Hi. In today's 2nd essay, Sherna Gluck makes a plea on behalf of Radio Intifada, a program of several years of which she is a major producer. Its offering a voice for Palestinian views has engendered a boycott campaign against the KPFK host. This is adressed and a sample counter letter offered for refutation of this campaign.
Today's program is in remembrance of Deir Yassin & Land Day, with a focus on the ongoing struggle for peace and justice waged by Palestinians, Israelis and internationals - and their refusal to be silenced. Like KPFK. Radio Intifada airs today at 2 PM, 90.7 fm Ed http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2044345,00.html The Guardian Wednesday March 28, 2007 A monstrous war crime With more than 650,000 civilians dead in Iraq, our government must take responsibility for its lies By Richard Horton . Richard Horton is a doctor and the editor of the Lancet [EMAIL PROTECTED] Our collective failure has been to take our political leaders at their word. This week the BBC reported that the government's own scientists advised ministers that the Johns Hopkins study on Iraq civilian mortality was accurate and reliable, following a freedom of information request by the reporter Owen Bennett-Jones. This paper was published in the Lancet last October. It estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians had died since the American and British led invasion in March 2003. Immediately after publication, the prime minister's official spokesman said that the Lancet's study "was not one we believe to be anywhere near accurate". The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said that the Lancet figures were "extrapolated" and a "leap". President Bush said: "I don't consider it a credible report". Scientists at the UK's Department for International Development thought differently. They concluded that the study's methods were "tried and tested". Indeed, the Johns Hopkins approach would likely lead to an "underestimation of mortality". The Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser said the research was "robust", close to "best practice", and "balanced". He recommended "caution in publicly criticising the study". When these recommendations went to the prime minister's advisers, they were horrified. One person briefing Tony Blair wrote: "Are we really sure that the report is likely to be right? That is certainly what the brief implies?" A Foreign and Commonwealth Office official was forced to conclude that the government "should not be rubbishing the Lancet". The prime minister's adviser finally gave in. He wrote: "The survey methodology used here cannot be rubbished, it is a tried and tested way of measuring mortality in conflict zones". How would the government respond? Would it welcome the Johns Hopkins study as an important contribution to understanding the military threat to Iraqi civilians? Would it ask for urgent independent verification? Would it invite the Iraqi government to upgrade civilian security? Of course, our government did none of these things. Tony Blair was advised to say: "The overriding message is that there are no accurate or reliable figures of deaths in Iraq". His official spokesman went further and rejected the Johns Hopkins report entirely. It was a shameful and cowardly dissembling by a Labour - yes, by a Labour - prime minister. Indeed, it was even contrary to the US's own Iraq Study Group report, which concluded last year that "there is significant underreporting of the violence in Iraq". This Labour government, which includes Gordon Brown as much as it does Tony Blair, is party to a war crime of monstrous proportions. Yet our political consensus prevents any judicial or civil society response. Britain is paralysed by its own indifference. At a time when we are celebrating our enlightened abolition of slavery 200 years ago, we are continuing to commit one of the worst international abuses of human rights of the past half-century. It is inexplicable how we allowed this to happen. It is inexplicable why we are not demanding this government's mass resignation. Two hundred years from now, the Iraq war will be mourned as the moment when Britain violated its delicate democratic constitution and joined the ranks of nations that use extreme pre-emptive killing as a tactic of foreign policy. Some anniversary that will be. *** ----- Original Message ----- From: Sherna Berger Gluck Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2007 4:47 PM Subject: Please write Gelson's, TJ and Whole Foods - to Gelson's, as a Jew To some of our Jewish friends and allies - Below is my "Jewish" complaint to Gelson's. My other ones were more generic. Please write to all of them - and urge everyone on your list to do the same - but somehow reference how offended you are as Jews, especially to Briskin, the CEO of Gelson's. Here is the updated contact info for each of the 3: GELSON's - Bob Stiles, President, 16400 Ventura Blvd., Suite 240, Encino, CA 91436-2123, (818) 906-5700 Bernie Briskin, CEO, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 9595 Wilshire #411, BH 90212, 310-858-1574 TRADER JOE's - Dan Bane, Chairman and CEO, Trader Joe's, 800 S. Shamrock, Monrovia 91017 Ph: 626-599-3817, Fax: 626-599-3907 WHOLE FOODS - CEO - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks much. And any help you can give us in contacting some of the liberal rabbis would be GREATLY appreciated. If you haven't been following the developments on this, start at the bottom with the early brief description by GM Eva George below my email to Briskin. On the site of the "truthmasters" Radio Intifada is specifically cited (and the premium offering of Jonathan Cook's book Blood and Religion: The Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State and a CD compendium with talks by Norman Finkelstein and Ilan Pappe). Updates will start to be posted on the kpfk site www.kpfk.org and on the Radio Intifada page after tomorrow when the GM will read an editorial at the end of Radio Intifada. Sherna Dear Bernie Briskin: I am appalled that Gelson's would capitulate to the extremism of a small band of fanatics claiming that KPFK is anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. Have you checked out the programming? Have you listened? The views presented on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on KPFK are heard regularly in Israel; and many of the guests alluded to in the claims by "truthmasters" (sic) appear regularly in the Israeli press. Unlike Israel, however, in the US criticism of Israel is all too often characterized as being anti-Semitic. This is nothing more than a clear attempt to stifle free speech. As a Jew, who has indeed been the victim of anti-Semitism, I deeply resent the equation of criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. I don't know about you, but as the daughter of a rabbi, my upbringing instilled in me a profound social consciousness and the necessity to speak out against injustices by ANY people - Jews and Gentiles, alike. I am thankful that we have in KPFK an outlet that presents the voices of people who do just that - Israelis, Palestinians, and Jewish Americans. My identity as a Jew comes from that social consciousness, not from a slavish, uncritical embrace of Israel. It is a grave disappointment to me that the historical role of Jewish Americans as advocates for social justice and defenders of free speech has been abandoned by the likes of David Frankenthal. It is unfortunate that you chose to ally yourself with him and his efforts to stifle free speech. I hope that you will reconsider your ill-advised decision and refuse to succumb to pressure from a group like this (whose raison d'etre until now seems to have been a boycott of the LA Times). Sincerely yours, Sherna Berger Gluck Eva Georgia wrote: <!--[if mso 9]--> <!--[endif]--> Dear All, In the last couple of weeks, Management was contacted by a few of our fund drive food donors with requests to remove the names of their companies from the KPFK website and from on air. Gelson's, Trader Joe's and now Whole foods received a flood of 30-40 calls and e-mails from a David Frankenthal of Join the Boycott website. These calls were directed to CEO's at the above companies with whom KPFK Management have been in touch. The calls essentially said: Why would a market that caters to a largely Jewish customer base support a radio station that is "anti-Israeli." These CFO's were told that it is a common perception that KPFK is anti-Israeli and ant-Semitic. Frankenthal's website address is: www.geocities.com/truthmasters/jointheboycott.htm: <http://www.geocities.com/truthmasters/jointheboycott.htm> . Clearly, this situation is very damaging to the relationships we have with our food donors. Management is dealing with the CFO's at the different companies. We will keep you up to date on this issue. We have also contacted a KPFK programmer and LSB member to assist with this matter. 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