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| Europe |
| Irish artists' call to boycott Israel meets with mockery |
| 2007-04-16 |
| There may be hope yet... The Irish government has condemned an attempt by an artists' organization to boycott Israeli cultural events and institutions. Aosdana, Ireland's state-sponsored academy of creative artists, voted last week on a motion to "back the call from Palestinian filmmakers, artists and cultural workers to end all cooperation with Israeli state-sponsored cultural events and institutions." ...self important fools always know they can count on other self important fools to back them up. The proposal - put to a motion by composer Raymond Deane, founder of the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, and seconded by playwright Margaretta D'Arcy - was defeated in the organization's general assembly. Anybody know these Giants of the Arts? However, a second motion, sponsored by D'Arcy and seconded by Deane, was passed calling for Irish artists and institutions to "reflect deeply" before working with Israeli cultural institutions. "Reflect deeply". That's one thing I'll bet they're good at... D'Arcy wrote last week in The Irish Times that she was convinced that a cultural boycott was necessary, "if only as an act of solidarity with those in Israel who seek to remove the inequality, discrimination and segregation of their society." Oh, boy. Some Irish artists are pissed off! We'd better do...something. The Irish government responded to the Aosdana motion by saying it was "firmly opposed to any proposals for an academic or cultural boycott against Israel." John O'Donoghue, minister for arts, sport and tourism, said he was happy the motion had been voted down. "The only way forward is through an inclusive approach of dialogue with and between Israelis and Palestinians. The government is working directly with the parties, and with our partners in the EU, for the revival of a credible peace process with the clear objective of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said. Blah blah blah blah blah... Prior to the vote by Aosdana members, journalist Ian O'Doherty mocked the motion in the Evening Herald newspaper, saying that Israelis were hardly likely to feel threatened by the "stern lecturing of a bunch of state-subsidized artists who mostly reside in well-deserved obscurity." Ouch! Somebody get some artistic ice on that... "In fairness to Aosdana," O'Doherty wrote, "the call for a boycott seem to have been led by a hardcore group." Irish Consciousness. As George Carlin said "When they're concious, they're great." "The fact that Israel is the least segregated society in the region, and that Israeli Arabs enjoy more freedom than their counterparts in other, Arab-run, countries is something that tends to be conveniently forgotten," O'Doherty said. Hey, don't confuse them with facts. They don't like it... An Aosdana member who did not wish to be named, said: "The move is being largely derided here, being seen as a bunch of dial-a-cause artists taking sides in a complex foreign situation they know little about." Sounds like Rosie O'Donnell's in the union. "What is more concerning is that by being elected to Aosdana as an artist, you get an annual salary from the state," the member explained. "As it is state-funded, it is surprising that [Aosdana] took this stance, given that political matters are not their remit." Hey, back off, man! I'm an artist! Israel's embassy in Dublin released a statement condemning the motion as "wrong, unjust, biased and based on misunderstanding and misinformation." Ambassador Zion Evrony said, "It appears that a very small number of Aosdana members... have misled others and imposed their views on the whole organization." Oy! Begorrah! D'Arcy, for her part, wrote an open letter to the ambassador attacking his views: "Mr. Ambassador, who the hell do you think you are, interfering with Irish artists, prescribing what we may or may not reflect upon?" she fumed. "I wonder that the Irish government does not immediately break off diplomatic relations with Israel for your absurd violation of those articles in the UN Charter of Human Rights that guarantee free expression," D'Arcy declared. She then headed down to the mailbox to pick up her "artists" welfare check... |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #6 Silentbrick, the Palestinian thing is a claim that they are actually the Philistines, and therefore the original inhabitants of the land, predating the Jews. Still wrong of course -- the original inhabitants were the Canaanites, and the Philistines were foreign colonists during the Judges period who never got beyond their coastal cities except to raid the Hebrew tribes of the interior. But then, the Palestinians have never been famous for their intellectual achievements. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-04-16 16:41 |
| #5 We need to stop calling the Paleo's. There is/was/never was such a place expect as a roman province. And it was populated by Jews. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2007-04-16 14:18 |
| #4 "I wonder that the Irish government does not immediately break off diplomatic relations with Israel for your absurd violation of those articles in the UN Charter of Human Rights that guarantee free expression," D'Arcy declared. All right. Right here, right now, I am inventing a new superhero: Captain Bitch Slap. Captain BS travels the world, administering bitch slaps to all who are truly in need of one. Like this woman, who -- like so many of her kind -- can't distinguish criticism from oppression. It would be infra dig for the Israeli ambassador to give D'Arcy [aye, and a fine old Irish name is that] her richly-deserved smacking. Captain Bitch Slap to the rescue! |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2007-04-16 13:21 |
| #3 Mel Brooks is way ahead of ya: "Ok, we'll take the niggers and the chinks, but we don't want the Irish!" -- Blazing Saddles |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-04-16 12:47 |
| #2 Verbal bitch slap? More like a verbal shillelagh. |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-04-16 10:40 |
| #1 ...Israelis were hardly likely to feel threatened by the "stern lecturing of a bunch of state-subsidized artists who mostly reside in well-deserved obscurity." That is the hardest verbal bitch slap I have ever seen from a newspaper! |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-04-16 09:52 |