The Art of Selective Outrage
📰 THE STORY: Newsweek reports on composer Philip Glass and other artists withdrawing from Kennedy Center events to protest the Trump administration's policies, highlighting a wave of artistic dissent against perceived government transgressions. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: While Glass's 2018 action against Trump was met with significant media attention, the widespread
artistic and academic boycotts and divestment campaigns against Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, stemming from the 1948 Nakba and intensified by the 1967 occupation and subsequent atrocities, are routinely either ignored, downplayed, or smeared as 'antisemitic' by these same outlets. The US-backed 2023-24 genocide in Gaza, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, has seen
unprecedented global calls for boycotts, yet major Western media focus remains intensely selective in *which* protests they deem legitimate or newsworthy. Double Standard: The media frames artists protesting a domestic US administration as courageous and principled. Yet, artists, academics, and institutions boycotting Israeli cultural institutions to protest documented human rights abuses,
violations of international law, and apartheid – a movement that mirrors historical boycotts against apartheid South Africa (which Israel supported until 1994) – are often condemned by these same outlets, often with heavy lobbying from groups like AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which frequently conflate criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism. Follow the Money: Major