Garbage: “[BDS] Are Very Quick To Make Judgments & They Know Nothing About All The Facts”
David Lange
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I have followed band Garbage for years – one of my favorite concert memories was seeing them open for Alanis Morisette in Perth, Australia in the late 90s.
So it is particularly satisfying to hear they ripped BDS-holes at their concert last night!
Garbage front woman Shirley Manson on Tuesday forcefully rejected calls from Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) supporters to cancel their two-night gig in Israel.
“We as a band have been getting a bit of flack for coming to play Israel,” Manson told a rapt audience at the Amphi Shuni theater in Binyamina.
Manson, clad in brick-patterned tights with her pink hair pulled up in a bun, continued: “People are very, very quick to make judgments and they know nothing, necessarily, about all the facts. But we in Garbage believe completely and entirely in tolerance and kindness and respect. We believe in non-violence, we believe in compromise and we believe in discourse and intelligent debate.”
This follows Shirley’s Facebook post, clearly aimed at BDS-holes putting pressure on her and the band to stay away from Israel.
https://www.facebook.com/shirleymanson/posts/10154078218021387
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Tel Aviv, Israel . 16th of August. 2016.
As a musician I hold on to my right to travel to Israel and not be accused of denying the State of Palestine or of being on one side of the conflict over another.
This is NOT the case.
I know enough to understand that I don’t know enough about much.
I stand in the middle , hoping that peace prevails and the art of negotiation and compromise is practiced. That weapons are dropped and the killing stops.
I maintain that it is a privilege, even at times a responsibility to travel when given the opportunity to do so.To listen, to learn, to try to understand.
The conflict that exists between Palestine and Israel is multi generational and bewilderingly complex, far beyond any simplistic, broad stroke politics.
Far greater minds than mine or yours have struggled to offer up any satisfactory solutions to bring peace to this region.
In the meantime I care only about the people.
I play music because music in its purest form brings joy and an escape to fans irregardless of race, creed,sexuality, gender or economic politics .
I am interested only in the advancement and pursuit of peace, tolerance, compromise and understanding.
You can rail at me all you want. That is my position.
All Killing of Innocents is WRONG.
Practice Peace.
Love love love,
Always
Sx
There was also this exchange on Twitter:
You can read my statement on my personal Facebook page. Other than that there is nothing I can say.
— Garbage (@garbage) August 16, 2016
Shirley also apparently got a real kick out of the concert venue.
During the show, Manson marveled at the fact that they were playing in an ancient, 2nd Century BCE Roman theater. The Shuni theater was restored by the Jewish National Fund in 1986, and turned into a music venue. The experience, she said, was “nuts,” and a career highlight for the band that broke out with their eponymous EP in 1995.
https://www.facebook.com/GarbageOfficial/photos/a.252533808090811.78027.243166889027503/1272616056082576/?type=3
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Zappa Amphi Shuni, Binyamina, Israel. A 3rd Century Amphitheater built by the Romans. We played here last night and it was utterly magical. Playing it again tonight. Life is but a dream and we are all just tiny spots of light in a massive , infinite universe. Pic by @ambushinc
This is the kind of Garbage we love having in Israel. As opposed to the BDS-holes who sneak in.
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David Lange
