Working the EJ Message Boards

Check out my 'letter' posted on the main Elton John fansite in response to this retarded video montage asking Elton to cancel his Israel show, which is scheduled for 3 weeks from tonight!

Another Musical Boycott by Another Spoiled Liberal Hypocrite

Got my tix to Elton John in Tel Aviv yesterday (Thanks JJ)! Less than a month to go until showtime.

Some interesting Elton quotes from a recent interview he did:

It's all or nothing when it comes to drugs.
"For some people a gram of cocaine can last a month. Not me. I have to do the lot, and then I want more. At the end of the day, all it led to was heartache."

His take on Christianity.
"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East -- you're as good as dead."

As a gay man, Elton John has no illusions about muslim society in the way (apparently) shills like Santana and Elvis Costello - the latest all-knowing musician to cancel his gigs here for political reasons - do. Elton was recently banned from playing in Egypt because he's openly gay. As Tom Gross points out in the linked piece above, where were Elton's entertainer friends to defend him when he was banned from performing in a muslim country simply for being gay?

The defeaning silence of the very people who purport to criticize Israel on the grounds of non-discrimination and self-determination for the Palestinians says all you need to know about the true nature of their moral character.

Biting the Hand You Should Be Feeding

There was a great piece of journalism by the Jerusalem Post's Larry Derfner in this Saturday's magazine. It tells the story of how after 5 years, the Knesset abruptly decided to shut down Israel's version of the 'Wisconsin' Program which took people off of welfare and gave them job training and job placements and rewarded companies for placing people.

What is most irksome is that the program was just abandoned after its most successful year to date - certainly the program wasn't perfect but according to comprehensive research by the JDC, it was far more successful than the national employment office, and even more successful than similar programs in other countries. And it's a real pity, because it helped society's weakest members - 40% of the programs participants were Arab (many of them women being offered their first chance to work out of the house) and another 33% were immigrants.

So why was the program cancelled if it had been a success and was only become more effective?

According to Derfner, the Knesset caved in to the Histadrut - this country's labor monopoly, which only represents well-paid public sector employees. It was a classic socialist gambit - in the name of protecting the 'weaker' members of society and keeping away 'evil, private interests', the Knesset sided with rich, lazy unions over poor people trying their hardest to make it after many years of dejection and failure.

You see, Israeli socialism isn't real socialism. It's a system that pays homage to high ideals in name only. Its patron saints are nepotism and special interests, not to mention heavy bribery. 18,000 poor people losing their jobs is a small price to pay to uphold these sacred Israeli values. So in case you still hold that popular belief that Israel is somehow more moral than other countries, read the article. The Israeli people may have very high standards but our government is nothing of the sort. And until we find a way to make this a more just place, our leaders will continue to drag us down with them.