Quote of the Day

de-burgh.jpg“I don’t believe virtually anything we read [on Iran] because we are on the receiving end of a lot of propaganda.”

– Irish singer Chris de Burgh, who has confirmed he will have an open-air concert in Tehran this summer.

Of course, when it comes to real propaganda, de Burgh seems to accept it without question:

“I find it amazing when I get letters from people in Israel and people in Lebanon and they both love the music, but in real life, they hate each other.”

And he’s also been known to disseminate it himself.

I’m guessing people have confused de Bergh with Phil Collins.

Update: Speaking of Phil Collins and the rumors of his supposed anti-Semitism (which I dealt with here), I have now found Collin’s own response to these accusations.

Phil Collins is battling a charge of anti-Semitism that could date back about 20 years. On his official philcollins.co.uk Website, Collins has posted a fan letter asking him to clarify his position, which reads: “It is said that you are an anti-Semite and you wholeheartedly support the P.L.O….How could an artist with such God-given talents…support this organization and dislike Jewish people…many Jews will not buy your music or listen to your music. My children ask me to change the radio station when your music comes on…I am writing to you to clear this up…I would hate to have to stop listening to your music…I hope this information is incorrect, and I hope I can correct people and tell them this is false.”

Yesterday (Wednesday, December 17th), Collins posted his reply: “To say that I’m confused, angry, and baffled is an understatement! I have no idea how these rumors start but there is absolutely no truth in what you’ve heard at all. I have never been asked what I feel about the problems that exist, so (I) have never voiced an opinion…I have no blanket belief that could be interpreted in a way that you express in your letter…I have always prided myself on a complete lack of racial and religious prejudice, so your letter gets to me more than some other criticisms might.”

Collins added that he’s been through this before: “A rumor similar to this, and possibly the origin of this one, I heard in New York in the ’80s. Someone said that they’d read in a Jewish magazine that I was an anti-Semite…The same person then went on to tell a similar story to yours — wouldn’t mention my name, play the music, etc. I was then married to a lady whose father was Jewish, so the story was even more farcical.”

The response ended with Collins asking the fan to make sure everyone knows there’s no truth to the story. He also wrote, “As for your children, tell ’em ‘Uncle’ Phil’s not so bad as they thought.”

5 thoughts on “Quote of the Day”

  1. How can anyone who has lived in Great Britain for the last 20 years not be anti Israel considering the British media anti Semitic reporting on the middle east?

  2. Israelly uncool, my friend. Nobody annoys me more than brain-dead ultra rich liberals who hate Israel and love the genocidal tyrants of the PA. That said, showing support for the Palestinian people does not constitute anything resembling antisemitism nor does being a genuine critic of both sides, or Israeli policy inasmuch as it resembles the policies of any free democratic republic (which means despite its good parts, it also has some dark sides). In fact, any true conservative (someone who resists BIG government) should have some serious misgivings about Israel’s socialist system, despite showing full support for its inherent right to existence and self defense. So in short, knock it off with damn witch hunts for Jew haters. There are plenty of open, and unabashed, ignocelebrities who will feign real intelligence on the issues and spout stomach turning anti-Israel rhetoric at the drop of a hat. Sending emails to musicians informing them that Jews won’t listen to them unless they come out strong on Israel’s behalf is both insulting to me (as a Jew and a musician) and counterproductive on an absurd level. Not to mention it forces them to defend themselves with whatever they can grab, such as Phil Collins weak,”but my father in law was a Jew…” defense, which means nothing. In fact taking that as proof he doesn’t hate Jews is in itself a cop out of Second Temple proportions. Bobby Fischer’s mother was Jewish. Stalin had a Jewish wife. But it’s our own fault for putting him in a position where he felt he had to prove his Jewfilliation in order to keep fans. Shameful. Jews don’t actually RUN Hollywood, but with stupid letters like these, it’s no wonder the average Joe really believes that.
    Also, Phil Collins has sucked for YEARS. Unless we’re still banking on another Genesis revival, we shouldn’t even be concerned with his political or religious views. I’m more interested in where Peter Gabriel stands (I’ll give you 12-1 he’s a pro-Pali delusional).

  3. Tom,

    Firstly, calling me names is not a good approach if you expect your comments to be welcome here.

    Secondly, the rest of your comment did not really address my post now did it? I did not call de Burgh an anti-Semite, and I merely posted Phil Collin’s response to the allegations directed against him.

    P.S Showing support for the Palestinian people and no understanding for the Israeli position usually does constitute something resembling antisemitism.

  4. Interesting. I think I can safely speak for most Israelis when I say that we certainly don’t hate the Lebanese- unless they belong to Hezbullah.

    And I was under the impression for many years that Phil Collins was a Jew-hating, PLO-loving schmuck. Glad to see that’s not the case and I can listen to his music without feeling guilty 🙂

  5. Aussie Dave, I didn’t call you any names, and apologize if you took it that way. I was making a play on the title of your blog to show my distaste for a particular post. And if you read my post you’ll note I was not commenting at all on De Burgh (whom I must admit, I’ve never heard of). I was simply commenting on your posting of Phil Collins comments, which (and I apologize again if I was unclear here) should be unnecessary, and only exist because people (perhaps not you, and I apologize if I made it seem that way)are sending him emails telling him they heard somewhere that he might support the PLO and that because of that they were not listening to his music (suggesting they otherwise might, which is equally baffling to me). That is the very definition of a witch hunt. Maybe a cyber-witch hunt, but the point is the guy has never shown anything to suggest he’s an antisemite, and we shouldn’t be bothering him for declarations about Israel before listening to his music anymore than we should the man behind the counter at the deli, or the guy who comes and takes garbage off our curb. My point was simply that we (as Jews, not you specifically Dave) should leave Phil Collins alone unless we have something to suggest he actively hates Jews (like, say, Cat Stevens) and also please don’t rustle his slumber, lest he record a new album, causing pain and consternation to the ears of Collins (music) haters the world over. And on behalf of them, I’d like to thank you.

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