#kufiyaspotting: Kobi Farhi of Israeli metal band Orphaned Land

 

 

 

Orphaned Land were founded in 1991, led by Jaffa-born singer Kobi Farhi. Mark Levine discusses them in his book Heavy Metal Islam, and he calls them an "Oriental death-doom metal" band. Their orientation is very much about peace, and according to Levine, they have lots of fans in the Middle East outside of Israel. Kobi is Ashkenazi, the band's lead guitarist until 2014, Yossi Sassi is Mizrahi (Libyan-Iraqi). Given their political orientation, I don't regard this use of the kufiya as appropriation, but rather a signifier of solidarity/identification with Palestinian/Arab culture. I'm not much of a metal head but I respect Mark Levine's opinion about their virtuosity. Here is a YouTube video of one of their songs, to give you  flavor of what they do.

5 Years Too Many!

And 1 trillion dollars too many [WRONG! As of today, Feb. 19, it's $495 billion too many, according to the National Priorities Project], 1 million (or so) Iraqi dead too many, 4000 (nearly) US soldiers too many...I can hardly believe that the 5th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War is nearly upon us (March 19). Fayetteville's peace organization, the Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology, is planning to mark the anniversary with a demonstration, strung out along College Ave. from College to Township, on March 8. (Not March 19, because that's during spring break for us.) Join us!

And, to raise money for the event, a Pancakes for Peace breakfast on March 1st. With coffee courtesy of Arsaga's!

Fayetteville Vigil: in commemoration of the dead in Iraq

Yesterday, January 2, the Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology organized a vigil to remember the now 3000+ US soldiers who have lost their lives in Iraq and the half million or so Iraqis who have died since March 2003. About 40-50 people attended, holding candles and dressed in black as a sign of mourning. (Not, as some kid yelled out of the window at those assembled, to look "cool" and "kinda gothic.") The vigil received front page coverage in today's Northwest Arkansas Times. The group assembled in front of the Federal Building, on College Ave., a major thoroughfare, from 4:30-6:30, and so lots of people driving by saw the event. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and I saw no, zero, negative responses from drivers to our posters and the peace signs we waved. This is an extremely unpopular war--but how to get more people actively mobilized, and how to pressure the Democratic-controlled Congress to stop funding the war?

Tags: Iraq, war, protest, peace