Opinion

The Planet has received a second commentary (opinion essay) from Kurosh (Cyrus) Arianpour, a student who is Iranian by nationality, Zoroasterian by religion, used to live in Berkeley and is currently studying physics in Bombay and learning English. Publication of his first letter upset many Planet readers and others who saw it quoted elsewhere. Since his second letter is substantially similar to the first one, we will not print it in full. In summary: he says he’s outraged by Israel’s actions in Lebanon and in Gaza, and that many others throughout the world are also angry. He thinks critics of the Planet’s printing his first letter should instead be condemning Israel because of the civilian deaths in Lebanon. He quotes a writer who believes that Zionists are controlling Americans. He repeats the charges from his first letter: that Israel’s current policies are characteristic of the behavior of what he calls “Jews/Zionists” throughout history and around the world, and as such are the cause of anti-Semitism. We’d like to take the opportunity now to set him straight about a few of his most egregious misconceptions: -more-

Among the many depressing news items in a discouraging week was this one, as headlined in the San Jose Mercury News: -more-

PARKING -more-

History was made in the California State Legislature last month when it sent SB 840 to the governor’s desk! Sen. Sheila Kuehl’s single payer health care bill would extend coverage to all California residents for less than what is spent collectively now by employers, consumers and local, state and federal government. Patients would choose their own doctors or providers, pre-existing conditions would be covered, all needed services, drugs, hospital stays, therapies and medical equipment would be covered, and there would be no co-pays or deductibles for at least the first two years. -more-

This is Berkeley’s season for political endorsements. But there is only one group which is actively inviting all progressives to attend, to debate and to vote, and that is the Berkeley Progressive Coalition. All are invited to the candidates convention from 2-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 at Washington School at MLK and Bancroft. -more-

A recent regional study by the Bay Area Council contains some eye-opening statistics about Berkeley working and commuting patterns. According to the BAC, of Berkeley’s 71,172 jobs in 2005, only a third (33.1 percent) were held by Berkeley residents, meaning two-thirds commuted to work here, while more than half of the city’s 54,421 employed citizens (56.7 percent) commuted to jobs out of town. Taken together, this means that nearly 78,500 workers—not counting students—commute into or out of Berkeley every workday. And the large majority of them still do so by private automobile. -more-

BERKELEY HIGH -more-

My profound respect and admiration for Executive Editor Becky O’Malley for opening wide a door for so many people to speak up, write letters, discuss important controversial subjects some of which rarely are touched upon, let alone, discussed. She has shown her commitment to the First Amendment of the Constitution and its protection of freedom of speech and the press. -more-

Catching up on my summer reading, I was shocked to read an editorial by Kurosh Arianpour titled “Commentary: Zionist Crimes in Lebanon” in the Aug. 8 edition of the Berkeley Daily Planet. While people of good will can debate vigorously over the conflicts between Israel and her neighbors, there is no place for the sickening level of anti-Semitic discourse in Mr. Arianpour’s writing. The commentary in question is a classic example of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that have left a stain on the conscience of the world and sadly continue to have life today. Mr. Arianpour seeks to pin the blame of the problems of Jewish people on the Jews themselves, calling them not the “Chosen People” but the “Chosen Murderers.” The hateful and theologically and historically mistaken depictions of the Jewish people Mr. Arianpour presents is a classic expression of the most virulent, and destructive brands of anti-Semitic ideology. His claims for a far-reaching, even global, conspiracy in service of Jewish interests are direct descendents of the blueprint for modern anti-Semitism, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Despite having been conclusively identified as a forgery, The Protocols have inspired both popular and state sanctioned violence and murder against Jews in Tsarist Russia and Nazi Germany. Sadly, the influence of The Protocols is found in anti-Semitic organizations and publications around the globe, from America to South Africa to Egypt, and apparently even to India, from where Mr. Arianpour hails. Although Mr. Arianpour has the right to express his views, I am deeply distressed that the editors of the Berkeley Daily Planet lacked the common sense to refuse to publish what was a patently anti-Semitic diatribe. I seriously question the decisionmaking skills of the editors and their priorities. -more-

As I live in San Francisco, I rarely read the Daily Planet, but an article in the Chronicle last week sent me scurrying to google your web page and read in the Aug. 8 issue the simplistic idiocies of Kurosh Arianpour in his diatribe against the Jews of all times and places. I wanted to be certain that they are as ill-informed, hateful, and stupid as the critics of the Daily Planet allege—they are—but no more hateful and stupid than the demands that Ms. O’Malley apologize for having published his ignorant nonsense, even as she published theirs. -more-

The more articles I read about Cody’s bookstore on Telegraph in Berkeley closing its doors, with all the usual finger-pointing at panhandlers and street artists as the culprits responsible, the more peculiar the story seems. -more-