Considerable opposition from the Irish community at home and abroad has forced the Birmingham-based Carey Academy of Irish Dancing to cancel the event optimistically billed as the “1st Israeli feis”.
Initially the Academy had ignored appeals to respect the cultural boycott of Israel in the hope that the protest would blow over. It was unlikely. Irish people have a natural affinity with the Palestinian struggle and allowing Irish culture to be misused to legitimize the Israeli occupation would have been simply inconceivable for many.
Yet while Irish supporters of the steadily growing Boycott, Sanction, Divest (BDS)movement are relishing yet another victory for the solidarity campaign, there are several questions on the matter that still need to be answered.
The original statement cancelling the event published by the Carey academy on their Facebook page maintained that intimidation and a real fear for the safety of children attending the dance school was the reason for their withdrawal.
Several named individuals and the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) were accused of organizing a “a not-so-peaceful protest outside of our dance studio”, issuing threats against both teachers and teenage dancers and warning that “everyone who takes part in the feis would be shot in the head.” Serious allegations indeed. Allegations that one would expect to be reported to the police and prosecutions filed.
No evidence of these dramatic allegations of shooting children in the head has been provided in spite of continued calls online for the Academy to publish them. As to the other accusation, the supposedly violent demonstration, footage is available onlinewhich shows clearly that the Carey Academy is lying. There is simply no other word for it.
The initial statement containing the outlandish allegations against respected human rights activists was later replaced by a somewhat less hysterical one, after several people, including the alleged perpetrators of the threats, demanded the Academy publish the evidence to back up the claims.
A screen shot of the statement which was later modified
Along with many others, I am left wondering as to why an organization like the Carey Academy which claims to be non-political is acting in such a belligerent and underhand manner, using language which could easily have been taken right out of the Israeli propaganda manual. Mudslinging is an essential element in the Israeli propaganda war against the international BDS campaign.
The Ireland Palestine Activists Collective (IPAC) are following up and organizing a new picket demanding a public retraction of the allegations. The conclusion here remains to be seen.
Then there is the question as to why the commission for Irish dancing – An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CRLG) – and its Vice-Chairperson Seamus Ó Sé, approved, facilitated and publicised the organization of this event.
An announcement on its pages responding to criticism under the heading “Feis in Israel” states that the CRLG does not “comment on national or international political matters”. A total cop-out – and a particularly hypocritical attitude given that the organization itself was actively involved in promoting a potential breach of the international cultural boycott supported by over 500 Irish artists.
Whilst the Carey Academy has been the focus of the campaign, the CLRG and its mother organization Conradh na Gaeilge have slipped quietly under the radar so far. Surely they should be held accountable?
Any chance of a similar boycott being organised against the fanatical anti Jewish bigots from Palestine? The fact is the Muslims are taught to hate the Jews, even in their schools they are indoctrinated much like the young of NAZI Germany were taught to hate them, and rather like the virulent anti Catholic ethos of the Orange Order. Peace will only come to that God forsaken hell hole aka the middle east when Islamic fascists cease their pathological detestation of all things Jewish.
My god Another Jude and I agree on something!
I have always differed from my friends over the middle east, it is not just a case of the nasty Jews slaughtering the poor old Arabs, Israel is surrounded by a sea of hateful anti Jewish bigotry and unless and until the Palestinians face up to that and make peace they will be condemning their people to a life of misery.
You have a point, AJ (we Judes must stick together). But you could equally change your last sentence and ask the Israelis to make peace and stop condemning themselves (and others) to a life of misery.
The Middle East was renowned for culture and learning long before greed for oil, hamburgers and diet coke created what are now open air refugee camps. There is an obesity problem in the west, famine, drought and a surplus of guns in other theatres of conflict.
Another Jude, have you a name for this group of “fanatical anti-Jewish bigots from Palestine” whom you propose to organise a boycott against? What sort of international activity does this group of “fanatical anti-Jewish bigots from Palestine” involve itself in that Irish people could show their displeasure at by boycotting?
Your statement that “the fact is that Muslims are taught to hate the Jews, even in their schools they are indoctrinated” is what is known as a sweeping generalisation and is normally associated with people “who should know better”!
I am afraid you are guilty of precisely the same thing for which you accuse the Orange Order!
Those very same type generalisations were used to accuse Catholics of all being untrustworthy, drunken, idol spongers who all wanted to see their fellow Protestant countrymen murdered in their beds and that Catholics were taught to hate Protestants in Catholic schools and churches.
Catholics didn’t like to be labelled that way because it was so unfair and guess what? Muslims wouldn’t like to be labelled that way either!
I don’t think your insinuation that all the trouble in the Middle East stems from Islamic fascists pathological detestation of everything Jewish would demand much support from Irish nationalists or Republicans here who know that the current unrest stems from the “plantation of Palestine” in 1948.
The people who suffer the most from the conflict are the very people who have nothing, the Palestinians. I readily admit my knowledge of the conflict is limited to what I see or hear on tv and radio but Islamic hatred of the Jews is very real. Are you saying they do not detest them? The fact is, the west will never abandon Israel, the reason is clear it will never again allow them to be slaughtered like they were during the second World War. I personally think the onus is on Israel as the power in the region to make peace, their present leader is hardly a peace loving man but the problem existed long before Benjamin Netanyahu was around and unless people are prepared to face reality it will still be there when he goes. The Palestinians have been used by the well off oil states, they should do more to help, instead of egging on another generation of jihadists.
AJ if you are going to take a stand on this issue why do you limit your understanding of the situation to what you see and hear on TV, radio and newspapers?
Why not do a bit of research on Israel and Palestine?
Who do you think controls what we see of the situation in the Middle East on our TV, Radio and newspapers?
There are of course hate-filled, nasty, racist, Islamist bigots who hate everything Jewish and everything Christian but sure we have our own Jewish and Christian bigots in this part of the world.
Why would anyone in their right mind give these Islamic fundamentalists fuel for their cause by continuing to persecute the Palestinian people purely because they are Muslims?
The mark of the true peacemaker is one who can place himself in another man’s shoes and that is very difficult to do if you consider ‘them’ all to be the same!
To be fair on the Dance academy I think they were just ignorant and allowed themselves to be used by ‘a group’ in Israel as a political pawn. That same ‘group’, if I understand how they work, will now have immense pressure on the organisers to push ahead with the Israeli Feis. I think it is due to this pressure that the ‘group’ have said their safety was under threat to avoid the debate the ‘group’ is trying to have with them. I suspect they will be saying things like ‘you are supporting rocket attacks on our children’, they will probably use graphic pictures and pleas from hysterical relatives of victims. I don’t want to name the group except to say they are very dangerous and operate outside their own borders. They also think Ireland is a well respected and known country and to have a group that could be portayed as representing Ireland would have been a major propaganda coup at a time when boycotts are having a real affect on Israel. I think if the pressure can be kept up we may see Israel go the same way as South Africa.
Emmet,
I would agree with you but it never ceases to amaze me how many people in Ireland would defend the actions of Israel. There is one thing of course which will prevent Israel ever going the same way as SA is the enormous nuclear arsenal which Israel possesses.
I would be more worried if an Islamist state got their hands on nuclear weapons, can you imagine if Hamas had one?