Think you've heard/seen it all? Think again! Israel strikes again! I
don't know which is worse at this point - the US or Israel. Maybe they
are equally horrid.......
http://windowintopalestine.blogspot.com/2008/10/cat-stevens-denied-entry-to-israel.html
You'd think that if Shimon Peres invited you to Israel, getting a
visa would be snap. After all, Peres does happen to be the country's
President, and surely that counts for something. But apparently not if
you're a musician named Yusuf Islam, formerly known as the folksy
singer- songwriter Cat Stevens. Stevens, a
Briton who converted to Islam over 30 years ago, was invited to play at
a 10th anniversary bash for the Peres Center for Peace, along with
Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
According to the Israeli press, Stevens was excited about the show and
was going to play a re-written version of his hit "Peace Train"
alluding to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
But
the show's producer Irit Tenhangel made a late check with the Israeli
security services, who said that Stevens would not be allowed into
Israel, even if it was at President Peres' request.
In
2000, Stevens had been denied entry to Israel for allegedly making
contributions to the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas. "This
put me in a very embarrassing situation with Stevens and his personal
manager," Tenhangel told Ynetnews.com. "What am I supposed to tell them
now, that the State of Israel doesn't want him to come and talk about
peace voluntarily?" She added: "He may have supported Hamas once, but
the fact that a singer who converted to Islam wants to come to Israel
and express his support for peace and we're not letting him do so
infuriates me."
A name like Yusuf Islam on a passport does
tend to set alarm bells ringing, and not just in Israel. In 2004, the
singer, educator and philanthropist was barred from visiting the U.S.
He was suspected of being an Islamic militant, but it's not as though
he was plotting to meet anybody subversive, just that most wholesome of
American icons: country singer Dolly Parton, who had recorded several
of Stevens' songs. Half Swedish and half Cypriot, Stevens was your
typical, hard-partying young pop star of the 1970s when a near-drowning
sent him on a spiritual quest, often explored through his songs, that
ended with his embrace of Islam in 1977. He jettisoned his pop idol
career, and dedicated himself to Islamic religious study. Using
royalties from his 60 million record sales, he set up Islamic charities
helping famine victims and orphans around the world.
Israeli
officials say that this mishap over Stevens' invite could easily have
been avoided if the organizers of Peres' party had checked first with
the foreign ministry. The law says that anyone declared non grata and
expelled, as Stevens was in 2000, cannot be allowed back into Israel
for at least 10 years.
And as for Stevens now being a "Man
of Peace", as he is often described, "his actions speak louder than his
music", says Government Press Spokesman Daniel Seaman. "A man of peace
doesn't give money to terrorist organizations that killed Israelis and
those Palestinians who disagreed with them."
Nevertheless,
denying Israeli entry to Stevens, a musician who advocates co-existence
between Israel and the Palestinians, and who is a respected figure
throughout the Islamic world, undercuts the message of peace that Pres.
Peres is trying to convey to his wary Arab neighbors. Happy
anniversary, Mr President.
By Tim McGirk/Jerusalem
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