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"I cannot condone this massive military operation by Israel " says Mehta

Music director of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, lashes out against the Israeli strikes
Zubin Mehta, world-renowned music conductor who considers Tel Aviv in Israel as his spiritual home and has often said it reminds him of his home in Mumbai, says he has been "destroyed inside" by the current Israel-Palestine conflict in the Gaza strip.

Complicated
Speaking to Sunday MiD DAY over the telephone from Berlin where he is currently, Mehta, music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra says, "I have been a friend of Israel, grown up there.u00a0 As one of the only democracies in the region, I think I'm at liberty to speak out when I don't agree with something. I do drastically disagree with what is going on there currently, though I am also completely against the Hamas philosophy.

"This is an extremely complicated situation. You know Hamas has been firing rockets for years now. They target Sderot, where there is no defence mechanism. I agree that not many people are killed by rockets, but they do damage a lot of property and infrastructure."