December 7, 2011 | 3:13 pm

Did Israel exploit Amy Winehouse?

Posted by Lauren Bottner, Hollywood Jew contributor

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Israel Anti-Drug Authority admitted to exploiting singer Amy Winehouse in their campaign and have issued an official apology according to the Jerusalem Post. 

Following the singer’s death in August, the anti-drug authority had launched a campaign with a tagline of “it’s really uncool to die at age 27”, referring to multiple celebrities that passed away at that age including Winehouse. 

Upon receiving news that Winehouse’s death wasn’t due to drugs as well as numerous complaints from Winehouse fans, the Authority apologized for its “cynical use of her death…we are also sorry for exploiting her death for the advertising campaign” said Ya’ir Geller to JP.

For past Winehouse coverage visit Hollywood Jew:
Jewish chanteuse Amy Winehouse found dead at 27

Drugs aren’t the answer to Amy Winehouse’s death

Family of singer Amy Winehouse: Give us space to grieve

December 7, 2011 | 3:01 pm

Israeli author ousted from panel

Posted by Lauren Bottner, Hollywood Jew contributor

Israeli author Moshe Sakal was deemed “not crucial” to a panel discussion on the Arab Spring at a literary conference in Marseille and was kicked out of the roundtable discussion according to Haaretz.  The request to remove Sakal came from the Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish who said he had “ no problem with Israeli participants, so long as he didn’t have to sit with any of them.”

Sakal was accused of expelling Darwish from his home, saying “the Jewish-Arabs particularly hate the Palestinians,” reported Haaretz.  Upon leaving the conference, Sakal commented that there were “a lot of hecklers. People were very upset.”

 

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December 6, 2011 | 1:47 pm

Israel-Iran relations blur line between art and politics at India film festival

Posted by Danielle Berrin

Art is often seen as a bridge between cultures, but a recent event at the International Film Festival of India proves it can be used as a wedge and a weapon—which is exactly how it went when Iran prohibited one of its citizens, the filmmaker Tahmineh Milani, from sitting on a jury panel with an Israeli.

After Danish (Jewish) filmmaker Susanne Bier resigned her post on the festival’s jury for reasons that are unclear, festival programmers replaced her with Israeli director Dan Wolman. But that didn’t sit well among some elements in Iran who reportedly pressured a resistant Milani to step down.
 
“We are not politicians, and we have no problem working together,” Milani told the Times of India, according to a report in Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. “Cinema is not bound by political boundaries; its appeal is universal.”

But an authoritarian regime pays no mind to boundaries—political, artistic or otherwise—and the harshness and intensity of the criticism at home forced Milani to step down. According to reports, the festival cited Milani’s father’s deteriorating health as the reason for her departure, but anyone with a semblance of media proficiency knows it was likely the Iranian regime that stopped her.

In a letter that Milani sent to the Iranian news agency Fars following her withdrawal, she commented, “None of the jury members attending the international festivals are representatives of their country. These jury members are different from athletes who are sent to represent their countries.”

“I still cannot believe why my presence as the jury member beside the independent filmmaker who himself disapproves of his country’s politics provoked such widespread criticism by some in Iran,” Milani said.

Whitewashing Wolman’s presence by depicting him as a critic of the Israeli government didn’t seem to help. An increasingly hostile and increasingly nuclear Iran has raised tensions between the two countries to a boiling point, not to mention, complicated the relationship between Israel and its closest ally, the United States.

During a recent appearance at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta back-pedaled on American assurances to support Israel in the event of a military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Following a speech in which Panetta said unequivocally that he “would like to underscore one thing that has stayed constant over the past three years of [the Obama] administration” is “[t]he determination of the United States to safeguard Israel’s security. And that commitment will not change.”

But moments later, when he was asked by Kenneth Pollack, senior fellow at the Saban Center, how long a military attack on Iran might postpone its nuclear program, he did not give the impression that he believes a military attack would be very successful.

“(A)t best it might postpone it maybe one, possibly two years, ” Panetta said, adding that his main concern is that a military attack could negatively impact the U.S.

“[T]he United States would obviously be blamed,” Panetta said. “[A]nd we could possibly be the target of retaliation from Iran, striking our ships, striking our military bases. Fourthly - there are economic consequences to that attack - severe economic consequences that could impact a very fragile economy in Europe and a fragile economy here in the United States.”

As The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg pointed out on his blog:

Panetta is stating fairly clearly the Obama Administration’s belief that an Israeli attack on Iran would hurt the American economy. What Panetta was doing at the Saban Forum was throwing the mother of all brushback pitches. Without saying so explicitly, it seems as if he is threatening Prime Minister Netanyahu with a rupture in relations between the U.S. and Israel, should Israel unilaterally attack Iran.

What’s clear is that the escalating Iranian threat—as it applies to both art and politics—has undermined the ability of allies or those who would-be allies to get along.

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December 6, 2011 | 1:06 pm

Gabai shines as Yakob Fidelman

Posted by Lauren Bottner, Hollywood Jew contributor

Sasson Gabai was awarded best male actor at the 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI).  Gabai won for the Israeli film “Restoration” and “his remarkable performance in the lead role of Yakob Fidelman” according to PardaPhash. 

The IFFI opened in Goa on Nov. 23.

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December 6, 2011 | 12:54 pm

Austin Nichols appreciates Tel Aviv sunsets

Posted by Lauren Bottner, Hollywood Jew contributor

Austin Nichols from One Tree Hill tweeted “beautiful sunset in Israel” during his visit to Tel Aviv. 

It’s unclear whether it was the lure of beautiful sunsets or more of the party scene that prompted his friends to join him, but AbbaNibi.com reported “apparently his close friends Justin Chatwin (“War of the Worlds”) and Shaun Sipos (‘Melrose Place’ remake) are now with him in Tel Aviv.

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December 6, 2011 | 12:39 pm

Bar Refaeli = Renaissance Woman

Posted by Lauren Bottner, Hollywood Jew contributor

The Israeli supermodel is best known for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photos as well as her relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio.  However, Bar Refaeli is “on her way to becoming a brand” says the Improper Fashion.

Israeli-born Refaeli is “wet and wild” in the Jan. issue of GQ’s UK edition after just being covered in the Sept. issue says IF. IF reports that days ago she opened an upscale mall in Morocco with Clive Owen and she recently has launched her underwear line “Undeez”. 

No career could be complete without a little reality TV, so Refaeli will appear on Monday’s episode of fashion reality show “Scouted” on E! at 10 p.m reports IF.

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December 5, 2011 | 4:17 pm

Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform in Israel after ten year rain check

Posted by Hollywood Jew

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have finally rescheduled their Tel Aviv concert after cancelling a show in 2001, citing fears for their safety. The original show was for their “Californication” tour and 20,000 tickets were sold for a concert in Tel Aviv’s Havarkon Park, according to Haaretz.  Unfortunately, 2001 ticket holders can’t cash in on their unused tickets, but after a decade of waiting, the band is returning to perform in Havarkon Park on Sept. 10, 2012. 

“I am pleased that the artists and their managers have stood by their word to visit and make up for the show that was canceled in 2001,” producer Shuki Weiss said to Haaretz.

Music artists in particular have faced unusual challenges when scheduling concerts in Israel. For the Chili Peppers, it was security concerns, but others music acts have been targeted by the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement to cancel concerts as a form of protest.

In 2010, after being subjected to relentless campaigns by so-called human rights organizations accusing Israel of apartheid, The Pixies and Elvis Costello both canceled performances. Gil Scott-Heron, the putative father of hip-hop who passed away last May, as well as Carlos Santana have also cancelled performances in Israel. 

But things seem to be turning around, thanks in part to the Creative Community for Peace (the focus of an upcoming story in the Jewish Journal), an organization formed by high-level music executives to counteract pressures from the boycott movement and instead, encourage music artists to voice their concerns from a platform in Israel. In November 2010, CCFP was instrumental in persuading Macy Gray to perform in Israel after the artist received death threats meant to discourage her from going.

That the The Red Hot Chili Peppers have chosen to reschedule their long-ago cancelled performance now is promising, given the organized and calculated campaign designed to prevent artists from performing in Israel. Whether or not certain parts of the BDS movement have justifiable intentions, an artist protest seems self-defeating, since musicians, like all artists can help to spread messages of cooperation and understanding.

More on this to come…

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December 5, 2011 | 1:32 pm

Claire Danes blows off steam in Tel Aviv

Posted by Lauren Bottner, Hollywood Jew contributor

“Homeland” actress Claire Danes spent her evenings in Israel bar hopping in Tel Aviv after shooting the pilot to Showtime’s “Homeland” according to the Forward.  Danes told Conan O’Brien what a “party town” Tel Aviv is, remarking:

“it’s very stressful there…it’s rather fraught, and people are rather tense and they need to blow off some steam – and they do, they do!”

“Homeland” actually takes place in Iraq, but Israel acted as the preferred shooting local for the pilot. 

Hum, fun nights in Iraq versus Tel Aviv…tough choice!

 

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