Major Jewish donors stand by the Met

Major Met Donors Deafening Silence Is An Operatic Kristallnacht- If Bloomberg, Annenberg, Neubauer, Toll Bros. Spoke Out, Anti-Semitic “Klinghoffer” May Have Been Cancelled 

Monday, October 20, 2014 —Painfully, today is the opening performance at the Metropolitan Opera of the pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel opera “Death of Klinghoffer.”

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) notes with sorrow that four Jewish foundations or entities that are major contributors to the Met Opera – Michael Bloomberg, L.P., The Annenberg Foundation, The Neubauer Family Foundation, and Toll Brothers Foundation, have thus far failed to withdraw multi-million dollar support from the Met or speak up publicly against the Met’s live performances of the pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel opera “Death of Klinghoffer.”

This can be called an operatic Kristallnacht since an anti-Semitic, Israel-demonizing opera that promotes hatred of Jews while “humanizing” killers of Jews is met with silence and inaction by most major donors, Jewish leaders, and other public figures.

The silence of the Neubauer Family Foundation is especially inexplicable:  Jeanette Lerman Neubauer’s father, Miles Lerman, was a Holocaust survivor, Jewish resistance fighter, and Chairman of the governing board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.  The Holocaust Museum contains the Miles Lerman Center for the Study of Jewish Resistance.  Mr. Lerman coincidentally was a childhood neighbor and close friend of ZOA President Morton Klein’s mother, Sarah Griner Klein, in Tomaszow Lubelski, Poland.

If these major multi-million dollar contributors to the Met had taken a stand and stopped their funding, it is very possible that this offensive opera would not be opening at the Met today.   It is heartbreaking and appalling that Jewish foundations are continuing to support the Met when the Met is performing an opera that presents a rationale for the murder of innocent Jews.

The Met has scheduled seven more live performances of “Klinghoffer” after tonight.  We hope that these contributors will finally speak up and act before there are any further performances of this reprehensible spectacle.

Fortunately, there are many people who have spoken up against the opera – including many other Met contributors.  Our protest website, StopDeathofKlinghoffer.org contains letters that concerned people from all over the country and the world, wrote to the Met, demanding that the Met cancel its outrageous anti-Semitic pro-terrorist performances.

Previous ZOA press releases and letters have discussed why “Klinghoffer” is so objectionable. Terrorists sing that they are “men of ideals,” and a passenger even sings that the terrorists were “nice.”  (The real passengers were terrorized, terrified and physically assaulted by the terrorists.)  Jews are referred to as cheaters, people who get fat from the poor and defilers of virgins.

Significantly, the opera totally omits the real reason why the terrorists hijacked the Achille Lauro and murdered Leon Klinghoffer – which was to blackmail Israel into freeing 50 convicted terrorists, including Samir Kuntar – who murdered an innocent 4-year old girl by smashing her head with his rifle butt against rocks, after murdering her father in front of her, and killing two other people.  Instead the opera justifies the terrorists’ cold-blooded murder of an innocent disabled Jewish American by falsely rewriting Israel’s history, and falsely portraying Jews as brutally usurping Arab land.  In fact, Arabs repeatedly massacred Israel’s Jews, and the Arab “refugees” fled of their own accord, at the urging of the seven invading Arab armies who wanted a clear path for murdering all of Israel’s Jews.  Israeli Jews urged their Arab neighbors to stay, and many did, and are doctors, lawyers, members of Knesset and even a Supreme Court judge today.

The opera also includes condemnation of Israel and America for tolerating gay people.  (Gay people are condemned to death in Palestinian Arab-controlled areas.)

Noon Prayer Vigil:  Rabbi Avi Weiss and a group of rabbinical leaders will hold a prayer vigil, beginning at 12:00 noon, at Lincoln Center Plaza at Broadway and 65th Street in memory of Leon Klinghoffer’s soul.  The vigil is an effort to assuage the pain to Klinghoffer’s soul and memory caused by the glorification of his terrorist murderers in the Klinghoffer opera.

5 p.m. Press Conference:  There will be a press conference at 5:00 PM, across the street from the Lincoln Center Plaza at Broadway & 65th Street.   Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be the keynote speaker at the press conference, which will be followed by the protest.   Mayor Giuliani courageously expelled terrorist Yasir Arafat from Lincoln Center in 1995 and turned down “blood money” from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.   Other major speakers at the press conference include Congressman Peter King (R) (who currently serves as Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and formerly served as Homeland Security Chairman), Former NY Governor David Paterson, Criminal Defense Attorney Ben Brafman, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz (D), Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, ZOA President Morton Klein, Jewish war veterans and terror victims.

6 p.m. Protest:  At the same location, we will have a huge protest, with signs, chants and an incredible 100-wheelchair caravan, and more, to protest “Death of Klinghoffer.”

ZOA President Morton Klein stated:

“I urge everyone to attend this important protest, and look forward to seeing you there.”

Some 3,000 protesters attended the previous protest to “Death of Klinghoffer” at Lincoln Center, on September 22 (the night of the Met’s opening gala).  Speakers at the previous protest included former Governor George Pataki, Judge Michael Mukasey, Congressman Eliot Engel (D), 9-11 hero’s sister Debra Burlingame, Catholic League Pres. Bill Donahoe, and ZOA Pres. Mort Klein.

Let’s make the protest tonight, to the opening night of “Klinghoffer” even bigger! We dare not be the Jews of silence in the face of this operatic Kristallnacht.

About the ZOA

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States. With offices around the country and in Israel, the ZOA educates the public, elected officials, the media, and college/high school students about the truth of the ongoing Arab war against Israel. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations through educational activities, public affairs programs and our work on Capitol Hill, and to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias in the media, in textbooks, in schools and on college campuses. Under the leadership of such presidents as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbis Abba Hillel Silver and Stephen Wise, and current President Morton A. Klein, the ZOA has been – and continues to be – on the front lines of Jewish activism.  www.zoa.org.  For more information contact David Drimer 212-481-1500

October 20, 2014 | 88 Comments »

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38 Comments / 88 Comments

  2. @ honeybee:

    You’re a Scandinavian?????????????

    I apologize to those that cannot get it (it’s a BIG TIME you had to be there…) but it was just too tempting….
    This brought back memories of a skit by the hagashashim where they were about to open a gym… And gavri walks in, innocently, and is promised to be made “tall, blond and blue eyed” by poli (z”l)….
    God… They were good
    (That WAS taken out of the mothballs, once again…. 🙂

  6. @ honeybee:

    doubting Thomas???? Of all the images of guys you’ve thrown at me have I haver said they resembled or looked like me in any way except forget the one guy the other day I said we had the same blue eyes….. No kidding there is a resemblance not one to one but enough.
    Well I might have cheated on the 3 years but there has to be some mystery about me…….. 🙂

  8. @ honeybee:

    eyes, nose ears from what I see but hair different, I’m taller and broader built.

    About 3 years ago, a little greyer now and a few more facial lines 🙂

  12. yamit82 Said:

    Good choice.

    I think you would enjoy ” Ray Donovan”, your kind of anti-hero, And they a rael number on Hollywood Jews, very painful.

  20. yamit82 Said:

    The Opera, ‘Klinghoffer’ and the ‘Two Sides’ (?) of Terrorism

    The Canadian attacks may alter the ” moral impact” of “Kinghofer”.

  21. @ honeybee:
    The Opera, ‘Klinghoffer’ and the ‘Two Sides’ (?) of Terrorism

    How about an opera justifying the murder of John F Kennedy or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Jesus Christ or does Jewish blood other than Jesus of course have a different designation?

  23. @ robin@longhornproject.org:
    This guest of rabbi Golub is right in many ways. Some of the Jewish organizations he mentions are very liberal. Some to the detriment of the Jewish community. Too much division.
    One thing John Adams I do not care what the press says. He is a composer without talent. When any of his compositions are preformed at the NY Philharmonic invariable you see a number of people leaving the auditorium. There are not many critics any longer who dare to go against the wave of institutionalized stupidity in the arts. Big donors with limited knowledge of the arts have politicized what is presented at Lincoln Center. Critics are afraid to loose their jobs and tell it as it is. A bunch of cowards who are nothing more than boot slickers are sheep following the money. Thank you Jeffrey Wiesenfeld.

  24. @ honeybee:

    I saw it.

    There were two shooting instances and I wonder if there is a connection or coincidence?

    Canada don’t have a chance they are totally unprepared both logistically and mentally…..Like Switzerland and Scandinavia.

  31. yamit82 Said:

    Arab carpets

    I also collect Navaho [Dine] rugs. TX won’t give up the Ticho, he says it looks like Texas. Yes, he believes Texas is the Holy Land.

  32. yamit82 Said:

    What are you eating

    Eating breakfast and cursing at my computer which acting up again. I have an Anna Ticho print hanging in the ante-room of the Master bedroom.

  33. @ honeybee:

    Good your getting the hang of it. So many possibilities.

    Apparently all others sensitivities must be considered but not Jewish ones. Here I blame the Jews.

  34. honeybee Said:

    yamit82 Said:
    Switched to Fox and am now getting it
    We are watching a terrorist attack together, que romantical !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    What are you eating or drinking at this moment?

  35. @ honeybee:

    I’ll add them to similar Arab carpets I collect.

    I can see I’ll need to build a much bigger house to accommodate all our combined stuff. I also collect paintings and Litho’s I have a litho of Picasso # 1-50 that’s worth a bit. Many paintings by Yossi Stern and Anna Ticho Gottman and Ruben and many more lesser known. I have so many I haven’t gotten around to framing many and are stored.

  37. @ yamit82:

    How about an Opera about Kristalnight from the Nazi point of view. With pity for the Brown Shirts who injured by the flying glass shards.

  38. We had a light rail incident with casualties in Arab section of Jerusalem. A hour ago two soldiers were wounded from fire on the Egyptian border.

    Looks like a big news day. Was watching Israeli news and no mention of shootings in Canada. Switched to Fox and am now getting it.