Candlelight Vigil In Downtown LA
Local Peace and Human Rights Group to Hold Silent Candlelight Vigils Outside the Israel Philharmonic Concerts at Disney
Hall Monday, Feb. 5th, and Tuesday, Feb. 6th in Downtown LA
Women in Black-LA Join Launch of International Campaign Calling for Sanctions and Cultural Boycott to End Israeli
Apartheid in Palestine Inspired by Worldwide Movement That Helped End Apartheid in South Africa
WHAT: Silent Candlelight Vigil to Support a Boycott of the Israel Philharmonic and an End to Israeli Apartheid in
Palestine
WHEN: Monday, February 5th - 6:30 to 8:00 PM Tuesday, February 6th - 6:30 to 8:00 PM
WHERE: Outside the Disney Hall 1st Street & Grand, Downtown LA
WHY: International and Palestinian human rights leaders have asked supporters worldwide to begin cultural and economic
boycotts, along with divestment and sanction campaigns to end Israel's Occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East
Jerusalem and to end Israeli Apartheid in Palestine.
This effort is modeled after the successful worldwide boycott and divestment campaign that helped end Apartheid in South
Africa.
When they learned that the Israel Philharmonic would be stopping at Disney Hall while on their U.S. tour, Women in
Black-LA joined the international campaign by launching their call for a Boycott of the orchestra, after first writing a
letter to the Israel Philharmonic asking them to publicly oppose the occupation.
Nearly 1,000 groups and prominent individuals, from former government officials to artists and activists, all over the
world, signed the letter.
One of the signers, Silvia Tennebaum, step-daughter of Israel Philharmonic co-founder, William Steinberg, wrote: "My
hope is that the orchestra will remember the suffering endured by the Jews in Germany and Eastern Europe and, in their
memory, not implicitly support an occupation that seeks to strangle and displace a whole people."
EXCERPT from letter to the Israel Philharmonic from WIB-LA:
"Imagine that the Israel Philharmonic's denouncement of the Occupation and call for peace and justice will have a huge
positive ripple effect on Israeli society. Imagine a future where Israelis and Palestinians share the resources of their
land with respect and appreciation for each other's humanity, cultures and needs. Maybe it's the artists and musicians
who will finally bring peace and justice to Israel, Palestine and the region."
"When we didn't hear from the Israel Philharmonic," said Carol Smith, a member of WIB-LA and the National Lawyers' Guild
Los Angeles Chapter. "We wrote to the management of the L.A. Philharmonic asking them to cancel the performance or make
an announcement before each performance, calling for an end to the occupation."
"Now we are taking our protest to the audience at Disney Hall. Cultural and sports boycotts were a crucial part of the
worldwide campaign that finally ended Apartheid in South Africa, and we call for a similar boycott to end Israeli
Apartheid."
"President Carter made it possible for us to go public with the comparison to Apartheid," said WIB-LA member Greta
Berlin. "Many of us worked in the anti-Apartheid movement and know how effective the cultural and sports boycotts were."
"We felt that because Zubin Mehta, the conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, refers to it as 'Israel's flagship,' the
orchestra serves as a representative of Israel's government and policies. On its website (www.ipo.co.il), the Orchestra
talks about its role in playing for Israel's soldiers in the field and in celebrating Israel's military victories."
President Carter writes in his new best-selling book, Palestine, Peace, Not Apartheid,
"Israel's current policy in the territories is a system of Apartheid, with two peoples occupying the same land but
completely separated from each other, with Israel totally dominant and suppressing violence by depriving Palestinians of
their basic human rights. Israel's continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary
obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land."
WHO: Women in Black is an international movement against violence and for justice.It was founded in Israel in 1988 to
oppose the Israeli Occupation.
Women in Black-Los Angeles, founded in 2001, is made up of women and men from diverse faiths and national origins
including Palestinians, Israelis and Americans, Jews, Muslims and Christians.
A number of members have made multiple visits to the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Gaza and East
Jerusalem.
Please find a copy Women in Black-Los Angeles' letters to the Israel Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestras below and on the website at http://www.wib-la.org .
Also find below Los Angeles Times 1/27/07 article: The Music Center area becomes a protest site Groups intend to voice
concerns, timed to appearances there by Mexico's Vicente Fox and Israel Philharmonic.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-protest27jan27,1,7420749.story
The vigils are endorsed by the A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition, Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid (CEIA), and Middle East Peace
Fellowship of Southern California.
Ends