On The Front Line: When Terrorists Target Musicians

When the Islamic suicide bomber recently attacked Mike's Place, the most popular blues club in Israel, he hit the fundamentalist version of the daily double. Not only did he kill Jews, he also killed musicians.

The modern-day Islamic terror movement has a very broad agenda. They want to pave the way for creation of an ideologically pure Islamic state throughout the entire Middle East and arguably the world.

But they also want to cleanse the world of all unholy behavior. To them, nothing is more unholy and anti-Islam than decadent Western music.

According to the Jerusalem Post, in addition to the bomber, three Israelis lost their lives in the April 30 attack, and scores were wounded, some seriously. Of course, Mike's Place was a mess.

Many of the wounded had embedded somewhere in their bodies the trademark of the modern-day Palestinian terrorist bomb-maker—nails, shards of metal, ball bearings—the added touch of a murderer intending to inflict as much death and pain as possible.

There is no greater sign of evil than the now very familiar X-ray of a wounded terrorist victim with nails throughout their body as if they ate the metal instead of having it burst into them in an instantaneous flash. Sometimes the nails are dipped in rat poison.

When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, they outlawed music—not just Western music, but all music. Performing music or even listening to music during the Taliban reign of terror often resulted in a death sentence. Afghan musicians kept their instruments in secret hiding places.

Merchants buried their CDs, tape decks, record players—whatever. But of course some were found, and musicians were executed, tortured or imprisoned.

When the U.S. liberated Afghanistan, the first expression of freedom for some Afghans was to turn on the tape deck or to start playing an instrument.

Of the three who died at Mike's Place, two were musicians and one was a waitress. The house band was onstage when the suicide bomber hit. Yanay Weiss, considered by some at the club to be one of the best blues guitarists in Israel, and Ran Baron, a comedian/musician, were killed instantly, along with waitress Dominique Hass. Other musicians were wounded. No one knows when they will be able to perform again.

One week after the bombing, the club reopened with a memorial service and celebration that included moving speeches, religious music and, of course, a very strong dose of blues music. The club was packed with old customers, musicians, politicians, even foreign dignitaries, because Mike's Place was a favorite hangout for U.S. and British expatriates and embassy personnel.

The Israeli blues band SOBO performed. Videos of the dead were shown, and tributes were abundant. Orna Weiss, Yanay's widow, was there with their two sons. A tape of "Etmol"—a song written by Baron—was played. When Baron's body was found, the words to the song were found on a piece of paper in his pocket. Apparently, he recorded the song for the first time that very day.

The Jerusalem Post writes that the story of Mike's Place has touched Israel and the world in ways that could not have been foreseen. A filmmaker was in the process of producing a documentary on the club right before the attack. Film clips of the performers and others at the club were prominent at the memorial service, as they were on Israeli TV. The club's Web site received more than 80,000 messages of support.

One was from the original owner of Mike's Place, Mike Vigoda. His message is a stark reminder that musicians, clubs, music fans and all those doing nothing more than having fun are on the front line in the war against terrorism. His message was simple: "Keep on truckin'. Do not lose hope. Remember, living well is the best revenge."

So while terrorism and modern-day Islamic fascism continue to confront us at every turn, including a devastating attack on a rock concert in Russia just a few weeks ago, there are clear signs of hope. They are playing music again in Afghanistan, and Mike's Place is open for business.



Jay Rosenthal is a music attorney with Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe LLP in Washington, D.C. He is also co-counsel to the Recording Artists' Coalition.