Jerusalem Post/Ben Red Completely Off Base In Criticism of Eddie and Pearl Jam

BS44325

Earlier today the Jerusalem Post wrote the following article on Eddie's speech during Daughter at the Milton Keynes show:

http://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Music/WATCH-Pearl-Jams-Eddie-Vedder-launches-anti-Israel-diatribe-during-concert-362556

I don't wish this post to be a discussion on the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict (please take that elsewhere) but I just want to get off my chest how disappointed I am with the author of the article and Ben Red who runs the "Bring Pearl Jam to Israel" Facebook page.

After watching the Daughter video at the link above it is absolutely clear that Eddie is not singling out any side in the conflict. He specifically refers to those that are "dropping bombs on EACH OTHER" and to those that are using the current violence to justify incursions into lands that do not belong to them. While I understand tensions are high this speech 100% applies to ALL sides so I find it very disingenuous for The Jerusalem Post and Ben Red to come down on Eddie the way they did. Anyone who has followed this band from the start knows that Eddie has long been a vocal opponent of war, conflict and violence in all their forms. He is deeply passionate about this and from time to time allows this passion to reach the stage. It is this kind of passion that has taken me to 29 shows around the world and kept me following the band through all these years. I am a proud supporter of Israel and I am under no illusions that Eddie's politics probably do not line up with mine. That being said I will always and no matter what support Eddie's right to speak out on this issue or any other issue irrespective of whether we are in agreement. I want a band and lead singer that care deeply about the world around them. I am mature enough to handle the moments when we disagree. I believe the "Bring Pearl Jam to Israel" movement is a noble one but it will never come to fruition if the people that run it are unable to demonstrate their ability to tolerate the most basic of criticisms. If anyone affiliated with the band is reading this please know that not all supporters of Israel agree with Ben Red and commenters at the Jerusalem Post. Many of us share in your sentiment for the end of conflict and hope you continue to take the stage for peace in the years to come.


Bombs dropping down please forgive our hometown in our insignificance.

RS151862

I think that writer took a pretty huge, and irresponsible leap suggesting that Ed was referring to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The writer even says "Although he never explicitly mentions Israel by name...". Its no secret Ed, and many Americans, have been critical of our countries actions in the Middle East, and there's no reason to believe Ed's not talking about that. He has countless times before so I'm not sure why the writer assumes hes talking about Israel this time.

benjs

RS151862 said:

I think that writer took a pretty huge, and irresponsible leap suggesting that Ed was referring to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The writer even says "Although he never explicitly mentions Israel by name...". Its no secret Ed, and many Americans, have been critical of our countries actions in the Middle East, and there's no reason to believe Ed's not talking about that. He has countless times before so I'm not sure why the writer assumes hes talking about Israel this time.

Oh, come on, let's be realistic here - this was about the conflict.

dfishberg

Of course Ed was talking about the conflict. I find it interesting that he would tag this rant off of Daughter considering the message of that song and the current state of women's rights in the Middle East. I fully support Ed's right to sat whatever he wants, and off course, no one wants to see bombings, but I think Ed may need a history lesson before he engages in another one of his drunken ramblings.

Last-12-Exit

Ed most certainty is talking about Israel. The part where he says walking over borders and taking land that's not theirs. It's pretty clear where he stands and why PJ hasn't gone to Israel.

PhillyCrownOfThorns

Extremely disappointed in Eddies speech. It's not a doubt of what he is talking about. Going to let this settle in for a bit, but it sounds like he is more like roger waters than I thought. Too bad!

"Dream the dreams of other men, you will be no ones rival!"

JohnnieBeBlue

Yeah, it hurts, and I'm disappointed that the band can't separate the art from the politics. There are bad guys on both sides of this fight and innocent people suffering all around. The fact that they haven't played in Israel ever speaks volumes on where he stands. It's just disappointing and disheartening that the fans have to suffer.

JimmyV

Last-12-Exit said:

Ed most certainty is talking about Israel. The part where he says walking over borders and taking land that's not theirs. It's pretty clear where he stands and why PJ hasn't gone to Israel.

Playing Israel would be a drastic departure from the band's established touring habits the last ten years or so. They play North America, South America, Europe and Australia. That's it. They haven't ventured anywhere else since 2003.

I'm not saying the conflict has had no impact on why they haven't played there, just that it alone is not the only reason.

bradklausen

I don't think it was about that conflict in particular... just conflict in general... you turn on your tv and someone is firing missiles into somewhere else and someone is dropping bombs on someone else... so regardless of where and who's doing it...it's all just more conflict...you turn on the tv and it's just more war and death...from all points of the globe.

Ed and the band don't have a horse in the race... in terms of Israeli/Palestinian conflict... they are pro-human... they were one of the few who stood up against the Bush/Cheney invasion, against the actions of their own government. And they were put down for that.

reading the comments on that article were discouraging... people, whether they are Israeli, Palestinian, American, Russian, Chinese, etc etc, are so quick to defend their government's decisions to use force on other nations...when 9 times out of 10 governments are lying as to the real motives behind their actions, yet the people, conditioned to rally behind patriotism and nationalism brainwashed by their media, rush to defend the the actions of a bunch of liars in suits who will push for your children and you to go fight based on some trumped up lies but won't fight themselves as they reap the benefits of the conflict safely behind their gated walls of luxury and prestige.

We as humans should all rally around one another, around life, not around pointless borders drawn on a map by egomaniac imperialists as they carve up the land like a piece of cake fighting for control over the biggest piece of planet's natural resources, or around the agendas of a few notorious pathological liars in suits. The more you travel around the globe, the more you realize people everywhere are exactly the same. We're doing the same thing, trying to exist and survive and enjoy the time we have here. We all have families, we all have ambition and desires, we all have a need for food and water, we all laugh and experience joy and happiness the same, we all bleed and hurt and suffer exactly the same. Maybe we have different viewpoints on god or how we should live, but at our core, a human is a human is a human, regardless of our opinions and beliefs... which are nothing more then opinions and beliefs.

Your home is your home, and you have every right to defend it, but why support the actions of those few in power who don't care about your home but exploit your love for your home so they can achieve their own selfish agenda at all of our expense? These liars understand psychology better then anything else, and they know we are all protective and proud of our homes, so they use that, they tell us some enemy wants our home and is coming to take it from us and that they hate us... they make up fictitious narratives and pump them into our homes 24/7 to alert us to these boogeymen and build hatred so that we will all find them justified and right and support their crimes against humanity and want to line up to help them in their efforts to "protect our homes". When the reality is we should be protecting ourselves from them. If I come up to you and say "Hey Bill, I have information that you might get your ass kicked tomorrow by some unknown masked bad guys from the other side of town who hate you because you live on this side of town...but if you do what I say, I can protect you, but if you don't you're going to get your ass kicked, and bad"... do I have "intel" about this event and am your friend trying to warn you or am I threatening you with the likely hood of this event happening if you don't do as I say...? The people we should be most suspect of, are the ones continually telling us we are in danger and we have to give up something precious of ours, like our freedoms and liberties or our children's lives, to them to save ourselves from this supposed danger they keep bringing to us over and over again. According to notorious liars, we are in constant threat of danger from people far away and at home that we don't know, and the threat is very "real" though these liars just can't tell us about how they know about it because it would jeopardize national security... but trust them, someone is always trying to harm you 24/7 and you need protection, so surrender everything they ask for otherwise suffer the consequences. Normally, that's called strong arm robbery, but for governments, it's just them defending us as the gracious servants they are to the nation.

We should be defending one another, not the actions of governments that are supposedly representing us and exploiting our love for our respective countries. Politicians, governments, lie... all of them, to some degree or another, either to promote their own careers or their own agendas and then try and convince us they are just servants of the people here to do right by us. I don't understand why we continually put any amount of faith in people and institutions whose track records throughout history are covered in lying, deception and manipulation and who are the first to bang the drums of war and rally the citizens into war lust, yet are nowhere to be seen when it comes time to fight except on the tv telling you why you should go fight. But don't worry, the next politician in your country will be different and fix it all. It's a known joke that politicians are professional liars, they kiss babies and shake hands, yet knowing this we repeatedly put all our faith and trust in them time and time again and it's the same results time and time again... we get screwed in some form or another, and they get their names written down in the history books.

.... and as for the comments we've all heard before, about entertainers and politics, the shut up and sing, or that entertainers have no place speaking about anything other then entertainment.. while I get that people go to a concert to be entertained and that's what they paid for... entertainers, are still human beings just like everyone, while some may disagree with the use of a particular venue for an entertainer to speak their mind, they are still human and get to have the same feelings as anyone else. Actors and musicians leave their normal venues and go on "news" shows and speak their minds, and again, they are belittled and put down for speaking about things they shouldn't.... yet what gives a tv personality entertainer disguised as a "news journalist" any more right to discuss the same issues that effect every human? Should a plumber or a welder only ever speak about their profession? Our humanity comes before our professions... your job is just what you do to survive and exist and feed your family, it does not define you, your humanity defines you... we are all humans, not careers.

JohnnieBeBlue

JimmyV said:

Last-12-Exit said:

Ed most certainty is talking about Israel. The part where he says walking over borders and taking land that's not theirs. It's pretty clear where he stands and why PJ hasn't gone to Israel.

Playing Israel would be a drastic departure from the band's established touring habits the last ten years or so. They play North America, South America, Europe and Australia. That's it. They haven't ventured anywhere else since 2003.

I'm not saying the conflict has had no impact on why they haven't played there, just that it alone is not the only reason.

I'd like to think you're right, but almost every other big band has made it or at least said specifically why they won't go.

mrk2

And even in Europe they have played the same few countries since 2007.

They really must hate places like Finland, the baltics, Russia, Switzerland, Scotland, Wales, Hungary, Greece that are part of many bands tours but pj hasnt played for years or ever

dfishberg

I think they just hate Dimitri hence no Greece

gimmesometruth27

i find it interesting that people lobbying a rock band to come to their country to entertain them are upset when the singer of said band speaks out about his feelings on the conflict. any government, and any citizen of a country must be prepared to take criticism for how your country acts. you can take it as constructive, or you can take it as an attack. it is all in how you process it. the rest of the world opposes the occupation, and the rocket fire is not the cause of the conflict, rather it is a symptom of the occupation.

i believe that the bring pearl jam to israel movement is misguided. they are focusing on the wrong thing. maybe if as many people that lobbied for pearl jam to come to israel lobbied their government for a just peace with the palestinians, maybe the movement would gain some traction.

benjs

bradklausen said:

I don't think it was about that conflict in particular... just conflict in general... you turn on your tv and someone is firing missiles into somewhere else and someone is dropping bombs on someone else... so regardless of where and who's doing it...it's all just more conflict...you turn on the tv and it's just more war and death...from all points of the globe.

Ed and the band don't have a horse in the race... in terms of Israeli/Palestinian conflict... they are pro-human... they were one of the few who stood up against the Bush/Cheney invasion, against the actions of their own government. And they were put down for that.

reading the comments on that article were discouraging... people, whether they are Israeli, Palestinian, American, Russian, Chinese, etc etc, are so quick to defend their government's decisions to use force on other nations...when 9 times out of 10 governments are lying as to the real motives behind their actions, yet the people, conditioned to rally behind patriotism and nationalism brainwashed by their media, rush to defend the the actions of a bunch of liars in suits who will push for your children and you to go fight based on some trumped up lies but won't fight themselves as the reap the benefits of the conflict safely behind their gated walls of luxury and prestige.

We as humans should all rally around one another, around life, not around pointless borders drawn on a map by egomaniac imperialists, or around the agendas of a few notorious pathological liars in suits. The more you travel around the globe, the more you realize people everywhere are exactly the same. We're doing the same thing, trying to exist and survive and enjoy the time we have here. We all have families, we all have ambition and desires, we all have a need for food and water, we all laugh and experience joy and happiness the same, we all bleed and hurt and suffer exactly the same. Maybe we have different viewpoints on god or how we should live, but at our core, a human is a human is a human, regardless of our opinions and beliefs... which are nothing more then opinions and beliefs.

Your home is your home, and you have every right to defend it, but why support the actions of those few in power who don't care about your home but exploit your love for your home so they can achieve their own selfish agenda at all of our expense? These liars understand psychology better then anything else, and they know we are all protective and proud of our homes, so they use that, they tell us some enemy wants our home and is coming to take it from us and that they hate us... they make up fictitious narratives and pump them into our homes 24/7 to alert us to these boogeymen and build hatred so that we will all find them justified and right and support their crimes against humanity and want to line up to help them in their efforts to "protect our homes". When the reality is we should be protecting ourselves from them. If I come up to you and say "Hey Bill, I have information that you might get your ass kicked tomorrow by some unknown masked bad guys from the other side of town who hate you because you live on this side of town...but if you do what I say, I can protect, you, but if you don't you're going to get your ass kicked, and bad"... do I have "intel" about this event and am your friend trying to warn you or am I threatening you with the likely hood of this event happening if you don't do as I say...? The people we should be most suspect of, are the ones continually telling us we are in danger and we have to give up something precious of ours, like our freedoms and liberties or our children's lives, to them to save ourselves from this supposed danger they keep bringing to us over and over again. According to notorious liars, we are in constant threat of danger from people far away and at home that we don't know, and the threat is very "real" these liars just can't tell us about how they know about it because it would jeopardize national security... but trust them, someone is always trying to harm you 24/7 and you need protection, so surrender everything they ask for otherwise suffer the consequences. Normally, that's called strong arm robbery, but for governments, it's just them defending us as the gracious servants they are to the nation.

We should be defending one another, not the actions of governments that are supposedly representing us and exploiting our love for our respective countries. Politicians, governments, lie... all of them, to some degree or another, either to promote their own careers or their own agendas and then try and convince us they are just servants of the people here to do right by us. I don't understand why we continually put any amount of faith in people and institutions whose track records throughout history is covered in lying, deception and manipulation and who are the first to bang the drums of war and rally the citizens into war lust, yet are nowhere to be seen when it comes time to fight except on the tv telling you why you should go fight. But don't worry, the next politician in your country will be different and fix it all. It's a known joke that politicians are professional liars, they kiss babies and shake hands, yet knowing this we repeatedly put all our faith and trust in them time and time again and it's the same results time and time again... we get screwed in some form or another, and they get their names written down in the history books.

.... and as for the comments we've all heard before, about entertainers and politics, the shut up and sing, or that entertainers have no place speaking about anything other then entertainment.. while I get that people go to a concert to be entertained and that's what they paid for... entertainers, are still human beings just like everyone, while some may disagree with the use of a particular venue for an entertainer to speak their mind, they are still human and get to have the same feelings as anyone else. Actors and musicians leave their normal venues and go on "news" shows and speak their minds, and again, they are belittled and put down for speaking about things they shouldn't.... yet what gives a tv personality entertainer disguised as a "news journalist" any more right to discuss the same issues that effect every human? Should a plumber or a welder only ever speak about their profession? Our humanity comes before our professions... your job is just what you do to survive and exist and feed your family, it does not define you, your humanity defines you... we are all humans, not careers.

Mr. Klausen, if (and I doubt this happens) your printing career ever begins to fail you, please fall back to writing professionally. Couldn't have said it better.

melissachun

Well, said bradklausen. I also find it disturbing that the world's decisions are really made by a handful of people - human beings that are not infallible and do not always act in the best interest of those they represent. It's important to keep that in mind, when considering whether an entire country (or city or state) is to blame for a political action. And as for the "shut up and sing" mentality, it's ridiculous to try and stifle an artist's self expression. If that's what everyone wants, then there may as well be clones or mannequins on stage.

Hobbes

Reminds me of the performance from the Showbox. Same passion, same anger, same message...

RiotZact

Just like in 2003, Ed bashed one person so people act like he's pissing on an American flag. Now he's bashing one small group of decision makers and people are acting like he's pissing on the Israeli flag and boycotting their country. I'll be 100% honest I am not read up enough on the situation to have a solid opinion on it but one thing that I know is if a country is dropping bombs on another country Eddie Vedder is gonna disagree with that county decision to do so. I don't know how you could be surprised by this if you consider yourself a Pearl Jam fan, it's what he does, right or wrong, like it or not.

PJ_Soul

Wow, surprised so many people care so much about what he said. He has a right to his opinion; I can't believe some people are mad that he expressed it. SMH. This is typical Eddie. And i am so happy he's doing more of his political rants - that's the eddie I know and love, lol. To me it didn't even seem like he was picking sides. Actually, he seems to have the same attitude as me. Everyone's wrong in one way or another and no one is doing anything to stop it. They all have to fucking stop it. Seems like a simple idea to me. Peace.

RiotZact

PJ_Soul said:

Wow, surprised so many people care so much about what he said. He has a right to his opinion; I can't believe some people are mad that he expressed it. SMH. To me it didn't even seem like he was picking sides. Actually, he seems to have the same attitude as me. Everyone's wrong in ine way or another and no one is doi g anything to stop it. They all have to fucking stop it. Seems like a simple idea to me. Peace.

Bingo!!! >-

bradklausen

and a p.s. to the shut up and sing thing.... people say "i didn't pay money to listen to someone talk about politics!"... but if you spent money on a pj ticket, you sure as shit spent money to listen to someone sing about politics... you even happily sing along... people get mad when ed stops singing about politics and starts talking about them... then the band plays Insignificance or Do The Evolution or Rockin in the Free World or All Along the Watchtower or any of the many politically themed songs in the band's catalog and everyone cheers and sings along... but then he stops singing and expresses himself exactly as he does in his lyrics and people get all bent out of shape...

PJammer4life

Seems most Israeli fans are saying we are defending ourselves vs attacks, and Eddie was saying I don't like any of it..every day the news gets worse. ISIS crucifying people, chemical weapons, nuclear materials, teenagers killed, revenge burning alive etc. it all is out if control. We need to treat each other with respect. Decisions by leaders and weapons manufactures help to propagate this violence. Is it so bad to be against this?

link93

Have to agree with Brad. I don't know why anyone is surprised by what Eddie says here. It is part of what and who he is. And while I don't agree with everything Eddie has to say I agree with his right to say it and I don't mind looking at things from other peoples point of view and after consideration either disagreeing or changing my opinion if my opinion is wrong. Some things I agree with Eddie on and many things I disagree, but I think if Eddie and I were to sit down and have a drink we would get along great. Just my 2 cents.

melissachun

bradklausen said:

and a p.s. to the shut up and sing thing.... people say "i didn't pay money to listen to someone talk about politics!"... but if you spent money on a pj ticket, you sure as shit spent money to listen to someone sing about politics... you even happily sing along... people get mad when ed stops singing about politics and starts talking about them... then the band plays Insignificance or Do The Evolution or Rockin in the Free World or All Along the Watchtower or any of the many politically themed songs in the band's catalog and everyone cheers and sings along... but then he stops singing and expresses himself exactly as he does in his lyrics and people get all bent out of shape...

I don't think a lot of people really consider the meaning of lyrics, or they give it a pass as long as it's a catchy melody. That's really the beauty of the songs. If people actively listen they may become aware of an idea they wouldn't have otherwise considered. I think of a Pearl Jam concert as an "experience" not a "show." It's interactive as opposed to being just a spectacle. I hope that never changes.

notforconsumption

Brad Klausen, couldn't have put it better!
(Also a big fan of your work!)
The individuals in these high, decision-making positions don't care about the people, they only care about power. This is directly applicable to each and every one of the numerous violent conflicts that are currently taking place around the world.

People get manipulated into fighting these wars, but there's no way they could come out winners.
War is destructive and devastating. For people and the environment!

Love is much easier to do, so why choose hate?!

rr165892

There are three big territorial conflicts in the headlines right now.Israel/Palestinian,Russian/Ukranian,And the on going quest to take over cities by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.While North Korea is also shooting(testing) Missles.
I think Ed is wrapping it all up in one big statement against ALL the hostilities going on worldwide.I don't see where it was directed at any one conflict.

CM189191

rr165892 said:

There are three big territorial conflicts in the headlines right now.Israel/Palestinian,Russian/Ukranian,And the on going quest to take over cities by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.While North Korea is also shooting(testing) Missles.
I think Ed is wrapping it all up in one big statement against ALL the hostilities going on worldwide.I don't see where it was directed at any one conflict.

Keep telling yourself that. Or maybe he was talking about Cambodia or Vietnam....

rr165892

Maybe

tempo_n_groove

Read the comments below the article those are pretty interesting.

bradklausen

CM189191 said:

rr165892 said:

There are three big territorial conflicts in the headlines right now.Israel/Palestinian,Russian/Ukranian,And the on going quest to take over cities by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.While North Korea is also shooting(testing) Missles.
I think Ed is wrapping it all up in one big statement against ALL the hostilities going on worldwide.I don't see where it was directed at any one conflict.

Keep telling yourself that. Or maybe he was talking about Cambodia or Vietnam....

I believe he was speaking to things like Cambodia and Vietnam... he was speaking about war. And while he very well could have been addressing recent event with Israel and Palestine, while that might have been the catalyst for his comments (none of us will ever truly know) he wasn't choosing sides... the tag line in daughter was "war, what is it good for?" ...not" Israel, what they are doing is wrong".

he's speaking to all the elements of the world that choose war over peace... regardless of what country they are operating out of. He's been very outspoken about the actions of his own government who have generated a great deal of war and conflict throughout the history of the US.

we should all be against war and conflict...even if some party murders your whole family, while it's natural to seek revenge and justice... it's the whole an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth just leaves the whole world blind and toothless.

mrk2

tempo_n_groove said:

Read the comments below the article those are pretty interesting.

Full of peace, love and understanding.

whofeelslikeadrank

to me the funniest part is the quote at the end... Eddie "finally" revealing his "true face"? What "fan" didn't already know how Eddie really felt about war??