Public Comment

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’m delighted to see that the New York Times ran an article on how a small band of thugs has attempted to kill a very rare and endangered species—a local independent newspaper—by intimidating its advertisers and smearing its owners for providing an equally rare public forum. That kind of coverage garnered letters of support for the Planet from around the world.  

I am equally impressed that the San Francisco Chronicle has not bothered to report on what is happening to a sister newspaper ten miles away. Its failure to do so speaks volumes about the journalistic integrity of what is left of our local Hearst media property.  

Gray Brechin 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

I understand that your Jewish readers made a decision to stop publishing ads in your paper. 

The reason, so I heard, is because your newspaper published letters to the editor that contained hate-speech against Israel. 

With all due respect for freedom of speech, you don’t have to publish hate letters that every lepper with a dripping nose sends to you editors! 

I strongly support the Jewish community of Berkeley’s decision to launch an ad boycott against your paper, until you start screening out letters that contain hate speech! 

Zohar  

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding the New York Times article concerning anti-semitism and the Daily Planet, it is my view with high probability that Becky O’Malley is anti-semitic, whether she agrees to this or not. Of this I am quite convinced as are many other Berkeley residents who regularly read the Daily Planet. The evidence for this assertion is her track record of predominately printing pro-Palestinian over pro-Israel articles, editorials and letters. The basic thrust of the Daily Planet vis a vis what it prints has been to demonize and marginalize Israel. This is biased reporting and truly smacks of anti-semitism because there is no clear evidence that Ms. O’Malley understands the very nature of the conflict between these two peoples. Historical context is essential to grasping the essence of this conflict. Israel is an occupier only as a consequence of uncontrollable events in a war that they did not start. Of all the self-serving editorials printed by the Daily Planet in support of Ms. O’Malley and the Daily Planet’s anti-Israel position (I counted 21) there was only one that addressed the truth at least at it related to the core issue: Israel vs Palestine, and that was the one by Larry Waldman who succinctly laid out the underpinnings of the conflict and deftly listed how it could be swiftly resolved. The ball, Daily Planet, has always been in the Palestinian’s court. If the Palestinians put down their weapons, there will be peace, plain and simple. If Israel puts down its weapons, there will be no more Israel. What part about “peace” don’t you understand? 

Barry Gustin, MD, MPH 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding the Daily Planet’s support of the Palestinian cause: 

“You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”—Abraham Lincoln, Circa 1861. 

Palestine should take a lesson from Israel. 

Barry Gustin, MD, MPH 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read about your dispute with Israeli activists in the Times, and I wanted to encourage you to stay the course. I am in Texas—originally from NY—so I am not familiar with your newspaper, but it takes guts to stand up to these people, and you have shown a good bit of courage. I believe in balanced coverage, so I am opposed to them attacking anyone who is not 100% supportive of Israel all the time. 

Thank you for giving me hope. 

Michael Aratingi 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

This letter is in reponse to the NY Times article as wellas to the other letters in response. Many of these letters conflate criticism of Israel with racial prejudice against Jews or “anti-semtism. This is really a false issue and there are clear, bright lines between the two. Human rights icon Natan Sharansky points to three “D”s to help identify when legitimate criticism crosses over to anti-Semitism: Double Standard, Delegitimization and Demonization. The Berkeley Daily Planet has regularly printed items that have crossed all three lines. 

Usually when I hear a person say,”all criticism of Israel is anti-semitism,” a moment later, they say something very anti-semitic but with a mention of “Israel” at the same time. Being opposed to the state of Israel politically also doesn’t provide one with a “free pass” for racism or bigotry against Jews either. Much of what the Berkeley Daily Planet prints about Israel is simply factually wrong and certainly telling lies to delegitimize Israel isn’t the “free speech” which we all treasure. So perhaps all anti-zonists are not anti-semites but certainly all anti-semites are anti-zionist. Will the Berkeley Daily Planet ever learn to discern the distinction? 

Rfael Moshe 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

As an Israeli psychologist who cares about the future of your children and mine, I must protest your preoccupation with Jewish matters instead of fighting world hunger, enslavement of women, and planet pollution. No, you are not Anti-semites. You are historical pawns, misguided by your own intellectual masturbation. When it comes to Jews, you are no different from countless idiots in human history who were preoccupied with the Jews instead of “Tikun Olam.” 

Hey, you won’t hear from me again unless you ask for it... someone handed me a copy of your Berkeley Daily Planet an hour ago and asked my opinion about the opinion letters on your page 11. I had to respond because many of my students over the years transferred to UC Berkley. I am sad to say that I feel that I had no impact on their values no matter how hard I tried to get them to focus on their lives instead of the Jews’. I guess intellectual masturbation about Jews is a powerful pass-time in Academia everywhere—while the planet is dying. Shame on you all! 

Dr. Eli Kinarthy 

Psychologist 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

What has happened to your paper—attacks by ultra rightwing Zionists on freedom of the press—has been going on for a number of years with Don Deane’s The Costal Post. Not only have advertisers been called to stop their advertising in The Coastal Post, but town councils of various Marin cities have been lobbied to cut the paper’s distribution points. 

It is heartening to see so many Jews coming out about this, for it’s a real plague on a functioning democracy. 

Idea: Why don’t your two papers get together and do a joint investigative piece on just who is providing the money for the attacks?  

On whose payroll are Sinkinson and Gertz? 

William Dgloz 

Fairfax 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was delighted to read all the letters of support from around the country in the aftermath of the NYTimes article. It’s nice to know that Americans are becoming increasingly aware—and resentful—that the information we receive about the Israel/Palestine situation is highly censored due to—mostly successful—efforts by the Zionist Lobby. The letter I loved the most, though—because it suggests a simple but effective action plan—was that of Bill Colohan, who said there should be a word for a “serial anti-Semitism accuser” and that that word should be “Gertz.” Great idea, with these changes. Make it a verb and make the word “zoro.” It goes great with “Zionist” and looks and sounds almost like “zero,” so it’s easy to remember and fun to use, as in “Hey, did you see? The BDP got so totally zoroed, they were written up in the New York Times!” Or, “After the ZL [Zionist Lobby] finishes zoroing the SF Jewish Film Festival, will there be any movies left worth seeing?” That “zoro” faintly echoes “Zorro,” the source of John Gertz’s very comfortable living, is just an added perk. 

Columnist Dan Savage managed to turn Senator Rick Santorum’s name into a common noun for a substance I will not mention in a family newspaper. Rick Santorum lost his bid for re-election. Connected? We’ll never know but we can hope the new definition helped. This serial-anti-Semitism-accusation-thing is also long overdue for a bit of ridicule. It’s my suspicion that the entire world population is tired of having to look solemn and guilty every time the word “Jew,” “Israel,” “Holocaust,” or “anti-Semitism” is uttered. If you’re tired of it, try counteracting with a hearty “zoro!”—and if it does indeed make you feel better, pass it on. 

Joanna Graham 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Have you been “Zoro’d” yet? It’s easy. First you write the truth about how the Israelis dump all over the Palestinians in an effort to steal their land and declare themselves an Israeli state. Second you send it out to as many newspapers as you can knowing that most of them have already been Zoro’d and they won’t print it anyway. Now after a few real newspapers like the Daily Planet publish your freedom of expression under the lost art of free speech, being Zoro’d is a slam dunk. Soon your advertisers start to disappear if you are a newspaper or you can get real bad press on the internet and if you’re really lucky you can lose all your Zionist friends because you have been labeled as a racist and Zoro’d. While one cannot yell “fire” in a crowded theater, one can write about world events as he or she sees them or reply to letters written in the local paper; yes, the newspaper has a right to publish one’s opinion or not without fear of reprisal. 

By the way if you are interested in being Zoro’d you can find out the details by reading the New York Times article at this website. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/business/media/28paper.html?_r=1&sq=berkeley%20daily%20planet&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=all. 

You can also be “Sink’d.” Like the USS Liberty almost was in the 67 massacre. “Never Forget.” 

Thank you Becky for printing the feelings of the people without fear of being Zoro’d or Sink’d. 

Ozzie Graham 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

From faraway Australia please stand firm against the brickbats you are receiving from vested, loud and offensive Jewish groups or people. 

As a Jew I am appalled by the tactics of these people. Free speech is ok when it’s on their terms—and only then! 

Don’t be cowed and keep up the good fight. 

Jeff Loewenstein 

Australia 

The Daily Planet’s response to the New York Times article, including significant information the story did not include, is on our website, www.berkeleydailyplanet.com.