The wonderfully active and comprehensive blog 'Oh My Gaza' has done an interview with Doc Jazz about the Musical Intifada. Also discussed are Zionism in the Netherlands, and thoughts about global activism for Palestinian rights. It is republished here, but the original can be read at Oh My Gaza here.

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I am honored to introduce you to Doc Jazz, a proud Palestinian who is reshaping how to get awareness and solidarity out into the world in regard to the cause and struggle of Palestine.

What inspired you to become a surgeon?

I come from a family with a lot of medical doctors; my own mother is a general practitioner. I am sure that somehow she inspired me to pursue a medical career, although I knew from early on that I wanted to be in surgery more than in any other medical profession. And after having been a surgeon for over ten years now, I still have never regretted it one moment. This is what I feel best doing.


How did being born and raised in the Netherlands effect your view
of Palestine?

I think that since the Netherlands is a country with an extremely pro-'Israel' population, growing up there has made me more determined to look for ways to promote the Palestinian cause. When I was a young child, there were barely any pro-Palestinian voices in the country. But I was raised to be proud of my Palestinian heritage, and stood my ground in defending who we are, and what our aspirations are.

Nabil Mansour, the brilliant Palestinian musician from Barcelona, has released a new song - his first song in the Catalan language - called 'Yasmin'. Doc Jazz interviewed Nabil about this new production, which was released with an animated music video made by Palestinian graphical artist Maysun Cheikh Ali. Nabil gives us the deeper backgrounds of this very special song, and we have some personal comments from Maysun as well, so read the interview and most importantly, check out this lovely song. You will find it practically impossible not to be touched and moved by it.

Doc Jazz: Dear Nabil, thank you for being prepared to share your thoughts and feelings with us about your splendid new song. Please tell us: how did this new song come about? What inspired it?

Doc Jazz has had an eventful week in the Netherlands and Belgium, with 4 performances, 3 radio appearances and an interview with a Dutch magazine, which all took place between May 13 and May 21.

The performances were at fundraising events for causes relating to Palestine; the event in Brussels was aimed at collecting funds for the Askar refugee camp in Nablus, while the remaining ones were meant to help finance the Dutch boat in the upcoming Gaza Flotilla. On top of all this, Doc Jazz was also followed on his tour by a Moroccan film-making couple from Belgium, who are making a documentary about him and his music.

In the vast world of music in the Spanish language, a gifted and talented Palestinian musician is making sure the voice of his people is heard, in a way that in some ways is similar to what Doc Jazz is doing with music in the English language.

His name is Nabil Mansour, and his music is sophisticated, easy on the ears, accessible, and rich in its compositions. Doc Jazz has interviewed Nabil, and is proud to introduce him and his music to his audience with great enthusiasm. After listening to some of his songs and reading some of the artist's own comments about them, you are invited to read more about his background, his thoughts, his motivations and his vision.