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PALESTINE PROPAGANDA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It doesn’t surprise me to see the letter in the Daily Planet from International Solidarity Movement member Jim Harris, praising the Berkeley City Council for calling for an investigation into the death of fellow ISM activist, Rachel Corrie. Unfortunately, the so-called “progressives” on the council were all too happy to promulgate ISM’s pro-Palestinian propaganda rather than investigate for themselves the source from which their information on the matter stemmed. 

Clearly, the council members didn’t read the largely sympathetic story on Rachel Corrie in this month’s Mother Jones, not exactly a right-wing rag. The author, Joshua Hammer, went to the West Bank and found the following: ISM members by and large see suicide bombers as “freedom fighters.” Hence, it’s little wonder then that their members in Jenin hid Shadi Shukiya, a leader of Islamic Jihad, whom the Israelis arrested on March 27 for his role in the planning of four suicide bombings. 

After this, human rights organizations kept their distance from ISM and the International Red Cross kicked the ISM out of their shared office space. About 

a month later, in Rafah (where Corrie had been based), the ISM was found to have “socialized” with two Pakistani British citizens who soon blew themselves up as homicide bombers. Little wonder that other NGO’s decided they, too, wanted nothing to do with the ISM. 

Concerning the death of Rachel Corrie, the primary ISM witness later acknowledged that it could indeed have been nothing more than a tragic accident. And the international press, once sympathetic to what happened to Corrie, was alienated when several photos given Reuters News Agency by the ISM of Corrie turned out to have been taken several hours before her death. 

Whatever was left of concern for Corrie in most international venues evaporated when a picture of her burning a makeshift American flag in front of young  

Palestinian children was published. The Palestinians have rightfully been reviled for teaching children from pre-school on that the most honorable mission in life is to become a “shaheed,” a martyr who murders Jews. Here is the ISM heroine, Ms. Corrie, further fanning the flames of hatred in front of those too young to comprehend the complexities for themselves. 

In sum, Rachel Corrie, who probably died by accident, was a young woman whose ideals were superceded only by her ignorance. It’s one thing for the Stalinists in KPFA’s news department to daily disseminate Palestinian propaganda, yet another for said fabrications to be supported by our City Council. And why is the City Council, which has plenty of local business to attend to, wasting their time and ours paying lip service to the distortions of ideologues like the ISM who aid and abet the murder of innocent Israelis? 

Dan Spitzer 

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IN PRAISE OF COUNCIL 

Editors, Berkeley Daily Planet,  

I am another Jew who would like to thank the Berkeley City Council for its courageous action in calling for an investigation into the bulldozing death of Rachel Corrie by the Israeli Army in Gaza. 

The violence and killing must stop. All of it, without exception.  

When someone kills, the victim dies, but a part of the killer dies also. Their humanity is damaged. Similarly, when a nation acts oppressively toward another people, that people is hurt, but so is the nation acting oppressively. It is hurt in its hopes and dreams. It shrinks morally. 

This is happening to Israeli society. In extending its reach far into the lands of another people, in trying to force them to accept dispossession, Israel hurts Palestinians in every aspect of their lives. But the story does not end there. Israeli society becomes militarized, violent, fearful, and irrational. 

It betrays the hopes of Jews who wanted to build a society that would not only be a refuge from anti-Semitism, but would be a beacon to the whole world and embody the striving for freedom and for justice that have characterized our tradition at least since the time of Moses. 

Bulldozing of homes, their residents, and the people who try to protect them is the negation of Jewish tradition. It is a symptom of something going terribly wrong. 

Gentiles who look the other way undoubtedly mean well, but they are not doing Jews or Israelis any favor. If you know that your friend has an alcohol problem, do you ignore that and offer another drink? Of course not. What is needed is kind, but firm interruption of the harmful behavior. The terrible anguish of the Palestinians cries out for this. But Israelis need it, too. 

By calling for an investigation into Rachel Corrie’s killing, the council members acted as real allies to Jews and to Israelis. In an understated but firm way, they let it be known that they noticed that something was wrong, and that they care about it.  

Council members are being attacked for their trouble. These attacks should not be misinterpreted--they mean that members did something that matters. They acted with courage and integrity.  

Glen Hauer  

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SIERRA CLUB RESPONSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am compelled to respond to Mr. Fielding’s tirade, attacking the Sierra Club for its efforts to protect wildlife habitat while providing for recreational opportunities along the waterfront. In his ideological zeal, Mr. Fielding got his facts pretty well mixed up. Contrary to his claim that the club opposed the acquisition of 16 acres of land for playing fields, the Sierra Club actually engineered that acquisition and made it possible. Moreover, the Sierra Club/CESP plan for the Albany waterfront will provide more soccer and ballfields. In fact, the plan would provide enough fields to meet the stated need in the Albany-Berkeley area. Just why Mr. Fielding has refused to endorse this plan remains a mystery. 

As for the BHS rowing team, Mr. Fielding didn’t tell readers that the team currently rows at Lake Merritt and can still row there. Nor did he tell readers that as the Sierra Club volunteer leader on this issue, I offered to help the team find alternative locations. He also did not mention the fact that a wildlife biologist hired by the city concluded that the rowing team’s use of Aquatic Park would create an adverse impact on the rafting birds which rely on that body of water as a place of rest and nourishment on their migrations from the arctic to the Antarctic and back. Anyone who has seen “Winged Migration” will know what is required for that trip. 

Finally, Mr. Fielding failed to point out that at my request, Mayor Bates met with Arthur Feinstein for Golden Gate Audubon, members of the rowing team board and myself and reached an agreement on how we can work together to resolve issues in a constructive manner. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Mayor Bates for his good offices in this effort. 

It would be great if we saw the same kind of cooperative spirit from Mr. Fielding rather than the kind of screeds against the environmental community that we now associate with Rush Limbaugh and his ilk. 

Norman La Force, 

Chair, Sierra Club East Bay Public Lands Committee 

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NO ON PROP. 54 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’ve generally supported the work of Ward Connerly to get us past Affirmative Action. I strongly believe in Martin Luther King’s dream of a country where race doesn’t matter. 

But I’m voting no on Proposition 54. I don’t think I’m being inconsistent. 

It did sound great to think that some official evaluating a form will no longer be biased by seeing which race was checked off. But Prop. 54 could have also banned having a check box for sex. That’s going too far, isn’t it? Well, there are legitimate reasons to record race, too. 

One reason is medical demographics—disease susceptibility does vary with race. 

But more important, like it or not, race matters politically, just as sex does. The only way to know if people are being processed differently depending on their race or sex is to record that information. 

If race discrimination were eliminated today, Prop. 54 might make sense. But we haven’t quite achieved King’s dream. Racial-steering in real estate goes on, and of course there is “driving while black.” The only way to combat such things is to collect statistics on a person’s race. 

So I’m voting no on Prop. 54. I want to see a race-neutral society, but I don’t think we have to pretend we humans are all one race. Are we going to pretend there’s only one sex? 

Steve Geller 

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FERRY SERVICE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your article discussing the Bridge Toll Increase Bill was a bit lopsided. While the bill will provide improvements for over 30 transit projects, including very large funding to the Transbay Terminal, BART, and rail service on the Dumbarton Bridge, the article barely mentioned these projects. Instead, it focused only on proposed ferry improvements which constitute about five percent of the bill’s funding. It also failed to mention that this is the most significant funding proposed for public transit in over 20 years and it should have passed years ago: The bill not only provides money for capital expenses, but also provides for operational expenses. Because public transit is in such severe need of financing, even Dianne Feinstein is working to make the bill feasible at the federal level. 

Kriss Worthington and his small group of transit detractors miss the point completely when they complain about the bill and about new ferry service. They claim that money would be better spent on AC Transit. They don’t understand that buses and ferries work hand in hand. They don’t compete with each other; in fact, you can’t have ferries without buses. AC Transit supports new ferry service primarily because 25 percent of ferry funding will be allocated directly to increased bus service and landside connections. Besides, there is no one transit mode that will solve all our needs; it’s a combination of different systems that will serve our future public transit. This group also hasn’t read the Environmental Reports which conclude that new ferries will be far cleaner than bus systems. Ferries will be meeting higher standards—and exceeding the EPA guidelines—than most other transit modes. 

Another problem with the tiny anti-ferry group is their assumption that ferries are purely commuting vehicles. While it’s true that ferries primarily serve commuters (as do buses and BART), what is distinctly different about boats is that they serve two other very important functions. First and foremost, in an emergency or disaster, ferries are necessary for replacing disrupted land service. This was the case in the 1980 BART strike, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and the 2001 World Trade Center attack. In all these events, ferries provided emergency transportation for several weeks or months while buses and trains were down. Second, ferries provide recreational benefits that other modes cannot. On the weekends, ferries provide access to Alcatraz, Angel Island, and Golden Gate Recreational Areas, to name just a few—all areas inaccessible to buses or trains. 

Finally, your article seems to indicate that Gov. Davis might not support the bill. Since the bill is simply a users fee that goes to the users for their approval, it’s no big deal whether Davis supports it; he only needs to let the voters decide for themselves. Either the voters say yes, they are willing to pay $1 more in bridge tolls for improved public transit, or they say no and continue to put up with some of the worst congestion in the state. We are certain, in fact, that Bay Area residents are very clear about transit priorities. The only question is whether the governor will uphold his recent promise to listen to the voters in this recall climate.  

Jerri Holan, Friends of the Albany Ferry 

Linda Perry, Berkeley Ferry Committee 

Albany 

• 

CHECK AGAIN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

“Google Site Bans Slurs Against Israelis...” Really? Run a search on “zionazi.” In fact, run a search on any epithet or slur aimed at Jews or Israelis; avalanche. There’s no ban or block. You get all the jaw-dropping diatribes. Lots of Indymedia.org hits, too. Pretty simple check to make if you want to maintain credibility, Paul Kilduff. 

Glad to clear Google of that indictment. I’m no loyalist, but it’s still a relief. 

Adam Seward 

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Q & A 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Iraq Q & A Highlights: 

Q. How do we invade Iraq without appearing to invade it? 

A. Lie about WMD then form a coalition. 

Q. How do we occupy Iraq without appearing to occupy it? 

A. We don’t occupy, we liberate. 

Q. How do we govern Iraq without appearing to govern it? 

A. Appoint a Temporary Governing Council. 

Q. How do we police Iraq without appearing to be police? 

A. Dress Iraqis in police uniforms. 

Q. How do we use Iraqi oil for the benefit of the Iraqi people? 

A. Make Halliburton hire Iraqis. 

Q. To get support from unsupportive allies, how do we give a little without appearing to give a little? 

Answer pending. 

Marvin Chachere  

San Pablo 

• 

GET OVER IT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

All those rabid Republicans who advised Democrats to “get over” their outrage with the Supreme Court’s decision to stop the Florida recount, thereby enabling the losing candidate to become president, are now apoplectic over the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision to postpone the Davis recall. Hoo, Ha! The chickens are coming home to roost! 

Bruce Joffe 

Piedmont