Yaron Trax



Founder of The Block club in Tel Aviv

I got into this scene in 1992 when I was 22 years old. When I would go clubbing, the most amazing thing was always meeting people that you wouldn't meet normally, getting to know them and bridging gaps. I started The Block in 2008 after studying the '70s and '80s New York club scene. In a club I want to feel welcome, warm and caressed, but Israel is an aggressive place. Maybe it's the weather, the army, or the fact we live here shadowed by terror. At The Block, we are trying to change this through our writing to the community and through the music itself. Our message is: If people can dance together, they can live together. We believe music has the power to make changes on an individual level. There are certain grooves that reduce aggression and encourage communication and vice versa.Artists refused to come for political reasons since the beginning. Out of everyone, maybe five percent of the DJs we approached said no. It made me feel disappointed as a club owner and booker because I want to have all the best DJs. But on a political level I respect their decision, even if it sometimes feels like they're only seeing one side of the story. I believe these people believe they're doing something right, so I respect that they're trying to make a difference.A lot of people in our night scene are very against the government, and I think we should do more. So you can say that BDS tactics might work in one sense—to shake up the Israeli left and tell them: "Why don't you be a bit more active." We don't talk about these issues enough, and why not? It's because it's complicated and frightening to talk about something that is so heated here, where the emotions are so strong, and everybody is afraid.But if the purpose is to boycott until the government decides to do things differently, it's not going to work in my opinion. The actions of a few musicians won't change who's in power. I'm guessing that as long as the right wing rules in Israel, the situation here will get worse and worse, and not just for the Palestinians.With #DJsForPalestine, of course all of us felt really bad. You can't feel good when somebody's boycotting you. A couple of DJs changed their plans to come and play at the club. Some Israelis I know got angry and feel the boycott is anti-Semitic. That's a tricky one—there may be anti-Semitism, even unconsciously, but it's not black and white. And it certainly doesn't mean that we don't deserve criticism.But there are ways for musicians to make a statement about the Israeli government without boycotting. It's going to be harder and more complicated for them, but it's possible. Some DJs came to play at The Block and then played in Ramallah [in the West Bank]. This is a beautiful solution, but not very practical, since many headliners have busy schedules. They could also play here and donate some of their earnings to an NGO working towards peace.Our manager is Arab, you wouldn't believe how rare it is to have an Arab manager in a place like this. This in itself sends a strong message to the crowd. For many years now we've been trying to talk to club promoters from the other side, to cooperate on a party or a statement of coexistence, to show that nightlife is a place where you can maybe start building bridges when politics fail. We found some people, and when we spoke it was obvious we came from the same place, the same philosophy. But it hasn't come to anything yet. I think they are scared to commit to doing a project with us because they take a big risk in collaborating with the Israelis, in being branded a traitor. We do, too, but our risk is smaller. It's financial rather than physical.So I don't know if we'll achieve anything. I'm not a politician, and things are so fucking complicated that even people who live here like myself don't totally know what's going on. The club is a community center, but it's not a political party and it's also a business that supports families, so we also have to bear this in mind. Still, I can totally envision a huge peace party with people from all over the world, Jews and Arabs, Israeli and Palestinian, dancing together, showing that we are far more alike than different. I think that's a more positive vision for the future: Instead of boycott, let's meet.