By U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv – Flickr: Antigone Rising Israel 1011, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18890328
Despite facing weeks of intense pressure from supporters of the boycott Israel movement, Grammy Award-winning Colombian musician Carlos Vives (perhaps best-known in the USA for his collaboration with fellow Colombian superstar Shakira on their 2016 single “Bicicleta“) went ahead with his July 31 show in Tel Aviv, tweeting soon after that it was a very special night.
Over the past month, Carlos has been on a world tour, traveling across the globe to share his music with his fans. He performed in Chile, Costa Rica, Germany, and the United Kingdom without a hitch. When it came to his July 31 concert in Tel Aviv, however, he was attacked by activists attempting to make Israel — and only Israel — off limits to international artists.
BDS Colombia, the main anti-Israel group in Carlos’s home country, launched a petition calling on him not to perform in Tel Aviv. It attracted thousands of signatures and was circulated by boycott groups around the world. In the days and weeks leading up to his Tel Aviv show, boycott activists bombarded his social media accounts with misleading information about Israel, portraying it as an “apartheid state” and trying to force him to cancel his concert.
As an organization comprised of prominent members of the entertainment industry who are dedicated to promoting the arts as a means to peace and to countering the cultural boycott of Israel, CCFP jumped into action behind the scenes, offering our support to Carlos and his representatives. In the end, Carlos decided to rebuff the boycott pressure and join the many Latin American artists who have performed in Israel in recent years. These artists include Maluma, Wisin, Daddy Yankee, Bomba Estereo, Ricky Martin, Nicky Jam, and Carlos Santana, among others.
“We’ve traveled to many countries, looked for accordion music in other cultures different to ours,” Carlos said in a video posted to his Instagram account. “Languages and history, politics and culture separate us. But what unites is all is music.”
Gracias Tel Aviv????????! Ha sido una noche muy especial! Que concierto tan increíble, nos vamos muy contentos de haber estado acá con ustedes de compartir y de aprender de acá un poco más! Gracias @idanraichel tu piano en este concierto fue espectacular #VivesEnTelAviv #VivesTour pic.twitter.com/t65oiFDcrJ
— Carlos Vives (@carlosvives) August 1, 2018
Gracias por estos días de gira, por las alegrías y momentos, a mi familia por acompañarme y a #LaProvincia y al maravilloso #teamvives . Terminó en #Israel la etapa del #VivesTour. Sigue más de #CarlosVives y #LaProvincia y rematamos el 2018 en #Colombia #campasñalibertadora pic.twitter.com/S7VQQ5Y3dq
— Carlos Vives (@carlosvives) August 2, 2018
#LaProvincia en #jerusalem por eso siempre le pido a la vida, que a la tierra prometida me lleve, que la gente siempre este bien querida y se me lleva muy lejos regrese! pic.twitter.com/L6r35Ws7vW
— Carlos Vives (@carlosvives) July 30, 2018
“When we started the band, we were seven, and one of them didn’t want to travel to Israel [because of the boycott]. I found that very terrible and stupid, and we found ourselves in an unpleasant situation because of it, but unfortunately there was nothing I could do about it. Now we can do what we want to do, which is to visit Israel and perform. So yes, I wanted to come to you my whole life, and I am very excited.”
Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center – More than 200 people attended the LA premiere of the documentary “Wish You Weren’t Here,” hosted by Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The film, by filmmaker and New York Times #1 best-selling author Ian Halperin, examines the actions and motivations of former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, a major supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, in the context of the troubling rise in global anti-Semitism.
The film features interviews with leading figures including celebrated lawyer Alan Dershowitz, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder, and CCFP co-founder and chairman/CEO of Spirit Music Group, David Renzer.
Following the screening, a panel of influential Hollywood executives held a Q&A. Panelists included: David Renzer; Rick Rosen, WME Founding Partner and Head of Television; David Lande, Esq., entertainment attorney with Ziffren Bittenham; and filmmaker Ian Halperin. It was moderated by Moriah Films writer/director and Academy Award® winner Richard Trank. In attendance was Howard Rosenman, producer of the film, Call Me By Your Name.
Capturing the theme of the evening and the importance of ending the cultural boycott of Israel, David Renzer stated during the panel, “We as the creative community are here to support our artists and to support the idea of art and culture…This isn’t about politics. This is about culture and arts, and that’s the message we have to remember…This is about the power that art, music, and culture have to be healing in this time when we need it more than ever.”
Together, the panelists have dealt with boycott related issues for Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Scarlett Johansson, and many other high-profile artists.The full Q&A can be viewed here. Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) is an organization comprised of prominent members of the entertainment industry who promote the arts as a means to peace, support artistic freedom, and counter the cultural boycott of Israel. We understand the power that our music, our films, our television shows, and all arts have. We encourage artists to participate, rather than to shun, to express rather than to suppress. If anything, turn up the music, expose our art to wider audiences, and encourage people from all cultures to interact, communicate and inspire peace and understanding.
www.creativecommunityforpeace.com
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a global human rights organization researching the Holocaust and hate in a historic and contemporary context. The Center confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. With a constituency of over 400,000 households in the United States, it is accredited as an NGO at international organizations including the United Nations, UNESCO, OSCE, Organization of American States (OAS), the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO) and the Council of Europe. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Simon Wiesenthal Center maintains offices in New York, Toronto, Miami, Chicago, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Jerusalem.www.wiesenthal.com
Los Angeles, CA (July 10, 2017) – More than 45 high-level entertainment industry executives have signed a letter denouncing the “hypocritical, discriminatory, and dangerous” Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, after activists associated with the movement demanded that Lincoln Center cancel an Israeli play.
The executives, all members of Creative Community For Peace (CCFP), include: Adam Berkowitz, co-head of the television department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA); Jody Gerson, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group; Rick Krim, west coast president of Sony/ATV Music Publishing; David Renzer, chairman of Spirit Music Group; Rick Rosen, head of the television department at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME); Ben Silverman, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Propagate Content; and Steve Schnur, worldwide executive and music president of Electronic Arts, among others.
“Selectively silencing art is dangerous,” they wrote in the letter. “Art unites us, and helps us get past what makes us different while connecting us at the core of what makes us similar. We — and especially Israelis and Palestinians, who require being brought together more than anything — need more of it, not less.”
See the full letter and list of signatories below.
_____________
Dear Ms. Farley and Ms. Spar,
We at Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) applaud you for your principled stand in support of the arts. In the face of attacks by anti-Israel groups calling on Lincoln Center — one of the world’s foremost performing arts centers — to cancel the performance of the Israeli play “To the End of the Land,” you stood strong.
As an organization comprised of prominent members of the entertainment industry who believe in the power of the arts as a means to help build bridges towards peace, support artistic freedom, and counter the cultural boycott of Israel, we find the selective and politically motivated boycott directed at Israeli funding of the arts to be hypocritical, discriminatory, and dangerous to the arts and artists worldwide.
As we know, government support is crucial for the arts. Just this month, in fact, there are at least three other events at Lincoln Center that include support from governments around the world:
The film “Birdshot” — funded by the Doha Film Institute, a Qatari organization headed by the ruling Al Thani family — was screened there on July 6.
From July 3-8, the American Ballet Theatre — funded by the US federal government together with the governments of New York City and New York State — is performing its “Tchaikovsky Spectacular.”
And from July 26-30, the Bolshoi Ballet — which lists as its partners two Russian government news agencies — will perform “The Taming of the Shrew.”
While some of us at CCFP (and perhaps even at Lincoln Center) may disagree with various actions of these governments, we can all agree that punishing artists from these countries by shunning them for receiving crucial funding from their governments is not the answer. Depriving audiences of their work, their perspectives, and their contributions to culture around the world is imprudent.
Punishing artists from only one of these countries — as the signatories of open letter are attempting with Israel — is both imprudent and discriminatory.
In their letter asking you to punish Israeli artists, the signatories painted a very black and white picture of Israel — the only true democracy in the Middle East, where all people regardless of race, religion, or gender have full political and civil rights — ignoring the many shades of gray in its supremely complex and tragically ongoing conflict with the Palestinians.
They wrongfully accuse Israel of being a colonial, apartheid state, by using the type of emotionally charged and dishonest language which only serves to trigger further hostility and dampen hope for rational discourse, pushing peace further away.
They degraded Israeli artists, portraying them as no more than a tool used by the Israeli government to cover up its alleged crimes.
They demonized Israel, trying to make a sinister conspiracy out of Israel funding its artists, despite the fact that nearly every country on earth — from the freest democracy to the most oppressive dictatorship — does the same.
Again, we applaud you for standing firm in your support of the arts. If we had allowed their brazen efforts to single out Israeli artists for a politically motivated boycott to succeed today, who might have been the target tomorrow?
Selectively silencing art is dangerous. Art unites us, and helps us get past what makes us different while connecting us at the core of what makes us similar. We — and especially Israelis and Palestinians, who require being brought together more than anything — need more of it, not less.
We hope our colleagues who signed the boycott letter will follow your example and reconsider their support for this divisive movement . Instead we hope they will join us in ensuring that our industry is not used as a political tool of hatred and persecution based on misinformation and one sided biases.
Jason Adelman, former vp of strategic partnerships at Relativity Media;
Orly Adelson, president of Orly Adelson Productions;
Craig Balsam, co-founder of Razor & Tie Entertainment;
Richard Baskind, partner and head of music at Simons Muirhead & Burton;
Aton Ben-Horin, global vice president of A&R at Warner Music Group;
Steven Bensusan, president of Blue Note Entertainment Group;
Adam Berkowitz, co-head of the television department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA);
Joshua P. Binder, partner at Davis Shapiro & Lewit et al.;
David Byrnes, partner of Ziffren, Brittenham, LLP;
Civia Caroline, president of Clic Entertainment;
Josh Deutsch, chairman/CEO of Downtown Records;
David Draiman, musician and frontman of Disturbed;
Craig Emanuel, partner of Loeb & Loeb LLP;
Ron Fair, record producer and former chief creative officer and executive vp of Virgin America;
Erica Forster, vp of Music Partnerships, DanceOn;
Gary Foster, principal of Krasnoff Foster Productions;
Daryl Friedman, chief advocacy and industry relations officer of The Recording Academy/GRAMMYs on the Hill;
Daniel Glass, president and founder of Glassnote Entertainment Group;
Andrew Genger, Red Light Management;
Jody Gerson, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group;
Gary Ginsberg, executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications of Time Warner Inc.;
David Glick, founder and CEO of Edge Group;
Trudy Green, Trudy Green Management/HK Management;
Neil Jacobson, president of Geffen Records;
Zach Katz, president repertoire & marketing, U.S., BMG;
Amanda Kogan, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME);
Rick Krim, west coast president of Sony/ATV Music Publishing;
Colin Lester, CEO of JEM Artists;
David Levy, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME);
David Lonner, CEO of Oasis Media Group;
Ben Maddahi, president of Unrestricted;
Scott Packman, Esq.;
Donald S. Passman, partner of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, and Brown, Inc.;
Dean Raise, C3 Presents;
David Renzer, chairman of Spirit Music Group and former chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group;
Hanna Rochelle, founder and president of Lyric Culture;
Rick Rosen, co-founder and head of television at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME);
Steve Schnur, worldwide executive and music president of Electronic Arts;
Sam Schwartz, co-principal of Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency;
Ben Silverman, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Propagate Content;
Ralph Simon, chairman & chief executive officer of Mobilium Global Limited,
Jeff Sosnow, svp of a&r at Warner Music Group;
Gary Stiffelman, partner of Greenberg Traurig LLP;
Aaron Symonds, film composer;
Traci Szymanski, president of Co-Star Entertainment/Isrealife Media Group;
Adam Taylor, president of APM Music;
Sharon Tal Yguado, head of event series at Amazon.
Please note that all organizations are listed for affiliation only.
“I don’t think a cultural boycott is a good way to go.. I think ideas, discussion, other perspectives lead to change more than the silence of a boycott.”
Musicians: Boycotting Israel Fans the Flames of Conflict
Steve Schnur and David Renzer
Brian Eno is just the latest BDS activist using untruths and misinformation to prey on musicians and artists’ natural affinity for those perceived as victimized.
On November 17th, Vice published a piece by Brian Eno and Ohal Grietzer calling for musicians to boycott Israel “until Palestinians are free.” The piece is the latest attempt by the boycott divestment sanctions movement, also known as BDS, to gain legitimacy by preying on musicians’/artists’ natural affinity for those perceived as victimized, and appealing to a call for “human rights” for the Palestinians.
While we have sympathy for all of those that are downtrodden, unfortunately, these musicians and artists have fallen prey to a narrative that is filled with untruths and distortions and that has its basis in the BDS movement’s lack of support of ‘two states for two peoples.’ Indeed, the boycott movement’s founder and other central BDS leaders have said “they oppose a Jewish State in any of part of Palestine,” and their definition of Palestine includes all of Israel.
Let’s address some of the familiar accusations and examine why they don’t hold water.
The first accusation is that Israel is an “apartheid” state. Anyone who has been to Israel knows that it is a western style democracy (indeed the only one in the region) and by definition cannot be considered “apartheid.” Arabs make up approximately 20 percent of the citizens living within Israel and have always had the right to vote, and the right to a free press. Further, Arab Israelis serve in Israel’s parliament (the Knesset) and serve in Israel’s court system. Indeed one of the judges who convicted former Israeli President Katsav was George Karra, an Arab Israeli.
Just as America grapples with Ferguson and charges of racial discrimination, there may be instances of injustice to Arabs that occur in Israel. However to try to brand Israel as an “apartheid” state is simply untrue and libelous. It is also important to note that Arabs living in the West Bank are governed by the Palestinian Authority, while Arabs living in Gaza are governed by Hamas.
Further inflammatory language used by Eno includes charges that the Palestinians are the areas only “indigenous people” and have been “ethnically cleansed.” It doesn’t require much study of history to know the Jews have a long history of living in Israel, including having Jewish populations not just in Jerusalem, but in many cities claimed by the Palestinians (Hebron, Jaffa, and others). The term “ethnically cleansed” is patently false and inflammatory.
Perhaps most troubling is the timing of this piece and of the call for boycotting Israel when terrorism is striking at western democracies around the world.
Why is it acceptable to only blame one side in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and fail to question why Palestinians have rejected various peace offers dating from 1948 to the more recent offer of former Prime Minister Olmert? Why is it acceptable for Palestinians and their leadership to take no responsibility for inciting terrorist attacks? Why are they not holding their own governments responsible for lack of elections, and supporting a government in Gaza whose charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel? This gives a “free pass” to behavior that those who support democratic values should question.
We believe that music and the arts can indeed build bridges and should not be used as a political weapon if conditions don’t justify. That’s why artists, including Alicia Keyes, Jon Bon Jovi, the Rolling Stones, Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, and many others continue to perform in Israel for audiences that can include Israeli Arabs, Christians, Muslims and Jews. Over 30,000 people have signed Creative Community for Peace’s Anti-Boycott Petition.
While we lament the loss of all innocent life, when artists function as a bullhorn for spreading untruths and misinformation they only fan the flames of conflict rather than seek to use the power of music and culture to unite.
David Renzer is chairman of the Spirit Music Group. Steve Schnur is the Worldwide Executive and President of Electronic Arts Music Group. Both are co-founders of the Creative Community for Peace.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.688568
“I won’t risk my life in order to perform in Israel.”
Ami Fridman. Published 18.11.15, YNET
The producer of “Titans of Metal,” a festival in Israel with artists scheduled from all over the world, is revealing a scary method that is being used by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS).
“The artists are approaching me scared for their lives. They are receiving threatening emails, specifically telling them not to perform in Israel.” When the producer of the event turned to the Cultural Minister of Israel, Miri Regev, he discovered that he wasn’t the only one who is struggling with this issue.
He was told that every promoter in Israel that is planning to bring an artist is already anticipating a flood of calls to the artist from pro-Palestinian organizations persuading them to cancel. The high-profile artists receive a personal letter from Roger Waters, who asks them to reconsider the performance and join the cultural boycott. These letters by the ex-Pink Floyd are eventually made public.
However, methods used to deter artists are also happening behind the scenes. Which is the case with the “Titans of Metal,” a music festival scheduled for Israel mid-December, with big named metal artists from all over the world. The festival is being promoted by Patrick Levinsky.
“To all the participants of “Titans of Metal,” We are people from all around the world, asking participants of the Titans of Metal Festival to reconsider their concert in apartheid Israel, until Israel complies with international law and respects the rights of the indigenous Palestinian people.” This was written in an open letter on the BDS organization site with a petition telling the participants of Titans of Metal not to perform in Israel.
“The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement was launched in 2005 by the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society as a reaction to Israel’s ongoing policies of colonialism, military occupation, and apartheid towards the indigenous Palestinian people, including the denial of 7 million Palestinian refugees their fundamental right to return to their homes, as stipulated in UN resolution 194.”
In addition, it was stated “by declining to perform there, you will be among hundreds of other world-renowned musicians including Roger Waters, Lauryn Hill, Sinead O’Connor, Massive Attack, Lupe Fiasco, The Killers, Moddi, Tindersticks, Leftfield, Faithless, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gorillaz Sound System, Marcus Strickland, Elvis Costello, Boots Riley, Terence Blanchard, Brian Eno, Thurston Moore, Carlos Santana, Yasiin Bey, Devandra Banhart, Stanley Jordan and Snoop Dogg – just to mention a few, who have cancelled their Israeli performances or refused, to begin with, to lend their good names to whitewash Israeli crimes and human rights violations.”
The open public letters are not the same as the private emails that these artists are receiving: “already 4 participants have said to me that they are fearful for their lives.” said Levinsky, who after the Paris terrorist attacks, is now having to answer questions about venue security and what the boycotts demands are.” They have a right to be afraid as the private correspondence they are receiving is very different from the public ones. They are receiving real threats not to perform in Israel.”
Below is a text correspondence between the promoter and a participant of the festival.
Translated from Hebrew, original here- http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4726436,00.html
Waters functioning as a “bull horn” for spreading untruths and misinformation only fan the flame rather than seek to use the power of music and culture to unite.
Roger Waters tried again to sway a prominent musician into boycotting a scheduled performance in Israel. First, he tried to get Bon Jovi to boycott Israel based on his claim of it being an “apartheid” regime. When he realized that the performance would proceed as scheduled, he resorted to listing a litany of wrongs committed by Israel to the Palestinians and claimed that Bon Jovi was complicit.
Let’s examine some of his arguments and see why he continues to fail to sway intelligent artists, ranging recently from Dionne Warwick, to Robbie Williams and the Rolling Stones.
First, Waters argues that Israel is an “apartheid” regime. As anyone who has been to Israel knows, Israel does not meet the definition of an “apartheid” country. Arabs have the right to vote, the right to a free press, serve in Israel’s government (there are over 14 Arab members in Israel’s cabinet), and even sit on Israel’s Supreme Court. The justice who convicted former Israeli President Olmert of corruption was an Arab. Just as America grapples with Ferguson and charges of racial discrimination, there may be instances of injustice to Arabs that occur in Israel. However to try to brand Israel as apartheid is simply untrue and libelous.
Second, Waters fails to mention that the founders of the Boycott Israel (BDS) movement do not support Israel’s right to self-determination, while only supporting the Palestinians right to self- determination (and statehood). Simply put, the BDS doesn’t want to see a Palestinian State living peacefully side by side with Israel, but rather built on the ashes of Israel.
Third, Waters has lost credibility with his outlandish comments, including that Israel has treated the Palestinians “worse than the Nazi’s treated the Jews”, and that Hamas truly wants peace with Israel while their charter and recent proclamations continue to call for the destruction of Israel.
Intelligent artists also know that the following is true:
1) You can’t hold an entire population responsible for the actions of its government. If that were the case, should we assume that all artists who perform in the US support every action of the US government, whether domestically or internationally? Of course not.
2) Israel is a pro-western style democracy that has a natural love for western culture – and in particular, music. Artists know this and love performing for their fans–not for any government.
3) Intelligent artists know the power that their music has. It has the power to open hearts and minds, build bridges amongs different cultures, and help to unite those from disparate backgrounds.
4) Artists know that conflicts are complex, and that resorting to name calling, brow beating, and frankly distortions and outright lies is not helpful towards finding resolutions.
Recent violent attacks against innocent Israeli’s show the power that rhetoric has to incite.
While Waters (and we) laments the loss of innocent life, his functioning as a “bull horn” for spreading untruths and misinformation only fan the flame rather than seek to use the power of music and culture to unite.
David Renzer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group and Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music, Electronic Arts are the Co-founders Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), an organization dedicated to promoting the arts as a bridge to peace and to countering the cultural boycott of Israel. CCFP is comprised of people from a cross-section of the cultural world who represent a broad range of opinions on politics and on the best path to resolving the conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis. But we all agree that singling out Israel as a target of cultural boycotts will not further peace.