Belgium: 'Intellectual elites' pen an anti-Israel petition (yet again)
Yet again, Belgians are busy defaming Israel, rather than dealing with the problems besetting their own country. RTBF, the Belgian francophone public broadcaster posted a petition signed by 100 individuals titled: "Palestine, 50 years under occupation: in Belgium and in Europe, we have the means to act!". No such petitions are initiated by these citizens "committed to the values of justice, peace and equality" against human rights abuses in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar etc. Only Israel. Obviously they dont care about the occupation of Cyprus by Turkey, the Western Sahara by Morocco, the Crimea by Russia and so on and so on.
Israel is accused of carrying out ethnic cleansing, of treating Israeli Arabs as second class citizens, o being guilty of war crimes, etc.
The signatories could use the term "implantations" for settlements, but prefer to use"colonies" and conclude:
"Concretely, we call on the Belgian, federal, community and regional governments, and in particular on Didier Reynders, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and on Kris Peeters, Minister of the Economy, to take action and sever all economic, political and scientific relations that Belgium maintains with the Israeli colonization. We therefore ask them to prohibit the import and marketing of products from the Israeli colonies on the Belgian market and to exclude the Israeli colonies from all bilateral and cooperation agreements with Israel.
We, therefore, as citizens from diverse backgrounds but all committed to the values of justice, peace and equality, call for the end of Israel's occupation, colonization and impunity, which have That the Palestinian people can finally enjoy their most basic rights and live in dignity and freedom."
100 personalities against 50 ans of occupation
Angela Davis
, philosophe, militante des Droits de l’Homme, Etats Unis
Anke Hintjens, chanteuse belge
Anne-Marie Andrusyszyn, directrice du CEPAG
Alain Clauwaert, ancien président de la Centrale générale FGTB
Arnaud Zacharie
, secrétaire général CNCD 11.11.11
Axel farkas, membre de JAC
Bart Vonck
, poète belge
Bichara Khader
, professeur émérite UCL
Bogdan
Vanden Berghe, Secrétaire général 11.11.11
Chantal De Smet
, directeur honoraire, KASK-Gent
Charles Ducal
, poète et écrivain belge
Charlie Lepaige
, Président Comac, jeunesse PTB/PVDA
Christian Kunsch, Président du Mouvement Ouvrier Chrétien
Christiane Schomblond, professeur émérite ULB
Claudine Brasseur, ancienne présentatrice RTBF
Corinne Gobin
, politologue ULB,
Daan, chanteur belge
David Mendez Yepez, chanteur
Dirk Adriaensens, auteur
Dirk Tuypens, acteur
Dominique Surleau, secrétaire générale Présence et action culturelle
Dominique Vidal, journaliste et historien français
Dominique Willaert, directeur artistique Victoria Deluxe asbl
Bambi Ceuppens, docteure en anthropologie KUL
Elli Medeiros, chanteuse argentine
Erik Swyngedouw, professeur de géographie, université de manchester
Erik Van Der Straeten, Professeur émérite, Université d’Anvers
Fabienne Verstraeten, ancienne directrice des Halles de Schaerbeek
Francine Mestrum, Administratrice du CETRI
François Gemenne, chercheur à l'Université de Liège et Sciences Politique Paris
Fred Louckx, Professeur émérite VUB
Gie Baguet, Directeur Frans brood Production
Guy Bajoit, Professeur émérite de sociologie, UCL
Hamdan Aldamiri, Président de la communauté palestinienne de Belgique et du Luxembourg
Henri Eisendrath, Professeur Emérite, VUB
Henri Goldman, rédacteur en chef de Politique Micmag
Henri Wajnblum, membre de l’ UPJB - Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique
Herman De Ley, Professeur émérite université de Gent
Hilde Heynen, responsable du département d’architecture KUL Leuven
Ides Nicaise, Professeur KULeuven
Ignaas Vermeiren, musicien
Jan Dumolyn, professeur Ugent
Jan Engelen, prof. em. KU Leuven
Jasper Schaaf, professeur émérite de philosophie
Jean-François Tamellini , secrétaire général FGTB
Julie jaroszewski, chanteuse
Johan Grimonprez, réalisateur
Jonas Geirnaert, réalisateur de film télévisé et films d’animation
Joris Iven, poète
Judith Vindevogel, Directeur artistique musical Walpurgis
Karel Arnaut, Prof. KULeuven
Keltoum Belorf, journaliste
Ken Loach, réalisateur de film britannique
Klaus Verscheure , artiste peintre
Laura Goffart, Coprésidente Ecolo J
Lucas Catherine, auteur
Marianne Blume, ancienne enseignante à Gaza, membre ABP
Marc De Broe, académicien, université d’anvers
Marc David, Professeur Émérite Universiteit Antwerpen
Marc Goblet, Secrétaire général FGTB
Marc Van Ranst, médecin et professeur KU Leuven
Marc Vandepitte, philosophe
Marc Swyngedouw, professeur à la faculté des sciences sociales, KULeuven
Marijke Pinoy actrice belge
Mateo Alaluf, professeur, faculté des Sciences sociales, ULB
Maxime Felon, président jeunes des socialiste
Michael Mansfield, avocat britannique
Michel Staszewski, collaborateur scientifique ULB
Michel Vanhoorne, coordinateur du Links Ecologisch Forum
Mike Leigh, metteur en scène britannique
Naima Reguerras, présidente de la CNAPD
Nathalie Hendrickx, céramiste
Olivier de Schutter, professeur à l’UCL
Pascal Duterme, coordinateur du SCI
Patrick Colpé, directeur général théâtre de Namur
Patrick Italiano, sociologue université de liège
Paula Polanco, président d’Intal
Pierre Galand, président de l'Association Belgo-Palestinienne
Vincent Legrand, Professeur, Facultés SSH- ESPO, UCL
Rachida Lamrabet, écrivain et juriste
Richard Falk, professeur américain de droit international, rapporteur
Rik Pinxten, professeur émérite université de gent
Rob Van Vlierden, poète
Robby Cleiren, acteur
Robert Vertenueil, secrétaire général Centrale générale FGTBc
Robrecht Vanderbeeken , philosophe et secrétaire générale de ACOD culture
Roel Dieltiens,musicien
Ronnie Kasrils, ancien ministre sud africain
Saddie Choua, artiste
Sara Eisa, actrice
Sarah Deboosere et Charles Blondeel, artistes
Serge Deruette, académicien université de Mons
Tarik Ali, écrivain britannique
Thierry Bodson, secrétaire général FGTB Wallonie
Thomas Blommaert, Editeur EPO
Uman, chanteur
Vincent Legrand, Professeur université de UCL
Vincent Scheltiens, docteur université Anvers
Viona Westra, ancienne journaliste
Wim De Ceukelair, directeur M3M
The New Antisemite: http://ift.tt/2sK2Ht8
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De Roovers’ production of A View from the Bridge. Photo by Stef Sessel
de Roovers adaptation of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge is set against the stunning backdrop of the Thames and Canary Wharf as part of this year’s Greenwich and Docklands International Festival. As the characters speak of immigration and our brothers, Rodolpho and Marco (Wouter Hendrickx and Adriaan Van Den Hoof), are travelling to a new land, as our narrator tells us the ship has arrived, the cast are subtly upstaged by the view of passing boats on the river. Amidst a ground of sandy stones sits the interior of our stage, a humble square platform, the home of Eddie Carbone, with his wife Beatrice and her niece Catherine (Robbie Cleiren, Sara de Bosschere and Sofie Sente). The play is accompanied by live music which undertones the text, eliciting feelings of excitement and intensity, bubbling the setup of the story and underpinning the emerging drama throughout.
The dialogue of Miller’s text is delivered with a feathery density, in that its poignant simplicity flows between the characters in a mode that makes it consistently engaging. It never stabs, but rather willows in the air, allowing even the moments of silence to be packed with a curious intensity. The story is clear and spoken with the sense of a beating heart; the essence of time is lurking beneath the surface; we are waiting for the climax from the start; we can sense it slowly building. It finally hits us, but there is something in the reactions of those around the final bullet which brings an anti-climactic closing. After a ninety-minute build up, the play doesn’t quite manage to pique at its dramatic end, but rather just stops. It feels under-thought, or under-rehearsed. Similarly, in an enthralling moment when Cleiren rips up the stage piece by piece (literally, breaks it apart into a scattering of individual square panels), the surrounding atmosphere doesn’t match up with the internal breakdown. There is little or no reaction from the family. It’s all rather half-hearted, which is a shame as physically destroying the interior of the home so captures the build-up of jealousy in Eddie’s mind and, in isolation, is captivating.
de Roovers is a company which works without a director. The thing I felt this production really needed: a director. Whilst it has vision and concept, it’s simply a case of uninteresting, simple blocking. Our narrator, Alfieri (Luc Nuyens) walks on awkwardly in most cases, not quite sure what to do with his hands. Cleiren stands for a large chunk of the beginning in one spot, de Bosschere clocks the audience quite a bit; the whole thing seems like a clumsy, unintended attempt at melodrama. Characters don’t really talk to each other, but mostly to us. It’s awkward and static. There’s nothing natural about it, yet it doesn’t seem purposeful enough to be non-naturalistic. It’s like the cast don’t trust the audience; they have to keep checking to make sure we’re concentrating. At the same time they are not fully committed themselves; distracted by passing boat music and planes; a nice idea which does not work in its execution. These moments breakaway from the story and struggle to refocus.
The performance makes a contrasting use of the interior and exterior space, which is really exciting; with the exterior constantly exposed, there’s nakedness, a vulnerability to those standing in the background. There is nowhere to hide. This could be taken further, making it even more exposing. Outside is natural, inside is still. Some of the most intense moments – lifting the chair, for instance – are skimmed over quickly, creating little dramatic impact at such an opportunity.
This is not a bad production. It just feels like it’s only half-way through rehearsals; like there are more discoveries to make. Moments of dance, tension or drama that are vital to the story’s progression are unfocused, more often than not. That being said, it’s nonetheless engaging and works beautifully in the realms of nature; two birds flying above the stage in the play’s final scene could not have been timed more perfectly. Of course, the chances of this happening every night is unlikely, but performing in the liveness of the outdoors permits for all kinds of moments like these; moments that are truly live theatrical experiences. Perhaps this production just needs to rethink about how these moments are engaged within the context of Miller’s text.
Review by Joseph Winer
Arthur Miller’s tragic masterpiece comes to a dramatic Thameside location in the UK première of
acclaimed Belgian company De Roovers’ adaptation, in a new English translation. A story of dock
workers and illegal migrants in search of the American dream is given new resonance against the
backdrop of the 21 st century London riverscape.
De Roovers, founded in 1994, is a theatre ensemble that works without a director. Starting with
challenging material — either classical or contemporary — the actors make and perform theatre
that, through compelling text, innovative approaches to design and an urgent performance style,
examines issues that are socially relevant
De Roovers presents
A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
PART OF GREENWICH + DOCKLANDS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2017
Thursday 22 June-Sunday 25 June, 2017 at 9pm
At Peninsula Quays, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0QE
http://ift.tt/2t727J0 LondonTheatre1.com
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