[NYTr] More on Palestinian Dance Troupe Cancelled in Connecticut

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

See also: 

Conn. School Cancels Palestinian Folklore Troupe - Nov 12, 2007
http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20071112/071432.html

sent by Steven L. Robinson - activ-l

Muzzlewatch - November 11, 2007
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/?p=295#more-295

Palestinian Dance Troupe Cancelled in Connecticut

by Mitchell Plitnick

Most of the time, we all realize that art and politics are inseparable.
But on contentious issues, which obviously includes the Israel-Palestine
conflict, somehow art is expected to be sanitized.

One has to ask how, exactly, Palestinians are supposed to express
themselves and yet keep the occupation out of it. No one who had been
to a Palestinian town, much less a refugee camp, would believe such a
thing was possible, regardless of their views of the larger political
questions. The occupation permeates every aspect of Palestinian life.

Yet this is, apparently, what is expected of the Al-Ghad Folklore
Dancing Troupe of Beit Sahour, a suburb of Bethlehem. The troupe's
performance at a high school in Old Saybrook, Connecticut was cancelled
this week after an angry grandparent complained about an earlier
appearance. Apparently one of the group's dances included a depiction
of the ill treatment Palestinians receive from Israeli soldiers.

This is the experience of Palestinians, and asking them to exclude it
from their art is no different from asking African-Americans to exclude
their experiences with racism or women their experiences with sexism.
This is the substance of Palestinian lives under occupation. Its
appearance in an artistic forum is not a political statement, it is a
statement of the facts of their lives.

The minister of the church that hosted the performance that touched off
the controversy said: "I saw nothing there that was anti-Jewish. It was
a cultural program . Anything of this nature, given the realities of
where they live, the political realities are a short distance away.They
were very careful [not to make a political statement]. They were asked
to share their dance, and share their story living in the occupied
territory. They did so through music."

However, two Jewish students were "frightened" by the depiction of the
Israelis. This is understandable; very little is taught to young Jews
who do not actively seek the information about the behavior of soldiers
in the Occupied Territories. Beign suddenly confronted with it can
certainly be disquieting.

While the grandmother of these two teenagers apparently did contact the
local chapter of the Jewish Federation, it appears from reports that her
complaint, along with several other parents, was sufficient to persuade
the school to cancel the performance. The Federation strongly supported
the decision, however.

The school superintendent said "This was not framed as a political
debate, it was framed as a cultural arts experience," and canceled the
performance despite it having been approved by the school's social
studies chair because the "school principals had not previewed the
performance" and they were obviously afraid of opening a politically
contentious can of worms.

People must be able to voice their opinions when they find something
objectionable, of course. But how are our children ever to learn
anything, about Israel-Palestine or any other political issue, if the
slightest concern of controversy is enough to close down discussion,
and even performances? One must also wonder, if the roles had been
reversed and a Palestinian was upset by the portrayal of her people as
suicide bombers, would the same sensitivity have been shown? It would
seem unlikely, and in either case, the attempt to remove the daily
realities of people's lives from their art is absurd and wrong.