Reports our News Refuses to Tell us

Who knows the truth?

Published: The Tribune, Tuesday, March 17, 2009 11:23 AM CDT

Parsley and spinach! We think of these greens as life sustaining, not death bringing. But, the Israeli defense forces brought death to farmer Anwar Zayed al-Breem, 27, on Jan. 27. He, along with an international support team, was harvesting his crop of parsley, a staple in Palestinian diets. Shots rang out. The weaponless farm crew called out for the IDF firing to stop. You can see it all on YouTube.

Shooting amid parsley and spinach happened again on Feb. 14 and, yet again, on Feb. 20. Twenty-year-old farmer Mohammad al-Breem was shot in the leg, against the protests of the his international team. Have you seen this story? Don’t you wonder what you’d read were this situation reversed?

What should we accept? Should we allow this serial genocide to go on for another 60 years? Must we be fearful of speaking out lest we be labeled anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist or the latest, “rejectionist.”

We could blame all the countries of the Middle East for not “taking in” the hapless Palestinians as if Canada would take all of us were Mexico to effectively manage to move its entire nation to Texas and California. What’s acceptable to you? To us? Is it really “war” when only one side has an army? Is encouraging such bogus violence as Israel’s power permits what we want American morality to advance?

Zionist Israel is breaking the supposed “cease fire,” while harming the people of Gaza and their hapless, democratically elected government, Hamas. All the while, Israel’s supporters “innocently” whinny and whimper. In Ames, American Federation Zionist writers excuse Israel, blindly clinging to Zionist excuses and wrongs against humanity. Our war here, however, is fought with words. Who lies; who knows the truth? At least here, we start on an even playing field.

Elizabeth S. Mayfield

When right is wrong

U.S. is paying for this conduct

Published: The Tribune: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 11:23 AM CDT

I have written a number of difficult letters on the problem of Israel-Palestine. I have been called names. I have been tarred by association, as have many others.

One reason I write is the column below, which you may access directly from the Web site of Ha’aretz, the next-to-largest newspaper in Israel:
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1068989.html

Americans are paying for this conduct. But, Americans never read columns like this, because they are never printed. It is time to open the eyes of the American people to what is being done in our names, and also what is well-known to the rest the world (through Al Jezeera, for example). Why do they hate? Here is an example.

John Hauptman