Of course, yesterday’s news of Dance Europe’s Israel boycott wouldn’t be the end of it (btw: for response from dance professionals/critics, check out the comments at Rachel’s). Stephanie Fried, the journalist whose pitch was turned down, e-mailed the magazine a rather angry letter, and the magazine responded…by having a writer of theirs in Ramallah contact him her directly. Get the strategy here?
Anyway, a sense of the writer’s attitudes towards Israeli artists can be found here; don’t worry, you don’t have to read the entire article, since he provides a handy list. It’s interesting that there’s no introspection about the possibility that he’s denying moral agency to the people he’s supposedly helping with his personal policies, which seem, by extension, to be Dance Europe’s policies, since he is apparently their appointed spokesperson on this issue.
Full exchange, after the jump.

Fried to magazine:

Emma

You and your advertising partner Naresh should stick to dance and money rather than politics, particularly when your sole vantage point is what you cull from television and newspaper reports while sipping tea from the quiet comfort of your homes.

Your blatant ignorance and racism is appalling; Shame on both of you for not entertaining the notion that a company attempting to bridge gaps and create understanding through art - more than can be said for you and your magazine policy vehemently clinging to mores of hatred - might promote understanding. You are more like the occupation forces you decry than might be comfortable for you to imagine.

You will never run a story on any dance company based in Israel? Check into your own country’s past and current occupations and wrongdoings prior to judging another you’ve never even visited. Your ignorance speaks volumes.

Stephanie L. Freid

Writer to Freid:

Dear Stephanie,
I am writing to address the confrontational and aggressive email that you directed to Emma Manning and Naresh Kaul at Dance Europe magazine. As a writer for Dance Europe magazine and a long term resident of Ramallah, in the West Bank, I trust that you will respect that this email is not being written from the perspective of some one who just culls an understanding of the region “from television and newspaper reports while sipping tea from the quiet comfort of your homes� . I have to confront the reality of the Israeli occupation possibly more than even you do, and whilst I do not claim any universal solutions to the Middle East conflict, I know that verbal or physical confrontation never works. Similarly, I have learnt that in such a highly politicized environment, it does not take any moral courage to divorce art from politics, but it does lead to serious moral consequences.
I am more than happy to discuss the issue of Dance Europe’s position, or just generally culture and politics at length with you, in your home in Israel, or in my home in Ramallah, to which you are welcome. As I am currently traveling a lot between Palestine and England, if there are representatives of the Jewish Chronicle that you would like me to meet in London, then I would also be more than happy to do so. Discussion, listening and sharing of perspectives is a far greater remedy to the political strife in the Middle East than sensationalist abuse and accusation, wouldn’t you agree?
To this end, and whilst I understand that labeling people “anti-semitic� might serve as an effective bulwark against your own moral introspection, I would urge that you learn to distinguish between the Jewish people and the military policies of the Israeli government. To not do so not only blemishes Judaism, it also presses your own argument over the brink of hysteria. Most importantly, perhaps, it is a libelous term that can lead to legal action if used inappropriately. I urge you, therefore, to use this term with greater caution and sensitivity, for your own sake and the sake of others.
In the meantime, you might consider reaching for some peace for yourself and others by drafting an apology to Emma and Naresh for some of the more derogatory accusations you presented in your email and weblog. The choice is of course yours, but if there is one thing that I have learnt from years of having to confront a harsh military occupation on a daily basis, abusing others (whatever your position) is simply an abuse of power- the illusory power of being unreachable and unscathable. It is only when you are willing to come down to a more vulnerable level of sensitive, human interaction that you find solutions and inner, as well as outer, peace.

Take care and Shalom. I look forward to hearing from you.

Nicholas Rowe

Freid to Rowe:

Nicholas.
You must be the sole friend in Ramallah Mr. Kaul referred to but hasn’t ever visited.
With all due respect for your political plight you weren’t there for the conversation, you are not a Dance Europe Editor and my issues with Ms. Manning and Mr. Kaul are not your business. I would expect a reply from them - not one of their writers.
Hostility comes in all shapes and forms, Mr. Rowe, and we all address it with the means available to us.

Stephanie L. Freid

Rowe to Freid:

Dear Stephanie,

Don’t be such a coward. If you want to have a private discussion with Emma and Naresh, fine, its none of my business. But if you want to bring it into the public domain, as you have, through your weblog, then I’m afraid it is everybody’s business. You may suddenly feel that you are now a little out of your depth in discussions on culture, politics and military occupation, but don’t let that intimidate you. I am willing to discuss it with you calmly and respectfully. But to suddenly decide you don’t want others who may know even more about the subject than you in the discourse, that really smacks of ignorance and arrogance.
Grow a little more moral and intellectual courage next time you go barking all over the web like an offended lapdog.

Sincerely
Nicholoas Rowe

Freid to Rowe:

My my, Mr. Rowe. Who is hostile now?

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