THE music played on in Grahamstown on Monday night when a world renowned Israeli pianist took to the stage despite opposition from “free Palestine” activists.
Classical lovers keen to watch Dr Yossi Reshef tickling the ivories were forced to walk a gauntlet of activists handing out pamphlets for a nearby Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) exhibition instead.
Watched by Rhodes University campus security and a police minibus, concert opponents and supporters debated the timing of the South African tour and claimed it was sponsored by the Israeli government.
Music students denied a government link.
Some claimed Reshef supported Palestinian freedom in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip – prompting opponents to question why he did not stop the concert as requested.
The concert divided the university when 45 academics supported a Rhodes University Palestinian Solidarity Forum (RUPSF) open letter to head of music Dr Jeff Brukman calling for him to pull the plug on the event.
Protesters lining the narrow walkway to the music department front door likened efforts to get to it a “walk of shame”.
In an email to the Daily Disptach yesterday, Reshef said he was a professional musician who was not “embroiled in politics”. —
Israeli pianist gives concert despite protests
Classical lovers keen to watch Dr Yossi Reshef tickling the ivories were forced to walk a gauntlet of activists handing out pamphlets for a nearby Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) exhibition instead.
Watched by Rhodes University campus security and a police minibus, concert opponents and supporters debated the timing of the South African tour and claimed it was sponsored by the Israeli government.
Music students denied a government link.
Some claimed Reshef supported Palestinian freedom in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip – prompting opponents to question why he did not stop the concert as requested.
The concert divided the university when 45 academics supported a Rhodes University Palestinian Solidarity Forum (RUPSF) open letter to head of music Dr Jeff Brukman calling for him to pull the plug on the event.
Protesters lining the narrow walkway to the music department front door likened efforts to get to it a “walk of shame”.
In an email to the Daily Disptach yesterday, Reshef said he was a professional musician who was not “embroiled in politics”. —
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