Page One

Look out for cheap shots

Aftim Saba MD
Saturday June 29, 2002

To the Editor: 

Shana Levy (BDP 6/20/02) would like to turn the clock a few years back when liberals of her kind succeeded in preventing pro-Palestinian voices from sharing the progressive platform.  

In those times the code word was “ too controversial”. Now the code word is violence and/or terror. Ms. Levy is troubled by the Pro-Palestinian presence at the recent “Not in Our name” peace rally and equating the pro-palestinian with supporting violence only reveals her biases and significant blind spots. Her failure to recognize that the Palestinian movement wants justice and peace, which means freedom from Israeli occupation and Palestinian state along side Israel is significant. Her failure to speak of Israeli violence is inexcusable.  

Her refusing to join the rally she came to support is sad. This double standards and blind spots can coexist with progressive ideals only for a time before something will give way and or get exposed.  

The natural progression is that Ms. Levy will find herself increasingly comfortable watching FOX cable TV and agreeing with its right wing commentators' views of the Palestinians as violent terror loving people while being fed the rest of that channel’s crap. This transformation of a “progressive” has occurred many times before, and is exemplified by the neo-con magazines Commentary and the New Republic.  

In the mean time, the progressive, real peace loving communities and movement should resist cheap shots and blackmail from the pseudo-progressive types like Shana Levy. 

 

Aftim Saba MD 

Berkeley