Most likely this is NOT the kind of publicity Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants. He’s been used to publicity all his life, but the news that he decided to cancel his appearance in Israel where he was to promote a film he was heavily involved in probably is not good for business. Living in Holloywood, after New York, the publicity capital of America and perhaps the world, Abdul-Jabbar puts himself at the mercy of contacts and people who are available to sell good news as long as that news is good for Israel. Abdul-Jabbar’s cancellation of his appearance at the Jerusalem Film Festival is not good news for a country that prides itself in spin while brutally murdering people who oppose it. Despite that, Abdul-Jabbar risked the possibility of negative publicity, something he surely doesn’t want while hawking a film. In spite of that he pursued a principled position of not acquiescing to Israeli oppression of Palestinians. Be prepared to see a coordinated effort to seesAbdul-Jabbar denigrated and he and his reputation soiled by the Israeli propaganda machine; for now, hats-off to him for his courage.
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