There are rules of engagement. The killing of non-combatants is unacceptable, no matter the perpetrators, no matter the cause.
What we intend to explore here is the nature of innocence and accountability. That we do not have a direct hand in the shedding of blood is not de facto proof of our purity. Our opportunities to support or otherwise countenance abhorrent villainy are myriad, and there is cultural precedent for holding others accountable for doing so.
Recently, a number of Harvard students made plain their support for the people of Palestine in a written statement. They were almost immediately sanctioned, doxxed, and blacklisted. These are life-changing social consequences in retaliation against young people speaking their conscience, and these consequences are readily endorsed by people in power. While unfortunate for these students, we now have a cultural precedent whereby the rest of us may call out individuals and organizations that we take to be bad actors.
We’re going to do that here.
A Legitimate Military Target
The Israel Edition Supernova psytrance music festival was staged by Tel Aviv-based Tribe of Nova in collaboration with Brazil’s Universo Parellelo. The location was just outside Kibbutz Re’im, a secular Zionist commune that also happens to enclose a military outpost and is the location of Isralaser, a laser cutting facility protected by a battery of tanks.
Why the protection?
Because Isralaser’s products are meant largely for Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Isralaser was also contracted by the United States to provide hardening and shielding equipment the duration of the Iraqi campaign (2007-12). This was the intended target of the invading militants, and their attack coincided with the end of the Jewish Sukkot holiday period.
The holiday may explain the lack of Israeli vigilance that allowed for what has been described as the single most violent act perpetrated against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, but there are certainly other possibilities.
Sandwiching your dance party in the no-man’s land between a military outpost and the Gaza border is a pretty awful idea, although this was not the original plan. Tribe of Nova switched the festival site from an undisclosed location in southern Israel only two days prior for reasons that are unclear.
Because we know that a number of these militants did indeed breach the fortifications of Kibbutz Re’im, we can say with certainty that terrorizing festival-goers was not their sole aim. If so, there would have been no need to introduce complexity and the possibility of militant casualties by pushing through to a military target. It would have been far easier restricting the operation to harassing, murdering, and kidnapping unarmed civilians than to intentionally engage the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).
Although we cannot state this with any certainty, it seems most probable that the festival became a frenzied and opportunistic free-for-all stumbled into and capitalized upon by the militants on their way to Kibbutz Re’im, a possibility that does not excuse the taking of civilian lives. We hold them, but not only them, accountable.
The music festival organizers may not have known that a battle was set to break out in their immediate area, but there are a few things that both they and the participants did know and we believe they should absolutely be condemned.
The Wrong Message in the Wrong Place
Universo Parellelo is based in Brazil. They’ve been organizing electronic music festivals for the last 23 years, primarily in Brazil. Shockingly, nowhere on their website (at the time of this writing) is there any statement of condolence, apology, or acknowledgement of recent events. There are, however, links to buy tickets for their December event.
The show must go on.
As can be readily ascertained from the name of the initiative, the festival organizers feel a responsibility to create, with the help of music and drugs, a “parallel universe,” where the “turmoil of these modern times” can be left behind.
. . . to allow the flourishing of a great collective organism that, for eight days, will radiate the energy of freedom, delight, encounter and celebration throughout the planet. And in these eight days of celebration, let us all be complicit in building an atmosphere of freedom and tolerance.
Of creativity and boldness and a deep respect for nature, utopia is the key and the secret.
The true gateway to an authentic parallel universe.
https://universoparalello.org
We agree.
Universo Parallelo and Tribe of Nova are indeed complicit.
Inviting restless suburbanites to drop acid and celebrate utopia by dancing adjacent to what humanitarian organizations unanimously describe as the world’s largest open-air prison is problematic. To “radiate the energy” of freedoms and delights that are daily denied the people of Gaza living in squalor on just the other side of a wall three miles from the party is a taunting kick to the heart that thoroughly unravels any narrative that situates this unconscionable display as a “festival of peace and love.”
These are spit-on-your-grave levels of depravity that would inspire Palestinian Americans to organize a week-long dabke festival outside the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum, except that they would never.
The entire enterprise is an exercise in escapism, a manufactured and monetized delusion that practically requires the use of mind-bending psychedelics. Rather than acknowledge and challenge the realities of the Israeli apartheid regime, the policies of which are in wild contravention to the utopian ideals of the EDM community, Tribe of Nova turns up the bass and invites the mushroom-addled kids to embrace the hypocrisy.
Tribe of Nova and all of those who showed up to party just outside a refugee ghetto should absolutely be held responsible for their negligent insensitivity in thinking this was a good idea.
In no way does our suggestion that they be held accountable excuse the killing and kidnapping of civilians by an armed militia. We rightfully put down the dog that bites, but what of those who kick and cajole the dog in the first place?
The New York Times quotes a 26 year-old attendee stating that the trance music scene allows her and others, “to disconnect your mind from all the tension in Israel.”
Nope.
You’re not allowed.
None of us is.
The End of Innocence?
Large scale anti-apartheid initiatives like the BDS Movement have been educating us for years about the need for a demonstrative cultural boycott of the Israeli regime. People who choose to live in Occupied Palestine, establish businesses, pay taxes, throw concerts, party, and otherwise shore up the apartheid infrastructure should be sanctioned until they wake up and demand that the Israeli war machine stand down.
It is hardly a wonder that Tribe of Nova would be allowed to set up their festival right outside of the Isralaser military outpost.
The Israeli regime functions best when their people are in a trance.
Leave a comment below for posterity or join us in the D&T Chautaqua Discord to discuss this post with other adventurous spirits from around the world.
Ahmed, السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
ما شاء الله
An eloquent post الحمدلله
One of your best ما شاء الله
May Allah ﷻ reward you
جزاكم الله خيراً
Amin! Always good to hear from you, brother.
Thank you for taking the time to analyze this part of the scenario. Many moving parts in these series of events. It was refreshing to hear a well researched and articulated reflection and proving analysis that mainstream media or public will not consider or open their mind to.
The machinations of disinformation are certainly complex. Beyond the ham-fisted practice of printing outright fiction, we can further mislead through distraction, omission, and emphasis. I believe there are people doing this on all sides of the conflict and we have a collective responsibility to get at the facts. Once we have some clarity, we are all free to overlay those facts with opinion and interpretation, but this needs to be clearly differentiated.
We were aiming to strike that balance here, insha Allah. This is, more than anything, an opinion piece. But those opinions are grounded in a widely substantiated, publicly available timeline. The opinions that are raised are, in some ways, as important as the facts because they lay the framework for conversation around next steps and, hopefully, resolution.
Suburbanites? So you know who went to dance there? Hard working, animal loving, grandchildren of refugees who received a location on their phone and went to dance and celebrate life. If they were Arab it would be fine right? Drugs? My son drank beer and smoked cigarettes and was murdered while helping the wounded.
You should definitely hold the producers of the festival accountable, as well as the people who knew about the plans for the attack.
Hamas has it planned for many many years. They never informed the Palestinian civilians what they planned! Their plan was to terminate Israel, to give Israel bad press, to make Israel and Jews around the world suffer! They use the civilians of Palestine as bait! They take beautiful and special ordinary humans and rape, murder, kidnap to get Israel wound up knowing they will retaliate! Hamas have a tunnel network bigger than the London Underground with food, water, beds, and supplies and enough space to hide the civilian people away but they chose to put the civilian people above them hiding underneath knowing that Israel would be attacking them and the world will see Israel defending itself as the bad boys! This was the plan all along! It just happened that a love and peace dance festival got in the way! So what if people take acid to dance to psychedelic trance to let go and have fun, that’s nothing to do with raping, murdering and totally destroying innocent people and their lives! Let me tell you if Hamas wanted to save the Palestinian people! They would have surrendered and they would have taken the hostages home but NO! They still hide amongst the good people of Palestine and they don’t care one bit!!! As long as they get what they wanted and that is to ridicule Israel and the Jewish people and they are managing to complete their mission and they don’t care how many people died in the process otherwise they would have surrendered!
It is people like you that are the problem
Netanyahu helped create and fund hamas in order to create division amongst Palestinians
He also helped fund the development of the tunnels with assistance from other parties
There is a home video of Netanyahu explaining to his family his great plan to destroy Gaza and eliminate all Palestinians from the region
His ambition to create a greater Israeli state
27 Israeli female security officers stationed at different locations at the border reported on a daily basis to IDF HEADQUARTERS that resistance forces were planning something as they were constantly seen surveying the border defences
for months
All reports were ignored by Netanyahu and IDF leaders
There was no activity reported on the 6th all quiet but it all started on the morning of the 7th
Netanyahu and the IDF failed to protect the Israeli border security personnel
It took nearly 7 hours for the IDF commanders to get their soldiers to the border by that time the attacks were finished
20 Israeli female officers were killed 7 taken hostage
Netanyahu or the IDF have not yet sympathised with their families
They promised an investigation but as yet have only stated what everyone already knew
There is evidence of IDF soldiers firing indiscriminately into the festival crowds killing many Israelis
There is also evidence of IDF air strikes into a Kibbutz killing up to 40 Israeli residents
Also evidence of IDF firing into a house in a Kibbutz where Israeli residents were sheltering because they ‘understood’ that resistance fighters were hiding amongst them…many residents killed
It’s because of this evidence coming to light explains in part why Netanyahu doesn’t allow foreign journalists in to Gaza to report on the attacks and subsequent bombing of Gaza and killing of over 42 thousand Palestinians documented (though there are thousands more victims buried under the rubble
And finally ask yourself this question why was this Nova festival authorised to be held at a venue so close to the border with Gaza!!!!
The evidence is now piling up on what really went on behind these attacks as it is now apparent that Netanyahu and his government were aware of impending attacks!
Heya! By any chance do you have the poster or the statement about the additional date & location being moved?
I can no longer seem to find the post, poster/date lineup & the website anymore… seems to be getting wiped from the internet?
This is the quote from Billboard’s interview with artist manager Raz Gaster:
You may be able to reach Mr. Raster directly through the contact information listed at the bottom of this page.
Shame on you for trying to push the blame onto young people simply trying to enjoy themselves.
You should not be so lazy and dig a little deeper.
Isn’t it sad that the author of this article found so much fun in blaming the innocent young festival goers for getting killed and raped and tortured .
Man you are a sad, disgusting individual.
You need to get yourself a mirror and had a good look at what you see there. What you will find in that mirror is exactly what this world does not need.
My heart goes out to everyone that has been killed ever since Oct 7 on both sides. It all stated with a inhumane attack on innocent people that just wanted to have fun.
He wasn’t blaming the partygoers, he was questioning the location , which is down to the organisers. I must say, having been a huge festival goer here in England, and knowing the atmosphere of celebration and being high on drugs etc, it was the first thing I thought , why do that within earshot of gaza, which is ful of oppressed people. It struck me as insensitive and dangerous.
… its likely to be a decision driven by the desire to not have to cancel the event, and the organisers lose money. It must have crossed the mind of organisers, but the dollar signs in theyre eyes obscured theyre vision
You are a moron. Gaza is occupied by Hamas and any “squalor” they live in is self imposed. Why aren’t you asking other Arab countries to help these people? Or right. They won’t. Only terrorists help them. Hm. Read your history.