Vociferous, rabble-rousing sentiments criticizing Israel and placing Palestine in the underdog role have been made at a protest rally by...Brian Eno? What is this, a rock Mad Lib? Proving that you don't have to be Bruce Springsteen or Zach de la Rocha to make a political statement, the godfather of ambient music made an appearance at a protest in London's Trafalgar Square last Saturday, tossing verbal barbs at Israel for what he calls their "experiment in provocation."
"Israel is pretending to be a victim in a situation in which they are the oppressor," opined Eno, adding "It's tragic that a country formed in the ashes of the Holocaust should act in this way." Eno encouraged all within earshot to ratchet up the level of opposition to Israel's actions, saying "This is a mass movement, let's keep it going." Rumors that Eno's next act of insurrection would be a museum installation of cranky mood music could not be confirmed.
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Brian Eno »
Just for history's sake, I'll mention that decades ago, Eno caught some flak from rock magazine readers for voicing what they felt were anti-Jewish sentiments.
This was in a 1981 issue of Trouser Press (I collect vintage rock mags!), in a story about his and David Byrne's "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" album. Eno said the following about some of the USA's political movements: "This is a country where a lot of the most powerful movements are inward-looking. Gay rights, black power, women's lib, the Jewish movement-they're all based on this sense of 'what about me?' I don't trust a movement based on self-pity. That doesn't mean I don't sympathize with some of its intentions, but it has a cloying quality to it. It sets very quickly into bitterness."
A few issues down the line, some readers wrote to complain. A transcript of the story can be found here:
http://bushofghosts.wmg.com/archive_press.php?id=6