GAZA: LUSH, GREEN AND FROTHING AGAINST ISRAEL
http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/
It’s Lush, It’s Green – And It’s Frothing Against Israel
It’s lush and green – like this park in Gaza (all these photos are of Gaza, as will be obvious at a glance, since they depict the misery and squalor that characterise that famous teeming “open prison,” right?)
But it’s not the park I refer to – it’s a soap and cosmetics company in the UK called Lush, which has retail outlets in various parts of the country. Lush, which also operates elsewhere, prides itself on its ethical approach to current issues of all sorts – animal, vegetable, and mineral.
And as far as many of them are concerned, I find them hard to fault. After all, well ahead of the trend, I became a vegetarian when a nipper. (Yep – I’ve stayed one ever since.)
On political issues Lush has advocated some rather extreme leftist platforms (for instance on immigration) that reflect the Green Party.
And now it’s firmly fixed its colours to the Palestinian mast with a statement on its website that says:
“This month we have the exciting opportunity to help secure a UK chart position for a song called ‘Freedom for Palestine’ by a collective of musicians called OneWorld. The aim of the song is to raise awareness of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the resulting poverty and other human rights abuses….
The catastrophe facing the Palestinian people is one of the defining global justice issues of our time. A third generation of Palestinian children is now being brought up in refugee camps inside and outside Palestine, living in chronic poverty and denied the right to return to their family homes. Hundreds of thousands more Palestinians suffer discrimination over access to public services, land rights and employment within Israel itself. For those living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the situation is critical. Israel’s siege of Gaza has condemned its 1.5 million inhabitants to levels of poverty more commonly associated with sub-Saharan Africa – a humanitarian disaster with no end in sight.
All the above actions are illegal under international law. Yet no Western government has been willing to call Israel to account for its crimes. Instead, the US, UK and other governments have consistently rewarded Israeli aggression with economic benefits and closer political ties. This is why it is up to ordinary people around the world to take action.”
It’s publicising a song called “Freedom for Palestine” by a collective of musicians calling themselves OneWorld, and explains:
“If OneWorld are successful at getting the song in the charts, the mainstream media will find it hard to ignore it or censor its message. This will raise awareness and help to give confidence to people to speak up for Palestine. And it would send a message to the UK government, and all those who lend economic support or political cover to Israel that a critical mass of people want to see an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the oppression of its people.”
http://www.lush.co.uk/articles/our-ethical-campaigns/oneworld_100-10285_10.html
Predictably, Israel-delegitimising groups are crowing on their websites about Lush and its pimpimg this song.
Aussie political blogger Andrew Landeryou has some forthright criticisms of both Lush, its statements regarding the “occupation of Palestine,” and the song’s lyrics, which he reproduced as follows (emphasis his):
So many years of catastrophe, more than six million refugees, it could be you and your family,
Forced from your home and your history
We are the people, and this is our time,
Stand up, sing out, for Palestine
No matter your faith or community, this is a crime against humanity,
Gaza turned into a prison camp, apartheid wall divides the West Bank
We are the people, and this is our time,
Stand up, sing out, for Palestine,
We’ll break down the wall, Freedom for Palestine
Demand Justice for all, Freedom For Palestine
Enough illegal occupation, violence and racial segregation, all religious communities unite,
Freedom is a human right,
We are the people, and this is our time,
Stand up, sing out, for Palestine,
We’ll break down the wall, Freedom for Palestine
Demand Justice for all, Freedom For Palestine
(solo on the Oud) (rap section)
We are the people, and this is our time,
Stand up, sing out, for Palestine,
We’ll break down the wall, Freedom for Palestine
Demand Justice for all, Freedom For Palestine(repeat X5)
We are the people, this is our time, unite together, for justice in Palestine.
Read all his piece here: http://www.vexnews.com/news/13550/dirty-business-lush-rubs-up-the-wrong-way-over-israel-hating/
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