Marrickville singing in harmony
MARRICKVILLE Council, once maligned due to its attempt to join the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, has lent its backing to the staging of a Jewish music festival in the area.
MARRICKVILLE Council, once maligned due to its attempt to join the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, has lent its backing to the staging of a Jewish music festival in the area.
A Shir Madness preview event – the main festival this year is being held in Melbourne – will take place at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville on Thursday, September 3.
The Council unanimously resolved at its meeting on July 21 to provide a $1000 grant to organisers, in addition to advertising the event on its website and weekly mayoral column, and making a gallery available to a Jewish art exhibition.
Jewish Councillor Rosana Tyler, who brought the motion to support the festival before Council, told The AJN, “This is a great initiative, and I’m really happy that the other councillors fully endorsed it. And the fact that they did means they will be more amenable to similar things in the future,” she said. “The more that people hear that Jews are in Marrickville, the more likely they are to accept them and then to think nothing of it. And I want to see that happen.”
Describing the Council’s failed attempt to support BDS as an aberration, member of the Inner West Jewish community Uri Windt said the Council’s backing reaffirmed the underlying “cultural commitment to diversity”.
He added, “It’s a terrific boon, there’s a lot of activity that goes on within the Inner West Jewish community, some of it unseen, but this gives a very public face to it.”
Shir Madness festival director Gary Holzman, who also spoke at the Council meeting, said: “This marks a significant change of attitude from the Council and highlights the power of music to build bridges and promote harmony between communities, which is what Shir Madness is all about.”
GARETH NARUNSKY
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