Wartime changes at the Israel Philharmonic
OrchestrasFrom our special correspondent in Tel Aviv:
The Israel Philharmonic had to grapple with a postponement of the season opening for two months because of the murderous attack by Hamas on October 7. It has also expanded its schedule with additional concerts with musicians who expressed the wish to perform in Israel in these difficult times: Maxim Vengerov, Igor Levit and Semyon Bychkov.
Now Omer Meir Wellber who was due to conduct the subscription series this week has cancelled with COVID. Music director Lahav Shani will replace him. Shostakovich symphony no. 6 is out, Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances in.
How are the concerts going in Gaza right now? Right, they’re not, because the Israeli’s bombs have flattened the concert venues and nearly everything else in sight.
The concert venues were exploded by the bombs that Hamas put under it, and under hospitals, houses and schools.
Quite astonishing: by this logic, if everything that explodes in Gaza is due to Hamas, what has the IDF been doing in the last two months? Apart killing hostages waving white flags, that is?
Dear Frank,
Imagine, that a neighboring country would invade into your own country and kill 1,200 innocent sicilians, rape women, behead children and kidnapp 250 citizens to captivity.
What would be your coutry’s reaction? Why, on earth, isn’t Israel allowed to eliminate Hammas and protect itself from its brutal actions?
Dear Clemens,
If the Israeli army is protecting Palestinians with the same care and attention and adherence to the rules of war and international law as they are in killing 3 shirtless, bare torso, white-flag waving Jews, then all is fine under the sun, God is in his heavens, and we can all enjoy our concerts. Especially the family of the hostages.
Dear Clemens,
Imagine that a small but powerful nation, which has strategically allied itself with the US, violently displaced 6 million indigenous residents of a region since 1948, denying them the right to return to their homeland & governing those who remain with brute military force.
Imagine that the UN & the Oslo Accords guaranteed those indigenous people areas of land designated to be theirs, but that the powerful nation allows ruthless settlers to harass them & drive them off of their lands, burning their homes, destroying their livestock, murdering & imprisoning them. It’s far more than 1700.
If these indigenous people protest their condition in any reasonable or peaceful way, they are thrown in prison for years. Hamas is pure evil, but what other form of protest do they have left besides violence?
We are all concerned about the 100 hostages. We are also concerned about the 7000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, in inhumane conditions. Many are women and children held for years with no charges made against them. Look at the ages of the Palestinian prisoners recently released – almost all are children under 18. Why is Israel imprisoning Palestinian children?
The West is watching. Europe is watching. We no longer accept Israel’s status of victimhood, entitled to acts of war which violate international law in “self-defense”. Israel is now the obvious oppressor.
Criticizing Israel’s politics is not anti-semitic. Pointing out that Israeli is violating international humanitarian law is not anti-semitic. The UN is not anti-semitic because they defend human rights. The NYTimes is not anti-semitic because they offer views from both sides of this conflict.
Israel is a country behaving badly and its religion does not excuse it. Human rights must be respected on both sides of this conflict.
I abhor Hamas, terrorism & I am decidedly not anti-semitic. Thank you for allowing me to express my opinion.
Dear “Both Sides Now”,
Imagine that in the year 2005, Israel totally withdrew from from the Gaza Strip, under the government of P. M. Sharon, dismantled settlements and handed the entire rule to the Palestinian Authority, which immediately lost it to the rule of Hammas (who, like Hitler, came to power within an election process). Imagine also, that the Palestinians, who received billions of Euros and Dollar from Europe, The US, Katar and others, instead of spending that money in building a new Singapore or Dubai in Gaza, spent all that money in building a war machine with one sole goal of destroying Israel. A peaceful neighboring Gaza, could have been an example for Israel and the West Bank for the future, but no: they didn’t set that example. Quite the opposite.
Dear “Both Sides Now”, you probably live in a peaceful county. Most of Europe is now peaceful, after experiencing terrible wars over years. In one of those wars, 6 millions jews were perished in the crematoriums. But Israel’s neighborhood is not peaceful. Some of its neighbors still aspire to destroy it and teach their children to hate Jews.
Israel can’t allow another Holocaust like the one that took place in Europe 70 year ago.
Thank you for letting me express my opinion.
Dear Clemens,
You might also imagine that 2 years after exiting Gaza – which was done not out of neighborly goodwill but because Israel found it too expensive & difficult to occupy Gaza any longer – Israel simply enforced its control in a different manner – by imposing a stranglehold blockade on Gaza which has had a severe and damaging impact on its people, its economy & its ability to function.
What documentation can you provide that all donations from the EU & other nations to Palestine have specifically been spent on “building a war machine with one sole goal of destroying Israel”? 1. That’s a sweeping, undocumented statement & 2. You are putting Israel at the center of the universe, which is typical of so many on your side of this debate.
Palestine has many other priorities besides Israel, which, if you’d take the time to consider, as someone like Daniel Barenboim has done, you’d be aware of.
The US non-profit ANERA, for example, provides aid to Palestine, & is funded by a no. of private & govt. sources. It publishes strict accountability for donations received. Trust me, “destroying Israel” is not one of their goals. Funding music education for young Palestinians in refugee camps IS one of their goals. Nothing to do with building a “war machine” unless that machine includes violins.
Israel is smart & powerful. Surely Israelis can see that brute force is not the way to get their neighbors to stop hating them. Wouldn’t dialogue and communication – as difficult as that’s proven to be – be a more logical approach? The more you bomb Gaza, the more hatred & future terrorists you are creating. And now you are turning world opinion against you as well. You are creating anti-semitism where there was none. This is not the way to go, Clemens. Listen to the world, please.
There were 11 million souls exterminated in the camps. Almost 1/2 of those exterminated – 5 million – were not Jewish. We, the descendants of those 5 million non-Jews who were exterminated – the Roma, the Sinti, Blacks, gays, the disabled, Freemasons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, ethnic Poles & Slavs, political prisoners from countries thruout Europe – would also like to make sure than another Holocaust never happens. We also live with prejudice & often hardship. But we are not trying to eliminate everyone who still hates us. The genocide of our ancestors doesn’t make it right for us to declare genocide against our enemies.
Again, thank you for this dialogue.
A look at the map shows that Gaza is not only bordered by Israel.
Well, not widespread war crimes and civilian killings, I would hope. It’s not hard.
Dear Clemens, you are wasting your efforts with the types like Frank . It is better to ignore them . They are a lost cause.
Dear Clemens,
Imagine being in a country that you’ve been prevented from leaving, then had your food, water and fuel cut off, then had 2,000-pound (non-precision) bombs dropped on your homes even as you had no real place to escape. Then imagine having 18,000+ of your neighbors killed (quite a bit more than 1,200).
Oh, and Israel’s actions will only make Hamas stronger in the long run…
Dear Frank,
The Hammas should have used their heads, before going on their cruel, brutal, and horrendous attack on the south of israel, with the massive killing, rape and torture they executed on innocent Israelis. They should have calculate the sequences. They bare the sole responsibility for the suffering of their own civilians.
You probably live in a peaceful county, without immediate threats of bombs falling on your head daily. Israel cannot allow such aggressive regime on its borders. One Holocaust is enough.
How I am sick already from these idiotic comments. No another definition. It was blue and very peaceful sky above Gaza till October 7. Not Israel attacked civilians and raped and beheaded people. And not it’ll not be any music in Gaza except bomb tremolo till Yehia Sinwar and his terrorists will finally enjoy their 72 virgins. And yes, the people in Israel will both, fight and listen music,and play music, even if you wish us only to cry. Swallow it!!!
You are more then welco e to arrange a flottila to rebuild Gaza’s flourishing culture life. I’m sure Sinwar’s utmost desire is a concert of Bach Mass in B minor.
Concerts in Gaza are going the same way they did until October 7: there’s none. If the population of Gaza didn’t spend its entire energy on raising children in hatred for Israel and glorification of death, they could’ve had music schools and perhaps even concert halls. Unfortunately, billions of dollars pumped into Gaza went into building tunnels and preparations for launching rockets at Israel. So, alas, no concerts whatsoever- until the Gazans decide they’ve had enough of hatred and want to try some love. Then music can certainly help there.
This is false, Pianist. Palestinians, including those in Gaza, have historically given music, concerts and music education a very high priority. Just google it. Why would a simple geographical border determine that only people on one side of that border – Israelis – love music? Palestinians have exactly the same interest in music.
The Israel Philharmonic was established in 1936 under the name the “Palestine Symphony Orchestra”. This is the name of the ensemble which Toscanini conducted. The name was changed in 1948, of course.
Look at the work of the Palestine National Conservatory of Music, recently renamed the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. It serves thousands of young Palestinian music students & has branches in Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus & Gaza City. Despite the many obstacles presented by Israelis, the Conservatory has led to the creation of the Palestine National Orchestra, and a robust Palestinian youth orchestra.
Have a look at the Al Kamandjati School of Music in Ramallah, founded by a young Palestinian violist who grew up in a refugee camp, studied in France & returned to provide music education for young Palestinians. With funding from France, his school boasts a top notch string program, instruction in traditional Arab instruments, even a Baroque ensemble. His dramatic story is documented in the book “Children of the Stone” by US author Sandy Tolan.
The list of musical accomplishments in Gaza & Palestine could fill a book. To deny that music is part of Palestinian heritage is pure ignorance. The main obstacles they face are due to Israeli interference, such as the difficulty getting pianos thru the Israeli blockade on Gaza, or Israeli military interrupting & preventing concerts in the Occupied West Bank. Foreign music teachers in Palestine have also blogged on their experiences being detained, harassed & having their instruments seized by Israeli military.
And as much as I loathe saying anything remotely excusing Hamas, the only problem Hamas has publicly voiced about music is that due to strict Islamic law, they prefer that boys & girls perform separately in school concerts. They want the concerts to go on, but one of their top religious leaders has objected to co-ed music performances, so they are trying to enforce that.
So please stop jumping to assumptions about Palestine & music. Do you seriously think that a great musician like Daniel Barenboim would waste his time opening a music center in Ramallah if there was no interest in music there?
Dear Both Sides Now,
Your reply is the epitome of what constitutes nowadays a “balanced liberal”. You sit in the privacy and security of your peaceful dwelling, most likely somewhere in Europe or the US, and you GOOGLE things. At least you invite me to do so – and also rebuke me for my “ignorance”…
I will just give you a couple of tips in the hope that your future googling might be better informed by reality. First, Ramallah isn’t Gaza. It is in the West Bank. A simple geographical fact, but oh boy, does it mean a lot! While there are musical institutions in Ramallah (in one of which one of my former graduates actually teaches), there’s been none in Gaza and never will be as long as Hamas is in power. The Islamic law, as enforced by Hamas in Gaza, strictly prohibits any music education -especially in Western style. “Culture“ in Gaza strictly forbids music-making that remotely resembles anything the comments to this article discuss.
And yes, the reason Daniel Barenboim opened his music center in Ramallah is because there is no way in the world an institution of this kind would be ever feasible in the Hamas-governed Gaza!
In conclusion, your passage “The list of musical accomplishments in Gaza & Palestine could fill a book” has peaked my curiosity and I would be grateful if you could list one or two.
As for “ The main obstacles they face are due to Israeli interference, such as the difficulty getting pianos thru the Israeli blockade on Gaza, or Israeli military interrupting & preventing concerts in the Occupied West Bank. Foreign music teachers in Palestine have also blogged on their experiences being detained, harassed & having their instruments seized by Israeli military”, perhaps you could channel less of Hamas-run, Iran-sponsored anti-Israeli disinformation sources and research (even if on Google) how many Palestinian students from Ramallah have received, and continue to receive, top-notch education in Israel. Specifically , at the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Academies of Music. And how grateful they are for these experiences.
There were no concerts in Gaza due to Hamas not allowing cultural events. Regardless of Israeli bombing.
Hamas allows cultural events. The Israel military apparently does not. This article gives some idea of the difficulty of getting instruments thru Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/music/the-curious-case-of-gaza-s-only-grand-piano-1.825796#:~:text=After%20the%20theatre%20was%20closed,over%20the%20next%20three%20years.
With regard to the source you are quoting here (pasting from Wikipedia): “The National is a private English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The newspaper is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi”. ))) Once again, it’s all about the source! And if my humble supposition that your moniker -“Both Sides Now” – emphasizes a commitment to even-handedness, I would invite you to get interested in, and to quote, sources other than the ones owned by Arab sheikhs. Indeed, there may be some alternative viewpoints on how much Hamas has done for classical music in Gaza.))
There have never been concerts in Gaza. Safe for some croaking Muezzins.
On October 11 2023, a few days after Hamas massacred thousand of Jews, cut and burned Jewish children in half and raped Jewish girls and women, Riccardo Muti gave an interview in Sarajevo.
https://www.face.ba/vijesti/bih/ekskluzivno-muti-palestinski-orkestar-postao-izraelska-filharmonija-ovo-vodi-ka-unistenju-svijeta/177778
In this interview, Muti said:
“The first name (note: of the Israeli Phil), when Toscanini conducted the first concert in 1936 was the “Palestine Orchestra”. I never understood all this. One day you will explain to me, when we have a little more time. And then, a few decades later, for the ceremonial commemoration of that first concert, I was invited by the State of Israel to repeat that same concert and to conduct, as an Italian and as someone who comes from Toscanini’s school, the very same program that was performed under Toscanini’s baton in 1936. So, I still haven’t understood, because I’m not a politician, I repeat, why that orchestra used to be called the “Palestinian Orchestra” and today it’s called the “Israeli Philharmonic”. There must be some political reasons for this change of name, except that today, apparently, the two names are in great contrast. We should probably call all orchestras world orchestras, because humanity is one and therefore it is unnecessary to call orchestras by this or that name.”