i just need to point out that, at the time, it was well known that this record was a tribute to his dead dog, wanda, and that this track was inserted into the middle of it, literally being discarded from a film that was never made. i'd source that through the gybe! mailing list, which was active in the late 90s and early 00s.
i think the zionist references are correct, but the readings into the holocaust are very wrong. it's more of a horrified reaction against current zionism, which is a persistent theme in this band's music. this is then tied backwards into a general global struggle (this was the era of anti-globalization protests) that aligns the protest movement in north america with indigenous movements, like the one in palestine.
when mt. zion approach israeli politics, and they do frequently, they take a view that is very much aligned with left-wing jewish intellectuals like noam chomsky - this amounts to extreme opposition to the israeli right and the havoc and death and destruction they're causing. but, it also comes with a sense of remorse that comes out of a feeling of responsibility. i'm not jewish myself, but i've noticed that a sense of extreme belonging is inherent to their culture, and that feelings of responsibility that might otherwise seem irrational are not at all from a jewish perspective.
so, yeah. you're sort of all right. it's a protest song, and it's about zionism, but it's in protest of zionism as a violent, colonial force, rather than as the preferred vehicle for peace and understanding.
i just need to point out that, at the time, it was well known that this record was a tribute to his dead dog, wanda, and that this track was inserted into the middle of it, literally being discarded from a film that was never made. i'd source that through the gybe! mailing list, which was active in the late 90s and early 00s.
i think the zionist references are correct, but the readings into the holocaust are very wrong. it's more of a horrified reaction against current zionism, which is a persistent theme in this band's music. this is then tied backwards into a general global struggle (this was the era of anti-globalization protests) that aligns the protest movement in north america with indigenous movements, like the one in palestine.
when mt. zion approach israeli politics, and they do frequently, they take a view that is very much aligned with left-wing jewish intellectuals like noam chomsky - this amounts to extreme opposition to the israeli right and the havoc and death and destruction they're causing. but, it also comes with a sense of remorse that comes out of a feeling of responsibility. i'm not jewish myself, but i've noticed that a sense of extreme belonging is inherent to their culture, and that feelings of responsibility that might otherwise seem irrational are not at all from a jewish perspective.
so, yeah. you're sort of all right. it's a protest song, and it's about zionism, but it's in protest of zionism as a violent, colonial force, rather than as the preferred vehicle for peace and understanding.