And Who Shall I Say Is Calling? Dear Leonard - by Udi Aloni

Leonard Cohen

Kibbush
Udi Aloni is an Israeli filmmaker and the son of Shulamit Aloni, a veteran civil rights activist, and a former Minister of Education.

3/8/09

Dear Leonard,

It was two months ago that I had the privilege of seeing you perform in New York. You might say I’d been waiting thirty-five years for it. I remembered the first time I’d heard your music in Israel, and you could tell from my smile “that tonight would be fine.” As I arrived outside the show, I met some old friends—partners in the struggle—who were demonstrating across the street: “Leonard, don’t play Israel!” After all the kissing and warm embraces, I told them that I really must go in so that I wouldn’t miss the opening song. They nodded and slipped a small placard in my hand, then warily asked if I would hold it up during the show: “Leonard, don’t play Israel!” Amid those hearts that burn like coal, the sign seared my hands like hot coal too.

I was there with my only daughter. Your wonderful voice had been a soundtrack to my life, and now I wanted to share that with her...

...I was very excited when I first heard that you would be playing in Ramallah.... then did I learn that the Palestinians had decided to cancel your show. It goes without saying that I was quite disappointed. You are someone who listens, who cares. You are different from all the others. Why must they be so stubborn?... What could they possibly gain from this boycott of the arts? The very idea of mixing art and politics is very problematic, to me at least.

But then my daughter looked me right in the eye, and said in her straightforward way: “Dad, write to Leonard and explain to him why the Palestinians are right to cancel his concert. They don’t have the privilege of free access to culture that we have in Tel Aviv or New York. They’re tired of all the goodwill gestures and the petty benefits we concede to as an alibi for our own dirty consciences. They want justice, and that’s why they are asking: ‘Don’t go and amuse our occupiers, and then come to us with a consolation prize.’” Her words were so simple, so wise, that as soon as I heard them I knew I had to write to you...

Well, Leonard, maybe you should only play in Palestine. Maybe you should open your heart to the oppressed and not to their oppressors. If you cancel your show in Israel, no other self-respecting artist will perform here. At first, the self-indulgent audience in Tel Aviv will be annoyed at those artists and say that they are all anti-Semites. Over time, however, they will come to realize that they cannot gain acceptance in some escapist fantasy as long as the Occupation continues. Israelis will not join the struggle against the Occupation as long as the Occupation doesn’t hurt them directly...

The Palestinians can afford to miss your show, not because they don’t like you or admire your art, and not because they necessarily believe that art should be political. They simply think that the artist Leonard Cohen should side with the oppressed...

You might ask: Why me? Why Leonard Cohen? What about all the other artists who perform in Israel? All I can say is that yours is the fate of the last of the troubadours—the same fate shared by Moses on Mount Nebo. Take it as a compliment that the Palestinians chose you. Someone there must believe that you represent the human conscience. And if Madonna, Depeche Mode, McCartney, and the rest can play only in Israel and only for Israelis, then you can play only in Ramallah and only for Palestinians.

After endless consideration, I finally realized that the question that should be asked is not whether we support or oppose a cultural boycott. It is not even whether the Palestinians were right for cancelling your concert in Ramallah. The question is really whether we should comply with the request of those Palestinians who have chosen the path of non-violent resistance in their struggle against occupation and racism...

That is why this time I will comply with their wishes. With my actions I will offer those denied self-determination the right to determine their response... in solidarity with a people denied their basic rights for the past sixty years, as a Jew, and as a citizen of Israel who supports the non-violent struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom, equality, and justice, I regret that I will not be able to attend this show...

Sincerely Yours,

U. Aloni

Hebrew version, with hundreds of hateful talk-back comments:

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3756087,00.html

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