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Some Examples of Letters written in support of Journalist Bill Kaufmann With reference to: CalgarySun: Reality trumps PR - Israel faces a tough sell in increasingly brutal conflict ..."the more Canadians become familiar with the conflict, the more they tend to sympathize with the Palestinians." Note: Journalists who reveal the facts about the occupation are targeted by the Zionist lobby. Please send a note of support to Bill Kaufmann Email: bill.kaufmann@calgarysun.com Letters to the editor should be sent to: callet@calgarysun.com Letter published in the Calgary Sun Jan. 5 with Editor's Note appended: http://www.canoe.ca/CalgarySun/editorial.html#letters This item has disappeared from the Calgary's Sun's website, so our reference is a copy cached by Google (Scroll down to "Letters") A heartfelt thanks to Bill Kaufmann for his articulate column "Israel faces a tough sell in increasingly brutal conflict." He has put into words what millions of Palestinians feel -- how oppressed, unfree, and misunderstood they are. There are so few writers who truly understand the nature of the Middle East conflict -- one people subjugated by another because of their race/religion. Baha Abushaqra (Would it have anything to do with the fact the Palestinians want to drive the Israelis into the sea?) ------------- Response to Editor's comment: Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 9:55 AM Subject: Published letter Dear Calgary Sun Editor, Thank you for publishing my Letter to the Editor. A quick response to your rejoinder, rest assured that I (a Palestinian-Canadian) have no desire whatsoever to drive Israelis into the sea, nor does anyone one else I know. There are exceptions of course among the larger Palestinian society -unlike Zionists, I do not believe it helps to live in denial- but these are the minority. Losing one's homeland, opression, dispossession, etc. can indeed foster hatred -just ask the Jews how they felt when they were evicted from their homes in Western countries (not from Muslim countries) because of their race. Anyway, kind regards, Baha Dear Editor, Bill Kaufmann sums up very well the dilemma the Israeli lobbies are facing across the world. They have awaken to the fact that even PR has its limits: one cannot fool all the people all the time. What the Israeli lobbies and their well-funded successive campaigns have done is effectively shift responsibility for the atrocities from the military occupier to the occupied, from rights guaranteed by international law to facts on the ground imposed through might. They have also successfully manipulated the information with the result that there is a great deal of empathy for Israelis in the media, while Palestinians, who have lost not only their lands, but thousands of lives, are ignored or shown outright hostility. Continuing the game of blaming the victim and justifying Israeli policies perpetuates the cycle of violence and is a sure recipe for more misery on both sides. Mr. Kaufmann has shun a bright light on this conflict. Let's resist the pressure and keep that light shining bright. As Canadians with respect for the law, we must reject gun diplomacy and insist on a resolution based on international law. History taught us that only justice ensures real peace. Sincerely, Bahija
Réghaï
January 4, 2005 Dear Mr. Kaufmann, Congratulations on the article you wrote. It takes courage to tell the truth even in the face of powerful lobbies. I know from first-hand experience. Yours truly, Bruce Katz Co-President Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU) Montreal, Canada ___________________________________________________________________________ The Editor, Calgary Sun. Dear Editor: Thank you for publishing the article by Mr. Kaufmann : { "Reality trumps PR: Israel faces a tough sell in increasingly brutal conflict" Jan. 3}. Mr. Kaufmann is clearly a voice of courage and integrity. Israel's brutal occupation of the Palestinian people must not remain hidden under a campaign of organised cover-up by Israel's apologists, in Canada and elsewhere. Israeli practices including extra-judicial assassination, detention of thousands without charge or trial, torture, daily humiliation, denial of health care, demolition of thousands of homes and expropriation of territory for the creation of illegal Jewish settlements and by-pass roads for Jews only, are in violation of virtually every article of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and thus defined, by international law,as war crimes. This apartheid policy must be exposed, and this illegal occupation, which stands in defiance of international law and repeated Security Council resolutions, must be completely terminated, so that there will be peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, in this tortured land. How long must Israel remain above international law? Yours sincerely, Ismail Zayid, MD. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Mr Kaufmann, Your recent piece on Reality and PR commands respect. It is precise, incisive and informative. Keep it up! Sincerely, Yakov M Rabkin Department of History University of Montreal _____________________________________________________________________________ Mr. Kaufmann I enjoyed your January 3, 2005 article on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. As a refugee lawyer who has represented many Palestinians I concur with your comments. In the past two years I have represented 17 Palestinians from the Occupied Territories who have made refugee claims against Israel and all 17 have been accepted as refugees by the Immigration and Refugee Board.* The truth is getting out thanks to people like yourself. Edward C. Corrigan Barrister & Solicitor web site: edcorrigan.ca Mon, January 3, 2005 Reality trumps PR Israel faces a tough sell in increasingly brutal conflict http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Calgary/Bill_Kaufmann/2005/01/02/805461.html By BILL KAUFMANN -- Calgary Sun Another year dawns, promis-ing a dozen more months of misery for Palestinians under a brutal occupation. But not all is well for those in Canada running interference for Israel's inhuman subjugation of its neighbours. A poll conducted by the pro-Israel lobby released in November proved unnerving to its sponsors by showing 89% of Canadians believe both sides in the conflict share equal blame and that 83% insist on Ottawa remaining neutral on the issue. Given Israel's continued ethnic cleansing, wanton destruction of Palestinian neighbourhoods, raids that kill children and endless humiliations, that lobby should be grateful the results weren't truly damning. Normally, the oppressed would garner clear favour over the oppressor but the North American media still largely serves the interests of the latter. Many of those commenting on the conflict are loathe to touch on the occupation and dispossession that are its roots. It's like writing about a truck-train wreck and ignoring the train. They'll devote endless ink on how Palestinians goad themselves to violence, leaving out the obvious -- that without the occupation such incitement would fall on deaf ears. When your soldiers gun down farmers in their fields and riddle 13-year-old girls with bullets, it has an effect. We also hear how the death of Yasser Arafat brings new hopes for peace, and how it's up to the prostrate Palestinians being steadily forced into ever-tinier land prisons to ensure it. Among those surveyed, 32% believed Ottawa favoured Israel while 4% felt their government tilted to the Palestinians. That last figure dovetails with Canada's dramatic shift at the UN Nov. 30 when it cast its vote against condemning the Jewish state's brutality against civilians. "It is very important we now make sure the new authority is going to ... be one that leads us on the road to peace," said Paul Martin, referring to the current Palestinian election. Nonetheless, the Canada Israel Committee (CIC) is stepping up its PR efforts, though on its website admits ruefully "the more Canadians become familiar with the conflict, the more they tend to sympathize with the Palestinians." That tends to be the case when you herd entire populations into barbed wire ghettos where they can be battered at will. "The Palestinians are viewed as the underdogs and Canadians traditionally identify with the underdogs. We need to change this perception," concludes the CIC shamelessly. Even with its media echo chamber, it's a tall order when one of the most powerful militaries on Earth controls the lives of every Palestinian in the occupied lands. It's no easy sell when Israeli soldiers at checkpoints deny the elderly access to medical care under the guise of "security." And Ariel Sharon's much-ballyhoed pullout from Gaza was recently put into perspective by his senior adviser Dov Weisglass who made clear what many have known all along -- the move is just a cover to maintain control of the West Bank. "Effectively, this whole package called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed indefinitely from our agenda. And this with ... a presidential blessing and ratification of both (U.S.) houses of Congress," Weisglass told Haaretz. "The disengagement is actually formaldehyde," he said. "It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that is necessary so there will not be a political process with the Palestinians." So there you have it -- the Palestinians don't have a partner for any real or just peace, at least none currently in power. The CIC has its job cut out for it and Paul Martin should be let in on Weisglass's non-secret. Given Palestinians have known this through Israel's daily habit of strangling their existence by extending illegal settlements and their "security fence," is it any wonder some of them react with such hideous, fatalistic violence? One Calgarian who toured the tortured land in the spring of 2003 said he was shaken by the depth of the oppression. "What we're being told (by the media here) versus the reality on the ground, the chasm is quite wide," said Kalil. Still, Kalil counted Israelis as victims of the occupation -- yearning for peace, yet held hostage to the violence it breeds. "They're living behind the wall, too," he says, adding the mental toll on Israeli soldiers upholding the clampdown is huge. A few years ago, spinmeister David Wilder of Hebron's Jewish settlement told me "you must go to Gaza," hinting it's there I'd see Palestinian barbarity for myself. Instead, I found an imprisoned, resilient people and proof of Israel's shame. Reality has a way of trumping the most concerted PR effort. Fair Use Notice The above is copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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