Rabbi leads vigil against Met opera
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 bigname politicians at a rally against the Met’s premiere of The Death of Klinghoffer.
On Monday, 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.
Rabbi 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.”