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Photo: Bruce Long
Ohad Naharin: Comments were personal
Photo: Bruce Long

Dance idol blasted for anti-Israeli quotes

Israel Prize winner and well-renowned Israeli dance choreographer slammed for telling Canadian newspaper Israeli army commits "war crimes" in the West Bank; He said he expressed personal opinion

TEL AVIV - The foreign ministry blasted a renowned prize-winning Israeli dance choreographer on Thursday for telling a Canadian newspaper that Israeli troops commit “war crimes” against the Palestinians, saying his words were harmful to the image of the Jewish state.

 

Ohad Naharin, currently in Montreal to choreograph a ballet, had told the Montreal Gazette that he volunteers as an interpreter for a women’s organization that supervises military checkpoints in the Palestinian territories, where Palestinians often complain of humiliation and abuse by soldiers.

 

“I continue to do my job when people are participating in war crimes about 20 kilometers away from me,” he told the newspaper on Wednesday, referring to army activity in the West Bank.

 

A source in the foreign ministry told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that Naharin’s words were damaging to Israel, especially in light of him being a former winner of the prestigious Israel Prize.

 

“This is an unfortunate quality of people of culture, art and academia,” a source said. “When they leave the country, they attack it and allow themselves to say things they wouldn’t dare tell Israeli media. We are not opposed to criticism, but to accuse Israel of war crimes is very grave.”

 

The army mans dozens of checkpoints and small roadblocks all over the West Bank and says they are essential for stopping potential suicide bombers from reaching Israeli towns and Jewish settlements.

 

Naharin, who Israelis have often accused of being pro-Palestinian, said in response that his words reflected his personal opinion as a citizen.

 

“I did not see the interview, but I imagine I was quoted for saying things I’ve already said many times in the past, such as the fact that most of us, Palestinians and Israelis alike, are becoming the innocent victims of our leaders and that evil, paranoia and lack of heart prohibit us from changing the twisted reality that we live in,” he said.

 

Naharin, 53, is best known in Israel for his performances with the Batsheva Dance Company, where he's worked since 1990 as a dancer and artistic director. A former student at the Julliard School of Music, the Israeli native has performed with major dance companies in Europe, Australia and the United States.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.26.05, 13:47
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