Igor Levit calls solidarity rally
NewsThe German-Russian pianist has organised a counter-antisemitism concert at the Elbphilharmonie:
Hamburg, 10 July 2024: On the initiative of Igor Levit, the Elbphilharmonie is making an appeal to humanity with a solidarity concert. On 16 September, numerous artists will gather on the stage of the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall to protest against the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany. Alongside Levit, the line-up of performers includes Michel Friedman, Alan Gilbert, Malakoff Kowalski, Efrat Alony, Dirk von Lowtzow, Olli Schulz, Tim Mälzer, Düzen Tekkal and Ronya Othmann.
Since the brutal attack on 7 October at the latest, increasingly blatant anti-Semitism has also been observed in Germany; hatred and incitement are booming. Since then, artists led by Igor Levit have intervened several times to counter contempt for humanity with the power of art and the spirit of cooperation. Now music will be played, spoken and read together on stage at the Elbphilharmonie. All the artists involved want to set an example that is not merely symbolic. The proceeds from ticket sales will go to OFEK e.V., a counselling service specialised in anti-Semitic violence and discrimination, and to the Stiftung Bornplatzsynagoge, a foundation whose new building of the Bornplatz Synagogue is a symbol of hope for the future of Jewish life in Germany.
Igor Levit: »Few things help as much as compassion. Few things are as good as knowing that you are not alone with your feelings, your pain, your fears, your thoughts. I have always had this conviction. After 7 October, it has now become even stronger. The drama and the consequences of that day, the greatest crime against the Jewish people since the Shoah, are still omnipresent today. The pain of that day has not ended for us, neither for me, nor for countless people around the world. Our concert entitled ›Against Silence. Against Anti-Semitism‹ is exactly that: a brief moment of togetherness – an evening that gives us space and time together: to mourn, to hope, to reflect, to empathise. I am looking forward to it with all my heart.«
These days, anti-Semitism is imported so should be easier to combat (I say ‘should’). Never give up the fight.
Are members of the AfD and neo-nazis in Germany look “imported” to you? The Reichsbürger? Have you learned nothing from the scandal of the infiltration of Nazi-apologists and far-right ideologies within the German state services? If you’re not ready to live in reality based on facts, just stay away from reality all together.
Your prism is out of date. Wilful ignorance.
No, he is right.
No, he’s not.
Just shut-up end even do not play.
Would you please explain why?
Lol Mr. Ross – wood you give him lesons like to?
If you want less of this in Germany, maybe stop importing it.
Are members of the AfD and neo-nazis in Germany look “imported” to you? The Reichsbürger? Have you learned nothing from the scandal of the infiltration of Nazi-apologists and far-right ideologies within the German state services? If you’re not ready to live in reality based on facts, just stay away from reality all together and live happily ever after with Anthony above
Sao you really think Germany’s anti-Semitism problem stems from AfD and the tiny group Reichsbürger? Utterly delusional.
Uninformed comment. Extreme rightwing groups (and even extreme leftwing groups), including AfD and Rechsbürger, are no tiny groups and antisemitism there is rampant.
You’re right to mention certain far-left groups as well, thanks
The left-wing groups are, indeed, much worse than those on the right when it comes to Jew-hating.
You do know that Muslim immigrants represent 6-7% of the total population of Germany, right? You really think that antisemitism of the past suddenly disappeared, and is increasing now because of the 6-7% of the population? All the while, AfD has gotten 20% of support by the end of 2023, but no, 20% is “tiny” and 7% is huge! Anthony, it seems like you need to go back to school for some very very very basic lessons in logic and math.
Your 6-7% punches above its weight. Look around Europe and tell me from where the overwhelming majority of anti-Semitism stems. The self-hating far left is not only complicit but a major player in stoking tensions between a country’s Jewish population and it’s Muslim immigrants and citizens.
Anthony, we’ve already established that many antisemitic groups that are not Muslim are much bigger in size. You just have no argument based on fact whatsoever, yet you keep crying like a child who doesn’t want to believe that there are no monsters in the dark. Anthony, there are NO monsters under your bed. I don’t know what happened to you in your life, but it seems like you could use some psychiatric help to get over some trauma that’s causing you to act irrationally.
Its. Autocarrot at work again.
No reasonable person will have noticed.
Copy and paste does a disservice to the veracity of your argument.
It seems like you’ve not taken logic 101 course. My copying my own comment affects neither the soundness, nor the formal validity of the actual argument. The fact that you actually believe in your own logical fallacy and have the audacity to mention it is a good demonstration of the Dunning-Kruger effect. If you think what I said was incorrect, you are free to challenge it. If you are uncapable of doing so, then stay silent instead of resorting to logical fallacies just to make yourself feel better in that moment. It is entirely unconstructive.
There’s no denying that anti-semitism is a problem, and unfortunately on the increase in many places, but NOT because of “7 October”. It’s due to the massacre of 40000 Palestinian civilians, including children, by the Israeli forces in RESPONSE to October 7th, not to mention the heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity that they perpetrate. Unfortunately, such purposeful blindness demonstrated here by Levit only serves to exacerbate the anti-semitic sentiment. Levit, if you dare speak of “compassion”, then speak on behalf of the tens of thousands of innocent people being brutally murdered as well.
So to be clear, Hamas gets a pass for using their citizens as human shields? They have acknowledged that civilian deaths are good PR for them.
No they do not get a pass and the international criminal court has condemned both Hamas and the Israel state for perpetrating war crimes. My comment was not meant to say that all responsibility lies within one party and that the others are exonerated. The ones who commit antisemitic acts should always be condemned. However, stating that the rise in such acts are due to October 7th is simply false. If one cannot identify the actual cause of an issue, then one will never be able to resolve the issue, hence rendering such acts of “solidarity” completely useless, hypocritical, and even hate-mongering.
The antisemitism started even before the IDF responded.
@David: Rampant anti-Semitism has been on the rise in so many places ever since our governments decided to culturally enrich us with people incapable and unwilling to integrate in our societies. There were calls for a ceasefire even before Israel had a chance to respond. The people calling for this were basically saying the actions of Hamas were legitimate and that Israel should not have the right to defend itself.
Hamas still enjoys great support in Gaza. If you were running Israel, what would you do?
Still believe those Hamas figures, David ? Even the UN and the BBC have debunked them.
Why don’t you protest against the treatment of the Uigurs or the victims of the Saudi-Yemen war? Not the right ‘enemy’, right?
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/gaza-death-toll-evidence/
Hamas should be taking care of their electorate, but they don’t give a damn. They don’t even let them shelter in the tunnels.
The Nation? Well, what a surprise they took that stance:
https://www.allsides.com/news-source/nation-media-bias
Anthony, if you can’t read, just say so. The “debunking” is a complete misrepresentation of the actual reports. Do a little bit more research and come back with a better attitude.
And yes, I do protest against the treatment of the Uigurs and the victims of the Saudi-Yemen war. What are you talking about? There is no such thing as the “right enemy”. I also deplore the October 7th attack by the Hamas and mourn for the victims in Israel. It seems like you’re the emotionally stunted/sociopathic one here who distinguishes “right victims” from the “wrong victims”. If you don’t defend the rights and freedom of all, then you don’t defend them for anyone, period. Don’t be a hypocrite and use your logic a bit more. You were given the gift to reason, so use it.
Resorting to ad hominem comments undermines your arguments, flawed as they are in any case.
What do you class as ‘a better attitude’? Sharing your opinion? I don’t. I’m no particular fan of Netanyahou but his job is incredibly complex. Show me an Israeli political leader of any colour who supports a ceasefire. I’m sure the Israelis must also be tired of constantly having to protect their state and people from extinction while bedwetters with luxury views pontificate from the safety of their keyboards.
Do let me know when and where your next Uigur solidarity march is, I’d love to come.
There was no ad hominem attack Anthony. Do not mistake a true statement (that you cannot read) for an ad hominem. The link was provided above for you and yet you believe in false information. By better attitude, I meant actually apologize when being corrected by facts. For example, to the person who shared with you the link that corrected your misinformation. Now the only reason you can’t admit that you were wrong would be because you can’t read properly. I suggest you work on your reading comprehension and logic a little more if you wish to have an opinion on world matters.
Apologise when confronted with ‘the facts’? Depends on who is providing ‘the facts’ and I suggest trawling among a much wider media pool than The Nation.
When participating in an exchange of ideas please leave your petulant, snide comments to one side and realise that not everyone shares your point of view. You are not the proprietor of the one sacred truth. Yes, it is regrettable that civilians are being killed in a war provoked by their own ‘government’ but thus is, sadly, not without precedent. Also, if you did a little research you’d see that the civilian death toll in Gaza is significantly lower than in any other armed conflict of the last hundred-odd years and could be stopped overnight if Hamas returned their Israeli hostages and laid down their arms.
As they say, there are none as blind as will not see.
As a matter of interest, David, how well do you know Germany? Have you ever been there? Do you even speak German? I suspect not. You might want to accept the fact that some of those disagreeing with your viewpoint may know the country, its language and its culture far better than you.
It’s good to be passionate about a cause, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re right. A little more temperance in your posts, please.
Do let me know when and where the next ‘solidarity marches’ for the Uigurs etc are happening . I’d love to come along.
How much money has the our government given the Chinese government to prosecute Uyghurs?
I wonder how classical music can change the hearts of antisemites. Would they go to that concert? Would the event have influence in some way?
No, they wouldn’t. To hell with them.
What’s shocking is how few musicians have been brave enough to do so. The silence has been deafening.
Nonsense, it’s nobody’s job to take a stand and least of all musicians. They are seldom well-informed and their best contribution, and indeed the only thing we as the audience are paying for them to do and their singular raison d’etre, is to make music. Not to beat the drums for this or that political cause or to browbeat their audience with their, again likely ill-informed, views.
Indeed, any artist in a position of such removal from reality that they think they can and ought to advise society at large on what to think, is already so far up their own asshole that they’re probably irredeemable, and this is the impression “Igor” has given off for years.
More cynical, shameless self-promotion from music’s ultimate me-me-me opportunist. It costs him nothing to stage these “anti-antisemitism” feel-good sessions, no one dares to criticize, and Igor gets even more of the attention he craves. Meanwhile he is actually throwing the real problems of actual Jews under the bus. Nobody needs a “concert against antisemitism” and, like his me-me-me October 7 Mendelssohn album, it does absolutely nothing other than give Igor Levit attention.
Literally the only thing accomplished here is further PR fluff to the effect that Igor Levit is some kind of unofficial diplomat or ambassador. It’s almost a parody.