Features

ANSWERED FEARS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Justin DeFreitas’s cogent, balanced and thoughtful response to his inflamed readers may be dangerous to his career as a cartoonist — it suggests that he should consider being a columnist, as he is a very fine one indeed. 

Frankly, I feared his recent cartoon (an American flag emblazoned with a star of David impaling a prostrate Palestine) might be implying that (among other things) “the Jews control America.” We Jews do sometimes have a reaction of fear (hmm, I wonder why?). But he answered my fears and his somewhat intemperate critics well, and articulated briefly a position with which I and many other Jews agree: both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine, deeply saddened and angered by many of the actions on both sides (not to mention the recent actions of our own destructive president).  

Thank you, Justin, and write some more sometime! 

David Herzstein Couch 

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HORRIFYING CARTOON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This is to strongly protest the inappropriate and horrifying cartoon in the Berkeley Daily Planet by your staff member DeFreitas (“State of Palestine,” Daily Planet, April 16-19). This is not the sort of thing you ought to run in your newspaper. Earlier in the week you ran a highly anti-Semitic commentary. Shame on you! You should print a retraction and an apology for suggesting that Jews run America and promoting other anti-Semitic ideas. In these time when anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, you should be a voice for reason and tolerance. We cannot be proud of you, or support you, as our local paper. 

Stefanie C.Guynn 

William H. Guynn 

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THOUGHTFUL RESPONSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank you for your thoughtful, intelligent response to those who would libel you anti-Semitic. Out here in the suburbs there are some of us who are also horrified by Israel’s actions and our government’s approval of them. 

Any ideas on how to make our voices heard and have an effect on this unbelievable situation? 

Tina Lekas Miller 

Alamo 

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SUPPRESSING FREE SPEECH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was disgusted by the spate of threatening letters sent to the Daily Planet in an attempt to suppress free speech and full debate on Palestine and Israel. The DeFreitas cartoon suggests that the U.S. is primarily responsible for the expansionist and violent policies of the theocratic State of Israel. Most reasonable viewers of the crisis would agree with his assessment. The Israeli military would grind to a halt in one month without the massive donations of American arms and money. To raise the charge of anti-Semitism in defense of Israel’s land grabs is to desecrate the sacrifices and the memories of real victims of anti-Jewish hatred. 

I am currently a renter in Berkeley, planning to buy a house in the near future. You can be sure I will never use the services of Joan Brunswick in seeking out a real estate agent, not after she announced her boycott of the Planet in an attempt to stifle free speech. Her bullying attitude is something she can choose but we can also choose to steer a wide swath around her in our economic dealings. 

Sam Markham 

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FALSE CRIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Three cheers for Justin DeFreitas and his right to draw a political cartoon depicting U.S. and Israeli injustice against the Palestinians, and kudos to the Daily Planet editors for defending his right to freely tell the truth! I really wasn’t surprised at the usual threats and hate mail pouring in from the local Israel-backers—to them, any criticism of “dear, blameless Israel” is cause to raise a false cry of “anti-Semitism”—the first refuge of a Zionist scoundrel. 

Israel has killed over 3,500 Palestinian civilians since the beginning of the current Palestinian uprising against Israel’s violent and illegal occupation of their homeland. Israel has imprisoned and tortured thousands of Arabs without trial, bulldozed and destroyed over 20,000 Palestinian homes, and uprooted over a million trees from Palestinian soil—while some 850 Israelis have died during the same period. These numbers alone tell us that not only is the occupation harming both Arab and Jew, but obviously the Palestinians are suffering far greater violence at the hands of the U.S.-backed Israeli military. Before complaining of Hamas violence, Israel’s local backers should examine Israel’s own role as a far more violent terrorist state—and their own role in supporting that terrorism. 

With Bush supporting Sharon’s unilateral seizure of West Bank land and confinement of 3.5 million Palestinians in walled-up ghettos, Israel has truly become the apartheid “White South Africa of the Middle East.” With U.S./Israeli rejectionism on Palestine and the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the obvious policy of the Bush regime’s neo-cons is simply perpetual war against the entire Arab world, disguised as the “war on terror” —really a war for oil and empire, driven by neo-con ideologues like Abrams, Wolfowitz, Pearle and Feith. Am I an “Anti-Semite” just for pointing out that these leading Neo-Cons —all Jewish—are all rabid, right-wing Israel-backers? Is their agenda really in the best interests of U.S. citizens here at home? 

If American Jews are truly worried about anti-Semitism, they should do all they can to stop Israel’s racist ethnic cleansing and terror against the Palestinians. If they wish to stop the identification of the Star of David with injustice, they should speak out against that injustice—as I know many Jews of good conscience continue to do here, in Israel, and around the world. 

Mark Dewhurst 

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ASSASSINATIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Israel’s recent assassinations of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi are cause for mourning not celebration. Murder with impunity of a demonized “monster” cannot further peace, justice or even stability. Rather, these murders, and the ongoing killings of children and youths in the Palestinian refugee camps, have made their victims martyrs and will serve only to inflame the hopelessness, hatred and desperation of Palestinians trapped in their own land by a foreign invader and occupier. 

People everywhere have fought for their land and will always do so, and the right to resist colonial domination by proportionate force is recognized in international law. What made Yassin and Rantisi heroes to most Palestinians was their steadfast and unyielding opposition to Israeli subjugation and occupation. 

There will never be peace in the Middle East until Israeli Jews see themselves as part of it, value the lives of Arabs as much as their own, and think of the Palestinians as their true blood brothers instead of as Untermenschen to be exterminated like so many vermin. 

Ken Scudder 

San Francisco 

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HUMANE SOCIETY RUMMAGE SALE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What happened to the rummage sale? We made at least $600 a month in a slow month. All items were donated and all the help were volunteers; it was pure profit for BEBHS. 

The public is extremely disappointed in not bringing back the rummage sale. It was like a family get together on the first and third Saturday of the month— all to support the animals. 

It has been almost a year and still no rummage sale. I am surprised that a nonprofit organization can afford this. 

Please bring back the rummage sale for the good of the animals and the communities that supported it. 

Jane E. Roberts 

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PUBLIC ART 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Myrna Sokolinsky writes (Letters, Daily Planet, April 20-22) that we should all vote on public art in Berkeley. Somehow, in a town where so few can agree on anything, I doubt that voting on art would produce much of lasting value, if anything at all. 

She concludes by saying that “we can’t really afford to buy art at this economically stressed time anyway.” The Great Depression was arguably worse than this disastrous age of Bushanomics, but under the enlightened leadership of FDR and his advisors, the (publicly funded) arts flourished, and we now regard “WPA art” as communal treasures. San Francisco is particularly rich in New Deal art; in the East Bay, we have the reliefs on Berkeley High and the Community Theatre, mosaics on the old UC Power House, a fresco and relief in the post office, and inlaid murals in the Alameda County Courthouse, itself a WPA project. In addition, New Deal workers left us innumerable life-enhancing landscapes such as the Berkeley and Oakland Rose Gardens, the John Hinkel and Woodminster Amphitheatres, the Berkeley Marina, and a great deal of the recreational features of Tilden Park. 

What was done once before could be done again if we only had the will; we could put people to work building something worthy of the name civilization rather than destroying it both here and abroad. 

Gray Brechin 

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AQUATIC PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A grant application to the State Coastal Conservancy to fund habitat improvements at Aquatic Park will be on the City Council’s agenda this evening (April 27). Make your wishes known to support funding for striped bike lanes and a walkway separated from cars. Connect the trail south of Dreamland more safely with Shellmound in Emeryville. New landscaping can replace former parking lots. Native coastal shrubs can create shorebird screening. New egret roosts can be planted to replace those being lost. Visitor seating overlooking the waterbirds will be a perfect introduction to these wetlands. Better connections to the tidal waters of San Francisco Bay can bring a fresher, life-giving flow to this amazing biological resource. Lend your voice of support for Berkeley’s precious baylands. 

Mark Liolios 

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ON PEOPLE’S PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your invigorating story on the founding of People’s Park ended too early (“The Bloody Beginnings of People’s Park,” Daily Planet, April 20-22). After the murder of Rector and the shooting of many others that day, the park remained in UC hands and a tall chain link fence kept the people out of their park. 

Months passed. Fortunately, a massive Berkeley protest of the Vietnam war got out of hand and opportunity opened to take the park. A segment at the front of some 2,000 demonstrators decided to trash Telegraph Avenue. At the time the demonstration broke in two I was among those marching up Dwight. The police melted away from us to rush to protect property on Telegraph. A cry went up, “Take the park!” Hundreds of us descended upon the chain link fence. It took nearly ten people between each pole to yank down the sturdy fence. When it lay on the ground someone started singing “Ding dong the witch is dead...” Hundreds of people danced while singing over and over the song from the Wizard of Oz. 

The next morning a hundred or so of us gathered to role up the torn down fence. We were but a few minutes into our work when half a dozen squad cars zoomed to a stop at Haste and Bowdich. The cops lept out holding rifles not clubs. One of our number shouted, “Don’t move when they shoot. “ The idea took. The cops marched a few feet down Haste. We went on folding the fence. They fired. I moved so that if I was hit it would be in the back. I heard cries of pain and “ouch,” and also “Don’t move.” The cops freaked. They left and didn’t come back till late afternoon. By that time People’s Park was well on its way. 

Ted Vincent 

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SLIGHT OVERSIGHT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was surprised to read a quote by me in Matt Artz’s article of April 20, 2004 regarding Ex Parte (“City Council to Tackle Ex Parte Rule Reform,” Daily Planet, April 20-22). In fact, I was not surprised by Marie Bowman fabricating the quote, but rather by Matt not checking with me about it. I have been impressed by Matt’s effort to provide balanced views on issues he writes about and it seems he had an oversight in this case. 

This is not the first time Ms. Bowman fabricates things about me or about Affordable Housing Associates. She has done so in community meetings, at Council meetings and in the courts. So far, the community and the courts have made their judgements about her. 

She claims I bragged about how Councilmember Maio had made certain promises to me regarding the approval of Sacramento Senior Homes. This is just not true. By the time we had submitted our zoning application to the City, Ms. Bowman and I were communicating only through mediators. 

Ali R. Kashani 

AHA Executive Director 

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THE U.S. AND HAITI 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why is the news from Haiti being virtually ignored by the American mainstream press? Why are we Americans not outraged by the United States’ role in removing the democratically elected leader of Haiti and supporting a violent military coup in that poorest of poor countries? This is a sobering example of the Bush administration’s total disregard for international laws and the sovereignty of foreign nations, and makes a mockery of the U.S. government’s claim that it is promoting democracy worldwide. 

Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected President of Haiti twice, each time by large majorities in internationally supervised elections. In 1995, President Aristide disbanded the Haitian military, which had been the source of much violence and repression in the country. His government made literacy, health care, AIDS treatment, and agricultural production its top priorities. These are priorities I wish my own government would support, both in Haiti and here at home. 

As concerned Americans, we need to call for a full congressional investigation into the role of the United States government in the deliberate destabilization of the Haitian government and the implementation of the coup. 

Sandy Kroigaard 

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom