BDS threats force Cancellation of Irish Dance Competition

Its a new low for the BDS holes- terrorizing little children and their families. Again, it has become apparent the "B" in the BDS Movement stands for bullying.

From The Creative Community for Peace

The first ever Irish dance competition in Israel has been canceled due to threats by supporters of the cultural boycott campaign.

Sadly, they are not the only ones to receive threats. Salif Keita, Macy Gray, Eric Burdon, and Paul McCartney have also noted receiving threatening messages from boycott supporters.

This could have been a beautiful event, providing a space for the people of Ireland and Israel to learn about one another and to learn from one another. While we certainly appreciate that the safety of their dancers is their foremost concern, we hope the Carey Irish Dance Academy will see through the threat tactics, and reconsider their decision to cancel, instead standing up for artistic freedom and against cultural boycotts.

Read more about the bullying tactics of the BDS Movement here:
Threatening Messages to Teachers, Parents and Students Force Cancellation of Irish Dance Groups Trip to Israel

Irish Dance Festival in Israel Canceled After Palestinians Threaten Dancers, Teachers

The Facebook page of the distraught  Irish Feis posted this announcement:

How can you help?

Sign the CCP  Anti-Boycott Petition and tell artists around the world you support their performances in Israel:

Creative Community for Peace in the New York Times

From the Creative Community for Peace

We represent a cross section of the creative world--those who create and help create music, films, and television programs--and their fans.

We may not all share the same politics or the same opinion on the best path to peace in the Middle East. But we do agree that singling out Israel, the only democracy in the region, as a target of cultural boycotts while ignoring the now-recognized human rights issues of her neighbors will not further peace.

We understand the power that our music, our films, our television shows, and all arts have. They have the power to build bridges. Foster better understanding. Encourage dialogue. And hopefully lead toward greater mutual acceptance.

If anything, turn up the music, expose more of our films and television shows to wider audiences, and encourage people from all cultures to interact and build greater dialogue and understanding.

If you support the message that the arts can build bridges—please join us in this important mission.

The world might just be a better place for it.

The Creative Community for Peace has a full page ad out in today's New York Times 

  The text of the ad, and the signatories follow:

We, the undersigned, are saddened by the devastating loss of life endured by Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. We are pained by the suffering on both sides of the conflict and hope for a solution that brings peace to the region.

While we stand firm in our commitment to peace and justice, we must also stand firm against ideologies of hatred and genocide which are reflected in Hamas' charter, Article 7 of which reads, “There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!” The son of a Hamas founder has also commented about the true nature of Hamas.

Hamas cannot be allowed to rain rockets on Israeli cities, nor can it be allowed to hold its own people hostage. Hospitals are for healing, not for hiding weapons. Schools are for learning, not for launching missiles. Children are our hope, not our human shields.

We join together in support of the democratic values we all cherish and in the hope that the healing and transformative power of the arts can be used to build bridges of peace.

Orly Adelson
Marty Adelstein
Dan Adler
Lou Adler
Michael Adler
Dan Aloni
Avi Arad
Tom Arnold
Jeff Astrof
Craig Balsam
Gary Barber
Roseanne Barr
Jason Barrett
Elana Barry
Jonathan Baruch
Aaron Bay-Schuck
Lainie Sorkin Becky
Lawrence Bender
PeterBenedek
Steven Bensusan
Raphael Berko
Adam Berkowitz
Greg Berlanti
Jordan Berliant
Mayim Bialik
Joshua P Binder
Todd Black
Michael Borkow
David Boxerbaum
Scooter Braun
Dan Brecher
Eric Brooks
David Broza
Dan Bucatinsky
Naomi Bulochnikov
David Byrnes
David Caspe
Omri Casspi
Josh Charles
Liza Chasin
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Cynthia Cidre
Neil Cloud
Ayala Cohen
Etan Cohen
Joe Cohen
Charlie Corwin
Marc Dauer
Robert Davi
Craig David
Stephen Davis
Donald De Line
Matt DelPiano
Josh Deutsch
David Diamond
Leonard Dick
David Draiman
Minnie Driver
Jack Dytman
Lee Eisenberg
Doug Ellin
Diane English
Dan Erlij
Ron Fair
Erik Feig
Dave Feldman
James Feldman
Patti Felker
Erica Forster
Gary Foster
Doug Frank
Bryan J. Freedman
Geordie E. Frey
Michael Fricklas
Robert Fried
William Friedkin
Daryl Friedman
Rob Friedman
Ronald Friedman
David Gardner
Jeremy Garelick
Alan M. Gasmer
Ran Geffen-Lifshitz
Andrew Genger
Bob Gersh
Jody Gerson
Risa Gertner
Jami Gertz
Gary Ginsberg
David Glick
Jonathan Glickman
Michael Glouberman
Elon Gold
Evan Goldberg
Gil Goldschein
Tony Goldwyn
Nate Goodman
Howard Gordon
Mitchell Gossett
Marc Graboff
Kelsey Grammer
Trudy Green
Adam Griffin
Iris Grossman
Jay Gruska
David Guillod
Phil Hacker
Jay Hoffman
J. Todd Harris
Adi Hasak
Ned Haspel
Ken Hertz
David Hoberman
Craig Hunegs
Andrew Hurwitz
Kathy Ireland
Neal Israel
Michael Jacobs
Bill Jacobson
Neil Jacobson
Nina Jacobson
Jonathan Jakubowicz
Patrick Joest
Nathan Kahane
Adam Kaller
Adam Kanter
Scott Karp
Zach Katz
Ryan Kavanaugh
Ron Kenan
David Kendall
Larry Kennar
Chris Keyser
Kevin King-Templeton
Michael Kives
Courtney Kivowitz
Patrick Knapp
Amanda Kogan
Jeff Kolodny
Barry Kotler
Steven Kram
Eric Kranzler
Brad Krevoy
Erik Kritzer
Howard Kurtzman
Rick Kurtzman
Jeff Kwatinetz
Peter Landesman
Eriq La Salle
Sherry Lansing
Estelle Lasher
Michael Lasker
Keili Lefkovitz
Carol Leifer
Avi Lerner
Colin Lester
Ben Levine
Susan Levinson
David Levy
Shuki Levy
Linda Lichter
Josh Lieberman
Maryam Lieberman
Todd Lieberman
Jon Liebman
Jonathan Littman
David Lonner
Richard Lovett
Jon Lovitz
Charlie Lyons
Benji Madden
Joel Madden
Bill Maher
Joshua Malina
Rob Markus
Orly Marley
Ziggy Marley
Ori Marmur
Bill Masters
Barry McPherson
Brian Medavoy
Jeff Melman
Scott Melrose
Jeffrey D. Melvoin
Willie Mercer
Rina Mimoun
Kevin Misher
Michael Morales
Rob Morrow
Robert Newman
Alan Nierob
Michael Nyman
Howard T. Owens
James Packer
Scott Packman
Bar Paly
Tom Parziali
Amy Pascal
Donald S. Passman
Brett Paul
Ann Peacock
Linda Perry
Richard Plepler
Amy Powers
Rob Prinz
Trevor Rabin
Dan Rabinow
Gideon Raff
Dean Raise
Bruce M. Ramer
David Ready
Ivan Reitman
David Renzer
John Reston
Hanna Rochelle
Seth Rogen
John Rogovin
Lena Roklin
Lon Rosen
Rick Rosen
Bruce Rosenblum
Zvi Howard Rosenman
Bill Rosenthal
Phil Rosenthal
Brian Ross
Michael Rotenberg
Rob Rothman
Robert Rovner
Susan Rovner
Odeya Rush
Haim Saban
Carole Bayer Sager
Nancy Sanders
Jonathan Schenker
Mark Schiff
Steve Schnur
Dean Schramm
Jordan Schur
Robin Schwartz
Sam Schwartz
Scott Schwartz
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Adam Schweitzer
Adam Shankman
Stacey Sher
Scott Siegler
Jamie Lynn Sigler
Chris Silbermann
Ben Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Martin Singer
Stacey Snider
Aaron Sorkin
Steve Spira
Susan Sprung
Sylvester Stallone
Norman Steinberg
Fisher Stevens
Gary Stiffelman
Erwin Stoff
Ken Stovitz
Gene Stupnitsky
Nick Styne
Eric Suddleson
Geoff Suddleson
Ken Suddleson
Danny Sussman
DB Sweeney
Traci Szymanski
Nina Tassler
Adam Taylor
Arn Tellem
Nancy Tellem
Mitch Tenzer
Steve Tisch
Noa Tishby
Fred D. Toczek
Michael Tolkin
Bennett Tramer
Nancy Travis
Jonathan Tropper
Matthew Velkes
Paul Wachter
Nina Wass
Avi Wasserman
Steven Weber
Bernie Weinraub
Bob Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein
Jerry Weintraub
David N. Weiss
David Weissman
Alan Wertheimer
Ron West
Nikki Wheeler
Jeff Wolman
Sharon Tal Yguado
Pete Yorn
Rick Yorn
Mosab Hassan Yousef
Rachel Zalis
David Zucker

Petition presented to Neil Young in support of his show in Israel

From  Lana Melman, Director of Creative Community for Peace

Top Industry Execs Present Anti-Boycott Petition to Neil Young!

The Canadians For Justice and Peace in the Middle East (“CJPME”) is one of the many organizations attempting to politicize art and disseminate misinformation to achieve its political goals. CJPME recently stated its intention to present Neil Young with a petition urging him to renege on his commitment to perform in Israel on July 16, 2014 by using Neil’s admirable advocacy on behalf of Native Canadians to mislead him with false comparisons between Native Canadians and Palestinians.

The Creative Community For Peace (“CCFP”) is an organization founded on the belief that music can and should be used to build bridges for peace. In keeping with our beliefs, we are devoted to countering the call for a cultural boycott of Israel and providing balance to the conversation.

We have submitted an Anti-Boycott Petition to Neil Young. The petition was presented on March 21, 2014, by 32 prominent members of the entertainment industry and garnered nearly twenty-six thousand signatures from people around the globe. It lets Neil know that boycott proponents do not represent the mainstream view which in fact supports liberal, open democracies such as Israel and the independence of artists.
 
Boycott advocates, such as CJPME, attempt to use the forums of music and culture to make inflammatory and incorrect political points. However, their message does not resonate with the vast majority of people who believe in the power of art and music to bring people together.

To date, their efforts have been overwhelmingly unsuccessful in deterring the hundreds of artists that choose to perform in Israel every year, including Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Avicii, David Guetta, and Cyndi Lauper. Instead, their action foments discourse and dampens hope for rational discourse.

We at CCFP wish for a resolution to the complicated Palestinian/Israeli peace process, and believe that the unique connections between artists and their fans and the dialogue it enables can be part of the solution.

For more information, please visit:

CreativeCommunityForPeace.com

Facebook.com/CreativeCommunityForPeace

A Special Thank You from Scarlett Johansson

 We love Scarlett Johansson and she loves us, too.

From the Creative Community for Peace:

As many of you know, Scarlett Johansson was recently singled out by anti-Israel boycott activists for her support of the Israeli company SodaStream.

CCFP had been in touch with Scarlett's representatives since the controversy began.  We knew how many of you out there wanted to congratulate and thank her directly for her courageous and principled stand and we facilitated an opportunity to do so by receiving the permission of her publicist to provide you with his email and posting it on our Facebook page.

Thousands and thousands of you rose to the occasion and CCFP cannot express our thanks deeply enough. And we're not the only ones. We have been given a note from Mr. Marcel Pariseau, Scarlett Johansson's publicist, thanking her fans for their support. This note of appreciation is from Scarlett to all of you:

 "Scarlett would like to extend her most sincere thanks to the many thousands of people who have supported her these past weeks. Your emails, comments, and tweets have been truly overwhelming and inspiring. It has been wonderful to receive messages from people all over the world who firmly believe that peace is possible.

And a big thank you to Creative Community For Peace for building a bridge between Scarlett and her fans."

Marcel Pariseau

TRUE PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Creative community for Peace is doing wonderful outreach to promote music and the arts as a bridge to understanding and peace. There is much left to be done and CCFP can use your help. Like them on Facebook   and Sign their Anti-Boycott Petition  

Tell the many hundreds of international artists who perform in and visit Israel every year that you support their decision and that we must not allow Israel's detractors to politicize art.

Perspective 2013 The Cultural BDS Year in Review

The cultural BDS cheerleader and spokesmodel Tali Shapiro recently posted her latest "BDS is triumphant. BDS is on a roll. BDS is unstoppable." claim. Judge it for yourself

After countless hours spent spamming Facebook timelines and twitter feeds,  Tali crows over Richard Bona ( who?) and Sonia Montez (huh?).
And the BDS fails? Among  those visiting Israel in 2013 were

Tom Jones
Rihanna
Amar’e Stoudemire
Eric Burdon
Anthrax
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Alicia Keys
Pet Shop Boys
Ky-Mani Marley
John Malkovich
Joe Louis Walker
Tiesto
Barbra Striesand
King Lizard
Ashton Kutcher
Mila Kunis

Dozens more showed up to literary events, film and music festivals, and plenty came to just see the sights.  For more celebrity sightings in Israel, visit the Creative Community for Peace 

Next year (thanks for the reminder, Tali) Justin Timberlake, Cyndi Lauper and many others have committed to play in Israel.

Join me in wishing Tali and the BDS cru more of that very same special sort of "success" in 2014.

Welcome to Israel, Alicia Keys!

 Please sign the Creative Community for peace petition welcoming singer Alicia Keys to Israel, and circulate it widely. The 12 time Grammy winner is scheduled to play in Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena on July 4, 2013.  Like all artists who are scheduled to perform in Israel, she is being subject to an unrelenting pressure campaign. Help Alicia Keys resist the BDS bullies    Sign  here:

 The text of the petition follows

We, the undersigned, wholeheartedly support your upcoming tour in Israel and your dedication to your fans across the globe.

We know you are hearing falsehoods about Israel being an apartheid state and unfair comparisons of Israel to apartheid South Africa. These messages are filled with distortions and untruths that seek to malign Israel and distort the discourse of those that seek peace.

Those who have actually been to Israel know that it is a democratic country with a diverse population, where women, Arabs, Muslims, Christians and all minorities have equal rights; a nation where art and freedom of expression flourish. In fact, Arab-Israeli citizens serve on Israel’s Supreme Court and in its Parliament. The recently crowned Miss Israel was born in Ethiopia and quoted Martin Luther King in her acceptance speech! "There are many different communities of many different colors in Israel, and it's important to show that to the world," said the new Miss Israel.

We too wish for a resolution to the complicated Palestinian/Israeli peace process, and we believe that the unique connection between artist and fan is part of the solution. Music is a great tool--one that can be used for building bridges, dialogue and understanding between people. Cultural boycotts drown out freedom and the voices of change. Your voice, your message will touch hearts and minds in a region desperately looking for peace.

We therefore urge you to keep your tour date in Israel, the land Madonna calls "the energy center of the world." Join the ranks of independent-minded artists who have performed in Israel recently, including Rihanna, Macy Gray, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Black Eyed Peas, Missy Elliot, Metallica, Linkin Park, Lady Gaga, Seal, Meshell Ngedecello, Erykah Badu and many others. Your fans in Israel are looking forward to seeing you and know that you will use the power of your music to help bring hope and peace to the region!

You know the drill. Sign it, post it on Facebook, add it to your blogs, and tweet it out. When we fight back we win.

UPDATE:

Thanks to an outpouring of support from friends of Israel and the arts worldwide, the petition for Alicia Keys has quickly surpassed 11,000 signatures ...and is growing rapidly.

Signators are from Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxenbourg, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, S. Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, united Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zambia!

Hollywood Group Takes on Music Industry Anti-Israel Boycotters

The United Nations International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural rights states, in Part three, Article 15 that

The States Parties to the present covenant recognize the right of everyone:

1.To take part in cultural life;
2.To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications';
3. To benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for the conservation, the development and the diffusion of science and culture.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields.

In spite of this, anti-Israel activists have proposed an academic and cultural boycott of Israel, conducting an enormous pressure campaign against artists who chose to play for their fans in Israel.


From an article by William Bigelow

"A group called Creative Community for Peace is fighting back against the cultural boycott of Israel in the music industry. Made up of 30 leading music executives, talent agents and entertainment lawyers, the CCFP includes music powerhouses who represent luminaries like Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake...

Some artist have defied the boycott and defended Israel’s right to hear them: among them are Lady Gaga, Elton John, Rihanna, Paul McCartney, Leonard Cohen, Rufus Wainwright, Herbie Hancock and Lenny Kravitz. Madonna is planning to debut her World Tour in Tel Aviv this summer, and there will be appearances by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Cirque du Soleil.

But the pressure on artists continues; the Red Hot Chili Peppers, scheduled to perform in Israel in September, have been targeted by BDS with a a Facebook page demanding the Peppers “Defy Injustice, Cancel Israel.” Will they have the guts to do what Elton John did in 2010, when he walked out on stage in Tel Aviv and said, “They’re not gonna stop me from coming here, baby”? Or have guts like Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber’s 30-year-old manager, who got death threats such as “If Justin Bieber comes to Israel, we’re gonna kill the Jew manager”?

...But in the meantime, CCFP is determined to fight back. As Steve Schnur, worldwide head of music for Electronic Arts (EA) video games, put it: “Musicians that play there don’t have to agree with the current or previous policies of the Israeli government — but they can go there and speak toward it or against it. Where else in the Middle East can an artist do that?”