I recently signed a letter protesting the Toronto International Film Festival's decision to showcase and celebrate Tel Aviv. This in the very year when Gaza happened. The decision made the festival a participant in the newly launched campaign to "rebrand" Israel. Arye Mekel, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Director General for Cultural Affairs, has said that artists and writers must be enlisted in order to "show Israel's prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war." The protesters felt it was wrong for the much-respected festival to be used in this manner. The role of art, after all, is not to prettify but to expose reality with all its contradictions and complexities. I signed the letter without reading it carefully enough, without asking myself if some of the wording wouldn't exacerbate the situation rather than bring about constructive dialogue. Last week, Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz, director of the Chai Center in Los Angeles, explained to me the meaning of the Hebrew word "teshuva"-- to fix things you have done incorrectly, not just by never doing them again but by "coming with a sincere heart. Words that come from the heart enter the heart." Some of the words in the protest letter did not come from my heart, words that are unnecessarily inflammatory: The simplistic depiction of Tel Aviv as a city "built on destroyed Palestinian villages," for instance, and the omission of any mention of Hamas's 8-month-long rocket and mortar attacks on the town of Sderot and the western Negev to which Israel was responding when it launched its war on Gaza. Many citizens now suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result. In the hyper-sensitized reality of the region in which any criticism of Israel is swiftly and often unfairly branded as anti-Semitic, it can become counterproductive to inflame rather than explain and this means to hear the narratives of both sides, to articulate the suffering on both sides, not just the Palestinians. By neglecting to do this the letter allowed good people to close their ears and their hearts. Additionally, protesting the use of the festival to "rebrand" Israel was perhaps too easily misunderstood. It certainly has been wildly distorted. Contrary to the lies that have been circulated, the protest letter was not demonizing Israeli films and filmmakers. On one of the many trips I have made to Israel, I spoke at Tel Aviv University's film department and am well aware, as I'm sure the other signatories are, that Israeli films are not a mouthpiece for their government's policies. Nor was the letter an attack on the legitimacy of Tel Aviv as an Israeli city, or a call to boycott the Toronto Film Festival. In fact, many signatories are attending the festival and have films showing there. As I said in my recent blog, the greatest "re-branding" of Israel would be to celebrate that country's long standing, courageous and robust peace movement by helping to end the blockade of Gaza through negotiations with all parties to the conflict, and by stopping the expansion of West Bank settlements. That's the way to show Israel's commitment to peace, not a PR campaign. There will be no two-state solution unless this happens. The Israeli-Palestinian story cannot be reduced to a simplistic aggressor-victim relationship. In order to fully understand this, one must be willing to come together with an open heart and really hear the narratives of both sides. One narrative sees 1948 as the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their land. Another sees it as the birth of a nation. Conceivably it was both. Neither narrative can be erased, both must be heard.
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Daoud Kuttab: Freeze the Settlement Freeze
Israelis understand that the only reality in politics is the reality on the ground. So long as Israeli soldiers control the occupied territories, the idea of a settlement freeze will not take root. I
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: J Street's Shameful Attacks on Aipac
The left-wing Israeli lobby J Street's cheap tactics of creating its name by attacking Aipac, the ADL, and the ZOA is shameful. There's room in the Jewish community for many voices without creating a civil war.
More than that, it was a defensive war to prevent a second holocaust in the 1940s. Think what would have happened if the Arabs won in 1948. They would have done what they said they would.
Tel Aviv is a home of close to a million people, many of them Arab Israelis. It is a vibrant and divers place, very much a representative of Israeli culture as a whole. Those who claim that it was built on destroyed Arab villages are ignorant individuals or simply anti-semites that would employ any Goebells style propaganda to advance their agenda. Obviously, it has absolutely nothing to do with the facts. Tel Aviv was founded about 100 years ago some 50 years before Israel was even born and that's the fact.
Those who engage in routine Israel bashing should get their facts straight before signing such a crack-pot petition but it seems that anything that is against Israel will automatically gather their support, no need even to read what your are signing.
Way to go, celebrities!
But first, may I suggest a bit of self-education, it surely wouldn't hurt you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Aviv
Remember what one of our great leaders said "Your either for it,or against it".
Film festival counter protest heats up
Jerry Seinfeld, Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Alexander and Lenny Kravitz are among a prominent list of celebrities opposing a group that has criticized the Toronto International Film Festival's spotlight on Tel Aviv.
Titled "We Don't Need Another Blacklist," their statement applauds the festival's decision to spotlight Tel Aviv.
Thank you for the courage to apologize. L'Shana Tova, to you and your family. However, it remains unfortunate that on the Israeli/Palestinian issue, our "transformative President" has at yet to change the dialogue.
I am a member of J Street and think it is supporting excellent and long over due US/Israeli relations. However, I personally was disappointed that President Obama went back to the rhetoric as usual. "end the settlements". This limited thinking, much like the final part of Fonda's letter fails to rethink and truly believe that the issues are not only complex, they are not only "two sided", they require "simultaneous" solutions. A willingness on "all sides", to agree to taking steps that speak to the question, "what is democracy" and what is each sides role?
I refer all readers, including Ms. Fonda, since she has my admiration, to read former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tzipi Livni's article in the N.Y. Times, June 5th, 2009, "Democracy's Price of Admission", to better understand why emphasizing what one side needs to do "first", just helps to keep everybody on a circular track and noone benefits and only furthers a "deadend".
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/israel+and+hamas+aposwar+crimesapos+in+gaza/3345017
U.S. Rejects UN Proposal to Compel War Crimes Probes of Gaza Conflict - Colum Lynch in the Washington Post
Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, rejected a UN proposal to compel Israel and Hamas to conduct credible investigations into war crimes during last winter's war in Gaza or face possible prosecution by an international prosecutor. Rice said the U.S. has long had "very serious concerns" about the mandate the Human Rights Council gave to the Goldstone panel, calling it "unbalanced, one-sided and basically unacceptable."
These are Israel's future leaders and also a growing movement of Israeli youth of conscience who are refusing to serve in the army because it is the force that enforces Israel’s 42+-years of occupation of the indigenous Palestinians.
The first Shministim letter was sent to Prime Minister Golda Meir.
In 2008, one hundred youth have signed the following letter; which also cost them a jail term in an Israeli military prison, ranging from 21 to 28 days-and for those who refuse to wear the military uniform while doing the time, they are also punished with solitary confinement.
The Shministim Letter of 2008:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1308&Itemid=221
I can never understand why people can't seem to understand that we are all connected, no matter how hard the separations try to continue. Sharing is much more enjoyable than taking something away from someone.
Btw, will the film about this controversy be a feature film or documentary? :-)
Kudos, Ms. Fonda!
Today, Israel is the 6th leading nuclear power in the world with more than 100 nuclear weapons. Former President Carter said at a conference last year the number was more in the range of 150.
This doesn't make Israel the bad guys any more than it makes its enemies the good guys. It simply means than any discussion of the justification for military action on either side is meaningless because the playing field is so grossly unbalanced.
The Israeli government's hypocrisy is astounding.
They do in fact have a massive amount of nuclear warheads yet refuse to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Iran, whom they can't wait to start a war with, has signed and abides by the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. They are constantly inspected and constantly are cleared of any nuclear weapons progams.
They pursue nuclear technology for power production, and sell their oil (they have very few refineries to produce gasoline) so they can buy gasoline on the open market like everyone else.
And comparing as equal blame Palestinian's reaction to Israel's constant aggressions (and settlement building on disputed lands) is akin to saying both parties are equally to blame when a battered wife manages to get a face slap in every now and then while her man beats the cr*p out of her.
I've got nothing against Jews, Muslims, Palestinains or Isrealis.
I do however have something against hypocrisy and abusive relationships.
"They pursue nuclear technology for power production, and sell their oil (they have very few refineries to produce gasoline) so they can buy gasoline on the open market like everyone else."
When even Russia publicly acknowledges that nefariousness of Iran's nuclear program, you know there's no shred of legitimacy to the "pursuit of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes" argument. If Iran's pursuits are peaceful, why are they hiding subscale enrichment facilities?
As for your point of view, and sources for your information it just reminds me of the saying "garbage in, garbage out."
Thank you for signing the letter protesting the Toronto International Film Festival's decision to showcase and celebrate Tel Aviv. In your posting above you state that the letter made no "mention of Hamas's 8-month-long rocket and mortar attacks on the town of Sderot and the western Negev to which Israel was responding when it launched its war on Gaza."
Some perspective: The rocket attacks from Gaza started in 2001 and took their first Israeli victim in 2004. Since then, there had been 14 Israeli victims prior to the December 2008 war. While tragic, hardly comparable to the 1,700 Gaza Strip Palestinians, including many innocent bystanders, women and children, killed by Israel during the same period. During Israel's massive 22 day land, air and sea assault against the tiny virtually defenseless Gaza Strip that began on 27 December 2008, nearly 1,500 Palestinians were killed, including hundreds of non-combatants, women and children. As for Israel, it suffered some damaged buildings and 13 dead, including three civilians from rocket fire and three soldiers killed in a friendly-fire incident.
Think about it. How often do you see celebs, especially Movie Stars who could just as easily live the lives of prima donnas, with this level of mature and responsible thinking? It's all too easy to take a side on Isreal-Palestine, too easy to oversimplify the conflict to suit one's own moral tastes. It takes a humble adult person to look at their own actions this critically, and a truly remarkable person to publically take responsibility for them and invite discussion.
Jane Fonda just made the list of people I'd wish to have at my poker table in the afterlife.
Points for trying, the beginning & end was fine, the in between, middle parts - not so.
:)
Friday is the Jewish New Year, we pray for Blessings and a clean start there for both peoples.
However, reality takes much more work and no matter how one slices things, it is the Palestinians who are the worse off. Does not matter who started this, who continues, or how things got here. It is the Palestinians who are worse off in Life than the Jewish people. It's that simple. And this unfair, unbalanced state needs to be fixed, soon, yes? So, why not protest, where possible?
Understandably - An horrific invasion of Gaza where Chemical weapons were used; damage of a long standing Blockade of Gaza on the people and their lives; an ugly intimidating wall all around the Palestinians, and then their land continuing to be taken away so bizarrely with Settlements - is not the face Israel wants any one to associate with the country & it's people. But these severe situations cannot just be parked one side till it's convenient. Palestinians must get PTSD too, right?
As for the Rabbi's explanation to - "to fix things you have done incorrectly, not just by never doing them again but by "coming with a sincere heart. Words that come from the heart enter the heart." - How would his vision of T'eshuva work with the above mentioned harm done to the lives of these poor people?
Thank
Shana tova. Shalom
Israel, the one thriving democracy in the middle east, with a strong independent film industry, has shown the Arab world what a disaster their culture of violence against women, repression, religious intolerance and corruption is, they have suckered many leftists into believing that the people with 99+% of the land in the middle east are somehow "victims". I'm glad to see that you realized that they had played you and that you don't have to take it.