Women's lobby against Chris Brown's Israel show
Israel Women's Network protests arrival of American hip hop artist who was convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Rihanna six years ago; Facebook page calls on Israeli audience to boycott concert.
Attorney Keren Greenblatt, the legal advisor of the Israel Women's Network visited the Ynet studio on Thursday to protest the arrival of the 26-year-old artist who was convicted six years ago of felony assault of pop sensation Rihanna, who was his girlfriend at the time.
"The message conveyed to the Israeli society, and especially to the youth arriving to watch the show, is that you can be violent towards women, beat up a woman who used to be your partner, and that there will be no consequences," Greenblatt said.
"Yes, he was in jail, but his career was unharmed and we continue to throw money at him and give him a warm embrace. That's the wrong message."
Ravit Hovel, a Chris Brown fan, agreed with Greenblatt but claimed that the issue should be put in the right proportion. "I think that what was said is true because he is an admired public figure, especially among many young people who can perceive his actions as right, but I also think that he shouldn't be judged as he has paid for what he did and regretted it.
"We are talking about a huge performer, and I examine him according to what I like in him, not according to what I don’t."
Hovel said in response to the picture of Rihanna's bruised face, which was presented at the Ynet studio, that the publication of such pictures in the media has the power of encouraging people with violent tendencies like Brown to want to change and atone for their actions.
"He is basically living on us (the fans). We make him want to atone for his actions," she said. "There are great people who have done much worse things and are still given a second chance."
"We can start setting hierarchies for what should be punished and what shouldn't," Adv. Greenblatt concluded. "At the end of the day, if an artist speaks against Israel, he won't perform him. But when another artist beats up his partner, we suddenly have to put things in proportion. That's the exact point – it's important to say that it's terrible."
But the protest against Brown's performance is not limited to the women's lobby. A Facebook page called "Chris Brown is not invited here – boycott the Israel show," which was opened Wednesday, gained thousands of "likes" within several hours.
Attorney Greenblatt says the page is one of the many activities which have been taken and will be taken in the coming weeks in order to raise awareness to the case.
"It's hard not to clutch one's head and think, 'How screwed up can this get?'" said K., a student and one of the Facebook page's founders, who asked to remain anonymous. "There are authorized and dubious criminals whose reputation has been tarnished, and somehow they are still sitting on piles of cash.
"The media have forgotten and the audience has forgotten, although it's everywhere – not only in the scandals but on the street, in every corner. It's doesn’t interest anyone because we've gotten used to it."
So far, says K., the show's producers have yet to respond to the claims raised on the page.
"We will later call on everyone who refuses to cheer an abusive pop star to change their profile picture to the picture of beaten up Rihanna," she added. "Because of the producer's silence, we may start this activity even earlier. We are here to be heard. Such things will not go unnoticed anymore. There will be noise and there will be opposition."
