Sunday Mezze: Palestine : Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Erases Macklemore, Denies Permission to Narrate + Omer Bartov in NH: “Genocide in Israel?What went Wrong?” + Colin Kaepernick After 10 YearsMezze - المزة - a wide selection of small dishes served as appetizers, including such delicacies as hummus, cheese, eggplant, brains, stuffed grape leaves, calamari, and much more
Good Morning Family, Friends, Colleagues, It’s game day in New England - the Patriots home opener. As both a native-born New Englander and football fan I have some history with the New England Patriots, going back to before they were bought by Robert Kraft, back to when they were the Boston Patriots. Back to when they drafted Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett from Stanford as the first overall pick in 1971. I remember cheering for Plunkett even after he was traded to the 49ers and then to the Raiders. I think of Plunkett because he was the first minority player to quarterback a Super Bowl team to victory – the only Latinx ever named Super Bowl MVP - and until Eli Manning the only quarterback to have won two Super Bowls and not be named to the NFL Hall of Fame. He’s still not there! Today, not for the first time, I’m done with the Patriots. I’m tired of supporting a team with an owner - Robert Kraft - who supports a president who’s a self-described sexual assaulter, a president who not only is a racist but who demeans minority communities and people of color as a matter of course. Today, I’m tired because Kraft - who legitimately drew upon the Fourth Amendment to get charges against him dropped when he was accused of soliciting prostitution - has revealed the depths of his hypocrisy by last week denying rapper Macklemore an opportunity to exercise his Free Speech opportunity simply because he, Kraft, doesn’t agree with Macklemore’s support of Palestinian rights.* Rain is forecast for today’s home opener at Foxboro. That seems just. Palestine / Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Erases Macklemore, Denies Permission To Narrate“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to say this all day. One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine. “I said, Free Palestine. “I want those words to be loud and clear, so the people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten them. “And this next song was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world; open up hearts, myself included, so thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, no. CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voices for Peace. Thank you, guys. “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. “So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.“ The above bold-face commentary is a transcription of what Macklemore presented on stage at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on September 4th. Those 242 words are not hate speech. In that presentation Macklemore clearly distinguishes between Israel and the Jewish people - many of whom are my sisters and brothers supporting the struggle for Free Palestine. His words only speak to Israel’s behavior, not its existence. He spoke of solidarity, justice, and freedom; spoke of dignity, respect, and equality for all peoples. He spoke from what we’ve come to know as part of our Public Square - a concert stage. He opposes apartheid and genocide. He spoke of Peace. His call for solidarity with Palestine was accompanied by his protest song “Hind’s Hall,” which is about about the 2024 killing of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old girl in the Gaza Strip by Israeli soldiers.** “You can’t twist the truth, the people out here united Last week, Macklemore didn’t twist the truth, and his truth-telling got him blacklisted. Macklemore found, as Columbia University Professor, the late Edward Said often argued, that Palestinians, and those who argue on behalf of the humanity of the Palestinian people have historically - and to this moment - been denied “permission to narrate,” been denied the power to represent Palestinian truths, histories, and stories in the Public Square. In a statement released last Monday, Macklemore said he will no longer be the opening act on singer Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour, and further he revealed that several other venue owners - who operate both public and privately-owned fora - had also - seemingly inspired by Kraft - barred him over his pro-Palestinian comments. In solidarity, four other supporting groups withdrew from Sheeran’s tour. Kraft has confirmed he banned Macklemore from performing at his Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, the home of the Patriots, alleging that the rapper’s comments during the MetLife concert and also over what he characterized as Macklemore’s “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” ** Words so offensive to Kraft, it appears, that it justified an artist being banned from performing in one of America’s Public Squares. Such zealotry appears to be nothing new for Kraft or for those who want to erase Palestine.*** I remember a time in 2019 when, at a White House Hanukkah reception, Robert Kraft was reported standing alongside the president as Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to target antisemitic harassment that was allegedly endemic on American college campuses. Kraft stood in support of Trump, the very person who had said that in Charlottesville there were “very fine people” among the antisemites and neo-Nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us!” Trump’s order that day adopted a controversial definition of antisemitism - drafted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance - that argues that examples of antisemitism include “Anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” I believe that’s wrong: It’s not that simple. Antisemitism must always be opposed, but weaponizing the term to try to delegitimize the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians – or even the views of anti-Zionists (many of whom are Jewish) is to stifle and criminalize debate and today - especially after October 7, 2023 - it furthers attempts to erase or marginalize any Palestinian narrative from America’s Public Square. An erasure that is pernicious, viral, poisonous and threatens the very values upon which this narration was birthed. Kraft, in getting Macklemore banned, is complicit in efforts to deny Palestinian representation, to deny any movement on behalf ofPalestinian human rights and liberation?**** Kenneth Stern, author of the anti-Semitism definition included in Trumps DoE order, wrote in 2016 – and again in 2019 in the Guardian – that the department should not adopt his definition: “The definition was intended for data collectors writing reports about anti-Semitism in Europe. It was never supposed to curtail speech on campus.”***** “What’s next?” Stern wrote at the time. “Should Congress define what speech is Islamophobic? Anti-Palestinian? Racist? Anti-white? How about defining ‘anti-United States’ speech?” “If this bill becomes law,” Stern continued, “it is easy to imagine calls for university administrators to stop pro-Palestinian speech. Even if lawsuits alleging Title VI violations fail, students and faculty members will be scared into silence, and administrators will err on the side of suppressing or censuring speech.” How prescient of Stern! It has become law and practice in far too many places. Today, a decade since Stern first penned that definition, much of all he feared has come about - and this Macklemore banning is but the latest. The order that Trump signed and Kraft witnessed in 2019 remains central to efforts to oppress the free-speech rights of those, especially on college campuses, who support Palestinian rights, including supporting the non-violent BDS movement which opposes Israeli occupation and annexation of Palestinian territory. Robert Kraft has been central to that oppression saying, after he was awarded Israel’s Genesis Award, “I promised to dedicate myself even more than before to fighting anti-semitism, BDS, and other efforts to delegitimize the state of Israel. My vision is to work to end the violence against Jewish communities. To counter the normalization of antisemitic narratives that question Israel’s right to exist, disguised as part of legitimate debate on campuses and in the media.” Today, I believe that we need to affirm that only by fully protecting all our rights - Kraft’s rights, Macklemore’s rights, oligarchs’ rights, artists’ rights, my and your rights - rights conferred aspirationally upon all peoples by our Founding Fathers – can we be true to the Promise of America. That means for all peoples, all colors, all faiths and ethnicities. That means you can’t have Robert Kraft without Macklemore. You can’t have Ed Sheeran without Hind Rajab. **** Robert Kraft Claims His Donations Help Palestinians. Turns Out He’s Funding Friends of the IDF. *****Kenneth Stern: I drafted the definition of antisemitism. Rightwing Jews are weaponizing it This Week in Durham NH |
Colin Kaepernick
Listen to this New Yorker Podcast: Colin Kaepernick, Ten Years After Taking a Knee
Colin Kaepernick had a stunning rise as an N.F.L. quarterback after becoming a full-time starter, in 2012. He was a legitimate dual threat—as effective running the ball as he was throwing it. And, to this day, Kaepernick still holds the record for rushing yards by an N.F.L. quarterback in a playoff game. But his formidable skills as a player were quickly overshadowed by his decision—quiet at first—to engage in protest for social justice a decade ago. He knelt during the national anthem at games, and that generated an enormous amount of controversy, with everyone from his fellow-players to a future President weighing in on his decision. In the aftermath of his demonstrations, the San Francisco 49ers told him that they were going to cut him, and no other team would sign him. In his new memoir, “The Perilous Fight,” Kaepernick describes how this wasn’t even the full extent of the league’s efforts to punish him. He and David Remnick discuss his new book and the consequences of his political activism. “I had football taken away from me,” Kaepernick explains. “I didn’t get to leave on my terms. And I didn’t get to leave because, ‘Oh, you’re not good enough to play anymore.’ It was because of the causes I was supporting and the change I was trying to effect. So that leaves a sour taste in your mouth.”
Stay Strong and Safe my Loved Ones,
Draw your Keffiyehs close…
Salamaat,
Robert
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