Top Israeli musicians protest deportations
mainMore than 200 leading musicians have signed a petition calling on the Netanyahu government to drop its plan to deport African asylum seekers who have sought refuge in the country
The signatories include the conductors Ilan Volkov, Yoav Talmi, Daniel Cohen and Yuval Zorn; composers Chaya Czernowin, Zvi Avni, and Jerusalem Academy president Yinam Leef; singers Mira Zakai, Chen Reiss, Hila Baggio and Keren Hadar; pianists Einav Yarden, Iddo Bar Shai and Shay Wosner, as well as section leaders from both the Israel Philharmonic and the Israel Symphony orchestras.
They write:
The refusal of several countries to accept Jewish refugees before, during and after the Second World War, is one of our most traumatic memories as a society. We must not be those who will be responsible for creating similar trauma in a community which needs our assistance at this time, assistance we are able to offer.
We call upon the Israeli government and its Prime Minister to learn the lesson from this traumatic memory, to take part in helping to solve the global refugee crisis, and to set an example in the way it treats asylum seekers within its borders.
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