Tuesday, March 8, 2005
A couple of months back, a luncheon/talk was held here in Boston featuring Palestinian Arab "moderate" politician, Sari Nusseibeh. The event, and particularly the Jewish press's reporting of the event raised a few eyebrows. Many felt that Nusseibeh was given the kid-glove treatment - that some questionable things in Nusseibeh's past were glossed over in what some might say was a whitewash in favor of reconciliation over reality - a path we've trod before. Critics of Nusseibeh's record felt that their concerns were given short-shrift, particularly by Boston's major Jewish weekly, The Jewish Advocate. Although The Advocate did publish a critical response by David Bedein, his efforts were labeled a "smear campaign," and Nusseibeh's critics felt the exchange should not end there.
I have been sent a copy of a letter to the editor sent to The Advocate and not published by them, despite indications to the contrary. Personally, on the issue of "the true face" of Sari Nusseibeh, I am an agnostic. I need to read as many well-founded opinions on the subject as possible.
Here is the letter that didn't make it to print:
The JCRCs Brown Bag lunch with guest speaker, Sari Nusseibeh, this past December and the controversy it engendered provoked a bitter rift in the Boston Jewish community. Mr. Nusseibeh, the president of Jerusalems Al-Quds University, is the favorite (if not the only) prominent Palestinian willing to dialogue with Israeli and American Jews who desire peace so badly they are willing to overlook serious credibility concerns. There are many reasons to question Professor Nusseibehs sincerity. For starters, he was arrested and jailed by Israel during the Gulf War after being charged with providing an Iraqi official with missile targeting information against Israel.
Scrutinizing Nusseibeh, however, was not the focus of The Advocate's coverage. Instead, the paper blasted Israeli journalist David Bedein for instigating a smear campaign against the JCRC, and its co-hosts, the ADL and the AJC. Imagine the horror of the JCRCs office being flooded with hundreds of angry e-mails. Regardless of whether or not Mr. Bedein was guilty of any of the dastardly minutiae of the charges leveled against him, the bigger issue is why the Jewish community feels a need to provide a forum for someone who is either a good liar or the Eugene McCarthy of Palestinian politics ... but only not as influential.* AJC Executive Director Larry Lowenthal expressed an evident desire to find Nusseibeh credible. As Lowenthal told the Advocate, His presentation refuted [the] allegations [that while appearing on an Al-Jazeerah television show, he expressed praise and respect for suicide bombers].... He categorically condemned violence against Israeli civilians....
Apparently, Mr. Lowenthal can be reassured by this Palestinian professor (spending this year at Harvard), who condemns killing Jewish civilians inside Israel. What about Israeli soldiers, or Jews living in Gaza and in towns in the disputed West Bank? Further, does Nusseibeh speak for anybody but himself? What are the rest of the Palestinians thinking? That was the subject of the reluctantly hosted lunch with David Bedein and two other Israeli journalists, who are also professors (at Hebrew University) and fluent in Arabic.
Dr. Michael Widlanski spent 7000 hours listening to Palestinian radio for his doctorate dissertation and presented an insightful analysis of the state-controlled Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation. Dr. Arnon Groiss discussed the new Palestinian textbooks, which even the Vatican has condemned.
This was the type of information that a supporter of Israel should want to know before urging Israel to make any concessions. This is the kind of material that The Advocate should be reporting on in detail. But the paper chose not to report on it at all. (After protesting, we were given 400 words.) The JCRC provided much advance publicity for the Nusseibeh event, whereas publicity for the pro-Israel Israelis consisted of one e-mail. We call on The Advocate to remember who they are supposed to be advocating for. And we urge the leaders of our organizations to help us get the facts and face them!
* Gerald A. Honigman, Altalena Revisited
Jill Hunter, Newton
Seva Brodsky, Somerville
Update: Jewish Russian Telegraph has some thoughts - and they're not terribly charitable toward The Advocate's editorial decisions.
