Israel Phil adds quarter-tones to the Eurovision theme

observer says:

This remarkable orchestra is a reminder of how deeply European Israel is and remains. We might also note that Tel Aviv has more opera performances per year than every American city except New York. Considerably more than cities we think of as our centers of opera. A third more than Chicago. About twice as many as San Francisco, Houston, and Seattle. Over four times as many as Boston. Israel was founded and first populated mostly by Europeans (Ashkenazis), and this profoundly shapes the identity of the country to this day in spite of what is now a Mizrahi majority among the populace.

Until the Suez Crisis of 1956, Israel was still under the umbrella of France and Britain. France was its main supplier of arms. When Israel, France, and Britain invaded Egypt in 1956 to remove Nassar from power and revoke his nationalization of the Suez Canal, the US government was outraged. Eisenhower threatened to massively damage the British economy by selling off America’s sterling pound bonds. And even more astoundingly, the USSR threatened nuclear attacks on London and Paris, while the USA remained quiescent and very pointedly didn’t offer to protect France and Britain.

The balance of power in the Middle East was radically altered, and Israel fell under the influence of the USA.

So my thought is that if Suez Crisis had not occurred, and if Israel had remained under the protection of France and Britain, it might today be a part of the EU which in many respects would fit more closely with the character of the country than its close alliance with the USA. And given American militarism, it might have also led to more peaceful resolutions of the conflicts in the Middle East than we see today.

This is, of course, a radically different view than is common today, and will certainly meet with the usual partisan objections, but at any rate, it is interesting to contemplate these turns of history. And all sensed in some way through cultural expression.