This past week, Penn students held a three day conference on the BDS movement. The conference had been preceded by coverage from the local Jewish community pro-Israel newspaper and the Penn student newspaper which was not only antagonistic and unbalanced, but specifically, a professor penned an op Ed accusing BDS supporters of being “kapos.”
Not surprisingly, the BDS event organizers were a tad sensitive about who would be reporting from these media outlets. They ultimately decided to refuse access to the event for the Exponent’s reporter and a far-right pro-Israel filmmaker. Personally, I think they made a mistake. I would’ve negotiated with the Exponent for an op ed by a Penn faculty member who supported BDS in return for allowing a hostile reporter to have access. If the newspaper refused, then let them slam BDS while you point out how unfair they were in refusing to allow you to present your point of view in the newspaper.
It should e noted that The Exponent’s former editor, Jonathan Tobin, now graces the editorial masthead at Commentary. So the Exponent is certainly no exemplar of diversity on the question of coverage related to Israel or BDS.
Jane Eisner, the Forward’s managing editor decided to pile on, writing an editorial criticizing the decision to bar the reporter, as an infringement on free speech. This is wrong for all sorts of reasons. One, because the pro-Israel media has a monopoly on access to the mainstream community through it’s media outlets. That means that they present their slanted version of BDS to their readers without allowing the BDS movement to portray itself in their pages. If anyone is repressing free speech and the diversity of debate it is the Exponent and Forward.
But even more important is the fact that the Israel Lobby routinely restricts media access to reporters it doesn’t like at events they host. Aipac provided press credentials to The Guardian’s Chris McGreal to cover it’s 2007 national conference. When McGreal arrived to pick up his credentials and registration packet, he was not only denied access, but Josh Block, Aipac’s then PR capo di tutti, had the reporter frog-marched out of the hall escorted by security guards. I reported this story in my blog at the time and in the Guardian’s Comment is Free. But The Forward never took up the matter. Somehow, when the BDS movement stifles the press it’s newsworthy, but when Josh Block and Aipac do it they get a pass.
Further, if Jane Eisner wants to talk about freedom of speech in the media, she should look in the mirror. I, for example am blackballed from appearing there. How do I know? Let’s just say a little birdie told me. My crime? Criticizing The Forward’s decision to take Republican Jewish Coalition ads in 2008 which accused Barack Obama of being racist. You see some journalists can be very thin skinned about criticism. Which is ironic because those same editors refuse to allow activists to be equally thin-skinned about critical coverage.
Mao, who himself didn’t brook much dissent, said “let a thousand flowers bloom.”. Why can’t we in the Jewish community do at least as well?
Does that means you will not ban and moderate those who’s opinion you don’t like ?
what was that saying about the camel visual abilities ?
You’re moderated because you violated the comment rules. An inconvenient fact for you that you overlook. I never violated any rules established by the Forward except that I criticized their acceptance of RJC blood money based on racism. That’s the reason I’ve been blackballed by Jane Eisner there.
From the inside, I can tell you that the Exponent rejected both a) a letter to the editor from PennBDS correcting some of their earlier reporting, and b) an offer of an op-ed about the conference by a Penn professor, the content of which Exponent editors would have presumably disagreed with. So their comments about free speech are not credible.
Your article’s headline says ‘Jewish Forward Attack on Penn BDS Neglects IaraelLobby’s Restraint on Free Press’. That should be ISRAEL.
Please correct.
Penn’s professor of psychiatry, Ruben Gur, likened the organizers of the conference to “Nazis” and conference’s Jewish participants to “Capos” in a column published in the Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn’s student run paper. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia responded to the BDS by hosting America’s top defender of the Zionist regime, professor Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz recently blasted fellow Jewish professors Richard Falk and John Mearsheimer for endorsing the book The Wandering Who?, written by Israeli-born Jew Gilad Atzmon.
Before Alan Dershowitz’s Hasbara lies about Muslims, Arabs and Iran – Chairman of Penn board of trustees, David Cohen, read a message from Penn President Amy Guttmann, saying: “We are unwavering in our support of Israel. Let me say in the clearest possible words: we don’t support the goals of BDS“.
Israel’s Reut Institute has called on Israeli government agencies and its Hasbara organizations like Campus Watch, NGO Monitor, DPWatchdog, etc., in the West to sabotage and attack BDS activities.
The ADL website has listed some of the keynote speakers as “Israel and Jew haters”. Dr. Salah Sultan tops the list for blaming Israel for the bombing of Alexandria church.
The PennBDS reached out to Jews at the Campus and in Philadelphia but due to anti-conference campaign by the pro-Israel Jewish groups, the response was negative. “We are deeply disappointed that the Jewish community of Philadelphia has responded with condemnation to an open discussion on campus of legitimate tactics in pursuit of democracy and equality,” says statement issued by the Jewish Voice for Peace.
http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/penn-bds-2012-conference-irks-israel-lobby/
To be clear (and I’m speaking as a participant, not an organizer), the filmmaker in question, Martin Himel, had never registered as press. The problem started when he began ambushing people for interviews, claiming to be working for CBC or whatever, and tried to get them to sign really sketchy release forms.
At one point, he even bragged that he hadn’t registered as press, as if he had pulled a fast one on everybody.
The two members of the film crew who accompanied Himel did register as press and were allowed to stay and cover the conference. As well, Himel, who had registered as a participant, was allowed by the organizers to stay as a participant, but not to represent himself as press. Nevertheless, Himel continued to direct his film crew.
Himel stayed throughout the conference. Many people were creeped out by him, and with reason, as he exuded sliminess (you had to have been there).
However, he was allowed to stay.