Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Open Thread

NPR related comments welcomed.
Posted by Mytwords at 5:05 AM
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here is the e-mail I sent to Brian Lehrer re his bias toward Israel on the Monday 11/5 show. The show was about an org. called "Face to Face" which brings together Israeli Arab and Jewish teen-agers in an attempt to foster understanding.

--ellen

"Dear Brian,
I found this show inspiring...until your last question.

You asked the Arab teenager: if there is a two-state solution, can you see that Israel would feel insecure and what would you say to an Israeli who was concerned about their security.
This was asked to the Arab teenager, only, not to the Jewish teenager.

Now let me get this straight...
Israel has the bomb
Israel is the 4th largest military force in the world - not in the region, in the world
Israel is a 1st world nation with a high standard of living
Israel is backed by the only super-power in the world, which super-power has repeatedly demonstrated it will go to the mat in defending whatever Israel does.
Israel has an air force and an army

against
Palestine, which has a rag-tag armed force which fires centuries old rockets that never hit anything.
which has a starving population
which has no government
which has a demoralized population
which has little support from the world
which is dependent on Israel for water and electricity.
which has no industry
which is dependent on hand-outs

And Israelis should be worried about security?!

The idea of Israel as a vulnerable nation has been so deeply embedded in the American psyche that the facts contravening this are simply and conveniently ignored.

Tell me, Brian, is it possible you are unaware of the implications of your question?
Or, are you aware and are deliberately perpetuating a myth?

I would like to know your answer.

11/7/07, 7:46 AM
Porter Melmoth said...

Excellent letter, anon.

I think that the items you accurately list under Palestine are the very reasons why Israel is so paranoid.
Affluence always fears poverty. Military strength always fears military weakness.
Plus, there is an element of racism that has long been displayed by Israeli policy toward Palestinians. Arguably, this is anti-Semitic behavior, because the Palestinians are a Semitic people. But of course, that's an unspeakable subject.

As for your items under Israel, you could easily list them under 'USA' as well, as they are very American neocon paranoias.

11/7/07, 11:44 AM
Anonymous said...

Also, Tues afternoon, on a show about 40 years of occupation, Lenny Lopate twice referred to the "fence".

Their bias is so obvious-how do you call a barrier made of cement, several meters thick, high enough to blot out the sun, a "fence".

"Fence" of course is the accepted terminology. At least he called the settlements, settlements, instead of "neighborhoods".

argh

ellen

11/7/07, 12:51 PM

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