Eli Broad and Zev Yaroslavsky Exposed
By Carol Jean Delmar
Barry Sanders, Carol Henry, Zev Yaroslavsky, Edythe Broad, Placido Domingo, Eli Broad, Marc Stern. Photo by Steve Cohn
Ring Festival LA has very little to do with Richard Wagner. Wagner is just the front for a massive political enterprise in downtown LA with philanthropist Eli Broad and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky in control. Every time “Ring” festival leader Barry Sanders says that the festival is a celebration of “the city’s coming of age,” he means it.
Broad has been negotiating with LA County officials and the cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Los Angeles for a Broad museum to house his personal art collection. Downtown LA seems to be his favored location just south of the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
“A billionaire philanthropist whose beneficence comes with not just strings but with ropes . . . he [Broad] is known to pull his support, resign from a board or, in some cases, decline to fulfill his financial promises when a project comes together in a way he does not like.”
So wrote Jennifer Steinhauer in the Feb. 7, 2010 New York Times article, “Iron Checkbook Shapes Cultural Los Angeles.”
“Eli does nothing without strings,” said Museum of Contemporary Art trustee Jane Nathanson.
“If we start with a game plan, I want to make sure it happens,” said Broad, who gifted LA Opera with $6 million before the Achim Freyer “Ring” was announced in 2006. At that press conference, Plácido Domingo said that Broad had made the “new production of Wagner’s four-part masterpiece possible.”
It is clear that the former real estate developer and SunAmerica founder hopes to make the city of LA a cultural Mecca with his name attached to it. A Democrat — he has given generously to arts, science and educational organizations, and to politicians on both sides of the political aisle, although mostly to Democrats.
It is only natural that city and county leaders would be beholden to him. In light of the financial crisis facing LA, civic leaders are pursuing every avenue for possible relief; plus they like the idea of showcasing LA’s cultural scene. As part of the Grand Avenue Project, some say Broad’s museum would bring tourists and money into LA and would be a welcome addition to the entertainment complex atop the downtown hill.
According to an article in the Daily News on April 22 (“Los Angeles city officials consider giving land to billionaire Eli Broad”), the project was “expected to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue . . . but the developer . . . has had difficulty obtaining funding.”
Although Broad would pay for the museum’s construction and operations as part of the proposal being considered, he would receive the land for free and would lease the city property for $1 per year for 99 years. The issue is a hot one since millions of dollars of potential tax revenue would be forfeited to benefit a private individual when that private individual has used his financial wherewithall to benefit the city in the past, and city and county leaders would like to ensure that Broad’s generosity continues.
“Because he spearheaded fundraising for the Music Center’s $274-million Walt Disney Concert Hall and is a major player in the Grand Avenue redevelopment project, Eli Broad’s name is strongly associated with the revitalization of downtown,” wrote Diane Haithman in an LA Times article dated March 6, 2008. In addition, Broad has been co-chairman of the Grand Avenue Committee which initiated the project.
So here you have LA Opera, a company that was on the brink of financial ruin, attempting to pay its bills and balance its books. Hypothetically speaking — for LA Opera, Ring Festival LA has meant financial aid, publicity and a guarantee that the “Ring” production would not combust. For civic leaders, it has meant more visibility, tourism, an infusion of new money, and it serves as an incentive to place the Broad museum in the heart of the city. And for Broad, the publicity and visibility make downtown LA a lucrative location for his museum where the Broad name would be revered for perpetuity.
It has been clear from the onset that Domingo and LA Opera music director James Conlon are Wagnerians. But the politicians in LA are not. When it became evident that Wagner’s shady history could jeopardize the outlined master plan with a potential backlash from the Jewish community, the organizers embarked on a propaganda campaign to minimize Wagner’s improprieties and associations with the Nazis, while still acknowledging his anti-Semitism, as was negotiated by LA Opera with Jewish leaders with political ties of their own.
The most prominent Jewish leader in the county is Zev Yaroslavsky – the primary elected official to endorse the festival. He has no doubt been torn between his allegience to the Jewish community, to contributors like Broad, and to his own ambitions, which no longer embrace sound moral values.
A diverse group of arts and educational organizations have joined in the festival celebration even though the majority of the events are all about Wagner. Many of the participants know very little about the composer. They only know that the city and county are sanctioning the festival, so they have joined in as partners – no questions asked.
I received an invitation to attend the 75th birthday party of the Griffith Observatory, which is featuring a planetarium show of lights backed by Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.” The observatory is under the auspices of the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks. The commission president is Barry Sanders, who is the leader of the festival.
When I spoke to Sherry Dewane, a board member of Friends of the Observatory, she knew little about Wagner, had never thought about the moral implications of participating in the festival, and told me that the city had given the observatory the go-ahead. She explained that every arts organization she was aware of was participating, so the observatory just jumped right in.
There is a direct link between LA Opera and the “Ring” festival with Broad, Yaroslavsky, the Grand Avenue Project, the museum, city and county leaders, and even Arianna Huffington. (Please click on the link at the end of this commentary.)
Broad’s philanthropy has been a boost to the city. Whether the museum should or should not be in downtown LA is not for me to decide. My concern revolves around the morality of having a 115-event festival that honors Richard Wagner — a racist who influenced Adolf Hitler with his concepts of Aryanism, German supremacy, cultural purity, anti-Semitism, and genocide. I could preach about Wagner’s tenets until the cows come home. This festival was a done deal from the get-go. LA County Supervisor Mike Antonovich didn’t have a chance when he proposed expanding its scope. I didn’t have a chance when I approached city, county, religious, arts and educational leaders.
I never intended to take my argument out of the framework of the issues that relate to Wagner. But Wagner is only a front – an excuse for LA to have a celebration in spite of him. The truth about Wagner is being hidden; and even if it wouldn’t be, that wouldn’t change anything. The only thing that would have made a difference would have been an outcry from the people who live in LA. But since few Angelenos know or care about Wagner, the powers in Los Angeles have been able to cover up the truths and proceed with their agenda.
The lecture at the Wiesenthal Center on April 15 was an example of that cover up. Granted, an agitated and excited Orthodox Jew could not contain himself. But Yaroslovsky overreacted by grabbing and threatening him. If I had been an elected official, I would have let security handle the matter before getting involved. I do not understand why Yaroslavsky became so agitated. Maybe he realized that the heckler’s accusations were accurate and might have exposed truths that would have jeopardized the downtown master plan. After all, many people in the audience were skeptical of Conlon’s material and message.
Yaroslavsky seemed to be on his own turf at the Wiesenthal Center since he has been a friend of the Jewish community his whole life, and much of his district is on the Westside. But on April 15, he was running a Wagnerian show that seemed inconsistent with the person he represents, and the show was taking place in a venue that seemed inappropriate for it. I have spoken to people in the Jewish community who agree with my position on the festival, but they refused to be disloyal to Yaroslavsky. They just didn’t want to make waves.
Whether Ring Festival LA is about art for LA Opera or politics for Yaroslavsky, Broad and the leaders who have lined up behind them – the primary concern for everyone should be that the festival excuses Richard Wagner for his indiscretions and celebrates him, which is unacceptable. Politicians should not be listening to Wagnerians, and Wagnerians in the arts should not be lecturing on Wagner’s anti-Semitism. Los Angeles is a melting pot of diverse cultures. Wagner discriminated against all of them. If our leaders choose to overlook what Wagner represents, then it is time to elect some new leaders.
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Ring Festival LA sponsors include: the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks, the County of Los Angeles, the LA County Arts Commission, the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, the Jewish Journal, KUSC and KCET.
Please read http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/media/huffpo-la-eli-broad/ to see the link between Broad, Yaroslavsky and Arianna Huffington, and to better understand why I was removed as a blogger on the Huffington Post.
Eli Broad and Zev Yaroslavsky at the Broad Stage
Renzo Piano, Eli Broad, Michael Govan, Zev Yaroslavsky at LACMA
