At a public event to celebrate Hanukkah in Wellington, NZ, the Klezmer Reb band spoke out against the occupation. Dave Moskowitz spoke directly to the Israeli Ambassador who claimed to have not heard Dave (despite the presence of audio etc). It’s great to see solidarity across the Tasman. Dave is well known in the Jewish community, and to many other people.
“Mr Ambassador, I’m glad you implored people earlier today to pray for peace, but we need more than prayer – we need action. Praying, singing and dancing for peace aren’t enough; bringing about peace, and overcoming decades of counterproductive attitudes and actions is very hard work and requires individual and collective leadership and commitment from everyone including the Israeli government. The time has come to tell your Government to show that leadership, put down your weapons, and seriously negotiate in good faith to bring about peace. Bombing civilians and building settlements on land whose ownership is in question is not good faith. Fulfil the words of Isaiah, and show that Israel is called into righteousness as a light unto the nations. The time is now.”
The NZ Dominion Post also reported that “David Weinstein said they decided they could not play the gig without voicing their concerns. ‘‘We were very happy to perform … but we have concerns about the policies of the Israeli Government, particularly the recent bombings in Gaza and the recent flare-ups. We directly addressed the Israeli ambassador and asked him to hear our plea for peace . . . and called on [the Israeli Government] to cease the illegal occupations of Palestinian land and stop the bombing of Palestinian people, and take a step towards peace.”
See the rest of their statement here…
From Across the Ditch: Klezmer Rebs speaks out against the Occupation
