18th May
Bethlehem.
The past few weeks have seen the annual practical exams at the ESNCM. In preparing for these exams the students worked hard on the required music, and now that the exams are out of the way the year can be finished off with the learning of some new repertoire, as well as increased involvement in some of the chamber music groups. At the end of the year there will be final concerts in each of the three branches, so it is with these in mind that new pieces are chosen, and new chamber groups formed. This sudden change from working on tried and tested pieces and scales to discovering new music is a breath of fresh air, both for the students and staff alike.
George W. Bush’s recent visit to Jerusalem went by without much notice in the West Bank, and it’s most obvious result for East Jerusalemites was to slow them down on their way around the city. With his presence, many roads around the centre are closed and in a city that is not particularly well served by good roads, this can have a large impact on the movement of traffic.
His other activity that caught my attention was his speech to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. Even by his standards, this was an unusually forthright diatribe that showed his obvious inability to act as a mediator between sides in the Israel and Palestine ‘negotiations’. His very presence as a guest of one side, to celebrate the joy and history of one side, while ignoring the history and grief of the other on the very day they commemorate their catastrophe came as an acute demonstration of his dedication to only that one side, in this most one-sided of ‘conflicts’. And when he described Israel as the United States’ closest ally and best friend in the world, and as a homeland for the chosen people, and when he asserted that Israel had worked tirelessly for peace and...fought valiantly for freedom, he added to that demonstration of bias with words of possibly greater bias. From the perspective, or close to it, of those on the receiving end of Israel’s tireless work, and tireless it certainly has been, these statements come as both surprising and insulting. They are surprising in that he made them despite his futile attempts to appear balanced in this context, and insulting to those who know they are lies: Israel is not, and has never been, any of the things he describes.
As well as lies, his speech also contained certain aspects of make-believe. When presenting his vision of a future Israel, he envisioned a Middle East in which Muslims (as if they were the only naughty ones) would recognise the emptiness of the terrorists' vision and the injustice of their cause, and where Hizbollah, Hamas and Al Qaida (not in reality actually connected, yet) were defeated leaving free and independent societies. And make-believe this certainly is, for there are no, and nor will there be anytime soon, free or independent societies here – particularly those free and independent of the county he represents.
But none of these comments will arouse much debate, neither here nor outside. For here they have heard it all before, and in the outside world so used we are to hearing one-sided and unapologetic praise for Israel, the chances are few even noticed.
