[FA Worldmusic] FA-Worldmusic Digest, Vol 19, Issue 21

Wed Sep 26 12:38:29 ADT 2007

Not being familiar with Mr. Khalifi's music, I consulted a very close
friend of mine who is one of the top Arab musicians in Israel.  What
he told me sheds some light on why this decision was made.

According to my friend (himself a Christian Arab living in Israel who
performs with Jews, Muslims, Palestinian Arabs, Turks, etc...) Mr.
Khalifi's music is itself very political.  According to him, Mr.
Khalifi's lyrics are supportive of the Palestinian Arabs' cause.
While this is not in and of itself wrong, as everyone has the right to
express his views, it does alienate those who hold a different view of
how to solve the problem of the Palestinian Arab Refugees - indeed the
problem of all refugees in the region be they Musim, Jewish, Druze,
etc...

Indeed, the organization,  Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return
Coalition San Diego, by virtue of its name alone, is very contentious
as it directly threatens the existence of Israel as a Jewish State.  I
don't want to get into this discussion as this is not the forum, nor
do we have the time here to go into it.  I will say that I can
understand how the Jewish community of San Diego felt that this was
more of a political rally with music rather than a purely musical
concert.

There are groups made up of Arabs and Jews which regularly perform in
Israel and abroad that do present the kind of
musical/brotherhood/peaceful coexistence image that is representative
of a "balanced approach" that the Salvation Army representative may
have been looking for.

After living in Israel for more than a year now, I can tell you that
anything political is often delicate and contentious.  I am actively
trying to work with those musicians who put themselves out there on
the line by upsetting both sides, by singing about people of all
religions living in peace.  These musicians have a message but it is a
universal one, not supportive of any one side or ideology.

Let us all do what we can for peace, salaam, shalom

Glenn Tamir
http://www.tamirproductions.com

On 9/26/07, fa-worldmusic-request at folk.org
<fa-worldmusic-request at folk.org> wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Marcel Khalife, more info (Dmitri Vietze)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:06:26 -0400
> From: "Dmitri Vietze" <music at rockpaperscissors.biz>
> Subject: [FA Worldmusic] Marcel Khalife, more info
> To: <fa-worldmusic at folk.org>
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> Thank you for the interest and support in Marcel Khalife and his North
> American tour. What happened in San Diego was that the local presenting
> organization,  Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition San Diego, had
> been in talks with the Salvation Army San Diego theater since February 2007.
> The desired concert date was available, they met with the theater manager, and
> they followed the theater's instructions for reserving the venue: made a
> deposit and gave proof of insurance and a security arrangement. They were in
> touch with the theater's staff, exchanging information about lighting and
> sound, and about seating charts and ticketing. There was no mention of an
> application or review process until July 31, when the theater manager emailed
> an application form, saying it was just needed to collect information for
> their contract. One concert organizer said, "All along she [the theater
> manager] expressed nothing but excitement about the event and Marcel." The
> presenters filled out the form (which said nothing about a review process
> either) and emailed it to the theater manager on 8/1/2007 and made an
> appointment to go to the theater and sign the contract on 8/17/2007. On
> 8/13/2007 the manager sent the following without any explanation:
>
> "I regret to inform you that The Salvation Army has respectfully declined to
> book your event at The Joan B. Kroc Theatre at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan
> Kroc Corps Community Center.  We wish you all the best for a successful event.
> Your deposit refund is being processed and you should receive it in one to two
> weeks.  If you have any questions please contact my administrator Captain John
> Van Cleef."
>
> The concert organizers immediately called the captain who said the event was
> inconsistent with their views and is divisive and unballanced and will
> alienate the Jewish community, and asked why they aren't inviting an Israeli
> artist to perform together with Marcel. The captain then said the decision was
> that of the SA board of directors. But through a former board member, the
> concert organizers found out that the decision was made by the local staff and
> not by the board.
>
> When "Middle East in Focus," a radio program on KPFK in Los Angeles invited
> both a concert organizer and someone from the Salvation Army on September 5,
> the Salvation Army issued a statement including this excerpt:
>
> "In our opinion, the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition's single-focus
> agenda seemed inconsistent with the goals we have for public use of our
> center."
>
> This was the first that the organizers had heard that the venue had an issue
> with the presenting organization, whose mission focuses on the rights of
> Palestinain refugees. The concert was always planned as a performance, not a
> political event.
>
> The San Diego concert is still scheduled on October 14 at a differett venue,
> The Birch North Park Theatre (www.birchnorthparktheatre.net/index.htm). The
> rest of Khalife's tour is unaffected by this incident, except for the wide
> level of interest by the media in what occurred in San Diego.
>
> I hope that answers some of the questions posted here.
>
> Much respect,
>
> Dmitri Vietze
> rock paper scissors, inc.
> music at rockpaperscissors.biz
> www.rockpaperscissors.biz
>
> {{music of global significance}}
>
> p u b l i c i t y   f o r   t h e   w o r l d
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Hochman" <shochman at pacbell.net>
>
> >I was curious about that as well.... What is the exact nature of the
> > problem? Who forced the change? Was it the venue management itself, and
> > if so what was the official stated reason?
>
> > glenn tamir wrote:
>
> >> Can anybody find out exactly who is creating the problem for Khalifi?  The
> >> e-mail says that the venue is causing the problem.   I would like to know
> >> the facts so that I can look into this further as this is most disturbing.
>
>
> ------------------------------
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> End of FA-Worldmusic Digest, Vol 19, Issue 21
> *********************************************
>

-- 
Glenn Tamir
www.tamirproductions.com
gtamir613 at gmail.com
tel: 011-972-54-577-4130
In US: 914.833.3547