Call on Rolling Stones: "Boycott Israel!"
Worldwide Activism, Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, May 24th, 2007
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has issued a call to the Rolling Stones in response to media reports on their plans to perform for the Israeli music circus in autumn.
The concert is one of the biggest events scheduled for Israel this year and is to compensate producer Shuki Weiss for the losses he made because of the Israeli aggression against Lebanon last summer.
Palestinian artists, individuals and organizations have called on the Rolling Stones to confirm the media reports and asked them to support the cultural boycott of Apartheid Israel. The Rolling Stones were prominent in enforcing the cultural boycott against Apartheid South Africa.
"Is it too much, then, to expect conscientious artists like the Rolling Stones to similarly uphold the values of freedom, equality and justice for all by supporting the growing boycott against Israel?"
To endorse the call, write to: info@boycottisrael.ps
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Boycott Israel
Don't Play another "Sun City"!
An open letter to the Rolling Stones regarding their planned gig in Israel
19 May 2007
Dear Rolling Stones,
The Palestinian arts community received in disbelief media reports of your upcoming performance in Israel, at a time when Israel continues unabated with its:
*** colonial and apartheid designs to further dispossess, oppress, and ultimately ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homeland.
If the news is accurate, and we
sincerely hope it is not, we strongly urge you to cancel your plans to perform in Israel until the time comes when it ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and respects fundamental human rights as well as the relevant precepts of international law concerning Palestinian rights to freedom, self-determination and
equality.
Performing in Israel at this time is morally equivalent to performing in South Africa during the apartheid
era.
We all remember how leading Rolling Stones musicians played a prominent role in enforcing a cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa in the 1980’s, and participated in recording the timeless song, Sun City, which had a singular influence on raising public awareness about apartheid and its injustices.
As Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights Prof. John Dugard, and South African government minister Ronnie Kasrils have repeatedly declared, Israel has created a worse system of apartheid than anything that ever existed in South Africa.
Indeed, Israel’s policies throughout its illegal military occupation of Palestinian territory, which have
surpassed their South African counterparts, include:
*** house demolitions;
***Jews-only colonies and roads;
*** uprooting hundreds of thousands of trees;
***indiscriminate killings of civilians, particularly children;
***incessant theft of land and water resources;
***denying freedom of movement to millions under occupation,
***cutting up the occupied Palestinian territory into Bantustans, some entirely caged by walls, fences and hundreds of roadblocks.
Sixty years since the Nakba, Israel’s planned campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people, and 40 years into its military occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territory, Israel has consistently and relentlessly violated basic human rights and relevant precepts of international law with utter impunity.
Moreover, Israel’s war of aggression against Lebanon last year caused more
than one thousand civilian deaths, not to mention massive destruction to infrastructure and decimation of entire residential neighbourhoods.
The resounding failure of the international community to date in ending Israel's occupation, collective
punishment, and other forms of oppression was what prompted Palestinians to appeal to international civil society to bear its moral responsibility to put an end to injustice, just as it did against apartheid South Africa.
To this end, Palestinian civil society has almost unanimously called for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it fully complies with international law and recognizes the fundamental human rights of the people of Palestine.
A specific call for cultural boycott of Israel was issued last year, garnering wide support. Among the many groups and institutions that have heeded the Palestinian boycott calls and started to consider or apply diverse forms of effective pressure on Israel are:
*** the Church of England;
***the US Presbyterian Church;
***a group of top British architects;
*** the British National Union of Journalists in the UK;
***the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU);
***the South African Council
of Churches; the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario;
*** Aosdana, the Irish state-sponsored
academy of artists; celebrated authors, artists and intellectuals led by John Berger; and
***Palme d’Or winner director Ken Loach.
Is it too much, then, to expect conscientious artists like the Rolling Stones to similarly
uphold the values of freedom, equality and justice for all by supporting the growing boycott against Israel?
We appeal to your moral principles and your record of standing up for human rights and human dignity. If the reports are true, we sincerely hope that you shall cancel this ill-conceived and particularly harmful concert in Israel. If they are not true, we urge you to issue a statement to clarify where you stand on this
issue of principle.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned:
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
_______________________
Does anyone know if the Stones have performed in israel yet? Well this was all the information that I could find:
May 3: THE STONES RUMOURED FOR A SHOW IN TEL AVIV
There are rumours about a Rolling Stones show in Tel Aviv Israel. If the plans do work out, the show would be at the 40,000 people capacity Park Hayarkon during September.
http://www.iorr.org/news.htm
I agree with this article, except I do not believe the Rolling Stones are conscientious artists, unless you speak of them being conscientious of how much cash and fame they might recieve.
They care only for the all mighty dollar.
"I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it"...Voltaire
or will perform in israel, then The Rolling Stones are over and done with for me.
I suspect that it's true.
(I was never too much of a fan anyway).
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"Money" has no value - people do.
Q...
Wouldn't it be thrilling if Jagger and the rest of them would be so brave and courageous as to say they will not play in israel because of what it is doing to Palestinians and Lebanese.
I suspect that if they decide not to play in israel, they will just come up with another reason far away from the reason of the West Bank and Gaza.
The Stones don't want to have a black mark against them like Mel Gibson.
Sad to say I don't think the Rolling Stones will cancel the Israeli venue. The whole industry in which they have been steeped in for decades and in particular their managers and promoters are all largely Israeli friendly individuals.
Prince Rupert Loewenstein for one helped build the Rolling Stones's financial empire as did others such as Allen Klein, who's music empire owns the entire catalogue of Stone's recordings produced in the 1960's as well as a couple from the 1970's.
I doubt if Sir Mick Jagger can really refuse his appointed calling within the scheme of things and will probably feel a certain obligation to go along with it considering that his given title of 'Sir' was bestowed upon him by the very institution that believes Israel to be crucial in the overall plan of things.
Yep, its that that Judeo/Masonic principle at work again plus $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!
Not to mention that Israel needs to be presented to the world in a 'favorable' light and what better way than to have the Rolling Stones strutt their stuff in Tel Aviv to advertise how wonderful and free our 'Israeli friends' are in the middle east surrounded by all those evil repressed Arabs and terrorists.....you know the drill.
It's often an indicator that something is on the cards whether it be an attack on Iran or a false flag attack in Israel itself.
Just my musings based on history.
Oh yes, Prince Rupert Loewenstein, I did forget about him. You are absolutely right. It is all so insane. Celebrities are all zionized whether they like it or know it or not. Even Sean Penn can't come out and say what I think he would like to say.
The zionist producers, directors, executives, lawyers, business corporates, blah blah blah, they own the whole entertainment biz. They could ruin a career in a blink of an eye.
But I say, better still, it's time to stand up and say to hell with this zionist dung of a world. Celebrities do have some power. It's a shame they are paralyzed like the rest of us.
BTW Michael, I appreciate your post about the Jesus picture in your explanation in the Geeez Blog. You explained yourself admirably and I fully appreciate why you posted that picture. I knew there was a reason why you did it. I knew it wasn't for fun and games or out of malice.
Thank you.
:)
Michael made a valid point and I would have made the same point, myself, exactly. This is something lawyers would have done in the courts.
Michael meant no disrespect whatsoever. I read his post and he was downright decent in his explanation on why he put the picture up. So I am not offended. Speak for yourself, GR.
He was making a point about crime's behaviour, and after reading that whole Geeez blog I was truly sickened by crime's speech towards Q, Michael, Ellendra, etc.
Sickened, I was.
So speak for yourself. Please. I am very glad that Michael came clean and I greatly appreciate that. He did nothing wrong and he spoke decently.