Monday, June 12, 2017
Elder of Ziyon
Looks like Thom Yorke of Radiohead has joined
countless other rockers giving the boycotters the finger, this time from the
pages of Rolling
Stone magazine (which, apparently,
is still published), a turn of events that got me reflecting on previous
instances and thoughts regarding BDS and celebrity.
For obvious reasons, BDS hits the newswires
whenever it intersects with fame, which is why the “movement” tries to glom
onto any publicity (good or ill) related to a rock or movie star (be they up
and coming, has been, or never was).
The underlying problem with such an approach is
that it equates being newsworthy with being noteworthy. But why should the opinion of a rock
guitarist or drummer, no matter how talented, mean more than that of the crossing
guard, or the guy working the supermarket checkout counter?
The eloquence of actors makes them a bit
trickier to deal with than those who communicate through electric instruments
pumped into enormous amplifiers. Keep in
mind, however, than even the best paid actors are simply craftsmen, like fine
carpenters or chefs. And if they have a reputation as being wiser than members
of these other professions, perhaps it is because: (1) their craft is the
ability to convincingly deliver clever and articulate dialog; and (2) that
dialog is provided to them by teams of writers who hone and polish words to
ensure that they are clever and articulate before being placed into an actor’s
mouth.
This is a long way of asking whether we should
care about which celebrities are or are not choosing to visit Israel this year,
or any other year. After all, if a major university or church chose to boycott
or divest from Israel, that would imply that the moral weight of these
centuries-old institutions was now bearing down in judgment on the Jewish
state. But can the same moral weight be assigned to Meg Ryan?
Calibrating Israel’s moral credibility on the
whims of pop and movie stars is particularly problematic, given the strategy
the BDSers use to get their way, demonstrated by moral blackmail and
disruptions Radiohead has had to contend with since announcing their latest
Israel gig. In other words, the
boycotters have made it clear that they have every intention of making a
celebrity’s life hell if they keep their commitments to perform in Israel and
have already demonstrated that they will exploit the name of any celebrity who
caves into their demands.
Celebrity BDS is clearly part of the
boycotter’s “Apartheid Strategy” predicated on the notion that if stars can be
made to boycott Israel the way they boycotted Apartheid South Africa, then that
will turn Israel into the next South-Africa-like pariah. From this fallacious premise (equivalent to
“All dogs are animals, all cats are animals, therefore all dogs are cats.”) the
boycotters have constructed a strategy crippled by three fatal flaws:
First, given the high profile of BDS bullying
campaigns directed at bands like Radiohead, who can take seriously the claim
that any band choosing to skip Israel is taking a moral stance, vs. getting a
bunch of harassers off their back?
Second, by turning decisions over whether or
not to perform in Israel into political statements, the boycotters themselves
created a formula that says the thousands of artists visiting the Jewish state
each year must be doing so as defiant demonstrations of support for Israel.
Finally, the whole celebrity boycott plan rests
of the assumption that a nation which has withstood invasion, war, terror,
economic blockade and decades of propaganda assault to build a vibrant and
successful nation are going to buckle because Elvis Costello screws his Israel
fans, or Roger Waters say something mean whenever his nurses at the geriatric
ward let him near a computer.
In a word, the entire plan is fakakta.
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