Boycott Mandy Patinkin at Ravinia Aug 31

Let’s not go to Ravinia on August 31
Mandy Patinkin, whose claim to fame comes in no small part from his moving rendition of Jewish music, is leading a performers’ boycott of the Ariel CulturalCenter, located in a Jewish community in Israel. On Wednesday, August 31, Patinkin will be performing at Ravinia and hoping to once again mesmerize a largely Jewish audience.

Before you purchase your tickets, please take a look at some basic facts:

Ariel is not a new settlement, as Patinkin claims. It was founded in 1978, nearly 40 years ago, and now is a city of about 20,000. It has a University, which has over 10,000 students, both Jews and Arabs, shopping centers, office buildings,libraries, sports clubs and a modern industrial area with over 110 diversified industries. Ariel’s Community and Cultural Center offers dozens of extracurricular leisure and cultural activities for residents of all ages and all religions.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu denounced the boycott saying that, "the last thing we need is a boycott attempt from within Israel" while international leftists try to make Israel appear illegitimate." MKs from three parties—Ronit Tirosh of Kadima, Yariv Levin of Likud and Dr. Michael Ben-Ari of National Union— condemn the boycott.
Patinkin’s promotion of the Ariel boycott aids international efforts to demonize and isolate Israel. Patinkin, who claims, “Everything I do is Jewish. It’s who I am. It’s my soul” is using his Jewish identity to undermine the Jewish homeland. His soulful rendition of Jewish melodies and lyrics are empty, just as empty as what Ravinia should be on August 31.


Peggy Shapiro
Chicago Community Coordinator
StandWithUs