{"id":25654,"date":"2011-06-13T06:07:08","date_gmt":"2011-06-12T20:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=25654"},"modified":"2011-06-30T11:11:32","modified_gmt":"2011-06-30T01:11:32","slug":"jello-biafra-versus-bds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=25654","title":{"rendered":"Jello Biafra ~versus~ BDS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update<\/strong> (June 30) : The gig has been cancelled. A statement on the withdrawal is below<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update<\/strong> : Appeal to Jello Biafra: Do not cross our picket line<\/a>, June 12, 2011: “The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) sent an appeal to Jello Biafra on 7 June 2011, but its receipt was never acknowledged. In light of the public conversation around Biafra\u2019s performance in Tel Aviv, PACBI has decided to publicize its appeal to him to cancel his ill-conceived show.”<\/p>\n

Jello Biafra (and the Guantanamo School of Medicine<\/a>) has decided not to join the BDS campaign<\/a> and is playing a gig in Tel Aviv on July 2. In response to criticism, he wrote the following letter to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign<\/a> explaining why the band has decided to play and posted it on the band’s FaceBook page<\/a> (where it has generated a good deal of debate).<\/p>\n

Thank you for your letter. Believe me, the decision to play in Tel Aviv was not taken lightly by me or the band. We have been through weeks of intense ongoing debate and discussions, soul searching and research. We have met with two peace activists, one of whom is Palestinian and lives in Ramallah. Our thoughts at present are these:<\/p>\n

1. The more we know about the many sides to this horrible conflict, the more we realize we don’t know.<\/p>\n

2. It certainly appears that both the Israeli Left and the Palestinian Left are divided right down the middle as to whether this kind of a boycott is a good idea at all. It is nowhere near as solid or as unified as the boycott against apartheid South Africa.<\/p>\n

Setting foot in Israel does not automatically make us supporters of the Netanyahu regime or the policies we all oppose. Quite the opposite, in fact.<\/p>\n

3. I agree with [p]eace activists who have said how important it is for someone like me to actually go there and see for myself what is really going on. Then, back home in America, I will be able to speak more knowledgeably from eyewitness experience, at a time when most Americans only get their information from dumbed down, censored corporate McNews.<\/p>\n

It was never our intention to play the gig, hang out at the beach, and go home. After the gig I am staying around for several days. Am I going to Palestine too? Absolutely.<\/p>\n

We know this issue is so multifaceted and volatile that no matter what I or the band do, someone is going to be upset. Sort of the story of my life, in a way. I hope that by making this trip we can in some small way help bring down that goddamn wall.<\/p>\n

For peace and justice,
\nJello Biafra.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You may remember the BDS campaign from such moments as the December 2010 decision by Marrickville Council to endorse it<\/a> and then in April of this year to rescind its decision (on the basis that it ‘cost too much’ to implement).<\/p>\n

A few points:<\/p>\n

1. Like other conflicts–and campaigns intended in some way to address them–Jello is right to note that the issue is complex.<\/p>\n

2. I don’t know if “the Israeli Left and the Palestinian Left are divided right down the middle” on the campaign, but: a list of those who’ve endorsed the campaign is available via the BDS site; assuming a position on the campaign on this basis is problematic; certainly, leading figures in the anti-apartheid movement endorse<\/a> the campaign.<\/p>\n

3. The BDS campaign–especially its ‘Cultural’<\/a> component–does not, on my reading, call on artists, musicians and intellectuals<\/a> not to visit Israel, but rather not to perform there. If correct, Jello remains at liberty to set foot in the country, and to investigate its conditions.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, British blogger Bob from Brockley<\/a>, as well as being a big fan of Uncle Noam, has boatloads of debate on Israel\/Palestine, and reckons<\/a> that “The boycott, divestment, sanctions idea has zero chance of contributing positively to peace or justice in Palestine; its only role is to give liberals an outlet for their moral ejaculations and to engrave in indelible letters the idea that Israel is the last word in evil”.<\/p>\n

See also<\/em> : Anarchists Against the Wall<\/a> | ‘Israeli anarchism: Statist dilemmas and the dynamics of joint struggle’, Uri Gordon, Anarchist Studies<\/em>, Vol.15, No.1 (February 2003) [PDF<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Bonus!<\/h2>\n