Breaking down the wall

Roger Waters is a staunch campaigner against Israel's wall - but he doesn't believe a boycott is the way to protest.

Roger Waters, former member of Pink Floyd, the man who wrote "The Wall" has been campaigning against the wall being built by Israel. He says:

"The poverty inflicted by the wall has been devastating for Palestinians. It has kept children from their schools, the sick from proper medical care and continues to destroy the Palestinian economy. I fully support War on Want's campaign, and hope that as many people as possible sign the wall as a strong message to the UK government that immediate action is essential."

Quite right Roger. But are we to assume then that Waters is an Israel-hater? Does he spit the word "Zionist" when he talks about Jews that think Israel has the right to exist? Does he think that all "Zionists" are racists? Does he think that Israel is a uniquely evil place that must be boycotted by all anti-racist and right-thinking people?

Well no, actually. He's playing in Israel today. He was orginally planning a Tel Aviv gig but he came under pressure from the boycott campaign. Instead of cancelling, he has moved the venue to Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam, a village, in between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, called in English "Oasis of Peace". This village was founded jointly by Jewish and Palestinian Arab peace campaigners to educate for peace and to live in a mixed community.

The so-called Palestine Solidarity Campaign thinks that someone who campaigns against the wall must also hate Israel.

"How can someone who wants to look like a leftist in the world - fighting against the Berlin Wall, for open borders, and for love between people - come to Israel while they are still building their wall and hold a musical event?" Sliman Manour of the Palestinian Association for Contemporary Art, told Reuters.

This quote sums up lots that is wrong about the contemporary politics of Palestine Solidarity.

The truth is that people that are more concerned about being leftists than about looking like leftists tend to think a little more clearly than the PSC.

The truth is that someone that is in favour of open borders and love between people would exactly go to Israel, play their music and at the same time criticise its policies in a reasonable and measured way.

Waters articulates this neatly:

"I have a lot of fans in Israel, many of whom are refuseniks. I would not rule out going to Israel because I disapprove of the foreign policy any more than I would refuse to play in the UK because I disapprove of Tony Blair's foreign policy."

Omar Barghouti says that "Performing in Israel as if it were normal, as if it were not building a monstrous colonial wall ... is simply unacceptable."

Waters says: "I am happy to play to anybody who believes in peace. I don't discriminate between any of my fans, wherever they live. Being an Israeli does not disbar from being a human being."

Today Roger Waters, whose previous campaign against the Berlin wall is well known, visited the wall that has been built by Israel. The Israelis say that the wall has vastly decreased the ability of suicide bombers to blow themselves up in Israeli towns and cities. The Palestinians protest that the wall was not built on the Green Line but was built along a route that in reality annexes a significant amount of their territory to Israel. It has also caused huge hardship for Palestinians, dividing many of them from their places of work, sometimes from other family members, and cutting off the Palestinian economy from the Israeli.

Waters visited the wall to make his protest today. He said

"I've seen pictures of it, I've heard a lot about it but without being here you can't imagine how extraordinarily oppressive it is and how sad it is to see these people coming through these little holes," he added. "It's craziness."

He sprayed the words "No Thought Control" in huge red letters onto the wall.

It seems likely that one strategy we can expect more of from the Palestine Solidarity movement is to harass particular individuals that "break the boycott" of Israel. Expect people like Waters to be at the centre of campaigns designed to make others think that it is just not worth the hassle of going to Israel. Expect pickets of Waters' gigs, expect the PSC to attempt to paint him as a "Zionist" apologist for apartheid". How absurd, given that he is campaigning against the occupation and the wall that symbolises the Sharon land-grab.

Contributor

David Hirsh

The GuardianTramp

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