Women in Black-Los Angeles
http://www.wib-la.org/
Invites You to Join
SILENT VIGILS IN SUPPORT OF A BOYCOTT OF THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC
AT DISNEY HALL IN DOWNTOWN LA
WHEN: Monday Evening, February 5, 2007, from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M.
Tuesday Evening, February 6, 2007, from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M.
WHERE: DISNEY HALL - 1st St. and Grand, Downtown LA
WHY THE BOYCOTT: Palestinian and international civil society have asked supporters worldwide to begin cultural and economic boycotts, along with divestment and sanction campaigns to end Israel's Occupation of Palestinian lands and to end Israeli Apartheid in Palestine.
This effort is modeled after the successful worldwide boycott and divestment campaign that helped end Apartheid in South Africa.
WIB-LA's letter to the Israel Philharmonic asking them to publicly oppose Israel's occupation of Palestine was signed by nearly 1,000 groups and prominent individuals, from former government officials to artists and activists, all over the world.
One of the signers, Silvia Tennebaum, step-daughter of Israel Philharmonic co-founder, William Steinberg, wrote: "My hope is that the orchestra will remember the suffering endured by the Jews in Germany and Eastern Europe and, in their memory, not implicitly support an occupation that seeks to strangle and displace a whole people."
EXCERPT from WIB-LA letter to the Israel Philharmonic:
"Imagine that the Israel Philharmonic's denouncement of the Occupation and call for peace and justice will have a huge positive ripple effect on Israeli society. Imagine a future where Israelis and Palestinians share the resources of their land with respect and appreciation for each other's humanity, cultures and needs. Maybe it's the artists and musicians who will finally bring peaceand justice to Israel, Palestine and the region."
Since the Philharmonic did not reply, WIB-LA is taking the next step of conducting vigils before their concerts at Disney Hall on February 5 and 6.
See letters to the Israel and L.A. Philharmonic orchestras at WIB-LA website http://www.wib-la.org/
Zubin Mehta, the conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, calls it "Israel's flagship." On its website (www.ipo.co.il), the Orchestra talks about its role in playing for Israel's soldiers in the field and in celebrating Israel's military victories.
The Orchestra, which is supported by the Israeli government, sees itself as an instrument of its government's policies.
Those policies have imposed an Apartheid system on the Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. This system is maintained by a brutal military occupation. Within Israel, Palestinian citizens of Israel face deeply discriminatory laws and practices.
We oppose Israeli Apartheid and Israel's Occupation of Palestine. Just as the international community imposed a cultural, sports and economic boycott of South Africa in order to end Apartheid there, we call for a similar boycott to end Israeli Apartheid.
Don't miss this unique opportunity to demonstrate your opposition to Israel's occupation of Palestine.
For more information contact womeninblackLA@gmail.com or 323-993-3322.
Endorsed by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid (CEIA), Middle East Fellowship of Southern California
*****
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-
protest27jan27,1,7420749.story
Los Angeles Times
The Music Center area becomes a protest site
Groups intend to voice concerns, timed to appearances there by Mexico's Vicente Fox and Israel Philharmonic.
By Scott Martelle, Times Staff Writer
January 27, 2007
Passions over international human rights issues have given rise to an unusual sight outside the Los Angeles Music Center: political protests.
While protests are a sporadic element of life in Los Angeles, these
demonstrations stand out because of their location — in the heart of L.A.'s cultural center, where political dissent is usually channeled through works of art, not street protests.
Two Los Angeles-area groups are planning protests against a talk by former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Monday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and two performances in early February by the Israel Philharmonic at Disney Hall.
A Los Angeles affiliate of the international Women in Black organization held one demonstration outside Disney Hall on Jan. 14 and plans a second one for 1 p.m. Sunday before the scheduled 2 p.m. L.A. Philharmonic performance of Schumann's Second Symphony. Other protests will coincide with the Israel Philharmonic's scheduled concerts Feb. 5 and 6.
Monday's planned protest against the Fox visit is being coordinated by the Organization of the Binational Indigenous Front, which organizer Odilia Romero said represents Native Americans on both sides of the border. The group also demonstrated Jan. 14 across the street from the center.
Romero said the group's members were outraged by the center's
description of Fox, who left office in November after six years, as a
promoter of Mexican democracy who helped stabilize an unruly economy.
"There were assassinations, political prisoners, migration for
indigenous people" during Fox's presidency, Romero said. "I don't think he has stabilized the economy. The people are more in poverty than ever. We want our voices to be heard because we are the product of migration."
Why protest at the Music Center in the first place? For pretty much the
same reason Willie Sutton once said he robbed banks: That's where the
money is.
"It's not about the program itself," said Carol Smith, a leader of the
Women in Black-L.A. group, whose demonstrations consist of more than a
dozen black-clad women standing silent vigil while handing out
informational pamphlets. "It's about educating the people who attend
the symphony."
The group earlier had petitioned the L.A. Philharmonic to cancel the
concert as part of its attempt to bring international pressure on
Israel to change its policies toward Palestinians, including its
occupation of Gaza. Israel has long maintained that its policies are
driven by self-defense concerns.
WIB-LA is part of a broad campaign seeking to bring the same
international mix of sanctions and cultural boycotts on the Israeli
government as arose in the 1980s against the former apartheid
government of South Africa.
In a letter to WIB-LA, Deborah Borda, president of the L.A.
Philharmonic Assn., rejected calls for a boycott of the Israeli
orchestra.
"We will never support the silencing of artists from any culture as a
means of political action," Borda wrote. "Whenever this unfortunate
course of action has been pursued by governments and political
entities, it is always to the detriment of society at large, and
certainly the artists."
"The protests have been peaceful, and they are certainly welcome to
express their opinions," said Philharmonic spokesman Adam Crane.
scott.martelle@latimes.com
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