Palestinian festival sparks controversy - Belgium

Haviv Rettig reports in The Jerusalem Post: "A Belgian government Web site has begun advertising a performance of Palestinian clowns that conveys "the real life of Palestinians separated from their water, their land, their history and their relatives by the wall of segregation." The group of Palestinian clowns from Ramallah will tour Belgium in February as part of the "Masarat" festival of Palestinian art announced by the French Community of Belgium. Under the unique Belgian system of government, the French Community is an official institution of the Belgian government responsible for the education system and cultural life of some four million French-speaking Belgians. While the festival is meant to be a cultural festival - the French Community has sponsored similar seasonal events showcasing the cultures of Congo and Benin - some observers of Belgium in the Jewish world are worried it will become politicized. As part of the festival, an official Web site of the French Community, agenda.be, lists the clown performance with the title "Circus Behind the Wall." The Web site describes the visit as "a clown, acrobats and a circus as a means of resistance and struggle." According to French Community Minister of International Relations Marie-Dominique Simonet, the festival focuses on Palestinian culture separate from Israel because Israel is a "rich country" - outside the "north-south" framework of the festivals, which try to showcase a poorer southern nation. At the same time, the minister added, Israel already enjoys cultural and scientific cooperation with Belgium's French Community. Meanwhile, the French-speaking Belgian newspaper La Libre quotes Palestinian representative in Brussels Leila Shaid as saying that, in the paper's words, "we should not always talk of Israel when we talk about Palestine and... it should be possible to show 'simply' artists of a country." But some people are not as confident that the festival can be disconnected from politics, and anti-Israel politics at that. Reached by phone on a visit in Israel, Joel Rubinfeld, president of the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations of Belgium, said that "there is a strong political message behind this. When you speak about Palestinians or Israel today, everything is political. Buying a Jaffa orange in the supermarket is a political gesture." Rubinfeld calls himself a "pro-Palestinian Zionist, since I want to see a Palestinian state," and he believes Simonet may not know about the political messages being explicitly portrayed throughout the festival, including in the "resistance" message of the circus performance. Yet, he says, it is Simonet's "responsibility" as the minister in charge of the initiative. Over the past few year, flare-ups of violence in the Middle East have resulted in some vandalism and attacks directed at Jews in Belgium. "I will tell Minister Simonet that she has to be very careful that political activities aren't being carried out under the cover of culture, that this isn't the sort of thing that will excite young people to go into the street to throw a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue or attack a rabbi in the street," Rubinfeld said.”

On the same subject, see the official Wallonia-Brussels website: Wallonia-Brussels presents Masarat/Palestine 2008

Also in Brussels in February 2008: International citizens' tribunal to try Israel in Brussels
and Solomonia’s comments

Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany

Seventy-five years ago, on January 30, 1933, Hitler was offered the post of Chancellor of Germany:

"The Nazi Party, while not holding an absolute majority in the Reichstag, became overnight the power in the land. Throughout Germany, as the news of Hitler’s Chancellorship spread, the Brownshirts, who for so many months had been the terror of the streets, marched in triumph. They knew that their triumph was complete, and that no arrangement of Cabinet offices could reduce or restrain it. That night the watchers from the British Embassy witnessed the Nazi triumph: "From 8 p.m. till past midnight", the ambassador’s wife, Lady Rumbold, wrote to her mother two days later, "a continuous procession went past the Embassy, of Nazis in uniform and their admirers, bands, flags, torches, over four hours of it! The old President watched from his window, and a little further down the street the new Chancellor, Hitler, and his supporters stood on a balcony, and had a stupendous ovation. On our steps, and perched up on the ledge with the columns, stood wild enthusiasts, singing all the old German hymns! Every now and then there were shouts of "Germany awake", "Down with the Jews", "Heil Hitler"! It seemed as tho’ the whole of Berlin was processing along the Wilhelmstrasse.""

A History of the Twentieth Century, Vol. One: 1900-1933, Martin Gilbert, HarperCollins, 1997

George Habash opposed suicide bombings

Shortly before his death George Habash gave an interview to the French newspaper Le Figaro (Jan. 28). He expressed no regrets for his appalling record of terrorism and destruction, but had one reservation ... he opposed human bombs and jihad: "At the end of the 60s, we hijacked airliners to call attention to the Paletinian cause. I was aware that they would not change the course of our strugge against Israel. But it was the only way to make our cause known. Once this goal had been achieved, in 1972 I called at the third PFLP congress, for an end to airliner hijackings. It was a difficult decision because the majority of Paletinians were in favour. But I had no hesitation in breaking with my companion, Wadi Hadda, who decided he would carry on with the operations. Since then, I haver never been attracted to suicide attacks. Maybe this is due to my Christian religion, in which the word jihad does not exist." Translated by Philosemite

Synagogue, by Max Beckmann (1919)

Max Beckmann (1884-1950)

European Commissioner Franco Frattini expresses regret at EU treatment of Israel

By Dana Zimmerman in Ynetnews:
Top EU official: Gaza siege not a war crime - Franco Frattini, European Commissioner for Justice Freedom and Security, says at Herzliya Conference that Israel has right to defend itself against Qassam rockets, expresses regret at EU treatment of Israel.

A change in EU attitudes towards Israel? In a briefing to Israeli reporters Tuesday, European commissioner for Justice Freedom and Security, Frano Frattini, said that the steps leading up to the Gaza blackout cannot be construed as a war crime and criticized the incessant Qassam rocket fire on Israel civilian population centers.

In a lecture sponsored by the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center, Frattini also issued a massive mea culpa to the State of Israel on behalf of the European community for its treatment of Israel during the second Intifada."

There has been a large misunderstanding in recent years between Europe and Israel. And Israel is justified in its concerns. For too long, Europe has put too much blame on Israel for lack of peace with the Palestinians. We, as Europeans, should have understood Israel's concerns sooner,” said Frattini.

The European official also noted that "as friends, it was our duty to criticize when we felt criticism was needed, but we did it too often and unfairly. We asked you to take risks and often we didn’t provide you with assurances that you wouldn't stand alone if things went badly."

Frattini continued to say that, "Europe's attitude towards Israel is changing. Today, Europe better understands the complexities of the Middle East landscape."

Commenting on the rising tide of Anti-Semitism throughout Europe, which has often led to marked tension between Israel and various European nations, Frattini maintained that "We are strongly fighting against Anti-Semitism in Europe. This kind of prejudice has no place in Europe today and never will. We will not tolerate Anti-Semitism and we take it very seriously."

Speech by EU Commissioner Frattini "From the outside, looking in: international perspectives on the Middle East; Israel at 60: test of endurance" - 22 January 2008, Herzliya.

Israel bashing: International citizens' tribunal to try Israel in Brussels

JUSTICE FOR LEBANON! Feb. 22-24, 2008, Brussels Co-ordinator: Raoul Marc Jennar Int'l Jury Schedule INTERNATIONAL JURY OF CONSCIENCE FOR LEBANON International Associations Center, Washington Street, 40 Program Friday February 22 8:30 to 11:15 p.m.: · Opening, reception and general presentation (15 min) · Declaration of the International Peoples Tribunal (15 min) · Declaration of Jury on the decision to consider only the actions of the Israeli army (15 min) · Reading the indictment (90 min) · Reaction of the defendant (30min) Saturday February 23: The morning: victims From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.: · 8 victims will testify (15 min each one) From 11:30-to 11:45 a.m.: coffee/tea break From 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. · testimony from the mayor of a village (30 min) · testimony from the mayor of a city (30 min) From 12:45 to 2 p.m.: Lunch break The afternoon: witnesses From 2 to 4:30 p.m.: · the Lebanese Red Cross (30 min) · Green Peace Lebanon (30 min) · A Lebanese economic institute (30 min) · The international NGOs (20 min each one) From 4:30 to 4:45 p.m.: coffee/tea break From 4:45 to 6:45: statements by 4 Lebanese lawyers (30 min each one) The evening: round table with Lebanese and international journalists From 8:30 to 11 p.m.: four Lebanese journalists will dialog with a French journalist, a British journalist and a Belgian journalist. The debate will be chaired by a European member of Parliament. Sunday February 24: From 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.: statement of Dr Hugo RUIZ DIAZ BALBUENA, attorney and representative of The Association of American Attorneys at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations From 10:00 to 10:45 a.m.: statement from a representative of Amnesty International and a representative of Human Rights Watch From 10:45 to 11:00 a.m.: coffee/tea break From 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: statement from a representative of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations From 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.: Lunch break From 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.: indictment From 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.: reaction of the defendant Starting 4:00 p.m.: Jury deliberation At 5:00 p.m.: Read the verdict The jury is composed of five people, one from each inhabited continent, each of them judges by profession. The entire hearing will be recorded and filmed. The debates will be translated simultaneously into English, Arabic and French. Various documents and reports/ratios will be placed at the disposal of the public. A bookstore will be accessible. The hearing will take place in a room holding 250 people. Videos will be shown in an adjoining room. "The International Jury of Conscience for Lebanon" is a project which intends to develop the struggle against impunity regarding the crimes committed, which intends to promote international law and in particular human rights and which places the respect of fundamental human rights above any other consideration. The discussion will proceed in greatest serenity and the publicity that arises from it will reside exclusively within the framework of human rights. It will question only the facts that occurred during the conflict of July-August 2006 in connection with the respect of these rights. This project does not include a political debate on the question of the relationship between Israel and its neighbors, nor about the Palestinian question.

On Barenboim the peacemaker

Bingo indeed. Well spotted by SnoopyTheGoon at Simply Jews:

"From an interview with a music critic on Army Radio (imprecise):

"I feel enormous respect for Daniel Barenboim. I am glad that he does so much for Palestinian people, giving concerts in Ramallah and doing everything to bridge the gap. I shall continue buying his disks, even those with Wagner.

However, I have never seen him visiting Kiryat Shmona or Sderot or giving a concert there, and it is a pity."

Bingo."