of Lectures at the 92Y, cancelling my re-scheduled
engagement without explanation. She did leave a telephone number which
we called, but it was only an answering machine with the message that
92Y was closed for Passover. We left messages asking to talk to Susan
Engel but have so far received no reply.
I have since been made aware of rumblings on the net suggesting that
resistance in the local Jewish community to my coming engagement may
have had something to do with its cancellation. If that be the case it
saddens me. In these troubled times, opportunities for serious, measured
discourse are too precious to be discarded on the altar of sectarian
prejudice. Not to talk is not an option.
Waters then goes on to say that he didn't necessarily have to talk about Israel and 'Palestine,' but I think we all would have been floored had he not done so.
Waters' hypocrisy shines through on his declaration, "Not to talk is not
an option." As a person who supports "BDS," surely Waters knows that he
is supporting the silencing of Israeli opinions worldwide. He supports
boycotting Israeli universities, Israeli books, Israeli poems, Israeli
music, Israeli dance and indeed Israelis giving talks in other
countries. He supports the disgraceful displays of haters interrupting
concerts, lectures and dances simply because the performers were
Israeli, no matter what the content of their performances.
For a person like that to say "Not to talk is not an option" really
means that Waters reserves the right for his drug-addled ramblings to be
heard wherever and whenever he wants, but he will not extend that same
right to anyone who is peripherally connected to the Jewish state. That
is pretty much the definition of hypocrisy.
That same hypocrisy is common to anyone who supports BDS under the banner of free speech.
In fact, these are standard tactics on the Left: Cry free speech when they are barred and then bar others at every opportunity.
Why Roger Waters' appearance at the 92nd Street Y was cancelled
In an earlier post, I reported that Roger Waters' scheduled appearance at New York's 92nd Street Y had been cancelled.
Anyone who knows how it happened isn't saying, but Lori Lowenthal Marcus manages to piece together enough to give us some idea how it happened.
The Jewish Press ran a story
on March 25 about Waters’ scheduled appearance at the 92nd Street Y,
noting that the Y had begun nearly 140 years earlier as the Young Men’s
Hebrew Association, and how ironic it was that it was going to host one
of the biggest haters of Israel west of the Middle East.
And then things became a little strange at the 92nd Street Y website.
On March 26th, the Waters event at the Y was listed on the website as
“postponed.” Then, sometime during the first days of Passover, all
mention of the Waters concert was removed from the Y’s website,
including from its calendar listing. However, curious callers to the
box office were told that the concert was going on as planned. By late
in the evening of March 28, the event once again was listed on the
website.
On March 29, the box office staff told curious callers that they
should keep their tickets and they would be called with information
about a new date, but later that same day a new date for the Waters’
concert – June 19th – was posted on a British website.
The turmoil continued for the 92nd Street Y management, scheduling
office, and webmaster, as the public outcry continued, reaching a
crescendo on April 3.
Emails were sent to Adler at the Y and to John Ruskay, the chair of
New York City’s United Jewish Appeal – Federation, asking how they could
provide a forum at the Y to someone with such a visceral hatred for
Israel, someone who has publicly stated his commitment to do everything
within his power to destroy Israel’s efforts to protect its citizens
from terrorism.
The real questions are, which moron(s) made the decision to put this event on in the first place, why they still have a job and why the New York City Jewish Federation and the Y consistently have issues like this.
Heh: Roger Waters appearance in New York cancelled
Pink Floyd guitarist Roger Waters, who has compared Israel to Nazis and who has been labeled an anti-Semite by the Anti-Defamation League, was to appear at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan on April 30to 'look back on his career.' The Y receives $800,000 annually from the Jewish Federation - i.e. from Jewish communal funds. Waters is also a leader in the BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) movement against Israel, and has called for boycotting Israel until it commits suicide (even though he himself has come here several times to play concerts and make money). This came in an email from JCC Watch.
On April 30, the 92nd St Y will host Roger Waters, lead singer of Pink Floyd, who’s a major figure in the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
On April 30th, he’ll present “An Evening with Roger Waters” at the 92nd St Y, in which he’ll talk about his life – a life he states is dedicated to attacking Israel through BDS.
“It’s absolutely outrageous that Jewish community funds are going to help Roger Waters spread his anti-Semitic message,” says Richard Allen of JCCWatch.org
“UJA-Federation gives $800,000 to the 92nd Street Y. Jewish donations are helping to provide Waterswith a facility, marketing, and respectability, so he can win over more people with his anti-Israel lies.”
And a minute after I put this post in the queue, I found out that the event has been cancelled. But let the powers to be know that you're happy about that too.
By the way, the censored logo is at the top, because when I last used
the JCC's logo they threatened to sue me for a trademark violation....
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons - nee Chaim Witz of Tirat HaCarmel - has blasted fellow musicians who boycott Israel as fools.
Simmons had harsh words for musicians like Elvis Costello and the Pixies who have recently canceled concerts to protest Israel's policies toward the Palestinians. Pink Floyd's Roger Waters has gone further, joining an organized movement dedicated to boycotting Israel and its exports, though he appeared in Israel in 2006.
"The countries they should be boycotting are the same countries that the populations are rebelling," he said. "People long to be free ... And they sure as hell don't want somebody who's a ruler who hasn't been elected by them."
Simmons, 61, is visiting Israel as part of his reality show, "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," which follows the adventures and musings of the rocker, his longtime girlfriend, Shannon Tweed, and their two children.
While situations on the show are generally lighthearted, he said his stop in Israel has deep personal significance. "Coming back to Israel is a homecoming," he said.
Simmons was born Chaim Witz and spent his childhood in northern Israel before moving to America. The normally extravagant musician, known for his extended tongue, demonic makeup and stage pyrotechnics, grew subdued as he described his early life in the hardscrabble town of Tirat Carmel.
He recalled his father, a carpenter, taking his assault rifle and heading off to military service on weekends. He said his mother, a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, taught him that "every day above ground is a good day."
The family was "dirt poor," scraping by on meager bread and milk rations available in what was then an underdeveloped country. He earned money by selling fruits he collected from cactuses.
Simmons moved with his mother to the United States when he was eight. Although he has climbed to the highest levels of the entertainment world and lives with a former Playboy Playmate of the Year in Beverly Hills, he said he still considers Israel his home.
Hmmm. I can think of some people who don't read this blog to whom I am going to send this article.
Why was there a terror attack in Itamar on Friday night? Why were five innocent Jews - three of them children - murdered? Why now? This may have something to do with it:
In the period prior to the murders of Ruth and Udi Fogel and their three children in the Israeli town Itamar, the Palestinian Authority continued to encourage terror by glorifying terrorists as heroes and role models and through calls for violence. In addition, in an act that sent a clear message of support for terror, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded $2000 to the family of a terrorist who attacked and tried to kill Israeli soldiers - just 2 months ago.
The following are some examples of terror promotion in the period leading up to the terror attack in Itamar on the West Bank two days ago in which terrorist(s) murdered five members of an Israeli family:
Abbas awards $2000 to family of terrorist In December, a Palestinian terrorist carrying two pipe bombs ran towards the soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint, screaming "Allahu Akbar" - "Allah is Greater". The soldiers shot him before he could detonate the bombs.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas granted "the relatives of the Shahid" $2000: "The governor of the Jenin district, Kadura Musa, has awarded a presidential grant to the family of the Shahid (Martyr), Khaldoun Najib Samoudy, during a visit that took place yesterday in the village of Al-Yamoun. The governor noted that the grant is financial aid in the amount of $2000 that the President [Mahmoud Abbas] is awarding to the relatives of the Shahid, who was recently killed as a Martyr at the Hamra checkpoint by the Israeli occupation forces."[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah) Jan. 25, 2011]
A day before the terror attack in Itamar: "Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas... The weapons must be turned towards the main enemy [Israel]" "Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas and under-secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Sabri Saidam, delivered a speech... He emphasized that the weapons must be turned towards the main enemy [Israel] and that internal differences of opinion must be set aside. Saidam noted the awful living conditions of the families of Shahids [Martyrs], in the country and outside of it, and as proof he said that the allowance to the family of Shahida [Martyr] Dalal Mughrabi [leader of the bus hijacking in 1978 in which 37 civilians were murdered] is a mere $123. He demanded of the Palestinian people to treat the problems of the families of these Shahids seriously, and emphasized that the anniversary of Dalal's Martyrdom-seeking (i.e., her terror attack) should be amplified by inaugurating a square in her name in the city of El-Bireh." [Al-Ayyam, March 10, 2011]
During the week of the terror attack in Itamar: PA newspaper advertizes football tournament named after the first female suicide bomber"The administration of the Al-Amari youth center [in Ramallah] has announced its plans to launch a youth tournament (for 19-year-olds) to be named 'Shahida (Martyr) of Honor, Wafa Idris [tournament].' The Al-Am'ari administration is maintaining contacts with the Palestinian Football Association for permission." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 6, 2011, p. 1] [http://www.ammariclub.com/aboutClub.aspx http://www.amari.8m.net/center_in_english.htm] Note: Wafa Idris was the first Palestinian female suicide bomber. She blew herself up in Jerusalem, killing one and injuring more than 150 on Jan. 27, 2002. As a volunteer for the Palestinian Red Crescent, she was able to bypass Israeli security and enter Jerusalem in a Palestinian ambulance.
Robin Shepherd notes that the context of the terror attack - the incidents given above and others described in the linked article - are once again being given short shrift by Western media. Robin notes:
But so long as western media refuse to report on this incitement, the western audience is left in a state of unawareness about the Israeli position which looks either intransigent or overly obsessed with “security”.
[I]t is precisely the propensity of Palestinians to slaughter (and incite the slaughter of) innocent Jews that remains at the core of this conflict. It is a story that needs to be widely told.
Perhaps if it were told, drivel like this from Roger Waters would not find its way into Al-Guardian. After what happened this weekend, we see once again why the 'wall' ('security fence') is necessary. If we did not have it, Friday night's terror attack would have taken place in a neighborhood in Jerusalem. This is from Assaf Wohl at YNet.
Let's put ideology aside for a moment and only talk numbers. Before the fence was built, premeditated acts of horror were perpetrated within Israel regularly. In 2002 alone, some 189 Israelis were massacred in 53 terror attacks [Those numbers are way off - they are less than the month of March alone! In 2002 there were 60 suicide attacks, while in 2003 this number decreased by more than 50% to 26 suicide attacks. There was also a considerable decrease in the number of fatalities: from 452 Israelis killed in 2002 to 214 Israelis killed in 2003 CiJ]. As the fence kept expanding, hostilities declined, until in 2009 they stood at zero. So these are the numbers.
My conclusions, which are only premised on the data presented above, are simple: With a fence in place, there are no massacres. Without a fence, hundreds of civilians are massacred. Hence, those interested in removing the fence support the slaughter of Israelis. So why do you, dear leftist, endorse massacres in practice?
...
Ask yourself the following question: Why do you compare the premeditated slaughter of civilians to unintentional harm to civilians who serve as a human shield for rocket launchers and suicide bombers? There are two possible answers here.
The first answer, my leftist comrade, is that you're simply an idiot. Don't be insulted, my friend, you're not "just an idiot." You are an idiot of the type Lenin referred to as "useful idiot." What does that mean? You're simply being exploited.
...
The second and less flattering possibility is that you're not a "useful idiot," but rather, a mere anti-Semite. Is there another way for you to explain your obsession with Israel? Do you show the same determined disapproval towards China, Iran, Syria, Venezuela or North Korea?
In a letter posted on the website of the Alternative information Center, Waters said he would continue to wage a boycott campaign against Israel until it ends its occupation of the West Bank and dismantles the security fence, grants full equality to Arab citizens of Israel and allows all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Israel.
Waters last visited here in 2006.
After visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem and viewing the security fence -- on which he spray-painted "we don't need no thought control," a lyric from the Pink Floyd song "Another Brick in the Wall" -- he canceled his concert at a sports stadium in Tel Aviv and moved it to Neve Shalom, a village in which Jews and Arabs live together in a planned community.
I was especially impressed by the fact that he returns again and again to the wall Israel has built (well, that would make sense, given Water's history of walls), without ever reflecting on the fact that the wall is actually an expression of ending the occupation: the sense of having a border is that the Palestinians will end up on one side, and the Israelis on the other, and there will be a border separating them. The wall, and partition, also contradict the right of return he supports, but no matter. The important thing is that a man with no grasp of the reality feels it's an honorable thing to make idiotic and counter-factual statements about the Jewish state, and he'll be applauded for doing so by large numbers of other malicious fools. That's the important heart of the matter.
Unfortunately, the President of the United States doesn't have any better grasp of the issues than does Roger Waters. Read the whole thing.
I can't help but wonder if Waters has any grasp of the issues. For a man who claims not to be an anti-Semite (okay, that claim is questionable), one has to wonder whether Waters is aware of the consequences Israelis would face if we were foolish enough to listen to him.
By the way, Waters visited Israel in 2009, although JTA is correct in pointing out that the last time he played a concert here was 2006.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
