Coldplay in Israel

[Batman]

I honestly don't get why fans are worried about the band's safety for this particular concert!

 

*CONCERNING INTENSIFIES*

 

 

dood...

 

I guess because of that particular issue here:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2016

 

and the general bombings and terroristic attacks there.

[Safy]

Well, the band has denied it all now, but, when I first heard of it, I thought it will be a nice gesture from Coldplay if it's really a joint concert with a peace-promoting message. Wasn't worried about the safety (the whole world is unsafe at the moment). However, I was worried that it would be an unrealistic endeavor given the fact that if it's on Israeli territory, Palestinian fans may not be let in at the border. I gather from news reports that its rather arbitrary who is let in at those border checkpoints and who isn't (or who is left to die). Human rights organizations have been criticizing the situation for years; do you think anyone would make an exception now just because Coldplay is coming ?

 

Anyway, another reason to get worked up at the state the world is currently in, the more you think about it... And now another idiot many miles away wants to build one more wall that separates human beings right when the world needs the opposite of walls :broken_heart:

 

@iranaway hi there, I sent you a private message a few weeks ago, but don't know if you have read it yet. I am not at ease with the new changes in the forums & feel a bit lost

 

back to the topic, I was highly sceptical of the whole *peace concert* from the beginning. I haven't seen any photos of Chris or Phil with any Palestinians during their November visit.

I just think that this is gonna be a normal concert/ part of the tour, & not open for Palestinians.

Since most fans are concerned about the band safety, this announcement will hopefully ease their worries.

& no matter who objects this idea or disagrees with the band meddling in a political conflict & clearly favouring one side, it will happen anyway. That is how things are in real life.

 

Apartheid? Seriously? Please go learn history.... There are problems with the Palestinians I don't deny it but ask them if they want maybe to move to Surya or Iran? Or Iraq? And I support the left wing in Israel...

 

Sent from my LG-H815 using Coldplaying mobile app

 

I am sorry. I didn't go to learn history but went to read the meaning of apartheid in the dictionary & it goes like this: "the former political system in South Africa in which only white people had full political rights and other people, especially black people were forced to live away from white people, go to separate schools, etc."

I guess this is a mild representation of what happens now.

also why would Palestinians want to leave their homeland? In fact, there are millions of Palestinian refugees in refugee camps in Syria & Iraq & want to go home but are denied the right to return by the regime.

 

*CONCERNING INTENSIFIES*

 

 

dood...

 

I guess because of that particular issue here:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2016

 

and the general bombings and terroristic attacks there.

 

hi Thalia, it's been a while since I last read one of your posts.

I think you are over-estimating the danger of these medieval rockets, they are mostly useless & act as a sound bomb. The link you sent me actually says most of them did not cause any harm. Don't worry, Israelis know well how to protect themselves & the people they want to be protected.

Bombings & shelling occur on the Palestinian territories which the band will mostly not bother to visit.

[Batman]

[

hi Thalia, it's been a while since I last read one of your posts.

I think you are over-estimating the danger of these medieval rockets, they are mostly useless & act as a sound bomb. The link you sent me actually says most of them did not cause any harm. Don't worry, Israelis know well how to protect themselves & the people they want to be protected.

Bombings & shelling occur on the Palestinian territories which the band will mostly not bother to visit.

Sup! I've been away for a long time but now I'm back somewhat, ayy.

 

Yeah but I can imagine it's still a little but unsettling for everybody involved if there are rockets (no matter how craptastic) flying in the sky :I

[Safy]

Sup! I've been away for a long time but now I'm back somewhat, ayy.

 

Yeah but I can imagine it's still a little but unsettling for everybody involved if there are rockets (no matter how craptastic) flying in the sky :I

 

glad you are back. I have been away myself these past months.

 

your comment made me smile. I can assure you this won't happen. there will be fireworks just like any other concert. maybe the IDF F16 will fly in the sky & target some Palestinian houses to commemorate this moment, but that will not matter to anyone as usual :innocent:

[I ran away]

but ask them if they want maybe to move

I am not the person you addressed, but I have some thoughts on this to share. First, why should the Palestinians move away if this is their homeland ? It's funny that this is always expected of Palestinians. I've never heard anyone say "Hey French people, move out of France cause we wanna live here now", lol. And I really wonder why it always seems to have to be either/or, why it is not possible for two peoples to coexist peacefully, work together and share the resources they have instead of this either/or thinking. Second, do you know how many Palestinian refugees there are, most of them in the surrounding countries such as Lebanon ? 6.5 million in the world. Entire generations have grown up in refugee camps... Third, you can't just move somewhere as you please, checkpoints etc. ?! There is a reason why Desmond Tutu called the Gaza Strip the world's largest open-air prison....

 

About the band safety question, frankly, I'd be much more concerned if they were to play in the Palestinian territories, because they might fall victim to some random bombing by the Israeli airforce, which unlike the random crappy rocket attacks from Palestine actually kills many civilians on a regular basis.

 

I hope one day there will either be a peaceful all-inclusive state or a peaceful two-state coexistence along borders/area demarcations that both states are comfortable with. But this seems like a far-fetched dream, unfortunately.

[gai]

about the band's denial of the peace concerts, don't think we have heard the last of it. there will be "some" coldplay event there unless it gets cancelled due to any number of reasons. chris and phil can't have been scouting the dead sea for days for nothing. but the peace concert concept sounded very improbable and pretty impossible.

 

i knew any coldplay involvement in this conflict area will be messy. a lot of fans will be unhappy/disappointed no matter where they played, in whatever involvement it was. when they posted the pro palestine video during viva there was a lot of negativity around that too. whatever they are doing right now, let's give them a chance to officially announce it first, and not jump the gun. feel like the coldplay a couple of eras back wouldn't do what they are doing now, but i feel like coldplay's black and white world has turned more grey in the recent years. i feel it myself and think it is part of growing up. the way you think about the world definitely changes. even with the questionable, more commercialized things coldplay have done lately, they still don't seem to be morally bankrupt enough to try to milk a conflict zone to their commercial benefit. light years different, but they played a free gig in india when they could have actually played as part of their own tour and charge loads of money. there are plenty of things coldplay do for the good of the people. have a feeling coldplay will try to do something that encapsulates both sides. they are shouting from the rooftops about love for everybody after all. if that fails or is not the case, we'll see..

 

and about the security concerns, we are talking about one of the most conflicted areas in the world. if a coldplay concert happens, it will be highly publicized. people have strong convictions around this issue. it is usually a bad idea.

[oldiefan]

Lower than low are the following "comments" or articles, of which I have unfortunately seen many on Twitter:

 

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/314721/coldplay-to-unite-israel-palestine-in-hatred-of-shitty-music/

Well - you've just got to laugh at pathetic comments like that. :rolleyes: :joy:

[oldiefan]

Sup! I've been away for a long time but now I'm back somewhat, ayy.

 

Yeah but I can imagine it's still a little but unsettling for everybody involved if there are rockets (no matter how craptastic) flying in the sky :I

Good to see you back - your comments have been missed.

[AMDB9]

Remember the talk about Birds possibly referencing the Israel/Palestine split? Could that have something to do with this?

[Nie]

Remember the talk about Birds possibly referencing the Israel/Palestine split? Could that have something to do with this?

I've never seen that mentioned.

[I ran away]

I've never seen that mentioned.

I have heard that too in the early days of the album release. Chris said it in some radio interview, I think. There may be something in the Birds thread about it.

[Nie]

I have heard that too in the early days of the album release. Chris said it in some radio interview, I think. There may be something in the Birds thread about it.

I vaguely remember something but didn't know it was about the Israeli/Palestine issue. Thought it was more in general, including Syria...

[I ran away]

I vaguely remember something but didn't know it was about the Israeli/Palestine issue. Thought it was more in general, including Syria...

https://www.coldplaying.com/forum/index.php?threads/birds-song-and-video-out-now-jan-2-pg-17-for-vid.104998/page-10

Unfortunately doesnt have the original source

[Nie]

Ah ok.

If I remember well he also mentioned somewhere that the line "Guilty of nothing but geography" was about living on the "right or wrong" side of the world.

So I think I got confused by that.

[Safy]

I vaguely remember something but didn't know it was about the Israeli/Palestine issue. Thought it was more in general, including Syria...

 

here is the link http://www.elmundo.es/papel/cultura/2015/12/03/565d82ffe2704e722b8b45c7.html

 

it is in Spanish, but what I understood is that Birds is about a Palestinian/ Israeli falling in love & that he is sure happens all the time

At the time I wondered what happens all the time & where did Chris came up with this myth! It is almost as stupid as claiming that victims fall in love with their rapists all the time.

 

about the band's denial of the peace concerts, don't think we have heard the last of it. there will be "some" coldplay event there unless it gets cancelled due to any number of reasons. chris and phil can't have been scouting the dead sea for days for nothing. but the peace concert concept sounded very improbable and pretty impossible.

 

i knew any coldplay involvement in this conflict area will be messy. a lot of fans will be unhappy/disappointed no matter where they played, in whatever involvement it was. when they posted the pro palestine video during viva there was a lot of negativity around that too. whatever they are doing right now, let's give them a chance to officially announce it first, and not jump the gun. feel like the coldplay a couple of eras back wouldn't do what they are doing now, but i feel like coldplay's black and white world has turned more grey in the recent years. i feel it myself and think it is part of growing up. the way you think about the world definitely changes. even with the questionable, more commercialized things coldplay have done lately, they still don't seem to be morally bankrupt enough to try to milk a conflict zone to their commercial benefit. light years different, but they played a free gig in india when they could have actually played as part of their own tour and charge loads of money. there are plenty of things coldplay do for the good of the people. have a feeling coldplay will try to do something that encapsulates both sides. they are shouting from the rooftops about love for everybody after all. if that fails or is not the case, we'll see..

 

and about the security concerns, we are talking about one of the most conflicted areas in the world. if a coldplay concert happens, it will be highly publicized. people have strong convictions around this issue. it is usually a bad idea.

 

I like your logical explanation but I disagree with some points:

- About the safety issue, there have been major artists (the likes of Madonna & James Blunt if I remember correctly) performing there with no safety concerns. This is why I don't understand why fans' main concern is safety.

 

- "even with the questionable, more commercialized things coldplay have done lately, they still don't seem to be morally bankrupt enough to try to milk a conflict zone to their commercial benefit."

ahem! the way the news initially reported was that the band was offered a 5 million dollar deal to perform at a site called Masada, Chris & Phil went with promoters to the site & agreed. What they have denied is that is a peace concert & that it will include Palestinians.

I somehow feel that this talk about the peace concert was a testing balloon to see the fans' reaction about the subject. seeing how most of them cared about the safety, announcing the original plan will be easier.

 

-"they are shouting from the rooftops about love for everybody after all. if that fails or is not the case, we'll see.." Not everybody it seems. Palestinians are excluded, but many fans trying to defend the band because they love them & they can't see them do any wrong. they can be very good & kind people, but still make a stupid decision just for money.

 

Watch this space when the band announce the aforementioned concert. It would be ironic watching how fans will blindly follow & support them.

 

I personally think that this concert idea is shameful, & I think that it is extremely hypocritical of the band to claim they support refugees & urge fans to Stand as one with them but act as if there aren't millions of refugees denied the right to return because of the occupation regime they will be supporting!

 

The only way that would make this concert a good idea & not to deny kind peaceful occupiers & settlers from seeing their favorite artists playing is that the concert ticket revenues will go to fund UNRWA or any organization supporting Palestinian refugees. Coldplay have already their 5 million, concert promoters have already shown the world their safe state & boosted its image. At least by this, the concert goers will not be pro-genocide & apartheid ( I hope).

 

Can Coldplay achieve this? there is a 99% chance they won't, but let us wait & see..

[gai]

the way the news initially reported was that the band was offered a 5 million dollar deal to perform at a site called Masada, Chris & Phil went with promoters to the site & agreed.

you are taking tabloid gossip/unsubstantiated articles as gospel to make your points. besides, if the original deal was to play for promoter money, why the scouting? they haven't scouted any other places they played for money. they only scout locations for very special events. what that may be, we'll have to wait and see. and if safety is no concern, again, why would they spend multiple days scouting a remote location? there is more to this story than money grabbing and i don't think it's "taking sides" as you think it is.

Not everybody it seems. Palestinians are excluded

again, haven't coldplay supported the palestinians in the past? have they said anything, or actually done anything to show that they are taking sides? and no, scouting a location in israel by itself doesn't count. and how would it be "showing love for everybody" if they were to boycott israelis. that's contradictory. what i am saying is, coldplay seem to be going the more hippy path of "we love everybody. love is the best way to make things better". whether that is realistic or effective is another question.

 

but these are just observations. we don't know the inner workings of the band. we'll just have to wait and see.

[Captain Crieff]

ahem! the way the news initially reported was that the band was offered a 5 million dollar deal to perform at a site called Masada, Chris & Phil went with promoters to the site & agreed. What they have denied is that is a peace concert & that it will include Palestinians.

I somehow feel that this talk about the peace concert was a testing balloon to see the fans' reaction about the subject. seeing how most of them cared about the safety, announcing the original plan will be easier.

 

-"they are shouting from the rooftops about love for everybody after all. if that fails or is not the case, we'll see.." Not everybody it seems. Palestinians are excluded, but many fans trying to defend the band because they love them & they can't see them do any wrong. they can be very good & kind people, but still make a stupid decision just for money.

 

Watch this space when the band announce the aforementioned concert. It would be ironic watching how fans will blindly follow & support them.

 

I personally think that this concert idea is shameful, & I think that it is extremely hypocritical of the band to claim they support refugees & urge fans to Stand as one with them but act as if there aren't millions of refugees denied the right to return because of the occupation regime they will be supporting!

 

The only way that would make this concert a good idea & not to deny kind peaceful occupiers & settlers from seeing their favorite artists playing is that the concert ticket revenues will go to fund UNRWA or any organization supporting Palestinian refugees. Coldplay have already their 5 million, concert promoters have already shown the world their safe state & boosted its image. At least by this, the concert goers will not be pro-genocide & apartheid ( I hope).

 

Can Coldplay achieve this? there is a 99% chance they won't, but let us wait & see..

How do we know they're not donating the 5 million to charity though? I feel like it's a bit too early to judge.

 

I see some of your points re the hypocrisy but to be honest I struggle to see why performing in Israel is by definition always wrong. I don't support the government of my country, many Americans don't support their government, lots of Israelis don't either. And I'm pretty sure a large majority of Coldplay's fanbase in Israel belongs to that category. I really hope I'm not being too optimistic.

 

The only thing I struggle with (and ok it's not a minor thing) is that a concert there would support Israel's economy & that Israel can use it to show the world how great

they are. That's wrong, very wrong. Coldplay is a huge band and the #hype this concert would create would potentially spread a wrong image. But still, a lot depends on what they do with the money. For now, I still trust the band and I don't think they'd take the 5 million home and do nothing with it. We know they're decent people with brains, don't we? Imagine the slap in N*tanyahu's face if they openly donate everything to the organisation you mentioned.

 

For now I can't see them doing this just for the money. That's unlike them.

[Safy]

How do we know they're not donating the 5 million to charity though? I feel like it's a bit too early to judge.

 

 

we don't know if they are going to donate the money because it is just a suggestion I came up in attempt to please all parties & I don't think they actually read the forums to read it o_O

 

 

I see some of your points re the hypocrisy but to be honest I struggle to see why performing in Israel is by definition always wrong. I don't support the government of my country, many Americans don't support their government, lots of Israelis don't either. And I'm pretty sure a large majority of Coldplay's fanbase in Israel belongs to that category. I really hope I'm not being too optimistic.

 

 

your comparison doesn't seem correct. There is a huge difference between performing in the U.S. for Americans & performing for American soldiers occupying Iraq. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not a conflict between 2 states fighting over borders, it is an occupation. Occupiers occupy the land, massacre its people & force them out of their homes, destroy them, then build settlements & reside there. Palestinians are being oppressed & discriminated in every way you can imagine.

you can compare them performing in Israel as if they were performing in apartheid South Africa in the 1970s or 80s for the white minority. There was a movement for boycotting the regime there at the time including musicians, even supported by the UN

2 December 1968 — The General Assembly requested all States and organisations "to suspend cultural, educational, sporting and other exchanges with the racist regime and with organisations or institutions in South Africa which practice apartheid.

X

 

Cultural boycott is a thing that wasn't invented just now, it actually had an effect to end this discriminating regime in South Africa. When politics fail & UN resolutions are either vetoed or remain as ink on paper because the powerful are forcing facts on the ground, it is then the responsibility of civilians to do what they can to make a change. A peaceful means to do so is boycotting, whether economical or cultural

There are already musicians joining this movement & calling for the cultural boycott of Israel, & Coldplay can't be totally oblivious of it.

www.vice.com/read/musicians-should-boycott-israel-until-palestinians-are-free-1117

 

 

 

The only thing I struggle with (and ok it's not a minor thing) is that a concert there would support Israel's economy & that Israel can use it to show the world how great

they are. That's wrong, very wrong. Coldplay is a huge band and the #hype this concert would create would potentially spread a wrong image. But still, a lot depends on what they do with the money. For now, I still trust the band and I don't think they'd take the 5 million home and do nothing with it. We know they're decent people with brains, don't we? Imagine the slap in N*tanyahu's face if they openly donate everything to the organisation you mentioned.

 

For now I can't see them doing this just for the money. That's unlike them.

 

I wish I were optimistic just like you, but living in this side of the world made me learn that worst case scenario always occurs, sometimes reality is even worse..I would nothing more than to be proven wrong, but all the signs are not encouraging :(

 

 

you are taking tabloid gossip/unsubstantiated articles as gospel to make your points. besides, if the original deal was to play for promoter money, why the scouting? they haven't scouted any other places they played for money. they only scout locations for very special events. what that may be, we'll have to wait and see. and if safety is no concern, again, why would they spend multiple days scouting a remote location? there is more to this story than money grabbing and i don't think it's "taking sides" as you think it is.

 

 

so maybe I got it wrong, but the gossip I mentioned was actually the promoters words at the time. Who says they were scouting places? both Phil & Chris went to one concert venue (Masada) with promoters. It is a venue where other concerts have been performed. The rest was Chris hanging out with friends/ fans, visiting historical sites & buying rings from jewelry shop. Unless you saw something else, he was just mixing work with fun/ tourism. He has friends there & the band have already collaborated with Israeli artists/ directors recently, so they don't believe in the cultural boycotting.

I can't tell what they are thinking, & I hate to be the one presuming bad things. If I did not care about them that much, I would not even bother to write or argue. You say they are growing, & I hate to see them grow into hypocrites who advocate one thing & work against it, specially when it directly affects me.

 

again, haven't coldplay supported the palestinians in the past? have they said anything, or actually done anything to show that they are taking sides? and no, scouting a location in israel by itself doesn't count. and how would it be "showing love for everybody" if they were to boycott israelis. that's contradictory. what i am saying is, coldplay seem to be going the more hippy path of "we love everybody. love is the best way to make things better". whether that is realistic or effective is another question.

 

but these are just observations. we don't know the inner workings of the band. we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Actually I had seen signs of them leaning towards Israelis for a few years now, but I ignored them till I saw Chris & Phil there & read the concert rumours :broken_heart: you think it is for a special event, then I hope it won't be an event to support Israelis against terrorism or sthg :lol:

I wrote my opinion about the boycotting movement before, but let me tell that boycotting Israelis does not necessarily mean you hate them or it is contradictory to love everyone. If you have a friend & he tells you that he is gonna take a gun & kill some people, you won't applaud him & say you will support, you will do whatever you can in order to stop them from doing wrong.

 

Sorry for the rant. I actually dislike the fact that I had to talk politics in a music forum, but it's all Coldplay's fault.

[Captain Crieff]

we don't know if they are going to donate the money because it is just a suggestion I came up in attempt to please all parties & I don't think they actually read the forums to read it o_O

We're talking about Coldplay, the band that's been donating 10% of their incomes to charity for years, they don't need this forum to realise 'hey, maybe we could donate this to charity'. Again, they're decent people with brains.

 

your comparison doesn't seem correct. There is a huge difference between performing in the U.S. for Americans & performing for American soldiers occupying Iraq. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not a conflict between 2 states fighting over borders, it is an occupation. Occupiers occupy the land, massacre its people & force them out of their homes, destroy them, then build settlements & reside there. Palestinians are being oppressed & discriminated in every way you can imagine.

you can compare them performing in Israel as if they were performing in apartheid South Africa in the 1970s or 80s for the white minority. There was a movement for boycotting the regime there at the time including musicians, even supported by the UN

 

Cultural boycott is a thing that wasn't invented just now, it actually had an effect to end this discriminating regime in South Africa. When politics fail & UN resolutions are either vetoed or remain as ink on paper because the powerful are forcing facts on the ground, it is then the responsibility of civilians to do what they can to make a change. A peaceful means to do so is boycotting, whether economical or cultural

There are already musicians joining this movement & calling for the cultural boycott of Israel, & Coldplay can't be totally oblivious of it.

www.vice.com/read/musicians-should-boycott-israel-until-palestinians-are-free-1117

That's not really what I meant, I just think a big majority of Israeli Coldplay fans aren't dickheads who support the Isreali government but they can't do much about it. (I'm by no means an expert) But again I do see the problem with a production of this size playing in Israel. It's just not so black-and-white in my opinion.

[Batman]

Maybe Coldplay just avoids playing in countries with big religious conflicts. Because no matter what you'll do there as a big global band, you're 100% stepping on someone's feet and will get all kinds of religious hate afterwards.

[AMDB9]

[MEDIA=twitter]835174486169305089[/MEDIA]

Mobile Link: https://twitter.com/coldplaying/status/835174486169305089

 

 

[MEDIA=twitter]835175718896222209[/MEDIA]

Mobile Link: https://twitter.com/coldplaying/status/835175718896222209

 

 

[MEDIA=twitter]835176553919221761[/MEDIA]

Mobile Link: https://twitter.com/coldplaying/status/835176553919221761

[AMDB9]

[MEDIA=instagram]BQ5wG4cBGk7[/MEDIA]

Mobile Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ5wG4cBGk7/

[I ran away]

News !

 

[MEDIA=twitter]835248748905263106[/MEDIA]

Mobile Link: https://twitter.com/coldplay/status/835248748905263106

[Nie]

I just love that picture of those 2. [emoji4]

[Captain Crieff]

Interesting plot twist. I just knew those rumous couldn't be right.

The weird thing is that there are pictures of Chris meeting with people who apparently are promotors according to their instagram accounts (pics from months ago though). Hmm.