Submitted on behalf of Jewish Voice for Peace of Eastern Iowa
The Israeli music group The Jerusalem Quartet is scheduled to play at Hancher Auditorium at the end of March. They are ambassadors of an apartheid government, used to art-wash the genocide of Palestinians. We are disappointed in Hancher. No one should go.
“But… art?!” Art is political.
How can you separate the art from the artists that are trained, financially supported, endorsed and honored by a genocidal government? All four musicians have served in the IDF (the Israeli military) and continue to play shows for IDF soldiers. They have been boycotted by human rights supporters internationally (including in the U.S., all over Europe and New Zealand).
“But… antisemitism?!” Anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitic.
Zionism is a 19th century political ideology that claimed Jewish safety required a Jewish-only nation-state. The 1917 Balfour Declaration that advocated establishing a “national home for jewish people” in Palestine may sound altruistic but it wasn’t. As Naomi Klein reminds us: “Zionism was an antisemitic idea from the start….” It was always presented as a way that European powers could “get rid of their Jews and establish a sub-imperial power in the Middle East.” Many Jews opposed Zionism before the Holocaust because they saw it as an antisemitic idea that would further demote them as second- and third-class citizens. In fact, the only opponent of the declaration was also the only Jewish member of the British cabinet, Edwin Montagu.
Judith Butler, Hannah Arendt, Hajo Meyer and Albert Einstein are some other Jewish anti-Zionists of note. Anti-Zionism is not synonymous with anti-semitism. Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews. In fact, there are 20-30 Christian Zionists for every one Jewish Zionist. And Christian Zionism came first. So anyone concerned that boycotting The Jerusalem Quartet is antisemitic would be wise to check their bedfellows.
We find protection through community and connection, not through oppression and militarism. Jewish safety is, and has always been, in solidarity.
Because Palestinians.
The state of Israel has continued to displace, terrorize and commit other war crimes against the Palestinians since the Nakba began in 1947. Between October 2023 and 2024 Israel said it bombed 40,000 locations in the Gaza Strip (141 sq mi). Gaza is 25 miles long, about the distance from the Iowa City Airport to the Cedar Rapids Airport. And ranges from 3.7 to 7.5 miles at the widest. By one estimate, the bomb tonnage dropped on Gaza is more than 70,000 tons, surpassing the combined bomb tonnage dropped on Dresden, Hamburg and London in World War II. Al-Jazeera estimates 62,614 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023. Including 17,492 children.
“For the three immigrants [three of the Quartet came from Russia], carrying a rifle in one hand and a violin in the other is the ultimate Zionist statement.” –The Israeli Press Service
The Jerusalem Quartet has demonstrated who they stand with. How about you?
