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CIA's Overthrow Plans for Iran Agency musters Swiftboat vets, pumps funding into destabilization program aimed at Teheran. Trish Schuh reveals how White House approves race-baiting smears of Islam. Remember how Leadbelly got ripped off by Lomax, how Louis Armstrong's agent got richer than his most famous client? The rip-offs never die. Fred Wilhelms narrates how artists and musicians are being shafted in the age of the internet. Meet the real Judge John Roberts, serf for big business. Cockburn and St Clair dissect the Court's new nominee. Tailhook vet and self-proclaimed Tom Cruise model bites dust in Pentagon scandal: a defense industry parable. St. Clair on Duke Cunningham's Crash Landing. Get the answers you're looking for in the latest subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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Other Lands Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison by Kathy Kelly  Today's Stories August 23, 2005 Diane
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August 25, 2005 Gaza and the "Shame of It All"Loewenstein's Big Mail BagBy
ALEXANDER COCKBURN On August 17 we published here Jennifer Loewenstein's The Shame of It All: Watching the Gazan Fiasco. The moment we read her furious and eloquent protest at the hypocrisy of the press coverage of the pullout in Gaza, we knew it would strike a powerful chord with CounterPunch's audience round the world. As of yesterday, Jennifer tells us she's received over 350 emails from around the world, and they're still pouring in. Only a handful are hostile. It's a measure to us of the immense frustration people feel about slanted coverage of Israel's conduct towards Palestinians; also the range of people ready to speak up for the Palestinians. Even in recent times this would not have been so. Jennifer has forwarded us many of the letters. It's cheering to listen to all those voices in the wind. Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey
St Clair Dear Ms.Loewenstein First of all let me apologize for writing you this mail without any previous introduction as we did never correspond or meet each other. But as I read your article hereunder, I could not contain myself first from remembering days in 1948 when I was forced with my family to leave our ancestors' building located in Jaffa-Palestine overlooking its Port and the Greek Orthodox Convent. It was the building owned by our Family in our Homeland Palestine, where generations of this family were born and not a usurped or confiscated other peoples ownership. We were forced to leave it to accomodate others who did never set a foot there themselves nor their ancestors,been gathered from the four corners of the world, just because they were Jews !! They grasped and robbed not only our furnished homes,offices,schools,properties,gardens etc... but also tried to erase our past and destroy our future without any sense of guilt , remorse or even any humble compensation whether sentimental or physical . The whole so-called Free World , Democracies & U.N. were not only watching but deeply involved in creating this unprecedented worldwide injustice!! I could not also contain myself from having tears of thankfulness and gratitude to find that this world is still full of rightful and just people like yourself, who dare to speak out inspite of terrible consequences they may be subjected to. Please excuse me again. Best Regards A.Anwar Sacca Dear Ms. Loewenstein, Thank you for your most relevant and cogent article on the Gaza withdrawal. As a student of Middle East history, I am daily amazed at the convenient omissions the media allows to pass. It seems that the Palestinians today are the Communists of yesterday--people that the West loves to hate, or maybe just ignore. Certainly Arab leadership could have been more statesmanlike and more unifying throughout the years, and certainly no one wants to condone the violence of either side of the issue, but it is rare to see a simply balanced view of the conflict. The Israelis will, in my opinion, suffer from this occupation in years to come. Their children will grow up with apartheid-like attitudes and a hardening of the heart that I think must occur when one state oppresses another. In the meantime, the Palestinians' positions harden and the situation only gets worse. The greatest hope for the region, in my opinion, is for Jews and Christians with a conscience to speak out, and to put pressure on policy-makers. Your article is a step in the right direction--I would love to see it printed in the New York Times! Thank you again for your essay. Lisa Lacy
I read your article in THE GUARDIAN (Tanzania) with great interest. It is heartening to see that views like yours are heard. Also the main problem with Western media is that it is "biased" I wish you all the best. Kind regards. Dr Hussein
Dear Jennifer Thank you so much for your Counter Punch statement on the Gazza Fiasco. I have been part of the class and anti-racist struggles for half a century. Of course I've been called a self hating Jew. Comradely Hello, A friend of mine forwarded your article on the shame of the Gaza fiasco from CounterPunch, and I want to thank you so much for your courage and honesty. It is the article I would have wanted to write myself, only you did a much better job than I could have! I have fumed as I read the tear-jerker stories in the mainstream US media this week, and I wonder: what about the suffering of the dispossessed Palestinians for almost 60 years?!?! If and when the American people ever discover how they have been duped, guilt-tripped, and bilked for billions and billions of US dollars by Zionists here and in Israel, I fear for the fate of the Jewish people and the country of Israel. As much as I despise it, anti-Semitism is always ready to rear its ugly head, and that would be the perfect excuse. May we never see that day! All the best! For Peace with Justice, Dear Madame, Your "Counterpunch" is an exquisite piece of pro-freedom, pro-justice, pro-humanity literature. Maybe literature is inappropriate as a genre for reporting crimes against humanity. When a journalist screams in anguish; does every thing in his power to tell the truth in defence of the weak and the helpless against rich and powerful antagonists; and no one listens. When he is put down and ignored as Robert Fisk of the 'Independent" was, when lecturing at campuses on the West Coast of USA ,some years ago about the massacre of Palestinians at Sabra and Shatila camps in Lebanon. When a 'massacre' is described as 'alleged massacre' and his protests are ignored. When truth is decimated and facts are twisted out of shape and a gullible audience accepts it as the truth. That is the time and the circumstance that separates ordinary journalists from persons of faith. Persons from whose lips, truth comes out in heart rending screams, as it is coming out of your mouth today. Madame,you have demonstrated unusual character, great integrity and an uncompromising will to stand up for the weak and suffering millions in the 'prison' of Palestine. It is people like yourself who will help liberate the Palestinians. Not the Bushes, the Blairs, the Sharons and hypocrites of their ilk.I salute you. Gilani. Dear Jennifer Loewenstein, I suspect you'll be swamped with messages like this, but I just wanted to thank you for your excellent Counterpunch article. There's little more revolting than all the mawkish drivel about the Tragedy of Disengagement, and you bring out excellently the sheer loathsome theatre of it. Thank you. In solidarity, and with best
wishes, DEAR JENNIFER, YOUR REPORT ON GAZA IS THE BEST I HAVE read AND WOULD LOVE TO REPRINT in our pan Canadian, Catholic newspaper. Ted Schmidt, Dear Ms. Lowenstein: Congratulations on your appointment to a position at Oxford. Your piece on the Gaza fiasco in Counter Punch is a heart cry and therefore heart wrenching to read and realize. Then I read the email edition of the LA Times this morning and saw how their editorial marched right in lock-step with the white washing and self dramatization going on in the Gaza that you were describing, and these gentlemen can't be let off the hook for the fact that they are Jewish, for they aren't. There are two answers contained in your letter that directly relate to your question, "What will it take to get the truth across to the people?" The first is "speaking out" just as you have done in this letter. Have faith in your own efforts, for there are many people who are hungry for the truth. The second is to have faith in what your Moslem friend told you, namely, that the truth will out, that truth will triumph. If you reflect for a moment it is possible to see that the truth has come out about the war in Iraq in just several years, but it took 15 years before the truth was made known to the American public and they stopped the war, in effect. This speeding up of the flow of information is the obvious result of the advance of technology that allows people of like-minded heart intelligence to augment their voice and power through acts of cooperation brought about by just such communications that you are voicing. So, my answer is: keep it up, and... be of good cheer, David A. Butterfield
Dear Ms Lowenstein Our son forwarded to us your article on the Gaza retreat and we wished to tell you how moved we were by it. My husband and I are both jewish and are active members of an association in Lausanne Switzerland called "Collectif Urgence Palestine - CUP" which supports the concept of a just peace in Palestine and a free state alongside Israel. Many activities (peaceful) are undertaken towards this goal. We are also in contact with Israeli pacifist associations. However today we write to you in our own name just to say that your article corresponds to our own position and that we were deeply moved by the way you have expressed your indignation. We would have liked to write such a well written, objective and sincere article. Thank you for having written it. We feel that your article should be read by the maximum number of people and we would like to obtain your authorization to forward it to our association and a Swiss newspaper. For several years we had subscribed to the daily newspaper "le Temps". However in view of the fact that we felt that it had recently changed its political orientation and that one of the criticisms we had against it was its lack of objective information on the Israeli-Palestinian question, we did not renew our subscription explaining the reasons. We obtained quite an interesting reply from the chief editor who took the time to address each of our criticisms in detail. Nevertheless, were not convinced by his explanation and maintained our decision. We would now like to forward your article to him in the hope that he may have a better understanding of the sufferings of the Gazaouite population instead of constantly focusing on the sufferings of the Israeli settlers. We congratulate you again on your article and hope to receive a positive reply concerning the possibility of forwarding it as mentioned above. Very sincerely
Congratulations on your article in Counterpunch and a welcome to Oxford for when you arrive. I am a UK Jewish comedian who has worked with ISM on the West bank. If you are in London try come and see my show about Israel, Palestine and the Jews entitled 'This is Not a Subject for Comedy'. I've performed it in Jerusalem and Ramallah and will be taking it to Melbourne, Australia next month. Information and reviews, etc. on the following page on my site: www.thinkbeforeyoulaugh.com/Notasubject/notasubject.asp Let me know if you ever decide to come and I'll be delighted to arrange a guest ticket. kind regards ivor dembina - London UK Thank you for your outstanding article. Thank you for breaking through so much silence. With Admiration,
Hi Jennifer, I'm working as a Graphic Designer at a National Irish television station and I've just read your article titled 'Gaza Fiasco' while listening to 'Arcade Fire' and it's after bringing tears to my eyes while sitting here at work. I'm going to post a copy on the news room notice board and forward another copy to the news room of the main national TV station, thanks and well done, Diarmuid
Yours,
It is all too rare to read such an article as yours, and particularly the litany of injustices the Palestinians have and will continue to endure, on their own land. Thank you so much. Daily, I shudder to know that my very own tax dollars are used to abet the torment of the Palestinians. Thank you again!
Your article in Counterpunch gave voice to my rage at a duplicitous media that ignores the Palestinian suffering but never fails to magnify the slightest Israeli inconvenience into another event amounting to a grave threat to the existence of the Jewish people. Your facts are impressive and the truth of your argument incontrovertible. Thank you for a great article Sincerely Major *****
Dear Jennifer, Hi, thanks for the well-done commentary. I have one question. You write: "There was never the slightest reason for Israel to send in the army to remove these settlers. The entire operation could have been managed, without the melodrama necessary for a media frenzy, by providing them with a fixed date on which the IDF would withdraw from inside the Gaza Strip. A week before, all the settlers will quietly have left -with ... " I'm not sure why the settlers would have left. Is it because their protection would have been taken away? If you have no objection, I'll add you to the mailing list for my monthly Anti-Empire Report. Cheers, Bill Blum Author, "Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II" and "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower" Portions of the books can be read at: www.killinghope.org
I'm a writer and journalist in New York. I think your Counterpunch Gaza piece is one of the most important I've read on the struggle. My comrade Ed Herman writes widely on the Palestinians, and he sends me lots of stuff. But mostly I can't read it. It's just too painful. I put your piece into my personal email list which reaches folks in the U.S., South Africa and France. I'm Jewish. I'm completely embarrassed. peace,
My name is Farnaz and I'm a 35 year old Iranian, Muslim woman and I've lived in the U.S. for 20 years now. I just wanted to commend you and thank you for such a wonderful well written article. I have gotten in to so many discussions and arguments over this whole situation about the Palestinians and Israelis, and I'm always viewed as the "Muslim" who is against U.S. and Israel and "freedom". In fact, I was told not too long ago, "to move the "Burka" from my eyes and just have the courage to admit that half of Muslims and Muslim countries are 'uneducated' "!!!!! It is so refreshing to see someone finally see things from our point of view. I wish there were more people like you. I thank you and commend you again. Keep up the good job. Sincerely,
Dear Ms. Jennifer Loewenstien: I am lost of words to express my gratitude and appreciation to you for writing the article entitle "The shame of it all". I had read many great articles concern this subject, but noting come close to your sincerity, objectivity, humanity, fairness and most of all sense of justices that marked your article. The person who write with this moral clarity is an exceptionally human being and you are an extraordinary person to see beyond what we are told to see and feel. I hope I have the ability to master the words as you do, I am so moved and touched by your analysis and inner thoughts of what is going today in Gaza. Thank you is too simple and is too light to carry the weight of my feeling. Please accept my love and respect and from now and on I will always look for your articles. Sincerely yours
Joel Shimberg, Dear Jennifer: I have read your story about the media frenzy around this "disengagement" and none of it is surprising. The media has been accused of being pro Israel in Canada and the US as long as I can remember, and for good reason. It is. I belong to a Christian peace and justice group. We are aware of Sharon's capacity with US backing, for murderous deeds. We are also aware that many of Sharon's tactics duplicate what the Nazis did to the Jews leading up to and including WW2. It is a strange human phenomena how the oppressed often become the oppressors. We will do everything we can to raise public discussion of these events. Our thoughts and prayers go with you. Thankyou for what you are doing. Barry Morley,
I feel compelled to respond to the wonderful (although terrible enough) write-up, entitled Watching the Gazan Fiasco: the Shame of it All. I try to follow the "real" news over there, since I went on an FOR Peace Builders tour in 2003; ie, I don't read the news from this country, since the military owns the media. My heart weeps with yours; I think people in this country are totally brainwashed about the whole situation over there, even though they would never want to admit it. Unless you have been there and experienced the Palestinians themselves (and Israelis), you cannot possibly get a grasp. So thank you so much for what you wrote; please send it to Mr Bush and C.Rice. Sincerely, in struggle
Thank you for your article regarding the media coverage of the events in Gaza. I find it amazing that not one television station or mainstream newspaper ever presents this side of the story. I was watching Fox News and on Hannity & Colmes one of the guests was G. Gordon Liddy, and he made a remark towards the end of the segment regarding Cindy Sheehan, the woman protesting outside of Bush's ranch. He stated that her comments regarding how Israel should leave Gaza were "anti-Semitic" and that she was an anti-Semite. I guess this comment amused me on several levels, one being the fact that a former criminal has the gall to even show his face on television, and the second being that anytime someone makes a critical comment regarding Israeli policy, they are labeled anti-Semitic. Unfortunately, people are too ignorant or stupid to realize that there is a difference between not liking someone or something simply because they are Jewish versus opposing a country's domestic and foreign policy which has caused thousands of deaths since the country's inception. Thank you,
Dear Ms. Loewenstein, Thank you for a courageous and truth-telling article. As an Israeli peace activist, I often feel ashamed of my government and some of my fellow citizens, powerless, frustrated and hopeless. Never more than today. Thank you for exposing the truth and the horrible cynicism behind this scandal. Rayna Moss, Dear Jennifer, I am a peace activist and member of the HCA (Helsinki Citizens Assembly Group) in Turkey. I have just read your article on Gaza. I would like to thank you for the excellent work and for making all of us remember once more who the real victims are. I would like to translate your article and have it published in Turkey. Would you have any objections? I am also an independent documentary film film maker, and I have just finished a film about honor killings in Turkey. My future project is to make a film on the Palestinian camps in Beirut, where I lived during 1972-73. My best wishes to you in your future work. Melek Taylan Dear Jennifer, Your article was forwarded to an email group of mine by a friend and I have forwarded it to other friends. Despite all my suspicion -because of Israeli history, because of the Father of Settlers' Sharon and because of countless other reasons, I regarded this withdrawal as a positive development/movement. You have touched very crucial points in your article and cleared most of my suspicions and your questions reminded me of things that some would love to see us forget. You have alerted my conscious about the facts of this new trick. It really hurts to see brutal aggressors who have no regard for human life to be depicted as victims. It hurts so much to see this injustice everyday. Only articles like your's relieve people like me, a little bit. May God be with you. Yours sincerely Dear Jennifer Loewenstein: I saw the subject article on Counterpunch.org and I wanted to thank you for the powerful expose' of the Gazan fiasco, as you call it. People of conscience worldwide should be outraged that the Gaza "disengagement" will effectively imprison millions of Palestinians, perpetuate the ongoing human rights violations against them and freeze any hope of a negotiated agreement for decades to come. I pray that someday the world will affirm that ALL people EVERYWHERE have an equal right to freedom, security and self-determination. However, being a pessimistic realist, I fear that the rich and powerful will continue with impunity their exploitation and oppression of the poor and weak, ad infinitum and ad nauseam. Thanks again for the article. I hope it gets a wide audience. Sincerely,
I wanted to send you a quick note of thanks for shedding some light on the situation in Gaza with your article, Watching the Gazan Fiasco. You're absolutely right, the news coverage in that region of the world is completely one-sided to say the least. I often wonder how the average Joe can so easily believe news coverage from sources like ABC & Fox news. But then again, everything seems to be so well calculated to paint the Palestinians as nothing short of cold, heartless agressors; how could they not? Thankfully, with journalists like yourself who aren't afraid to tell-it-like-it-is, I hope that more and more people wake up and at least consider what may be really going on. Keep up the great work; it hasn't gone unnoticed. Sincerely, Narjes Misherghi Thank you for you excellent article, The Shame Of It All. I live here in the San Francisco Bay Area and it is sickening to see day in day out, the images of poor settlers being "evicted" from their homes. I have wanted to write the local paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, about this incredible bias that you described so forcefully. Richard Mellor dear Ms Loewenstein, Dear Jennifer, Thank you for your thought provoking article. During the initial invasion of Iraq, the American military was bragging how effective their "urban warfare" techniques were. They told of how closely their tactics were to those of the IDF in their operations. In fact, the Israelis helped train some American units... I wonder if you happened to watch news footage of American soldiers kicking down doors in Baghdad during the initial assault. The incident that stuck in my mind was ...Americans had been kicking down doors, screaming at the people, destroying everything, when they came to a door that they couldn't kick open; they kicked and kicked when suddenly a Iraqi woman appeared with a bundle of keys. She opened the door for them. I asked my friend who was watching this and asked, "If that woman was your mother, what would she have said to the soldiers?" She didn't blink an eye and said," She would have told them, "Don't you people know how to knock?" Baghdad had fallen, there was no need to humiliate the people like that. The soldiers could have surrounded a building, obtained one of the residents to go in the building and tell all inside to come out and leave their doors open so they could do their weapons search. Instead, in typical fashion, with cameras rolling, they played the COPS routine...whatcha gonna do when they come for you...disrespect and humiliate. That is precisely why America will not win this war. Thank you, Thomas C Rockriver I read your article "The shame of it All'. I could not help but admire your outspokeness and your fearless and sincere rendering of the truth of what is actually taking place in Palestine. Today very few people care for justice ,honour ,the dignity of man or the welfare of humanity at large.Your article was like a breath of fresh air in a contaminated,corrupt envireonment.Thank you for your courage. Regards Professor Loewenstein, I just read your words of sanity in the midst of an insane situation and an equally insane world. You are wonderful. Thank you. With respect and best regards, Robert H. Stiver,
Excellent article, Jennifer. Thank you for expressing some of my thoughts and argumants so elequently. I hope you sent the message to lots of media publishers. Tamar Yaron (Israel)
Hi Ms. Lowenstein, Thank you, thank you so much for your article in Counterpunch...it provides a bracing corrective so needed for even beginning to contradict the virtually totalitarian (what word can better describe it?) onslaught of pro-Israeli propaganda (I refuse to call it journalism). I haven't seen much of your writing in Counterpunch before...please write more! Respectfully, Hello Ms. Loewenstein. I would simply like to take a moment and say how much I enjoyed this piece you wrote. Indeed the injustices continue to mount on the Palestinians although the world leaders would like us to think otherwise. Take care of yourself and keep up your important work, Regards, Omar Sharif Mabrouk
Sincerely,
Kind Regards, Dear Jennifer, God bless you for your splendid article on Israel's smokescreen media intensive Gaza withdrawal whilst Sharon and his army of thugs continue with their illegal jewish only settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem and daily crimes and abuses against entire Palestinian populations, which as you eloquently condemn are carefully ignored by the zionist dominated and corrupt media conglomerates. Your writing is a breath of fresh air and wonderful humanity in the midst of sleazy and nauseating journalism. There can never be a genuine and lasting peace in the Holy Lands as long as justice is denied to the Palestinian victims of Israel's brutal occupation and criminal settlement policies over the last 38 years. With best wishes,
I read your article about the Gaza withdrawal. Congratulations on a very good piece of writing.I share your frustration with mainstream media's failure to provide anything that resembles balanced reporting.Thank God for the internet and writers like you. Kind regards, Dear Jennifer, I wanted to send a brief reply to your story 'The Shame of It All' and your reiteration asking where the international journalists have been to cover stores of dispossession in Palestine. I remember reading a comment by Edward Said in one of his books talking about the difference between PR in Israel and that lacking in Palestine. I will try to find the quote but the gist of it was that Israel takes its Public Relations strategy very seriously, employing the very best firms from NYC among other places to do their messaging for them. And so far, Israel has gotten its money's worth. Said also mentions his urging Arafat on many occasions to take up a similar PR strategy, perhaps using the hundreds of thousands of dollars in money Arafat used to protect himself from his own people, to provide them agency and voice. If needed, the press should be created, as current outlets are not going to feature a story about the many atrocities you mention. We need to stop asking why, and where and start asking how. I very much enjoyed reading your article and hope read more in the future. If I find this reference I will send it to you. Best Regards, Hello Jennifer, I just read your moving and beautifully written piece about the 'Gaza fiasco'. It is true that all but the 2 most liberal newspapers in UK (Guardian and Independent) have been swept along by the enormous sacrifice of the Israelis. The Guardian did state that the settlers pulling out of gaza represented less than 3% of all illegal settlers and that many of them would, as you state, be rehoused in the West Bank. Best wishes for your spell at Oxford. Perhaps we could invite you to speak to our group in Cirencester which is only about 30 minutes away. David Smethurst Dear Ms. Loewenstein, I have just read your article forwarded by my brother in law. For more than 40 years I have been living in Amman, Jordan, the wife of a Palestinian from Nablus. For the last 38 years our lives have been touched by the events of June 6, 1967. It is heartbreaking to hear the anguish of the Palestinians all over the world when they talk of their homeland. So to witness the feeding frenzy of the international media as the settlers were leaving Gaza was disgusting to say the least. And as you noted, I thought what about the homes destroyed, the children killed, the loss of jobs, with no compensation? And yet, the Zionist nation feels that the world owes this to them and will do so for thousands more years to come. Surely compromise can be found without further suffering. Before 1945 even, the Jews and Arabs (Moslem and Christian) lived together in Peace. Only when politics and other nations got involved did it descend to this. Thanks you again for your writing. I have shared it with like minded friends. Yours truly, Jennifer, Elaine Hagopian Hello Jennifer, My name is Adwan Adwan and I just finished my first year of journalism at city university in London. I would like to thank you for such an amazing, honest and strong article, it really made me feel much better when I read your article especially after all what I have been reading about the Palestinian case in general and the "Disengagement plan" specifically since I left Gaza last year. It would be really nice to meet you in Oxford University soon. Please let me know if I can help in anything. Best Regards,
Jennifer excellent article on the "poor illegal Jewish settlers" being forced to leave their homes in Gaza. The question is 8,000 illegal Jewish settlers vs.1.3 million Palestinian refugees. This point almost always is forgotten in the main stream media. Edward C. Corrigan
Majeda Al Saqqa, Hi Jennifer, I just finished reading the "Watching the Gazan Fiasco: The Shame of It All" and was wondering where this article has been published? I live in San francisco and would really like to see this in the SF Chronicle and wondering how it could get published there. The Chronicle has been printing a series of articles about the disengagement that I feel is very one sided and your article is such an excellent articilation of how it is so one sided. Could you send this over and request it to be published or could I send it for you or what would be the best way to get it to the Chronicle and actually have it printed? Please let me know how I can help get you information out to the public!! Thank you
Greetings, i have read your brilliantly thought and written piece and would like to congratulate you on it. It is so wonderful to have someone who has such grasp of the situation write about it. The relations between the west and the middle east intrests me and i hope to meet you one day. Heard you might be comming to the UK, if so please let me know and i'd love to discuss things over lunch,Also if you're ever in Oman or the other GCC countries. Best wishes, Mohammed Alardhi, Oman Dear Jennifer Loewenstein, Yours was a supremely beautiful piece in CounterPunch today, 17 August 2005. Supremely beautiful by its clarity and truth. I surmise you are a college or graduate student, so I hope your career proves to be a very successful one, where you can use your knowledge, the results of your research, and your gift with language to help break through to a better, more just and more peaceful world. I, too, have had articles at CounterPunch. However, your piece today is stellar by comparison. Good work. With sincere appreciation,
Dear Jennifer, Thank you for your brilliant piece I found on Counterpunch. I will share it with many friends here in St. Louis and beyond. You tell the truth about the Gaza pullout. I spent 6 weeks in Gaza with ISM in the fall of 2003, stayed overnight with families whose homes were endangered (you hear the tanks and sniper fire every night). Documented home demolitions, stood amid more rubble than I thought imaginable. Listened to families tell their stories of harassment, dispossession, terror. Was welcomed with incredible hospitality through the Strip. Simply heart-breaking and amazing. As I read your piece I thought of the Herman and Chomsky coinage of "the worthy and unworthy victim" dufferntial protrayals in the media: Of course, we are to feel for the poor settlers, but as you point out with such vigor, the Palestinian experience accounts for nothing in the eyes of the mainstream. They are unworthy of our compassion.. Your passion and analysis are a goad to conscientious action. Mark Chmiel Dear Ms. Lowenstein, Fantastic article! really gets to the heart of the matter. World opinion could be changed if everyone would read this article. Shame on the media for their bias! Doris Rausch Dear Ms. Loewenstein: I read with great pain and admiration your piece entitled "The Shame of it All". And while reading it, I couldn't help thinking that I wish I could express myself as you have on this issue: clearly and with vigour. The article puts the current media orgy into relief, painted against the unreported crimes of the past. I write to ask whether I may publish a short section of your article (400-500 wds) in a small free community newsletter at my college. It is to be our first issue and we plan to print 100 copies. I think that campus discourse would be injected with a dose of reality, and a side that is frankly hidden for fear of claims to anti-semitism. The newslette ris called "Comfortable Delusion" and is to be a progressive publication of college, national, and world events. We hope to publish weekly in the coming autumn semester. I look forward to hearing from you at the earliest. Best, Adil D'Sousa Dear Jennifer Loewenstein, You have put in words most eloquently what was going through the minds of many of us as we watched TV news over the past 3 days. The tragi-comedy was exquisitely choregraphed and the Western networks fell in & recited their lines on cue. There was even an explanation for the razing of the settlements post-evacuation, lest some bewildered minds question the relevance of such wanton destruction. The reality as you point out is "The 1.4 million inhabitants of Gaza remain prisoners in a giant penal colony, despite what their partisan leaders are attempting to claim. The IDF is merely redeploying outside the Gaza Strip,..." Thanks for for being a modest voice for reason, justice & truth. Rgds, A. Rahman Dear Professor Loewenstein, I wanted to thank you for the passion and insight and fury of your recent article in Counterpunch. It was a perfect crystallization of the ironies of the current situation. I read the entire piece out loud to my husband who had himself been murmuring about the power of the media coverage of the settlers' disengagement. Thank you for helping me to explain so succinctly and precisely where the contradictions and hypocrisies lie. I will forward your piece to many friends. With admiration and gratitude,
Thank you for an excellent analysis, for an honest appraisal and an unbiased view. I read your article with great interest, and am only sorry it cannot be published in all the media outlets in the USA and Europe. Demonising Arabs and Muslims has always been in, but it has now reached unbelievable levels of viciousness. On the other hand, portraying Israelis as the victims of their ogre-like neighbours will continue for sometime to come. It is refreshing that not everyone falls for the spin. Best wishes.
Djenane Kamil Dear Ms. Loewenstein, Many thanks for your article today in COUNTERPUNCH. Israelis are leaving Gaza. It was illegal for them to be there in the first place, period--end of story. But you brought out the horrendous media bias, and once again, the angst of living Jewish. Keep up the good work. Dear Jennifer, Thank you so much for your article on the Gaza Pullout. I can no longer listen or watch this incredible farce that is taking place. Your words were beautiful and I appreciate you honesty and courage. Jean Kersting dear ms. Jennifer Loewenstein, i read your article about Gaza fiasco etc. and i want to thank you with all my heart for speaking up... you voice is like a giant light in the darkness of lots of chaos and oppression .. and media failure to truly inform the people -- for whatever political or other reasons.. whatever they do or don't do, voices such as yours cut a path for the light to travel.. thanks.. i send you a big hug (if you don't mind) and celebrate your voice and contribution.. with sunshine, Dear Jennifer, I want to thank you for your excellent article concerning the coverage of the Gaza pullout. All that is not and has not been said could fill volumes, the volumes that no one wants to read or know about, especially those for whom the humanization of Palestinians, let alone their history, apparently constitute a continuing threat of immeasurable proportions. Yours in solidarity,
Hello there. Its early morning in Gaza. Good morning to you from Gaza. I have read your article about the situation in Gaza and forwarded it to several people (relatives and friends) all over the world. I am writing to thank you for your objectivity on the situation in Gaza. I appreciate your time and effort. If you happened to be in Gaza or if you are coming one day to Gaza you can contact me as I would like to meet with you and help you out when you need. Take care and God bless you. Said Abdelwahed, Dear Jennifer I don't know where to start or how I should put down these words......just want to applaud you on your candid article "the shame of it all" - which a friend of mine had emailed to me! Coincidentally you have echoed my thoughts - as I was watching the evacuation on TV - the word "Fiasco": was predominant on my mind ...and now you have compounded it with concrete evidence I only wish the West had more journalists of your calibre - where they would report the atrocities in the manner that is truthful. I hope and pray that Almighty Allah will guide you on the straight path for being honest just and truthful is a major part of faith... Almighty Allah tells us in the Holy Quruan ... O you who believe keep your duty to Almighty Allah and fear Him by speaking always the truth- He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins....Al Quruan - surah 33 vs 70 -71 MAY ALMIGHTY ALLAH GUIDE YOU ON THE STRAIGHT PATH Greetings from sunny Sri Lanka,
Good Evening Jennifer, I just read your piece regarding the true face of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and I want to say that it is indeed refreshing to hear the voice of another reasonable personal decry US and Israeli policy. It has sickened me also, to hear the plights of Israel ALL OVER the US news, while the only portrayal of Palestinians to which we are given access are those that blow themselves up, shoot Israeli, children, etc. It is as if our media here in the States would dehumanize the Palestinians and strip away all their sense of human decency, and accord all that is good to the Israelis. Well, I need not preach to the choir. Again, well done, and thank
you! very factual. excellent. you really understand how double standards prevail in a world where the poor and the donwtrodden always pay a heavy price for the pleausres and comfort of the rich- in this case Israeli colonialists. a thousand cheers, keep-up the good work and do not bend to the pressure you are/will be subjected to. S aleh Dear Madam Loewenstein, I have read your above article with keen interest. And my belief that all Muslims are not the same as all Jews are not the same, is confirmed. You are in the other categories of Jews- the handful Ones. You are honest and a true Journalist as they should be. In History and Journalism, dishonesty is a great Sin. I do not find the words to praise your straight-forwardness and honesty in this article. Overall it is a beautifully correct and accurate picture of what was the fiasco in Gaza. I am a poor and small man and I do not know what should I give you in appreciation of your Article.Yes I can pray for you. GOD BLESS YOU JENNIFER AND YOUR FAMILY. Yours Sincerely Dear Ms Lowenstein, Thank you so much for your courage and willingness to tell the truth. I can not imagine that a great majority of correspondents/newspeople are unaware of the absolutely stark discrepancies and staged sorrows for one side, and the total lack of care and concern for the other side. What these writers lack is the guts to tell the truth. They have sold themselves for God knows what. That is why your voice stands out so clearly. Every thing you said, should have been said for a very long time. Perhaps it could have saved lives and unimaginable misery for both sides but especially the Palestinians. Thanks again. Sincerely,
Dear Jennifer: I have read Arab and English depictions of the horrors that are a part of the daily life of the Palestinians and I must say none has had the profound effects on my timid body as those you have given in more than a half a dozen articles I have just leafed through. Where have you been all these years? I was fortunate to get acquainted with your writings, when an Egyptian friend of mine sent me your latest article, the Shame of It All. I could not help but find it necessary to dedicate my column for this Monday's edition to you. You are marvelous, articulate and absolutely astounding. After writing my column (http://Yementimes.com). I decided to browse for other articles. I found five or six going back to 2001 and all of them I must say were the type one simply cannot let go off until one has devoured them, not just read them. Amid all the sorrow and pain of thinking that the poor Palestinians simply have no one to speak for them and bring them hope of relief from the severe injustice suffered under one of the ugliest occupations of modern times, here is this great woman eloquently depicting all the misery and pain on paper, better than any camera can bring on to the tube. Jennifer, I would just like to thank you for your courage and compassionate support to a people who have known nothing but misery, while a world watches on without so much as a hint of sympathy for the victims or condemnation for the aggressor. I am utterly speechless out of amazement, but I have at least let you know that we read you loud and clear. Warmest best wishes to you.
I read your article about the Gaza evacuation of the settlers and must say that you have articulated all my feelings of frustration and outrage at the whole media frenzy and the seemingly tragic stories of the settlers...all of the human interest stories neglected during the Israeli incursions have seemed to crystallize in these few weeks with these few and privileged people, all the while crying for the cameras. And people buy it. It is such a farce, but people are so easily and willingly suckered into the over-exposed images and overblown words of the settlers. As an undergraduate Jewish studies major-turned-kibbutz volunteer, I too had once been caught up in the very American tendency to never compare any human tragedy to the Nazi holocaust and to think that somehow the Jewish people were morally better than others. I have learned differently after having lived 8+ years here, in Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. People are people are people. This area unfortunately allows the media to distort all stories of its humans. In fact, it is fueled by funding from all over the world, for 'both sides.' Best wishes Dear Jennifer, I cannot commend you enough on your article that I so very much was able to relate to and could not agree with more. My name is Lama Khoury and I am a Palestinian living in the US. I worked as a Journalist in Jordan for a few years before moving to the US and I completely see and agree with the lack of "truth reporting" that we unfortunately see in the Western media, given the fact that we hide behind yet impose our identity as a nation and culture that is based on freedom and democracy. It often upsets me to see how the western media portrays the Palestinian people as "a problem that won't go away", instead of as a people with a right to live and exist. This goes with what you so eloquently termed the Gazan Fiasco as a "staged" pullout by the Israeli government, further dramatizing the devastation and tragedy the settlers faced during the withdrawal period, completely disregarding the years of tragedy and devastation that thousands of Palestinians suffered and continued to endure. This dramatized version of suffering works well with the many tools utilized by the media in an effort to "dehumanize" the palestinian people, a sure way to minimize or even justify the suffering inflicted upon them. It's unfortunate how the media is used as a mouthpiece for the powerful and destructive leaders of the world, instead of being the vision of hope and justice for the people of the world, especially those who have suffered under the rubric of oppression and occupation. I hope you continue to expose the untold truths that have oppressed peoples of all nations. We have a very long way to go before the leaders of the world realize that by hiding behind the "veil of democracy and freedom", what we are doing instead is imprisoning the many generations to come to a world of human suffering and inequality. Regards,
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