leonardcohenforum.com

ascoli wrote:Eskimo .........don't destroy your Leonard CD's.
It will be your loss.

....I may burn some CDs of Leonard's music but those will be for my own use - the CD destroyer is a woman who was quoted from the site referenced...

As MaryB said, I have been silent on this issue as well. But it seems to me that Leonard's performances could be one small symbol of those forces that unite us rather than drive us apart- the love of music and, in particular, the love of Leonard's music which has no flag.

Anne & I were at Notre Dame for the graduation ceremony of our son-in-law, Jeremiah. Those of you from the U.S. are aware of the drama that took place as the local Bishop castigated Notre Dame's President, Father Jenkins, for inviting President Obama because he was pro-choice on abortion. While we were there, there were planes flying overhead depicting pictures of aborted fetuses and many very vocal people screaming about the right to abortion. While the issue is extremely divisive, it has not brought the violence and physical displacement that the whole Middle East confict wrought. However, it is a divisive issue here.

We weren't allowed to go to President Obama's speech as Jeremiah was getting a Doctorate and the President spoke to the undergrads. But I read the speech the next day and was struck by its tone-in conflicts of this sort use "fair minded" words-not rhetoric designed to establish a position without acknowledging the merits or deep feelings of what the opponent brings to the table. He ended the speech with a story about the Civil Rights Commission established by President Eisenhower. The story struck a chord with me and I see a parallel with the issues that we are now facing. I quote him here:

After all, I stand here today, as President and as an African-American, on the 55th anniversary of the day that the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Brown v. the Board of Education. Brown was of course the first major step in dismantling the "separate but equal" doctrine, but it would take a number of years and a nationwide movement to fully realize the dream of civil rights for all of God's children. There were freedom rides and lunch counters and Billy clubs, and there was also a Civil Rights Commission appointed by President Eisenhower. It was the twelve resolutions recommended by this commission that would ultimately become law in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

There were six members of the commission. It included five whites and one African-American; Democrats and Republicans; two Southern governors, the dean of a Southern law school, a Midwestern university president, and your own Father Ted Hesburgh, President of Notre Dame. They worked for two years, and at times, President Eisenhower had to intervene personally since no hotel or restaurant in the South would serve the black and white members of the commission together. Finally, when they reached an impasse in Louisiana, Father Ted flew them all to Notre Dame's retreat in Land O'Lakes, Wisconsin, where they eventually overcame their differences and hammered out a final deal.

Years later, President Eisenhower asked Father Ted how on Earth he was able to broker an agreement between men of such different backgrounds and beliefs. And Father Ted simply said that during their first dinner in Wisconsin, they discovered that they were all fishermen. And so he quickly readied a boat for a twilight trip out on the lake. They fished, and they talked, and they changed the course of history.

I will not pretend that the challenges we face will be easy, or that the answers will come quickly, or that all our differences and divisions will fade happily away. Life is not that simple. It never has been.

As a fisherman and a lover of Leonard Cohen music, I say (to quote Walt Whitman) "Let there be commerce between us."

Joe

Dem:

Sorry for the belated reply. I'm afraid I'm separated from my 'Cohenalia' at he moment, so can't provide a reference. I'd agree Nadel is a likely source. Or maybe the earlier quasi-hagiography by two British authors (can't remember their names right now). I'll have a look when I can.

By the way, the current Wikipedia article has some interesting info on this period in the 'Themes' section, particularly re subsequent song lyrics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen

Thanks Bhasi

If you find a reference please
give me a notice.

Dem

Dem wrote:Are there any other sources to corroborate
this except Haaretz?

It will be great if Leonard really plays also in West Bank!

Dem

i hope he does..to 'balance' his visit to the Mid East. I had been disappointed that he apparently only planned to play Tel Aviv.

So, will he or won't he???

http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_d ... wsID=25774
but:
http://un-truth.com/iraq/qaddura-fares- ... n-ramallah


PS Hmmm .... Thanks to the anonymous 'big brother' who added in the second link above. Would have been better as a reply, though?

Hey, Bhasi, something wrong with link two, repair it then you can i am so curious

Thanks,
micky Simulation pret

I followed it and it works OK

So beautifully and well spoken, as always, Joe.

As a fisherman and a lover of Leonard Cohen music, I say (to quote Walt Whitman) "Let there be commerce between us."

A wonderful choice of words to underscore your message.


~ Lizzy

In today's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/ju ... -cancelled

Two mentions in the space of a week, someone at the Guardian is obviously a fan

Just been following the discussions here, clicked on the guardian link and had a warning up from McAfee security that it may be a phishing link . Anyone else had that response? It's clearly an even hotter topic than we realize!

sourire wrote:Just been following the discussions here, clicked on the guardian link and had a warning up from McAfee security that it may be a phishing link . Anyone else had that response? It's clearly an even hotter topic than we realize!

It's on The Guardians website so I reckon it's pretty kosher. No new info, though:

West Bank cancels Leonard Cohen concert in protest against Israel

Palestinian hosts call off Canadian singer's gig amid claims it was a hollow attempt to 'balance' Tel Aviv performance

* Rachel Shabi in Tel Aviv
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 July 2009 16.49 BST
* Article history

A Leonard Cohen concert planned in Ramallah on the West Bank in September has been cancelled after the artist became embroiled in a campaign to boycott Israel.

The 74-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter announced he would perform in Tel Aviv as part of his world tour. The Ramallah date was added later, allegedly in response to pro-Palestinian campaigners who had tried to dissuade Cohen from appearing in Israel.

Now his Palestinian hosts have cancelled the West Bank concert, amid claims that the planned gig was a hollow attempt to "balance" performances.

"Ramallah will not receive Cohen as long as he is intent on whitewashing Israel's colonial apartheid regime by performing in Israel," the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) said in a statement.

The campaign was launched in Ramallah in 2004 and calls for an international academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

Cohen, who is not believed to have a large fanbase in the West Bank, was scheduled to play at the 736-seat Ramallah Cultural Palace, a day after appearing at the 55,000 capacity Ramat Gan stadium, near Tel Aviv.

The Ramallah event was to be hosted by the Palestinian prisoners' club and attended by families of some of the 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails of detention centres.

Israeli fans are concerned that the sale of tickets for Cohen's performance in Ramat Gan has been postponed three times and the concert date does not appear on his official website.

Some campaigners have expressed criticism at the cancellation of the West Bank gig, describing it as a "missed opportunity" for the high-profile singer to bring awareness to the Palestinian cause.

But one poster to an internet discussion described the cancellation as good news for Palestine because Cohen's music is "dreary and dreadful".

Cohen, whose singing career spans four decades, performed in Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when he flew in to play for Israeli soldiers fighting in the Sinai desert.

In 2006, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, responding to pressure from campaigners, moved a performance from Tel Aviv to the Arab-Jewish peace village, Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam. A few weeks ago, documentary filmmakers, the Yes Men, pulled their latest release from the Jerusalem film festival, "in solidarity with the boycott".

Leonard Cohen concert cancelled in Israel row
Singer Leonard Cohen has had his concert in the West Bank's Ramallah cancelled after he became caught up in a row over Israel.

Published: 8:48AM BST 15 Jul 2009


Leonard Cohen caught up in a row over Israel. Photo: Clara Molden The singer was due to perform in Ramallah and Tel Aviv as part of his World Tour 2008-2009.

But his date at the 736-seat Ramallah Cultural Palace has been scrapped after claims that by appearing on the West Bank, he was only trying "balance" his appearance in Israel, according to The Guardian.


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Beatlemania still strong as Israel prepares for Sir Paul McCartney gigThe Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel told the newspaper: "Ramallah will not receive Cohen as long as he is intent on whitewashing Israel's colonial apartheid by performing in Israel."

The West Bank concert was supposed to be hosted by The Palestinian Prisoners' Club, but they decided the event was becoming too politicised.

Cohen, 74, had been due to appear in Ramallah after performing at the 55,000-capacity Ramat Gan stadium, near Tel Aviv, in September.

But neither concert appears on the Canadian singer's official website.

Several groups were set up on the social networking website Facebook to put pressure on Cohen not to perform.

One group called itself "Leonard Cohen, drop Israel from your world tour!" and was supported by the British Committee for Universities for Palestine.

Thanks so much for the summary, danslenoir. Maybe I shouldn't be so risk-averse...

I'm bemused that

'one poster to an internet discussion described the cancellation as good news for Palestine because Cohen's music is "dreary and dreadful".

Leonard's music couldn't possibly be more depressing than the political situation there!
Maybe peace will break out sometime, preferably soon...

Hello,

no offence meant, but we have already got so many threads about this topic - can't we please just stick to the ones where the (probably) upcoming Tel Aviv concert, the cancellation of the Ramallah concert and the Israel boycott campaign are being discussed at the moment, anyway? Personally, I find it increasingly hard to follow all the bits and pieces to be found all over the forum now... Also, I have got the impression from recent comments made that some people on the forum find that they have heard enough about the whole topic for the time being, so it might just be polite for us not to extend our discussions to more places here than necessary...
Nothing against you, fisherinbelfast - just generally speaking!


***The new thread launched by fisherinbelfast has been merged to this older one with the same contents / Jarkko***

Thanks, Jarkko!