Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra’s Proms concert
Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra’s Proms concert
Two observations, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the protest last night (for the record, I don’t think the actions inside were particularly helpful or desirable):
1. The response by some that the protestors were either complete idiots who had no idea what they were involved in and/or that they did it solely because the people performing were Jewish, is insultingly stupid. The various statements and comments from those involved (and the letter in The Independent from a bunch of Western musicians) make clear that IPO was targeted for specific reasons connected to the Israeli state and its relationship with that.
2. The statement “The invitation to the Orchestra is a purely musical one” is naive at best, idiotic at worse. Whatever the context, attempts to divest culture of social and political meaning are infuriating and fall apart in seconds.