x2 SYDNEY PHOTOART by Carsten Burmeister

Something stinks, is it Nick Cave?

An interesting controversy (SMH) surrounding Nick Cave, where he thinks an attempt is made to censor, bully and silence him. He went to Israel to do a couple of shows and was criticized for doing so by some fellow musicians.

Photo: Eduardo Verdugo

"On a very intuitive level I did not want to sign that [a boycott, by musicians, of Israel, on account of their Settlements policy], there was something that stunk to me about that," Cave said on Sunday.

"At the end of the day, there are two reasons why I am here. One is that I love Israel and I love Israeli people, and two is to make a principled stand against anyone who wants to censor and silence musicians."

This (below) is the one song of his I like more than any other ... 

I now have a   music page

But frankly, I think good old Nick is off with the pixies ... nothing wrong to love Israel and Israeli people, especially if you were Jewish (which he is not).

But to get this issue of protesting against Israeli Settlements confused with being censored, bullied and silenced is silly.

"I read Nick Cave's press conference statements with a mixture of sorrow, rage and disbelief," Roger Waters said, mocking Cave's accusations of censorship.

“Ok, first: Disbelief. Nick thinks this is about censorship of his music? What? Nick, with all due respect, your music is irrelevant to this issue, so is mine, so is Brian Eno’s, so is Beethoven’s, this isn’t about music, it’s about human rights.”

"What if it was your demolished home? Your invaded country? Your villages razed to the ground to build stadiums for the invaders to promote pop concerts on?

"We hurl our glasses into the fire of your arrogant unconcern, and smash our bracelets on the rock of your implacable indifference," he added.

Eno, the former Roxy Music synth player and ambient music producer, noted Cave's "generous" support for Palestinian humanitarian causes, but said the artist had fallen into Israel's "propaganda campaign".

"It's nothing to do with 'silencing' artists - a charge I find rather grating when used in a context where a few million people are permanently and grotesquely silenced.

"Israel spends hundreds of millions of dollars on [propaganda], and its side of the argument gets broadcast loud and clear ... Who do the Palestinians have to present their side? If you ask them, they'll say 'BDS'," Eno added.

What is BDS? The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement works to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law. There's also Artists For Palestine.

The BDS movement has drawn support from the likes of U2, Snoop Dogg, Bjork, Lauryn Hill and Elvis Costello, who all cancelled gigs in Israel.

Where do I stand on the issue? I fully support BDS's stance and Artists For Palestine's (more); I like this statements by Rogers:

"We hurl our glasses into the fire of your arrogant unconcern, and smash our bracelets on the rock of your implacable indifference."

The state of Israel is legal. It was sanctioned in 1948 by the UN resolution 181 (II). That resolution also called for a second state to be established - that of Palestine ... for the Palestinians. Israel resolutely puts barriers into place and - furthermore - keeps establishing illegal Settlements on occupied territories. Read all about it ...

... I have many blogs on the issue of Israeli Settlements and The Palestinian's plight ... here is a breakdown:

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