Asmik Grigorian

Last night at the Frankfurt opera, I had the great pleasure of hearing the wonderful Asmik Grigorian, as Manon. Puccini... I know... not normally my thing. Having already heard Grigorian, as an amazing Salome (Salzburg, 2018) and Marie (Wozzeck, Salzburg, 2017), I went to Manon Lescaut, because of Grigorian, and I am glad that I did.

Joshua Guerrero was a very good des Grieux.

Wie redet Deutschland mit Juden!?

I will be giving a lecture about the problematic discourse in Germany relating to anything connected to Jews, Israel and Antisemitism.

If you are in Freiburg on 7 November, come to Theater Freiburg and hear Wie redet Deutschland mit Juden!?

More information at the theatre’s website.

Israel Criticism – The trap of anti-Semitism allegations

A paper of mine “Israel criticism – The trap of anti-Semitism allegations” appeared in the autumn edition of conflict & communication online.  

Discussions about Israel, and Israeli politics, pertaining to the Israel-Palestine question, often lead to the critic – especially if the language used is harsh – being accused of Antisemitism. The purpose of introducing accusations of antisemitism is the derailment of the argument. Such discussions frequently follow a regular pattern, in which critics find themselves on the defensive and the debate turns from one about Israel to one about the critic’s alleged Antisemitism. In the interest of honesty and to facilitate factuality and sobriety in debates about Israel, the paper suggests that any personal prejudice or motivation, which a critic may or may not harbour for their arguments, be disregarded.

The paper, albeit in German, can be read HERE.

Istanbul

I recently flew through Istanbul’s new airport. Istanbul, it turns out, evidently knows how to clean, when it sets its mind to it. One could almost eat from the shiny floors of the airport. Well, if that is what you like.

Between two flights, I had a few hours at the airport, and I spent most of the time unsuccessfully trying to connect to the internet. The system seemed to be overwhelmed by the numbers of travellers going through this ambitious airport. Had I, however, felt the urge to shop, all the luxury brands are on offer. Then again, trying to find an English speaker at the coffee shop, was more difficult.

I saw quite a few men with scalps, that looked as if they had gone through a torture chamber. Self-flagellation? Not quite. Turkey does a brisk export business in hair-transplant services and these young (well, young is a relative term) men were travelling back to their home countries in their post-operative state. I suppose that it is, after all, a sort of self-flagellation.

Talking of self-flagellation, I also noticed large groups of orthodox Jews, travelling back to Israel after a pilgrimage to their Rabbi’s grave – Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s grave in Uman, a small town, three hours’ drive from Kiev. This has become very popular in recent years and tens of thousands of Rabbi Nachman’s devotees spend thousands of dollars to participate in this idolatrous happening. They go to Uman to pray, as they believe that prostrating themselves on the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who died in 1810, will spiritually enrich them and solve all their problems. Israeli press has juicily reported that devotion to local prostitutes is also part of the attraction for some pilgrims. One Haredi who has been to the city dozens of times claims that the prostitution is controlled by Israeli crime bosses in league with Ukrainian pimps. 

Halle – Appropriation

Several friends have asked me why I haven’t written anything after the killing of two people near the Halle synagogue, by a native-German, right-wing extremist. He tried to penetrate the full synagogue, fortunately without success. And yet, he managed to kill two people in the street. In his message, the killer explained that feminism was to blame for low birth rates in the west, which he said had led to mass immigration. He added that he was a holocaust denier and said “the Jew” was the root of these problems.

A lot has and still is being written about the incident. Most of what one reads about the killing, be it in the printed media, or on social media, is crap. I am not sure why the death of two people should have so much more impact – calls for action, for change, vigils, flowers, candles and public tears wherever you look – than the underlying, unattractive and extremely worrying, right-wing hatred that is being promoted in Germany and in many other countries. But that is the way public sentiment works. 

It has all the required ingredients to shock: Jews, killing, synagogue, Yom Kippur and Nazi propaganda. And yet,

is it serious for a senior journalist to headline her commentary with “The deadly danger of being a Jew in Germany” or for an intelligent Jewish writer to talk about Germany, as “a country where hatred for those who are perceived to be different slides effortlessly from a tick on the election ballot to genocide”?

Some take advantage of this incident and go much further, to advance their usual agenda. One, who has shown the greatest Chutzpah, was Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of the Axel Springer media concern (Die Welt, Bild). In his article about Halle, he lists various incidents, in which immigrants were involved in recent years and moves on to demand more immigration control. Hallo, Mr. Döpfner, the Halle killer is one of yours, no import. With his writing, Döpfner blatantly promotes the right-wing AfD party. He does not tell people to vote AfD but fosters the fears and thoughts that bring voters to this despicable party.

Promoting hatred kills.

Azerbaijan I

My first impression of Baku was its architecture. It may now be better known for the contemporary architecture, buildings erected in recent years, but what struck me first were the many impressive buildings, built in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The oil boom in Baku brought money, demand for housing and created oil barons who had money and wanted to show it off. They had their mansions built on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

The country continues to benefit from oil money, or at least some in the country evidently do… and so they continue to build…

The Carpet Museum: Outside and Inside

The Carpet Museum

And the oil pumps keep at it, seemingly everywhere...

Azerbaijan II – Zaha Hadid

The late Zaha Hadid, was the architect of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre. Human rights groups had criticised the project, because of the eviction by force of families who had lived in the area. But a judge on the panel that awarded Hadid the London Design Museum’s 2014 Design of the Year Award, waxed lyrical "It is as pure and sexy as Marilyn's blown skirt." So there.

Here’s the sexy skirt and its creator:

This is not the first of Zaha Hadid’s buildings, to have been scandal-ridden. When asked about the 500 Indians and 382 Nepalese migrant workers who have reportedly died in preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the architect behind the  stadium responded: "I have nothing to do with the workers. I think that's an issue the government – if there's a problem – should pick up. Hopefully, these things will be resolved." There were problems in connection with a development in China as well.

But then again, architects often get their really big, exciting and most profitable projects from big money and powerful men, sometimes those wielding absolute power.

Azerbaijan III – the Cult

The second thing that impressed me, was the personality cult. The current President is Ilham Aliyev. His wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, is the Vice-President. His predecessor was his late father, Heydar Aliyev.

Wherever you go, you are greeted by big billboards with the late President’s picture. Baku’s international airport is named after Heydar Aliyev, as is the gigantic mosque, the country’s sports and exhibition centre, and the impressive cultural centre built by Zaha Hadid. 

Azerbaijan IV – Armenia

Wikipedia has a special article on Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan. Indeed, one cannot avoid the deep hatred that is not only the official government line, but also widespread.

Azerbaijan’s government talks of genocide.

 

Azerbaijan V – Walls and Gates

If you have a property, you erect a wall around it, and you impress with really big gates.

Azerbaijan VI – Friendliness

I do not recall ever visiting a country, where virtually everyone that I spoke with, was friendly and even very friendly. That in itself, would be a reason to re-visit Azerbaijan. The trips into the countryside were not very interesting. Baku is vibrant and the streets are full and cheerful. It is a Muslim country that comes over as quite secular. It seemed that most of the women with full face cover, were tourists. Interestingly, most of the tourists that I saw were either Saudis or Israelis. The guide who showed us around, was very eager to display his knowledge of Hebrew. I expect that he does the same with Arabic, when he has Saudi clients.