Palestinians Disband Youth Orchestra as Punishment for Holocaust Survivor Concert

A Palestinian youth orchestra has been shut down and its director banned from its premises because it played a concert for Jewish Holocaust survivors. The ensemble, which is made up of children between the ages of 11 and 18 from a refugee camp in Jenin, performed in the Israeli city of Holon last Wednesday. The event, which was set up by an Israeli charity, sparked an immediate reaction from Palestinian officials who were livid that the concert was performed in Israel at the Holocaust Survivors Center. Yet media reports indicated that the Palestinian youth did not know the nature of their audience or even about the Holocaust. The reckoning came quickly as authorities acted to close down the orchestra in order to “protect our children and our community,” according to the official in charge of cultural programs for the refugee camp.