Celebrities condemn Israeli attacks on Gaza

by matte | January 2, 2009 at 03:30 pm
874 views | 4 Recommendations | 5 comments

Videos

Mideast Crisis: Annie Lennox tells Sky News her views

see larger video

sourced by matte

Mideast Crisis: Annie Lennox tells Sky News her views

The world is saying enough is enough....

A group of high-profile celebrities in London have joined a campaign calling for an end to Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Singer Annie Lennox led a press conference stating that the television footage of the attacks in Gaza had left her shaken to the core.

Jewish comedian Alexei Sayle said he felt it was important Jewish people with a public profile pointed out that this was "not being done in our name".

Activist Bianca Jagger also spoke out ahead of a demonstration that is expected to see thousands of people rally in central London to demand an immediate end to the Israeli attacks.

Ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone called for the European Union and the UK to withdraw their ambassadors from Israel to signal disapproval with the "slaughter and systematic murder of innocent Arabs".

recommend This comment thread is now closed
1
Jasim

Good calling from Mr. Livingstene.

Every day I try to avoid the international news page becasue the page consists of the pics of dying innocent people of Palestine. I feel deprived.

0
IMANE

I am very sorry about what is going on in Gaza , it's a shame .Children are dying every minutes , and the world is watching . I try to avoid the news also because it makes me cry...

0
Nicola - Mother and Christian

I think it is an abolute disgrace what Israel is doing in Gaza and how the rest of the world is just standing by and doing nothing.  What saddens me even more, is that they know how it feels to be persecuted, and yet they act in this inhumane way.  However, we must remember that this is not a Jewish - Muslim thing, as many brave and decent Jews have bravely spoken out about this horrific situation.  Let's hope and pray that this situation comes to an end very soon.  I believe that all economic ties with Israel should be severed, we should not be doing business with people who choose to behave in such a way.

 

0
Arikcarlo

Annie  Lennox's statement to the press relating to the Gaza war is surprising by its total disregard for Israeli suffering.
Israelis have had to submit to hundreds of terrorist attacks, ie. attacks against their civilian population for over 40 years now.  In a recent eight day period, 300 missiles were sent into Israel with missiles at times hitting southern cities, towns and villages.  The constant psychic toll of never knowing if a missile will claim you is a staggering demand to make of any individual.

As Canadian Nobel prize for literature nominee, Irving Layton once put it, "Why should they be expected to sit there like clay ducks in a shooting gallery?"

And as we speak of Canada, Canada has not been hit even once by a terrorist attack and yet it has enacted legislation that allows for "security certificates", ie. the right of Canadian enforcement agencies to detain and charge anyone suspected of planning to commit a terrorist act, without them knowing what the charges are.  If Canada can go that way without even one attack, surely Israel has the right to properly defend itself considering the kind of long history it has had to endure relating to attacks against its civilian population.


The war in the Falklands was a British war over a wisp of a land mass in the middle of nowhere in the Atlantic over a very questionable British possession.  In effect the war was fought for ego reasons alone, but approx. 300 Argentinian sailors were blown out of the Atlantic by the British navy. Where was Annie Lennox? Did she protest?  In contrast Israel is fighting for the survival of its population and its towns and villages.  

Is part of the truth that:  Annie Lennox knows who's buttering her bread in the U.K. ; that it's ok to kick the Israelis but that to keep one's nose clean in Britain is imperative. I checked Ms. Lennox's website forum sub-section, "Activism". Actually her scope for activism is puzzlingly restricted for someone so vocal and passionate in her attack against Israeli force. There 's not a sign of any activism to fight British Petroleum, known to be not only corrupt in its predation but a company with one of the world's worst pollution records (which other Brits have protested); or British presence in Iraq (incl. abuses) (which other Brits have protested); or the refusal by British museums to allow for repatriation of iconic heritage cultural art treasure heirlooms by the African countries of origin , from whom they were stolen during days of "Empire"(which other Brits have protested).

Although Ms. Lennox is a Scotswoman, it's clear she has been infected by English sanctimonious finger pointing hypocrisy, and is cow-towing to it.  

Alexie Sayle (an English Jew), Harold Pinter (an English Jew), and Annie Lenox ( a woman married to an Israeli )have all needed to "make penance" for the sins of Israel. They have no need to make pennance for days of Empire.  Neither Sayole or Pinter or Lennox have ever protested BBC TV drama programming that glorifies the days of the British Empire, an Empire that enslaved hundreds of thousands of Africans , that pillaged their resources and art treasures and hung signs on their whiskey cocktail lounges saying, "No entrance to natives".
They make penance while Israelis wonder where and when the next missile is coming.
What I'm really ranting about is not her expression of compassion for Gazans. That's totally understandable. It's her Calvinist dualist view that makes her blind and does not allow her to stand up at the same news conference and show some compassion for the Israeli side.
Yes, I confess that though Ms. Lennox is an admirable artist, I will NEVER AGAIN PURCHASE any of her recordings.

"I am battling against the worst of the English vices: hypocrisy" - Oscar Wilde

"We live in a country with structured hypocrisy" - John LeCarre

0
Helena

Sigh...

I tell my children this all the time and I would like to tell all those who take the view of those who start their comment with what Israel has  been enduring.

Just because they do it to you, doesn't mean you need to do it to them.

Two wrongs do not make a right, and will never do,

"Because she made me" is what wife beaters say . We still think they are disgusting.

If 8 year old can grasp this concept. Why can't we.

This story was created over 3 months ago, the comment thread is now closed.

What is NowPublic?

NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.

Find out more

Crowd Power

Sputnic
First Flagged at 6:48 PM, Jan 2, 2009 by Sputnic
These members have powered this story:

Related Stories

Recommendations (4)

Most recently recommended by:
 

closeSign in to NowPublic

is reporting from