Comments on: Elvis (yellow) Costello boycotts Israel, becomes “a silent partner in someone else’s mistake”

By: J. Isaacs

J. Isaacs — Sun, 23 May 2010 08:27:32 +0000

One trusts that those who booked to see him will be getting their money back and be able to spend it on concerts by the cornucopia of attractive young Israeli singers, who can be sampled on Youtube. Each one of them is the greatest demonstration to the world of Israel’s vibrancy and musical ability.

By: Larry70

Larry70 — Sun, 23 May 2010 06:33:25 +0000

Costello is not an atypical muso really. They generally have their heads in the clouds, and have little if any inkling of ugly real world facts. Is he any different to Roger Waters, condemning Israel for building a security barrier to protect its citizens from being blown up by Palestinian terrorists? You can almost guess at Waters’s convoluted non-thinking here, namely – hey I’m against the wall because I did a famous album so titled that spoke out against the walls we build around our hearts that isolate man from man and man from his own heart, so therefore…
Pink Floyd remain probably the most popular Western band in Israel. Hey I like their music, but Waters is clueless, just like Costello.

What about Patti Smith who wrote a song pining for the Lebanese dead of the 2006 war, you know the ones Hezbollah used as human shields in a war they started. You will be waiting for the cows to come home before she pens a song entitled ‘Sderot’.

One shouldn’t single out musos of course, it is just that this is the frightening standard among much of the Western Left, the fact of a person’s profession is neither here nor there, it’s just that famous or semi-famous people are given attention viz a viz their political statements. I mean who is going to pay attention to what the man in the street says about Israel if he is a tradesman or engineer or accountant.

On that topic (of celebrities and anti-Semitism) I have noticed so many professional writers the world over are viciously anti-Semitic, and so many Jewish writers are utterly clueless. In fact the writers/authors (and I mean “serious” writers here, not the amateurs churning out potboilers) seem worse than the musos, but maybe they are just more vocal on this front.

By: Another Joshua

Another Joshua — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:32:18 +0000

Having considered the apologia, the main criticism of Costello is that he has forsaken his principles. He has lost his backbone. On the one hand he is fully aware that if he goes to Israel he can say there what his concerns are without fear of offending. He could do his bit to help both sides by speaking at his concert to his audience to promote ways to stop the violence.

No. Instead he opts for the easy option. He’s concerned much more about his own image to fans, many of whom, he must believe, will withdraw their support if he showed any open support for those in Israel who like his music. Sadly, and like many others, he has made himself a victim.

@Gabor. You are correct to identify the mindset the boycotters are creating and many in total unawareness. This is how I believe (like you) the Nazis did manage to gain power by operating under similar conditions that such a mindset creates. The concerns of many today are that these recent developments are bound to have catastrophic consequences if not identified soon.
To illustrate the point I had a conversation with a friend who quite candidly told me:”I’m not anti-semitic, but I am anti-Israel.” I asked “What do you mean by anti-Israel? Have you ever been there?” The reply: “No I don’t have to go. I have read and seen enough to know.” End of conversation.

Another confused soul.

By: AKUS

AKUS — Sun, 23 May 2010 02:47:35 +0000

I had never heard of this Elvis till the Guardian, of course, trumpeted his decision to avoid singing or whatever he does in Israel.

But it appears that the real story is that his tour was unable to energize enough Israelis who apparently had heard of him to fill the Caesaria amphitheater profitably, and therefore would have been canceled anyway. Rather than admit to his flagging popularity, he took a “tramp” (Hebrew for “free ride”) on the BDS wagon.

By: Brad Brzezinski

Brad Brzezinski — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:44:04 +0000

Since Costello can hardly have been surprised by the opposition to his tour, he must have given in to fear.

Let’s see if his wife Canadian Diana Krall, cancels her tour of Israel.

http://www.elusivedisc.com/images/versxr018inset2.jpg (Just a picture, for prurient purposes only.)

For those reading for the articles, here’s the announcement:
http://www.touristisrael.com/diana-krall-israel-tel-aviv/1087/

By: Truer word

Truer word — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:34:28 +0000

The thing is, this guy isn’t a good musician anyway. (His attempts at Renaissance song are bloody awful). But that’s not the point – his “rationale” is completely incoherent and impenetrable. I don’t even think it made sense to him. He has determined not to make a political statement – by making a political statement.

He’s a self-preserving coward. Sod him.

By: chairwoman

chairwoman — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:58:18 +0000

Just try singing “Meantally Defective” in place of “Watching the Detectives”.

Doesn’t that feel good?

By: logdon

logdon — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:55:03 +0000

Meaning? He’s a pretentious ass.

And his best records, Almost Blue and Delivery Man were recorded in Nashville not Mecca, or Cairo or Gaza.

I think you guess what I’m driving at.

By: Jonathan Karmi

Jonathan Karmi — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:45:00 +0000

Just because someone is a good musician doesn’t make them immune from being a muddle-headed twit.

If Declan MacManus (alias ‘Elvis Costello’) has read David Horowitz’s editorial, he’d now be too embarrassed to visit. Oh well, that’s his loss.

By: Gábor Fränkl

Gábor Fränkl — Fri, 21 May 2010 23:31:40 +0000

Let me offer my own heartfelt gut feelings (imaginable that will be blocked as some other “gut-feeling reactions). I actually never heard of this jerk, but that’s irrelevant since I’m relatively ignorant about music issues. He is certainly an ageing “star” by now. The “funny” thing is that after having just read minutes ago the same Horovitz letter, sort of on the newspaper site, I was surprised that Robin is dealing with the problem as well. Well, “Elvis” who for me is a non-entity. It’s not even his boycott and all the ignorance, arrogance, presumable lies which are so deeply angering, but one other thing. Namely, the so-called boycott activists. Let’s make clear something. While I wouldn’t often use unnecessary hyperboles and mindless abusives, I am on the opinion that these people who instigate this campaign against Israel (and let’s nothide it, there’s a good measure of Jews, at least nominally among them) behave just the exact same way like their Arian counterparts in the late 20s Weimarian/1930s Hitlerian pre-Holocuast Germany. They are first and foremost poltical extremists who would want nothing more than the complete eradication of the state of Israel. These people are Nazis. I’m absolutely certain about this. Of course most don’t see this, but I do. As Horovitz pointed out they are not really “supporters” of the Palestinians. Otherwise they’ve have surely encouraged the artists to perform in the Palestinian territories as well beside Israel, like Cohen attempted to do at first. No, they couldn’t care less about them and their plight. These people are just what I termed them. The “Small” girl (literally…; with small-mind and conflicted pubescent hatred of her fellow Jews in montreal when she was 16 years old and fat, these things do not go away easily for them; and in turn create various totaly thoughtless incoherent balderdash) and of course many-many others. May they rot in hell forever where they belong!