NEW YORK, Oct 21: A globally prominent rabbi led Jewish teenagers in a prayer vigil outside the Metropolitan Opera to protest an opera they say glorifies Palestinian terrorists.
Rabbi Avi Weiss and youths from several faith-based schools later planned to join former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and other big-name politicians at a rally against the Met’s premiere of “The Death of Klinghoffer.”
Yesterday, youths sat at their makeshift prayer spot opposite the Met, discussing Hebrew scriptures in shifts of about a dozen throughout the afternoon.
“We’re here because the Met is glorifying the killing of a Jew, and we must speak out we’re the next generation,” said Shabbos Kestenbaum, 15.
A placard read: “We pray for Leon Klinghoffer’s soul.”
The disabled 69-year-old New Yorker was shot in his wheelchair aboard the Achille Lauro Italian cruise ship. It was hijacked in 1985 by four men from the Palestinian Liberation Organisation who then pushed him into the sea.
American composer John Adams’ opera has been a lightning rod since February, when it was first scheduled for this season. The first large demonstration came on the Met’s September 22 season opening night, featuring a Mozart work, when protesters jeered at arriving spectators.
The opposition to “Klinghoffer” is now reaching fever pitch, with word spreading that activists may try to disrupt the Monday evening company premiere by using legitimately purchased tickets, then popping up inside the auditorium during the show.
Weiss said the music “extols” the terrorists, beginning with the “Chorus of Exiled Palestinians,” while the Klinghoffers come off as shallow, money-conscious characters whose first words, according to the rabbi, are: “I’ve got no money left. I gave all my money for the taxi.”
“The language is explosive. It’s radioactive. It’s dangerous,” the rabbi said. “It inspires violence.”
Politicians who are part of the growing firestorm against Adams’ 1991 opera include former New York Gov. George Pataki and US Congressmen Jerrold Nadler and Peter King.
Organisers said 100 symbolic wheelchairs would be brought to the rally at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
The Met canceled the international movie theater and radio broadcasts in November amid pressure from Jewish groups, especially the New York-based Anti-Defamation League. Met General Manager Peter Gelb, who is Jewish, said the decision was made “as a compromise gesture.” (AGENCIES)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel