Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Elder of Ziyon
Here is how their performance was described in L'Orient Today by self-described cultural journalist Karl Richa:
On a stage illuminated by blue neon lights, Noa and Mira Awad are holding hands. Performers on the festival's first night, Feb. 11, the two Israeli artists bewilder the audience as they recite, in Arabic and Hebrew, Lennon's hit song [Imagine], almost chaotically. This moment, intended to be symbolic in light of the devastating conflict in the Middle East, does not achieve the desired effect. "Did the pope give his blessing to these Israeli women to sing in our language?" Amir*, a professional hairdresser of Tunisian origin in the middle blow drying a clients hair, jokes.
Naturally, I looked for the video so I could see this "chaotic performance" and the "bewildered audience." Here it is:
I see nothing in common between the Richa's description of the performance and the actual event. The format of the song was described ahead of time; within the song the performers described in Italian their messages of peace. The audience gave a standing ovation to the two Israelis, who of course Richa doesn't mention are an Arab and Jewish duo that has been touring together recently. He also doesn't mention that Mira Awad, the Arab, sang in Hebrew and Noa, the Jew, sang in Arabic.
So what performance did Richa see? And why would he choose a Tunisian hairdresser as symbolizing the audience reaction? (That quote was the headline of the French version of the article.)
For my tastes, these sorts of performances are saccharine and contrived. Nevertheless, they show a reality that the world doesn't want to see: an Arab singer is popular among Jews in Israel and the two big Israeli stars are performing together to promote peace between the peoples. Richa doesn't want the world to see any coexistence in Israel between Arabs and Jews. It is not hard to guess why.
This is how bias plays out. Journalists take on the job of describing reality, but they put their own spin that ends up describing the warped glasses they view the events through. The subliminal message here is that "We Are The World"-type anthems are heartfelt and genuine calls for world peace, but two Israeli citizens showing a coexistence between Arab and Jews that is rare to see in enlightened Western Europe are just Zionist propagandists who must be exposed.
You can call it anti-Zionism. You can consider this antisemitism. But describing an event that didn't happen is certainly not journalism.
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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