A Multicultural Folk Dance Festival organized under the auspices of the Victorian Multicultural Commission dropped an Israeli dance troupe from its program after the group refused to remove Israel from its name.
The Machol Israeli Dancing Club was excluded from the Mansfield Unity in Diversity Celebration 2011 - The Multicultural Folk Dance Festival of High Country after a dispute with the festival co-ordinator, Marta Balan, over the truncation of the troupe’s name to “Machol Group”.
Members of the group were bewildered when all references to Israel in the program were deleted, with no changes made to other groups including Chinese, Hungarian, Armenian, Scottish, English, Lebanese, and Ukrainian Traditional Folk Dances and the Irish Reel and Jigs. “Instead, we were depicted as the Jewish dance group,” said a member of the troupe.
When the troupe approached Balan to clarify the anomaly, she said their style of dance was Jewish rather than Israeli, adding that she would not be held responsible for the “consequences” if the troupe insisted on having “Israeli” in their name.
Balan agreed to the group’s persistent request to have its name and associations to Israel restored. Yet within a few hours the group received an email from Balan cancelling its participation.
“After several consultations with dance teachers and choreographers, I understood that the style you offer is rather contemporary and does not fit in with the others’ traditional style in the program. “I regret, after all efforts on both sides, we will not be able to keep you in the program this year. No hard feelings. All the best,” Balan wrote.
Artistic director Mary Grantham denied any conversation with Balan on the matter. She said she was “very surprised” by the group’s absence at the previous rehearsal because she had no knowledge of the dispute.
Balan refused to comment when contacted by The AJN. “I’m not well and I’m not willing to talk to anybody,” she said.
The troupe has subsequently ¬submitted two complaints to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHR) and the Victorian Multicultural Commission, which funded the event supposedly in aid of multiculturalism, diversity and harmony.
The event enjoyed the support of The Honourable Ted Ballieau(sic), Premier of Victoria, who wrote:
“This rich and colourful folk dance event is a wonderful example of the unity and harmony that can be achieved when strong values become common denominators in multi-faith communities. On behalf of the Victorian Coalition Government I congratulate the Harmony Foundation Victorian Inc. on its efforts in bringing the Unity in Diversity Day to Mansfield again, and offer my very best wishes for a successful and enjoyable festival.”
But the event was hardly an advertisement for multiculturalism. The Premier’s sentiments stand in stark contrast to what JCCV President Nina Bassat referred to as a “serious issue”. “There are serious allegations as to how the matter was handled – serious to our community and also against Israel. We take those matters under very grave consideration and we will be closely monitoring how the commission deals with it,” she said.
In the complaint to VEOHR, the troupe called the festival’s move “flagrant discrimination”. Founder of the Israeli Folklore Dance Group in Sydney, Dalia Ayalon Sinclair, said she was “appalled” by the festival’s behaviour and called for the Jewish community to put pressure on the Government to cancel the event.
Chairperson of VEOHR John Searle said he had “every confidence” the commission would deal with the matter.
Marta Balan was the key person in the organization of The Mansfield Unity in Diversity Celebration 2011 - The Multicultural Folk Dance Festival of High Country. A grant had been awarded to Marta Balan who according to a submission to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission approved the performance of the Machol Group.
Marta Balan is clearly in the diversity business. The festival was described as being a partnership with an organization where Marta Balan was the founder, Unity in Diversity Inc. She has also promoted the event as being organized by her group “Harmony Foundation Victoria.” The Intent of Harmony Foundation Victoria Inc. is given as research, selection, presentation and promotion of traditional art and sacred music. The organization promotes the arts for community harmony.
It might help to understand Marta Balan’s actions against the Israeli dance group by looking at her background.
She is a qualified Psychologist specializing in Transpersonal Psychology which is not part of the mainstream of the work done by psychologists. She calls herself an independent health, wellness and fitness consultant. As an Advanced Guide in this field, I offer a Visionary Quest to people who wish to gain insight into their spiritual path. I have founded of the intervention modality of Transpersonal Growth Training, including the Transpersonal Memory Work, which accesses and resolves memories from childhood, prenatal time and past lives.
Marta Balan lists The Passion of Jesus Christ as her favorite movie. This is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The film has been criticized as anti-Semitic because the main storyline presented Jesus as having been relentlessly pursued by an evil cabal of Jews. This is precisely the storyline that fueled centuries of anti-Semitism within Christian societies. Also its representation of Jewish characters has been criticized as being classically anti-Semitic images.
Ms Balan professes enthusiasm for David Hicks, the convicted terror supporter who has declared his support for killing Jews. David Matthew Hicks is an Australian convert to Islam who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism, following his para-military and terrorism training at Al Farouq training camp in Afghanistan during 2001.
It seems that Marta Balan has been involved with a marginal area of psychology, an area that might have at one time described as hippie which would include anti-war sentiments. She has been exposed to good Christian views that dehumanize Jews. And her support for Hicks can be considered another manifestation of her anti-war sentiments with an insensitivity to his call to kill Jews. In other words, she would be someone who Jeremy Jones, who writes about anti-Semitism in Australia, would call individuals representing a New Age or other fringe, alternative ideology.
Further Reading:
David Southwick fights hatred in Australia
Neo-Nazis Organize Music Festival in Australia
Veteran Holocaust denier sentenced to jail in Australia
