NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby

19 Jun 14 - 06:20 PM (#3634706)
Subject: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: Peter K (Fionn)

"Zionist" in the thread title is not strictly accurate but I trust it might be accepted as legitimate shorthand. I didn't want to say "Jewish" because the people who pressured the Metropolitan Opera into the crass decision announced today are far from representating all Jewish opinion.

The Death of Klinghoffer is an opera about events leading to the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a wheelchair-bound American thrown off a hijacked cruise ship in 1985. It was suppressed for 21 years and then staged by English National Opera, without incident except for one lone protester. The production was a collaboration between ENO and the Metropolitan Opera, which is staging it in New York this year.

The Met has now bwithdrawn plans to broadcast the opera in November to cinemas across the USA and Europe. The fear is that it might cause offence of foment anti-semitism because the libretto makes some attempt to explain and understand - without attempting to justify - the motivation of the Palestinian murderers.

Having seen the London production I must say that this opera is not to my taste. I don't care for the music, and the work is dramatically turgid; more like a song cycle than an opera. If the Met had judged it not worthy of production on its artistic merits, that of course would have been their call. But to deem it fit for a New York audience and yet unfit for wider dissemination looks like consensus-seeking self-censorship.

Various US-based organisations including the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Opera Association have been quick to condemn the decision. The Met, already facing a massive financial crisis, has surely done its reputation great damage.

Cancelling Klinghoffer screenings endangers creative freedom

---

19 Jun 14 - 08:07 PM (#3634740)
Subject: RE: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: GUEST,Gerry

Well, you could have titled your thread, "NY Met chooses not to foment anti-semitism." But maybe best would have been a title like, "NY Met and Death of Klinghoffer broadcast." Sorry, but "Zionist lobby" sets off all sorts of alarm bells, and I don't see the need to do that.

---

19 Jun 14 - 11:35 PM (#3634771)
Subject: RE: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: GUEST,Stim

From this article in Article from today's Los Angeles Times :

"The Met said the final decision was made after a series of discussions between Gelb and Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, which represented the wishes of Leon Klinghoffer's daughters.

In a separate statement, the ADL said that Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer "have long held serious objections to the opera's biased portrayal of their father's death and its sympathetic view of his killers.""

---

20 Jun 14 - 08:11 AM (#3634892)
Subject: RE: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: GUEST,Stim

Cynic that I am, it occurs to me that the Met may have realizrd that, whereas they could sell tickets to Rigoletto and La Boheme in their cinema series, people were not going to rush right out to buy tickets to "The Death of Klinghoffer".

---

20 Jun 14 - 09:59 AM (#3634920)
Subject: RE: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: Jack Campin

Considering the opera dates to 1991 and has had a good many productions and recordings over the years, including a few in the US, throwing the sort of paranoid shit around that the ADL is doing doesn't make a lot of sense. It's as popular and widely accepted as contemporary operas by mainstream composers get.

The ADL doesn't even speak for Zionism, let alone for all Jews. It's a far-right fringe group.

I've only heard bits of the opera but I've got a DVD of it somewhere. Might give it a watch tomorrow.

---

20 Jun 14 - 10:36 AM (#3634933)
Subject: RE: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: Peter K (Fionn)

Gerry's suggested threada titles are not the answer - innacurate and too long - but thanks Jack: I'd be happy for "Zionist lobby" in the title to be replaced with "fringe group" if Joe Offer happens to notice this thread. (My target here is the Met, rather than Jews, whether Zionist or otherwise.)

The suggestion in Stim's second post is probably somewhere near the truth. I don't buy the Met's own implied explanation that it was guided by the Klinghoffer daughters. The Met was talking to the Klinghhoffer daughters years ago, yet still went ahead with the ENO-Met co-production.

---

20 Jun 14 - 11:19 AM (#3634947)
Subject: RE: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: John on the Sunset Coast

It is my understanding that only the radio broadcast has be cancelled, but the performance 'in situ' will go on.

Peter's choice of title is certainly emotionally/politically loaded. Not withstanding his protestations, he must have known that to be the case. A simpler, more accurate title might have been, "Met cancels broadcast of Klinghoffer opera". He could then have opined, however, in the body of the post.

I think the main bad actor in the cancellation is the Met itself. I'm not real big on prior self-censorship of artistic endeavors.

John

---

20 Jun 14 - 12:35 PM (#3634973)
Subject: RE: NY Met caves in to Zionist lobby
From: GUEST

Given the way the Commercial Director of ENO reccently behaved in my presence, I would suggest this may be a step towards sanity from the Met.
Whether or not they may support particular factions, there was no need to treat another patron as if they were from the other side (which they were not).

---