Fw: Songs of Peace - antisemitism

[Shirona <shirona...>]

With permission from the author of this post, Karen Gall, I'm forwarding
this message. Karen's work in Interfaith services, through music, is a ray
of hope and inspiration.

Shirona
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Singer, Songwriter and Teacher of Jewish Music
 Visit my website at    www.shirona.com
Listen to my music at www.mp3.com/shirona
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karen Gall" <klg8 (at) hotmail(dot)com>
To: <shirona (at) bellatlantic(dot)net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 5:56 PM
Subject: Songs of Peace - antisemitism


> Shirona,
>
> I have been following the discussions about the songs of peace on both
> Jewish music lists - and I have been saving the messages to read later, as
> well.  But I am not certain to which list you posted this missage:
>
> "Have you not noticed the overwhelming (and scary) wave of anti-Semitism
in
> the Arab world?  What do you suppose we should do about it?  Go into
> denial...In Europe in the 30's there were many signs of Anti-Semitism that
> came from the general population, it's wasn't just the Nazi party and in
the
> realm of politics.  It was everywhere..."
>
> My husband and I attended the World Conference against Racism, Racial
> Discrimination and Xenophobia in Durban, South Africa.  Not only was it
most
> acceptable to brand Israel as  perpetrating "apartheid" and "ethnic
> cleansing" against the Palestinians, but it also became acceptable to hold
> up signs proclaiming "Kill the Jews", "Hitler should have Finished the
Job".
>   There were anti-semitic posters, pamphlets and t-shirts on display at
both
> the Youth Summit and NGO Forum that preceded the actual UN Conference, but
> the rallies, displays and  slogans carried over to the Conferenced itself.
>
> Signs of anti-semitism from the "general" world population?  Most
> definitely.  It has been said that the world changed after the September
11
> attack.  There have been many people wiser than I who have made the
> connection between the anti-Israel, anti-semetic displays at Durban and
the
> murders of so many innocents committed just a few days later in the United
> States.
>
> On another note, (and I don't mean a musical one here) we have to be
> vigilant that the vocabulary that particularly describes the  Jewish
> experience - antisemitism, holocaust, etc., are not appropriated by other
> groups who wish to put a cruel, ironic twist on the middle east situation.
> There was only one Holocaust.  And even if the Arabs are Semites, the
term,
> antisemitism means hatred towards Jews.
>
> It has been said that the world was changed by the "events of September
11"
> (doesn't that phrase just sanitize the horrors of the experience for the
> victims and their families and friends?).  My world was changed just a
week
> before in Durban.  It was in Durban that I learned that it would not take
> much for the world to, once again, use the Jews as the scapegoat for all
the
> ills of the world.  There could be another Hitler - only this time, he/she
> may (or may not) look a little different, perhaps he/she will not be an
> 'arian' but will have different coloured skin or wear different kinds of
> clothes - that makes the antsemitism even more appealing to those who
would
> profess 'tolerance' for others.  But the world will quickly fall into
step.
> It would not take much to have a very 'acceptable' campaign to rid the
world
> of Jews.
>
> I have not lost all hope.  In my own little world I work to promote peace,
> harmony and understanding.....My husband is President of the John Humphrey
> Centre for Peace and Human Rights and I volunteer for that organization as
> well (www.johnhumphreycentre.org).  I am a director of the Canadian
> Multicultural Education Foundation and just finished (3 days before
Pesach)
> organizing the 5th annual Harmony Brunch for close to 300 people from just
> about every ethnic community in Edmonton.  For that celebration, I
organized
> an Interfaith Choir with participants from 8 different church, temple and
> cultural choirs.   I sang a solo (the Finkelstein L'Dor Va Dor) at the
> Anglican Cathedral for the Interfaith Service celebrating Black History
> Month and I was one of the speakers and one of the organizers of the
> Interfaith Service at Edmonton City Hall to commemorate the Sharpeville
> Massacres.  I debated at a public forum with other Edmontonians who
attended
> the WCAR in Durban, but who had a 'wonderful experience'....They were
> totally blinded to our reality.  This was all in February and March.
>
> I am not looking for a medal.  We all do our bit.  But I agree with you
that
> we have to be vigilant.
>
> >
> Karen Gall
> klg8 (at) hotmail(dot)com
>


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