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Letters to the Editor
We need full investigation of Netanyahu incident
Editor:
The way it used to work in Alabama and other such places, when black people wanted to have their meetings or rallies to vote, white goons would hang around blocking the doors so that no one could get in.
Somehow the police were never around or were there and looked the other way. The police always had plausible sounding excuses (like the Berkeley police). They were too busy or permitting the meeting would have caused violence. No one got hurt, so what is the problem? The fix was in. It was an American tradition.
But there came a time when black people rebelled against all this. They went to the courts of law and to the courts of public opinion and demanded that those who “arranged” for the police to not enforce the law be held accountable.
The courts said that the freedom of assembly is not to be denied merely because it is inconvenient to the powers in City hall. There was no excuse, the Berkeley police has had a long history of dealing with riots and crowd management around the university campus.
My wife went to the Berkeley Community Theater to hear former Prime Minister Netanyahu speak the other day, but was not able to enter the theater. Berkeley goons had blocked the doors and the Berkeley police somehow were not able or willing to move them away.
Here again, the police had plausible answers and excuses. My wife’s freedom of assembly was too inconvenient for the powers to be downtown. Once again, the fix was in.
Now is the time to demand of City Hall a full investigation of the Berkeley police who have had a long history of crowd control as to why they took a “pass” on this situation. Who ever were responsible for this terrible tragedy of injustice and denial of our fundamental rights should be taken to court.
Berkeley, “the Athens of the West” and so well known from Mario Savio on as to make “freedom of speech” the motto of our fair city, will have to bow its head in shame until this is resolved.
Aubrey Lee Broudy
Berkeley
