To members of Seanad Éireann:
On 9th
May, the Seanad received some incorrect information from Senator Paschal
Mooney. I am not suggesting that Senator Mooney spoke in bad faith, but that he
based his information - without checking the facts - on a misleading report
that appeared in The Irish Times on
4th May.
Concerning
the traditional music group Dervish's cancellation of its projected tour of
Israel, Senator Mooney claimed that "It came about as a result of
intimidation and bullying on social networks by a group in this country which,
for its own misguided reasons, believes that a cultural boycott will somehow
enhance and improve the plight of the Palestinian people."
The
"group" in question is the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and
the "misguided reasons" are the repeated calls from Palestinian civil
society since July 2005 for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
(BDS) against the Israeli state until it abides by international law. This
belated campaign is a direct consequence of the failure of Western and other
governments to impose any meaningful pressure on the Israeli state to end its
abuse of Palestinian human rights and its violations of international law and
international humanitarian law.
On
learning that Dervish planned a tour of Israel next June, the IPSC - as is
normal practice - issued an Open Letter to the group appealing to it to abide
by the cultural boycott. We furthermore asked our members and sympathisers to
make similar appeals to the group on its website, and on social media sites
such as Twitter and, in particular, Facebook. Simultaneously, I personally
approached a number of musicians who have signed the IPSC's "pledge to
boycott Israel" and asked them to intercede directly with the group.
Although I cannot name names, such private intercession took place and was
fruitful.
The result
was a statement from Dervish on the morning of 4th April in which the group
stated that "At the time we agreed to these performances we were unaware
there was a cultural boycott in place. We now feel that we do not wish to break
this boycott."
In this
statement there was NO reference to "intimidation or bullying", nor
could there have been, because it is not the policy of the IPSC to engage in
such tactics. The fourth message responding to Dervish's statement on Facebook
was from myself: "I salute you for this courageous and morally correct
decision. You will now be subject to massive defamation from Zionists and their
fellow-travellers - you should see this as proof that you have made the correct
decision, because it will reveal to you the viciousness and mendacity of
Israel's apologists."
This
prediction, unfortunately, proved all too accurate. The "avalanche of
nagativity" and "venom" to which Dervish's lead singer Cathy
Jordan subsequently referred emanated exclusively
from supporters of Israel, and included such vile accusations as "Dervish
supports the killing of Israeli children". The IPSC and other Palestinian
rights activists (including several Israeli Jews) confined themselves to
congratulating Dervish in the spirit of my message quoted above.
It is
regrettable that the Irish Times report, whether inadvertently or deliberately,
gave the impression that the abuse preceded the cancellation, and that it
emanated from Palestinian rights activists rather than from Zionists. It is
equally regrettable that Senator Mooney has chosen to repeat these allegations
before Seanad Éireann without first checking his facts.
I wish to
request that the members of the Seanad should be apprised of the true facts
concerning this issue, and that Senator Mooney's slander against the Ireland
Palestine Solidarity Campaign be withdrawn
Sincerely
-
Dr Raymond
Deane
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