[HANASHIR:11269] Response to Shirona and Sholom.

[Judah Cohen <jcohen...>]

Shirona and Sholom,

   The way I see it, you are trying to say two different (and relatively
incompatible) things here at the same time.
   Yes, I am aware of the anti-Semitic incidents at the hands of Muslims
around the world.  I have no intention of going into denial about them.  At
the same time, however, it is almost ludicrous to imply from this that
Muslim songs don't speak of peace.  What I read in your message was that you
found all the Jewish/Israeli peace repertoire by looking in songbooks; how,
then, can you assume the "lack" of Arabic peace repertoire by looking in the
newspapers?  (If you had used the same technique to locate peace songs by
Israelis, they wouldn't have come out looking nearly as good.)  That's why I
suggested you redirect your search toward a group of people who ARE Muslims,
and may be able to present you with songbooks of their own.  Then, perhaps,
you can gain the information you sought in order to make a fairer
comparison.
   And as far as "awareness" goes--it should be more than clear that not all
awareness is the same.  Taking an American example, I'd be interested to see
how Britney Spears's "Oops, I did it again" reflects your formula that what
"people write and sing and listen to are as close to the 'heart' of the
matter as anything."  Likewise with Ice-T's "Cop Killer."  Yes, on the
surface of it, these hardly bear comparison to the Egyptian song "I Hate
Israel."  But that's the point:  the number of copies sold does not
necessarily reflect the deepest hopes or beliefs of an entire people.  In
this case, it seems the heat of the time period (made hotter by Israel's
operations in the West Bank) has caused an obscure song to gain national
attention through consumption by a certain demographic of people (i.e.,
mainly young people and students) particualrly prone to protests.  Further,
the "I Hate Israel" phenomenon should be seen in its own context:  that
Egypt currently has one of the strongest and most effective policies of
anti-Muslim-extremism in the Middle East; that recent protests have been
contained by Egyptian police; that the city actively supports at least two
historic synagogues; and that at least up until recently, Israelis could
walk through the streets of Cairo with relatively little difficulty (I went
with a group of students in the Fall of 1999, flew into the country on El
Al, and twice explored deep into the markets and local areas alone with
little more than a few smiles--the hardest time I had was trying to find an
empty seat on the plane).  Sure, the song's popularity means something; but
presenting it as a single, undocumented swipe (and yes, Sholom, it would
have been much more meaningful to me if you had more careful in presenting
your one-liner) presents only one part of a much more complicated situation:
it does not explain everything.
   And frankly, I find your comparison to the Holocaust to be irresponsible
and unnecessarily alarmist.  Yes, these recent acts of anti-Semitism are
terrible.  Yet even the most damning accounts of the Holocaust (I'm thinking
especially of Goldhagen's "Hitler's Willing Executioners") describe the
civilian aggression as taking place *in concert* with an organized
government professing a clear anti-Jewish agenda.  That is NOT what is
taking place here--European governments are condemning the anti-Jewish
activity, just as they condemned the anti-Muslim incidents that took place
after September 11.  On this, Yom HaShoah, perhaps we should also learn to
be very, very careful when we yell "Holocaust!" in a crowded political
theater. 
    Finally, to incorporate Jerry Kaye's fascinating post:  many of our
songs of peace are not all that politically neutral either (though granted,
they're not about blood and martyrdom).  Maybe I'm overstepping my bounds
here, but it's certainly worth thinking about.  "Shalom" carries with it a
connotation of keeping the status quo, just without conflict--but with that
comes the implication that Israel and the Jewish people are happy with what
they have, and will not give it up.  It seems, looking at the songbooks I
have, that our songs became a lot more "Shalom"-centered AFTER Israel was
founded.  At least based on a quick perusal of Moshe Nathanson's 1939
"Shireinu" songbook, the few songs that included the word "Shalom" applied
the word directly to the Jews ("Sim Shalom") or to Jewish practices ("Shalom
Aleichem").  Compare that with the end of Psalm 137, describing the
post-Biblical exile of the Jewish people (the beginning of which I've heard
several congregations sing at their Yom HaShoah services as "By the Waters
of Babylon"):  "O violated daughter of Babylon!  Praise to the one who
repays you in the manner that you have dealt with us // Praise to the one
who will clutch and dash your infants against the rock."  Jews had their
paeans of revenge as well while in exile; but once they reached a situation
with which they were comfortable (i.e., the restoration of Israel), then the
desire for peace broke out.  I make no excuses for Palestinian anger or
violence.  However, might it be possible that for BOTH Israelis and
Palestinians what is stated as "Peace" on one side might be interpreted by
the other as exclusion, conquest or oppression--especially when both sides
lay claim to the same land?

Be well.
Judah Cohen. 

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