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

Wed Sep 26 13:36:05 ADT 2007

Dear Glenn,

There is a word that summarizes the position you outline and that the San
Diego Jewish community seems to advocate: censorship. If a Jewish musician
can perform without providing 'equal time" -- an astonishing notion for a
music performance -- why can't a Lebanese musician do the same? Or are you
suggesting that all Klezmer acts must now provide an Arabic first act?

Regards,
Gerald Seligman

On 9/26/07, glenn tamir <gtamir613 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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:
> > Send FA-Worldmusic mailing list submissions to
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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
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