October 26, 2010

EDITOR: The BDS campaign wins more support!

An important development last week – Mike Leigh refuses to travel to Israel for a workshop at Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem, and speaks about it very openly in an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, on Friday 22nd October (further below). A large group of filmmakers from Palestine and Israel, as well as artists and academics, have written to him to applaud his action:

Open Letter to Mike Leigh

October 25, 2010

Dear Mike Leigh,

We are writing to you as a group of fellow filmmakers and academics, Palestinians, Israelis and others, to thank you for your principled and courageous step of withdrawing from the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School workshop and “implicitly” joining the cultural boycott of Israel. As admirers of your work, from Abigail’s Party to Another Year, we have long appreciated your commitment to those sectors of society that are disenfranchised and normally silenced. Now you have actively and openly intervened in defence of Palestinian rights, and we applaud you for doing so publicly.  You have joined the growing ranks of artists and cultural producers who are refusing to lend their name and prestige to the cover-up of a brutal occupation, already more than four decades old.

Your action also challenges the long silence of most of Israel’s artists and intellectuals who have, unfortunately, been co-opted into the broad Israeli social coalition that supports the brutalities visited by Israel on the Palestinians. Some of those will certainly feel threatened by your stand; we feel supported by it. If a just peace is to be ever achieved in Palestine, Jews elsewhere have to stand together in support of the full rights of the Palestinians. Your action is striking evidence of growing cultural resistance abroad to Israel’s intransigence.  We hope it will encourage others. Only by such concerted action will the situation change in the Middle East.

Thank you, Mike!

Signed by:

Hany Abu Assad – Filmmaker
Udi Aloni – Filmmaker
Oreet Asheri – Artist and researcher
Saleh Bakri – Filmmaker
Avia Ben David – Scriptwriter
Prof. Oren Ben-Dor
Simone Bitton – Filmmaker
Rani Blair – Director
Prof. Haim Bresheeth – Filmmaker
Shai Carmeli Pollak
Scandar Copti – Filmmaker
Anat Even – Filmmaker
Angela Godfrey-Goldstein – Actress
Ala Hlehel
Annemarie Jacir – Director
Prof. Ronit Lentin
Yael Lerer
Prof. Yosefa Loshitzky
Dr. Orly Lubin
Prof. Moshe Macover
Miriam Margolyes – Actress
Audrey Maurion Film Editor
Idit Nathan
Prof. Mica Nava
Osama Qashoo – Director
Prof. Steven Rose
Prof. Hilary Rose
Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead
Daniel Rubinstein
Prof. Ella Shohat
Eyal Sivan – Filmmaker
Ula Tabari – Actress
Yosi Wanunu – Theatre director
Einat Weizman – Actress

The mathematics of strangulation of Gaza: The Only Democracy?

October 25th, 2010, By Jesse  Bacon
When the specifics of Israel’s siege of Gaza came to light, it appeared almost random in its insanity and cruelty. The famous example is the prohibiting of pasta while allowing rice, all the while claiming this was somehow ensuring Israel’s security. Well wonder no longer. Through the heroic efforts of Gisha, whose work we feature regularly here on The Only Democracy?, the actual policy has been released. It turns out there is a detailed series of charts and formulae that look like someone attempted to translate the lectures of Glenn Beck into public policy. In the driest of terms, it represents a calculus of human misery, equations of despair that add up to the starvation of Gazans and a protracted conflict.
Here is Gisha’s summary of the revealed policy, with my annotations.
“Policy of Deliberate Reduction”
The documents reveal that the state approved “a policy of deliberate reduction” for basic goods in the Gaza Strip (section h.4, page 5*). Thus, for example, Israel restricted the supply of fuel needed for the power plant, disrupting the supply of electricity and water. The state set a “lower warning line” (section g.2, page 5) to give advance warning of expected shortages in a particular item, but at the same time approved ignoring that warning, if the good in question was subject to a policy of “deliberate reduction“. Moreover, the state set an “upper red line” above which even basic humanitarian items could be blocked, even if they were in demand (section g.1, page 5). The state claimed in a cover letter to Gisha that in practice, it had not authorized reduction of “basic goods” below the “lower warning line”, but it did not define what these “basic goods” were (page 2).
So, the lower red line is to tell Israel that its policies were working as designed to cause shortages, thus  allowing them to “ignore” the warnings. Even at the upper limit, Israel could keep denying goods if it saw fit to do so. I am reminded of one of those thermometers used to measure  fundraising, only here the goal is deprivation not development.
“Luxuries” denied for Gaza Strip residents
In violation of international law, which allows Israel to restrict the passage of goods only for concrete security reasons, the decision whether to permit or prohibit an item was also based on “the good’s public perception” and “whether it is viewed as a luxury” (section c.b, page 16). In other words, items characterized as “luxury” items would be banned – even if they posed no security threat, and even if they were needed. Thus, items such as chocolate and paper were not on the “permitted” list. In addition, officials were to consider “sensitivity to the needs of the international community”.
These are the source of the infamous regulations on pasta v. rice, and coriander. With a great perversion of cultural sensitivity, the things that Gazans like are to be taken into account and restricted accordingly. International community members, on the other hand, are still able to access their favorite goodies lest they become too vocal in their opposition because of personal inconvenience.
Secret List of Goods
The procedures determine that the list of permitted goods “will not be released to those not specified!!” (emphasis in original) (section j, page 17), ignoring the fact that without transparency, merchants in Gaza could not know what they were permitted to purchase. The list itemized permitted goods only. Items not on the list – cumin, for example – would require a special procedure for approval, irrespective of any security consideration, at the end of which it would be decided whether to let it in or not.
Here is the truly Kafkaesque part, Palestinians were not to know what was on the list and what was not, allowing the Israel to act as a vengeful and obscure deity determining what they could eat and build with. Whenever Israel (or the U.S.) government cites “security” , we should substitute the word “embarrassing.” Try it, it works.
Ban on Reconstructing Gaza
Although government officials have claimed that they will permit the rehabilitation of Gaza, the documents reveal that Israel treated rehabilitation and development of the Gaza Strip as a negative factor in determining whether to allow an item to enter; goods “of a rehabilitative character” required special permission (section g, page 16). Thus, international organizations and Western governments did not receive permits to transfer building materials into Gaza for schools and homes.
Those international organizations may be able to buy their own personal consumer products, but they are not allowed to import goods for Gazans to rebuild after the war. I am reminded of the US-backed, Central American death squads who targetted anyone doing community development work, only in this case the death squads wear suits and sit t desks far away.
Calculation of product inventory
The documents contain a series of formulas created by the Defense Ministry to compute product inventory (pages 8-10). The calculations are presumed to allow COGAT to measure what is called the “length of breath” (section i, page 8). The formula states that if you divide the inventory in the Strip by the daily consumption needs of residents, you will get the number of days it will take for residents of Gaza to run out of that basic product, or in other words, until their “length of breath” will run out.
See the photo below. But don’t allow the fancy graphs to obscure what is going on, which is calculating exactly how much suffering is being inflicted on the people of Gaza.
Although these memos described the policies as of April 2009, we should not hold out too much hope that matters have improved.
According to Gisha Director Sari Bashi: “Instead of considering security concerns, on the one hand, and the rights and needs of civilians living in Gaza, on the other, Israel banned glucose for biscuits and the fuel needed for regular supply of electricity – paralyzing normal life in Gaza and impairing the moral character of the State of Israel. I am sorry to say that major elements of this policy are still in place“.

Richard Silverstein, who also posted the above photo, describes how this policy was actually supposed to be implemented.
The data[on availability of items] will be collected in the economy division, once a week, on Tuesday, and a calculation compiled of products  transferred, then added to existing inventories, and then consumed amounts will be deducted according to the models.
F.# After the calculation is performed, a draft of inventory estimates will be prepared…[and] the following data will be checked:
# 1. Upper level warning – in case inventory of one of the short shelf life products is over 21 days or long shelf life  product inventory is over 80 days.
# 2. Lower level warning – in case inventory of one of the short shelf life products is under 4 days or long shelf life product inventory is under 20 days.
# 3. Shortage – in case inventory of one of the short shelf life products is under 2 days or long shelf life product  inventory is under 5 days.
H. In case inventory of one or more products reached a ‘level of warning,’ the following actions will be taken:
1. Xxxx will verify the information with leading Palestinian merchants.
2. Xxxx will perform mathematical evaluation of the model to verify the data.
3. In case of an upper level warning, the issue will be brought up for discussion and update for a decision on policy of entering the # relevant product.
4.! In case of a lower level warning an update will be transferred, and Gaza DCO will take action to facilitate transferring the relevant product, unless it is an intentional policy of reduction. [ed., italics mine]
5. In case of shortage, the same actions as of ʻlower level warningʻ will be taken. In case it is an intentional policy of  reduction, decision makers will be presented with the consequences of shortage of the relevant product.
“One wonders what warning the decision makers would be presented with: would they be warned that preventing entrance of a piece of medical equipment would cause the death of children?  Or that the categorization of milk, or hummus or any number of staples of the Palestinian diet as “superfluous” might exacerbate the already existent malnutrition among children?  Or that a shortage of fuel and hence water outages would cause women not to be able to cook properly or families to observe hygienic practices.  What type of discussion do you think happened among the decision makers when they were ‘warned’ about these red lines?

Protesting the OECD Conference in Jerusalem: YouTube

Tutu Urges South African Opera Company Not to Perform in Israel: Artsbeat

By DAVE ITZKOFF
Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, has urged an opera company there not to perform in Israel, invoking South Africa’s long struggle against apartheid in criticizing Israel’s policy towards Palestinians, The Associated Press reported. The Cape Town Opera is scheduled to perform “Porgy and Bess” at the Tel Aviv Opera House beginning on Nov. 12. But Archbishop Tutu, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize who retired from his official duties earlier this month, said in a statement that the tour should be postponed “until both Israeli and Palestinian opera lovers of the region have equal opportunity and unfettered access to attend performances.”

“Just as we said during apartheid that it was inappropriate for international artists to perform in South Africa in a society founded on discriminatory laws and racial exclusivity, so it would be wrong for Cape Town Opera to perform in Israel,” Archbishop Tutu said in his statement. He added that it would be “unconscionable” for the opera company to perform “Porgy and Bess,” which he said has a “universal message of nondiscrimination.”

Hanna Munitz, the general director of the Israeli Opera, said in a statement that the intent of the collaboration between the companies “is culture and art, and definitely not politics,” adding: “Both houses relate to culture as a bridge, the aim of which is to be above any political dispute. Furthermore, the fact of the matter is that very big performance companies arrive in Israel from abroad all the time.”

Zionism? To hell with all that, says film director: Jewish Chronicle

Mike Leigh’s distaste for Israel is so bad he won’t even visit his 90-year-old aunt
By Stephen Applebaum and Simon Rocker, October 21, 2010

Mike Leigh, the film-maker and playwright who has cancelled a planned trip to Israel next month, has backed a cultural boycott of the country, calling its policies “suicidal”.
In an exclusive and personal outspoken interview in which he justified his decision not to teach a masterclass at a Jerusalem film school, the 67-year-old, Salford-born author said he was now “implicitly part” of the boycott.
Mr Leigh, director of award-winning films such as Secrets and Lies and Topsy-Turvy, had been invited by the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem to take a workshop for students. During the week that he was due to spend in Israel he had been scheduled to visit Palestinian film-makers in Jenin, on the West Bank, and also to give a wide-ranging press conference.
Mr Leigh admitted to having been “extremely uncomfortable” about agreeing to go to Israel in the first place, but the loyalty oath planned by the Israeli government for new immigrants had proved “the last straw”.
I don’t want to know about rockets. I am concerned with humanity
In his interview, given to publicise his new film, Another Year, Mr Leigh gave his angriest assessment yet of his life as a Jew and his feelings towards Israel.
He complained that he and his fellow former members of the left-wing Zionist movement, Habonim, had been duped by Israeli propaganda, and denounced religion in the strongest terms.
“Religion’s never been an issue. I’ve been sceptical about religion since I was born, basically. And certainly by the time I came to my barmitzvah I had long been sceptical. I think organised religion is bulls***. And I have thought that literally since before I could walk. So that’s not a problem for me. Although I grew up in the north Manchester Jewish scene, in a district that’s now completely where all the frummers live.”
He revealed that he had planned to take his sons with him to Israel, where he has a “lot of very close relatives. My mother’s surviving sister, who went on aliyah in 1949, is still alive. She’ll be 90 very shortly, and she was looking forward to seeing me…
“But in the end, to hell with all that. A decision had to be made that this simply wasn’t good enough.”
Although the argument might be put that “committed, serious, liberal, left artists are not responsible for the Israeli government,” he said, “that simply won’t wash. Because actually, the truth is that what Israel is doing… is suicidal.”
While cultural talks went on “in the nice cinematheques of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, it is hell on earth in Gaza and I wouldn’t want to be there basically”.
A former member of Habonim, he has only twice visited Israel, once in 1960 and again in 1990.
“Not only was I in Habonim, in the ’50s, but I actually happen to come from a very long, unusually Zionist background in Manchester, at a time when many Jews were not particularly Zionist,” he said. “In fact a lot of Jews were very sceptical about the whole notion of Zionism. My great-grandfather actually edited a Zionist newspaper in Manchester at the turn of the last century. So, I have struggled with this issue, the whole thing, for a very long time.”
All his close friends from Habonim had long since “walked away from Jewish life” but they talked about Israel, he added: “We wring our hands on a daily basis, saying ‘For f***’s sake, what are they doing? They are shooting themselves in the foot’.”
His 2005 play about Jewish identity, Two Thousand Years, would have been “tougher” if he had written it now, he said. He felt that not only had he done “the right thing” in deciding to call off his trip to Israel but “in so far as anything achieves anything, more publicity has come out of what I have done than would have been the case had I simply not gone, or had I gone and merely made a few statements that no one was listening to inside Israel.”
He said he had been “of course exhorted not to go to Israel by a number of factions. That included Israeli factions within Israel. Whilst I have been berated by some Israeli positions, there are also Israelis that are extremely pleased I made that decision.”
Mr Leigh, who insisted that all his work was “unquestionably Jewish”, was dismissive about rocket attacks on Israel. “I don’t want to know about rockets,” he said. “What I am concerned with is humanity, is life being lived properly. And you cannot deal with this issue from an Israeli perspective and not from a Palestinian or a Gaza perspective. You simply can’t. And if you do it’s totally unacceptable. And that’s the bottom line.”

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