Subject: Fwd: Red Hot Chili Pepper fans
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 02:26:00 -0400





>From: Clifford Duffy <cwduff-AT-hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: foucault-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>To: deleuze-guattari-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>CC: foucault-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>Subject: Red Hot Chili Pepper fans
>Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 01:53:16 -0400
>
>Dear Red Hot Chili Peppers fans...
>
>   by Nigel Parry
>
>   Nigel Parry worked at Birzeit University between 1994 and 1998. His
>journal
>   from the time, A Personal Diary of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict,
>available
>   at nigelparry.com/diary, documented the post-Oslo experience of
>   Palestinians in the Ramallah area. He is also one of the founders of
>   electronicIntifada.net,"a resource for countering myth, distortion, and
>spin
>   from the Israeli media war machine."
>
>
>
>   The following e-mail was sent out on 6 July 2001 to several
>   Red Hot Chili Peppers mailing lists, and posted on several
>   bulletin boards relating to the band. The best way to raise an
>   issue outside of the usual audience remains... raising the
>   issue outside the usual audience. A protest address is
>   included for those who wish to write their own letters to the
>   band.
>
>   Dear Red Hot Chili Peppers fans,
>
>   I understand that this message probably isn't the kind you're used to on
>the list, but I
>   ask you consider the contents of it thoughtfully.
>
>   All of you will remember that when South Africa was still operating 
>under
>an
>   Apartheid system, bands used to refuse to play there. Sun City, the most
>famous
>   venue there, was the subject of at least one protest song.
>
>   Bands wouldn't play there because to do so generated income for the 
>White
>South
>   African system, and implicitly suggested that they didn't really mind
>that a racist
>   government had stamped their entry visa. The taxes that were paid on the
>venue by
>   the promoters went towards prolonging Apartheid, and the venue -- of
>course -- was
>   "for whites only".
>
>   Sadly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are turning the clock of musical
>conscience back
>   by playing in Israel. This venue will similarly be "for Israelis only".
>All 3 million
>   Palestinians are prevented by Israel from travelling to Tel Aviv and are
>currently
>   under siege in their towns.
>
>   Recent news reports said that the Chili Peppers had decided not to go
>because they
>   were worried about the "security situation." When he heard about this,
>Bill Clinton
>   rang them and urged them to go, and they changed their mind. They are
>playing on
>   August 28 in Tel Aviv: http://redhotchilipeppers.com/tour/
>
>   Here's the news piece:
>
>        "Clinton has the Red Hot Chili Peppers for Israel"
>        The Jerusalem Post, 3 June 2001
>
>        One of the biggest rock bands in the world today was about to 
>cancel
>        its planned concert in Tel Aviv, until a former American president
>        intervened. That, at least, is according to the Hebrew daily Yediot
>        Aharonot.
>
>        The paper suggests that Red Hot Chili Peppers was considering the
>        move because of the security situation.
>
>        Former president Bill Clinton reportedly heard of the plan and
>        personally called the band's lead singer Anthony Kiedis to suggest
>the
>        concert go ahead.
>
>        Clinton said the performance would be a vote of confidence in the
>        diplomatic process and regional peace.
>
>        As a result, the band will play on.
>
>        The concert is scheduled for Tel Aviv on August 28.
>
>   I have nothing against the band but am writing to you on principle
>because they are
>   setting an unacceptable example for the millions of people who love 
>their
>music.
>   There is nothing at all wrong with asking them as fans to reconsider 
>this
>tour date on
>   the basis of supporting human rights for all.
>
>   Why exactly is their playing in Israel a bad idea?
>
>   The news here gives the impression that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
>is some sort of
>   war between equal forces, that all Palestinians are terrorists, and that
>poor Israel has
>   done all it could to make peace with the Palestinians.
>
>   This is as far from the truth as it could be.
>
>   Palestinians have been living under a military occupation for 34 years.
>If you were
>   Palestinian, and under 34 years of age, all you would know is the
>presence of a
>   foreign army in and around your towns.
>
>   I had the opportunity to experience what that was like between 
>1994-1998,
>when I
>   lived in the West Bank town of Ramallah and worked at Birzeit 
>University,
>Palestine's
>   Harvard or Oxford.
>
>   Life there on the ground was bad news for Joe or Jane Palestinian, who
>you should
>   be aware are not any different from Joe or Jane American or Joe or Jane
>European.
>   The shocking but banal truth is that the vast majority of Palestinians
>are normal
>   people just like you and me, living in an abnormal situation.
>
>   Just as Americans aren't responsible as a whole for the actions of 
>people
>like Timothy
>   McVeigh, neither are the Palestinians as a whole responsible for the
>actions of the
>   few of them who carry out terrorist acts.
>
>   After the Oslo process began in 1993, the reality is that things got 
>very
>bad on the
>   ground for normal people. Very bad. Most human rights violations
>continued or
>   worsened. And today, it's even much worse.
>
>   Since 29 September 2000, when the Second Intifada began, Israel has
>killed over
>   500 Palestinians, crippled 1,500 more, and seriously injured another
>15,000. Many
>   of these are children. About half of these deaths and injuries took 
>place
>out outside of
>   clash situations. That means it happened to people in their homes, on 
>the
>way to
>   school, in restaurants.
>
>   When I was living there, I regularly attended clashes as an observer and
>journalist.
>   The normal attendee at these were young Palestinians, protesting the
>occupation with
>   stones thrown at the foreign army on their own land. The foreign army
>responded
>   with live ammunition and the so-called "rubber" bullets (in reality 
>steel
>balls with a
>   millimeter of rubber or hard plastic coating) that regularly kill and
>maim.
>
>   In every single case I witnessed, at the 30 or so clashes I attended,
>those Palestinians
>   that were killed were shot out of stone throwing range, ie. at a 
>distance
>where they
>   posed no threat to the Israeli soldiers. In September 1996, soldiers
>danced as they
>   shot people dead, giving each other high fives.
>
>   It really was that bad and things are not as they seem on the TV. 
>There's
>a lot of
>   reasons for that, and some of the following links will give you an idea
>why.
>
>   Here's another short intro to what really goes on at clashes, a photo
>story from just
>   one day in March 1997: http://nigelparry.com/diary/abughnaim/martyr.html
>
>   For more about this, see my online photo diary from the time, A Personal
>Diary of
>   the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, found at http://nigelparry.com/diary/
>
>   If you want the short version of what's going on now, here's a Flash
>multimedia
>   summary: http://nigelparry.com/flash/
>
>   Today, since the May 22 "unilateral cease-fire" was announced (for which
>the Israelis
>   have been unjustifiably commended by countries around the world for
>"keeping") it's
>   mind-blowing what's going on on the ground:
>http://electronicIntifada.net/chronology/
>   is a day-by-day account of Israeli actions against Palestinians since 
>the
>"cease-fire".
>
>   As you read it, imagine living there, and being able to do nothing 
>except
>survive.
>   Israeli activist Jeff Halper, sent out a report yesterday that was
>similarly shocking, a
>   report about ethnic cleansing going on away from the camera lenses:
>   http://electronicIntifada.net/features/articles/20010705halper.html
>
>   Finally, here is a recent report from Human Rights Watch (a US
>organisation) for
>   those that want a broader overview: http://hrw.org/campaigns/israel/
>
>   Back to the Peppers. The letter that follows below is written to the
>Peppers from
>   another fan concerned about the Palestinian people, from his heart.
>
>   Protest
>
>   If any of this makes you think that it's a bad idea for the Peppers to
>play Israel as
>   long as Israel continues its repressive military occupation against the
>Palestinian
>   people, then write and let them know you're a fan and that this bothers
>you. We used
>   to support bands like U2 and Peter Gabriel for taking stands against
>South Africa.
>   This should be no different.
>
>   Keep it simple, be polite, ask them to take a stand for human rights
>worldwide, and
>   ask them not to support the Israeli state by playing there.
>
>   Correspondence can be sent to Starla Angel, the news director of the
>official
>   Peppers website. Her address is starla-AT-redhotchilipeppers.com.
>
>   Please ask the Chili Peppers to do the right thing. Any concert in a
>country that is
>   brutally repressing a civilian population is not just another tour date.
>It's a statement
>   that what's going on doesn't really matter that much. And the fates of
>people like you
>   and me -- even if they speak a different language and live in another
>part of the world
>   -- should matter very much.
>
>   Nigel Parry
>   http://nigelparry.com
>
>
>
>        From: Raja Swamy
>        Date: Thu Jul 5, 2001 8:14 pm
>        Subject: Please do not Play in Israel!!!
>
>        Dear Red Hot Chili Peppers band,
>
>        You are scheduled to play in Israel on August 28, 2001. It was
>        revealed that you reconsidered your earlier decision to desist 
>after
>        former U.S. President, Bill Clinton intervened on behalf of Israel.
>
>        Consider this:
>
>        You live in a country where you are the minority group. Now the 
>vast
>        numbers of the minority group happens to be 'IN' "your country" on
>        account of your government having militarily attacked, and
>militarily
>        occupied their land and lives.
>
>        Imagine this: for 33 years, the minority group faces tanks,
>barricades,
>        soldiers with machine guns, as they walk to school everyday, plant
>their
>        crops, go to work, drink a cup of tea with friends, sing a song in
>the
>        sunset, play soccer with friends, mourn the loss of relatives,
>attend each
>        others' weddings, and so on: military occupation that is 
>accompanied
>by
>        constant abuse, physical, and mental abuse, irregardless of whether
>you
>        are a 4 year old boy innocently playing in your home or an 80 year
>old
>        retired farmer, watching the sunset in his backyard.
>
>        Abuse at the hands of soldiers, abuse at the hands of new European
>        people who have suddenly appeared in your backyard, in your
>        frontyard, in your homes, everywhere, ready to take what is yours
>for
>        generations and generations. The newcomers are spiteful, and covet
>        your land; they want to see you and your people dead or gone. The
>        soldiers are their buddies; the 'settlers' attack, the soldiers
>'defend' and
>        you and your community is reduced, reduced, reduced from homes to
>        camps, from smiles to tears, from peace to continuous nightmares,
>from
>        seeing the young tender plants grow in the ancient farms to being
>        drowned in seas of blood; 500 Palestinians have been killed by the
>        Israeli armed forces since October 2000.
>
>        Palestinians have no army, nothing comparable even in the remotest
>        sense to the armed forces of Israel. They use stones, as did little
>David
>        against the giant Goliath; is that violence, or is it violence to
>launch a
>        missile from a helicopter against three unarmed elderly ladies
>shopping
>        for vegetables in the marketplace? The latter happened, and what 
>did
>        Israel do? They blamed the Palestinians! Is this for real man?
>
>        You, dear band, represent the culture of youth, rebellious,
>innocent, and
>        yet daring; daring to challenge the arbitrary norms and values
>imposed
>        by the cultures of older generations; it is tyhe rebelliousness 
>that
>you
>        show today, that inspired your parents' generations to overthrow 
>the
>evil
>        of segragation. Today, Israel practices the worst form of
>segragation
>        against Palestinians, whose land it ocupies illegally.
>
>        Did you know, if you are a Palestinian, you have to drive a car 
>with
>blue
>        license plates? Did you know, if you are a Palestinian, and get
>attacked,
>        killed or abused by an Israeli, your attacker will get away scot
>free, with
>        perhaps a scolding from a judge? On the other hand, did you know
>that
>        if you were an Israeli, and accused a Palestinian of anything, most
>likely
>        that Palestinian would be dealt with as if he or she were guilty?
>
>        Did you know, Israel sanctions torture while most countries reject
>it?
>        Did you know Israel has young children, (among whom could be many
>        of your young fans!), in prison, who are locked up with adult
>criminals,
>        subject to horrendous torture and sexual abuse? For what? For
>        throwing stones on an Israeli tank? FOr being Palestinian? For 
>being
>        alive? Is this something your conscience can overlook? I doubt it!
>
>        Dear, Red Hot Chili Peppers. What would you have sung about if you
>        were Palestinian? Could you hold true to your conscience and still
>        perform to entertain a nation that engages in such brutality? Could
>you
>        look into the face of a Palestinian child after doing this and feel
>good
>        about yourselves?
>
>        I think not, dear band. Please reconsider your decision. It will be
>a great
>        sign of support for human rights, democracy and the equality of all
>        human beings, as you will help bring Israel to account for its
>wanton
>        cruelty against the Palestinian people.
>
>        If you would like more information on this issue, I would be more
>than
>        happy to point resources to you and share with you facts and
>figures.
>
>        I urge you to reconsider your decision to play in Israel. If your
>sponsors
>        insist, then you should insist in playing a solidarity peace 
>concert
>in
>        occpuied Palestinian to a Palestinian audience too! That would be
>        something eh!? If not, just imagine, how would it have been if the
>        Beatles were made to play in a country where six million people 
>were
>        being massacred while German officers and their wives were drinking
>        and dancing to 'Its been a hard day's night...' Just imagine!
>
>        P.S. If you want to know of other artists who have boycotted Israel
>as
>        an act of outrage against Israel's human rights violations of
>Palestinians, I
>        will be happy to send you the info.
>
>        Sincerely,
>
>        Raja Harish Swamy
>        Manchester, CT
>_________________________________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
>

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