Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Mon, 04/26/2010 - 12:00am
Slingshot hiphop
Friday, April 23rd, Reed College invited DAM, Palestinian rappers from Lyd, Israel, to appear for a Q&A after a screening of the documentary Slingshot HipHop along with the documentary's director, Jackie Reem Salloum. Here are selections from the interviews with Suhell Nafar, Tamer Nafar and Mahmood Jrere. They ended out the night with a few energy-driven raps for Reedies.
[The original audio file posted here by reporter Crystal Elinski has been removed. The version of the story posted here was edited by me. -Jenka Soderberg, PM News Director]
- KBOO
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Comments
It has finally been done... worse than Willamette Week
This is not journalism. This is a blatant bit of propaganda with too many factual errors to count. Crystal Elinski came to the event at the behest of Tim Titrud. Titrud was seen outside the event calling her after he was asked to leave. She was obviously there merely to advocate for him and to disrupt the event. She was rude and abusive to the people that she was supposedly trying to interview. It seemed to be a deliberate attempt to record people that are angry in order to portray the participants unfavorably. Tim Titrud was ejected from the event because he was one of the primary organizers that brought people to see David Irving when he came to Portland, amongst other things. David Irving is a neo-Nazi that has written extensively about the tremendous virtues of Adolph Hitler. Irving is notorious for his denial of the Holocaust, which he claims was a hoax perpetrated by Jews in order to gain world domination.
Alison Weir was accused of invoking the blood libel--a medieval accusation that Jews enjoy the blood sacrifice of gentile children--in her writings. The same person that made that accusation expressed that he was NOT pro-Israel and supported peace with justice in the Israel/Palestine conflict. Another participant said that he had attended an anti-AIPAC event where obvious racists were not asked to leave by the event organizers. Of course Weir absurdly accuses them both of being Zionists in this smear piece. Additionally she insinuates that the "omission" of discussing the plight of Arab Americans was intentional (tin foil hat anyone?) She is being intentionally dishonest when she claims that she was booed by the crowd because of her age or (laughably) because she is not from Portland. I am not surprised she has been accused of being an anti-Semite. She is.
There was already a KBOO representative covering the event. Unfortunately she supports this piece by Elinski, which is another deep problem. There was zero reason for Elinski to be there, other than to continue the smoke and mirrors denial campaign that anti-Semitic conspiracy wingnuts like Titrud and Calvert hide behind (FYI- Tim Calvert and Tim Titrud brought the "racialist" Valdas Anelauskas to speak in Portland, photos are available of Anelauskas "seig heil"-ing at the Pacifica Forum).
The point of this event was to talk about the upsurge of neo-Nazi activity in Portland, not to discuss every myriad form of racism and fascism on the face of the planet. Weir rudely took up a large amount of time to creep everyone out with her thousand yard stare and graphic photos of mutilated children. That is just bad organizing. If she wanted to plug her event she could have approached the folks that did the hard work of putting the event together to see if she could get a moment of time to speak to it or a table to distribute literature. But of course she would not have done this, because her material is bigoted.
Congratulations, Crystal Elinski, you have managed to outdo the yellow journalism of Willamette Week's James Pitkin. No wonder Pitkin's first attack on Portland Anti-Racist Action is linked to by you on the website blurb accompanying your broadcast. Way to spit in the eye of anti-racists that are trying to build an effective response to very real Nazi violence in our town. Who cares about an anti-racist getting shot, when you can focus on the hurt feelings of some Jew-haters that are undermining the Palestinian liberation movement with their sketchy politics?
Censorship
The removal of Crystal's report is censorship, pure and simple, on behalf of Zionism
Alison Weir - Uniter of Left Wing and Right Wing Israel Haters
Many Jews have family in Eretz Yisrael going back long before the so called palestinan immigrants from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria, I am constantly amused by the singling out of Israel as a racist regime in the area. What Arab country in the middle east is NOT racist? All of them are. The Jews are a middle eastern people that have had to live like Dhimmis under Arab Rule for over 1000 years. The Arabs will simply not stomach a Dhimmi people being sovereign in their midst. Hence the refusal to recognize Israel. Were Israel to cease to exist, the few Jews left in the region would stll live with Dhimmi or quasi Dhimmi status.
Most of the Arab world would simply prefer that Israel seek to exist. Peace is not an option for Israel - that is intellectually honest. Israel giving up land to sworn enemies is stupid, dangerous, and has not given Israel peace and has substantially reduced its security.
There used to be 1,000,000 Jews in Arab lands. Ms. Weird leaves that part out of her narrative. Those people will never have any rights of return, have their families land or possessions returned to them, or received reparations for murdered relatives.
The Jewish connection to Eretz Yisrael begain long before the 1880s. In an effort to stamp out Jewish (Jewish means Judean by the way) connection to Eretz Yisrael, the Romans renamed the land Palestina. Jews were dispersed throughout the world, including Europe as well as the Middle East. But they never forgot their home. Jews pray and face Jerursalem three times a day (for more than 2,000 years). There has always, no matter how small the population, been a continuous Jewish presence in the Land. By the 1500's Jews from the Mediterranean were already starting to return home. The Zionist movement of the 1880's was just the latest in a series of yearnings of Jews everywhere to return home to Eretz Yisrael. These yearnings had gone on since the beginning of the Diaspora. The Zionist movement was perhaps the most successful.
Israel is such a tiny country. It is certainly not the only country that has a territorial dispute with another people. The sick obsession with reducing Israel to an indefensible postage stamp clearly has its roots in classical antisemitism. This obsession, creepily, is found on the far left as well as the far right. In fact, Ms Weir would probably not be very proud of her connections to Mr. David Duke.
"May the ingathering of all of the Jews back to Eretz Yisrael occur speedily and in our day"
Israel Is a Western Colonialist Invasion of Palestine.
The Israelis are mostly Western Colonialsts with no roots in Palestine. The purpose of Israel is Western Imperialist domination of the Middle East, which is why Israel has the full military support of the USA and NATO. Israel is not about religion or ethnicity; it's about Western Imperialism.
Alison Weir
Boy am I glad to see someone else can see the distinctions between criticism of the Israeli government, and the over the top obsession of Alison Weir.
During the immediate relief effort for Haiti, Israel sent a field hospital and provided emergency services to the Haitian people. It did not take long for snyde comments about organ harvesting to be thrown about by those who hate anything Israeli. In an interview on KBOO, Ms. Weir was very careful. She did admit there was no evidence of organ harvesting in the Israeli field hospital, but then went on in a very disturbing way to suggest that it would be wise to actively monitor the situation, just in case. This careful planting of slander, with carefully created legal protection in advance is the type of BS that earns her the label "Anti-Semite".
It disturbs me to see that Alison Weir continues to be one of the "go to" people for KBOO radio, much like Dick Cheney is always available for Fox News.
Leave me out of this
"There was already a KBOO representative covering the event. Unfortunately she supports this piece by Elinski, which is another deep problem"
Hey "Anonymous" please don't assume that I "support" the piece by Crystal just because my voice is in it. In fact, being in the habit of assuming anything about anyone is not a good idea if what you are after is clear communication and respect. I was at the Antifa event and thought it was very interesting, and am glad that there are people willing to stand up to hate in our community. That being said, I also thought it was scary for Alison Weir to not have the chance to defend herself when she was called an anti semite, and found it more disturbing that many people in the audience immediately agreed with one person's words and shouted her down. That is what I said in Crystal's piece. I believe that the point of a community forum is to give people a chance to speak, and if someone is directly attacked they should be able to directly respond. Doesn't this seem like something we should all agree on for the health of our community? You are jumping to conclusions about me the same way that everyone did to Alison that night, and its totally unproductive, not to mention rude. I myself am not super familiar with Alison's work. I watched her documentary, Occupation 101, and think that its very well done. I would encourage everyone to watch it.
Wing-nuttery
Crystal Elinski obscures the important news story here.
Check out this link for the story:
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/04/bigotry_makes_a_come...
I hate to be promoting the Oregonian over KBOO, but in this case, KBOO's inclusiveness of any one who walks in the door, is making for some pretty sloppy news reporting.
The correct URL for 'Bigotry makes a comeback'
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/04/bigotry_makes_a_come...
This is the correct URL, but the story is bogus. Professional anti-racists like Eric Ward are always exaggerating fascist activity to help the government. It's a shame when anarchists and activists join in.
Crystal
"Listen in to this audio filed by KBOO reporter Crystal Elinski, who attended all three events."
Actually, Crystal, you didn't attend all three events, because Portland ARA wouldn't let you into the Friday night event. I don't know why, but to judge your behavior towards the person working the door (from the recording YOU made), I wouldn't have let you in, either. The woman you interviewed on Saturday gave a completely false report on the Friday Night event, as well. So, "thank you" for distracting people from the problems we can solve locally, and for your "help" bringing disruption to organizing work.
Wow
This story is genuinely horrible. I hope that the reporters and everyone else at KBOO is clear on what they've done here. The entire message of this piece is that the scapegoating and oppression of Jewish people is not a big deal and is a distraction from the "real issues." In a time when the far right is organizing, scapegoating, and even shooting down our comrades, these reporters have placed themselve on the side of racist reaction. This will not go unnoticed by folks who have been KBOO supporters.
Yes, the colonial occupation of Palestine is a crime against humanity that must be opposed. But we must also oppose the way in which "Palestine solidarity" is being hijacked by folks whose agenda is to scapegoat Jews and propagate conspiracy theories which at best distract from principled anti-imperialist struglle and at worst build fascist politics.
Deeply disappointed with everyone involved in this travesty of a "news story" and everyone who let it run.
Terrible report
I already left a comment about how absurd and misleading this "reporter" was in her presentation. How can you report on an event that you were not allowed into? And I am disappointed in KBOO that my comment was not posted. Do you stand by this reporter? This person who is obviously uninformed, and who is harassing people in our community doing good work? This person who is working on the side of people to distract us from the real fight against racism in Portalnd? Why are the comments being ignored? At least let us know you are aware of what an awful report this is, and why you stand by it. I am a member. I do support KBOO for all it's brilliance and incompetance. But at least let us know what is going on.
HEllo!
Given the context that anti Racist activists have been shot recently (likely by facist groups) how can you not understand why people there would not want their identitys know? Tim Feike is well know in the community for attempting to bring holcaust denier to portland to speak. Anyone who has any questions about this whole incident would likely be more than welcome to go to Laughing Horse Books on 12th and Burnside and ask them about Feike and how he attempted to bring a Halocaust denier to speak there, and how is is continually harrassing the books store with racist and sexist slurs over the internet since they kicked him out of the collective.
Clue
Here is a link to the presentation and the speaker kicked out from speaking at Laughing Horse
http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/pdx-9-11-truth-on-frankfurt-school-cultura...
Disappointed
I'm very surprised and disappointed that a KBOO reporter would be so hostile to folks' desires to remain anonymous at an event organized in response to an attempted political assassination of an anti-racist activist.
Crystal, you should give up on "community" radio and head over to FOX news, where news stories like this are a better fit.
I know KBOO is volunteer run, and can make mistakes from time to time, but this was pretty messed up. I won't be renewing my pledge.
From HipHop to Apartheid
Thanx, Crystal!
That is a lot to ponder...
It sounds like maybe everyone should think about these issues more, & be a little more open-minded about how we can work together?
background
Background information on Tim Titrud, purposefully ignored by Elinski:
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2009/06/392268.shtml
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2009/07/392889.shtml
That's not 'information', it's slander
Why should a reporter take note of articles on Indymedia? The Zionist attack on Alison Weir at the meeting, on Indymedia, and now censorship on KBOO, hardly undermines the perspectives of those who allege the left is soft on Zionism!
actually...
When it's true and well-documented, that's not slander, that's reality.
Censorship
"The original audio file posted here by reporter Crystal Elinski, included the voices of people who did not agree to be aired, as well as a spurious connection between disparate weekend events. That audio has been removed." - you gave in to Zionist pressure.
My exchange with Rose City Antifa
<p>Please note: anonymous messages are not automatically published on the KBOO website. If you write a comment, you will need to have verified your email address in order for it to be published automatically.</p>
<p>> -----Original Message-----<br>
> From: Rose City Antifa [mailto:fight_them_back@riseup.net]<br>
> Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 3:55 PM<br>
> To: PMNews@kboo.org<br>
> Subject: Regarding Elinski's coverage of Rose City Antifa<br>
><br>
><br>
> Dear Jenka Soderberg, KBOO PM News Director,<br>
><br>
> Greetings from Portland Anti-Racist Action. We are writing to express our<br>
> concern over the PM News segment by Crystal Elinski that was broadcast on<br>
> 4/26/2010. Our organization is currently in the midst of doing large-scale<br>
> organizing to challenge an emboldened white supremacist movement in<br>
> Portland, and cannot at present spare the several hours that it would take<br>
> to list all the untruths and breaches of journalistic ethics contained<br>
> within Elinski's ten-minute segment. However, we would appreciate knowing<br>
> to what degree you had oversight over the broadcast of this piece, and<br>
> whether you listened to and approved it before it went on the air.<br>
><br>
> If you have not yet listened to the piece, it is available on the KBOO<br>
> website:<br>
><br>
> http://kboo.org/node/21071<br>
><br>
> We know that at least one individual has tried to supply feedback on this<br>
> piece by means of leaving a comment on that web page, but two days later<br>
> the comment has not appeared on the KBOO site.<br>
><br>
> Regarding the broadcast, we would like to make the following key points:<br>
><br>
> (1) Crystal Elinski arrived at the event on behalf of Tim Titrud, a<br>
> fact that was clear to security people who noticed Titrud outside the<br>
> venue after he had been ejected from the event for the first time, calling<br>
> for her to arrive on his cell phone. Elinski lies about this in her<br>
> broadcast.<br>
><br>
> (2) Elinski pointedly states that our organization has not been<br>
> sued for slander by Portland anti-Semites Tim Titrud and Tim Calvert,<br>
> suggesting that we have stated untruths about them. In fact, we have<br>
> documented all our statements regarding the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance<br>
> and its organizers' support for Holocaust-deniers and fascists (e.g.<br>
> Valdas Anelauskas and David Irving.)<br>
><br>
> (3) Our organization did not have the ability to respond. Elinski<br>
> never contacted us for the story, although the broadcast gives the<br>
> opposite impression. (We were contacted by Isobel, whose email we returned<br>
> the day after it was sent--this reporter also seems to have taken the side<br>
> of Allison Weir without ever even asking us what we thought.)<br>
><br>
> (4) Elinski's broadcast does not clearly state the reason why Weir<br>
> was reproached--Weir is the author of articles that restate the blood<br>
> libel in modern terms, citing extreme anti-Semitic sources for her claims.<br>
> Weir proceeded to thrust images of bloodied Palestinian children in the<br>
> faces of the audience, and accused anyone who seemed unsympathetic of<br>
> being a Zionist. In fact, the audience in general had standard leftist<br>
> beliefs around Israel and Palestine, and their increasing lack of sympathy<br>
> was to do with the information about Weir's writings provided by the<br>
> individual who spoke out, coupled by an aversion to Weir's approach, which<br>
> seemed to be creating a spectacle for the sake of it. Although Elinski had<br>
> already been barred from the event for Michael Moore-style disruption on<br>
> behalf of Tim Titrud, she could have easily found these facts out by doing<br>
> journalism.<br>
><br>
> (5) The broadcast's constant insinuation that we are sympathizers<br>
> of the Israeli state is despicable. The only proof cited is our firm<br>
> opposition to anti-Semitism--that we have challenged Holocaust deniers as<br>
> well as promoters of the blood libel. We take gross offense to the idea<br>
> that concern for Palestinian human rights, or a desire for peace with<br>
> justice in the Israel/Palestine conflict, must express itself in classical<br>
> anti-Semitic themes and propaganda. On the contrary, we are proud to be<br>
> anti-fascists and anti-racists: we do not like Nazi garbage, and we will<br>
> never apologize for that.<br>
><br>
> We would appreciate it if you would contact us as soon as possible about<br>
> this matter.<br>
><br>
> Best regards,<br>
> Portland Anti-Racist Action<br>
> 971-533-7832 (voicemail)<br>
><br>
> PS: We are also concerned by the decision of “Political Perspectives” to<br>
> give a platform to Tim Calvert on 3/25/2010. As you may know, Calvert was<br>
> involved with forging links between the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance and<br>
> the anti-Semitic organization Pacifica Forum in Eugene. Calvert was<br>
> personally one of the primary organizers who brought the fascist,<br>
> “racialist” and Holocaust-denial speaker Valdas Anelauskas to Portland<br>
> last year. Of course, we are not trying to blame most KBOO staff for the<br>
> decisions of a few. We hope that good relations between our organization<br>
> and the majority of KBOO staff and volunteers may be maintained.<br>
></p>
<p>-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Jenka Soderberg PM Public Affairs Director<br>
[mailto:pmnews@kboo.org]<br>
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 4:48 PM<br>
To: fight_them_back@riseup.net<br>
Subject: RE: Regarding Elinski's coverage of Rose City Antifa</p>
<p>I have edited the piece on the website to focus on the other events, which was Crystal's original assignment. Crystal was not assigned to cover the Rose City Antifa event, so her attending it as a KBOO reporter was a violation of her Press Pass terms. She has received a warning for that violation. The piece was also more opinion than news, which is ok for kboo in general, but not so much for the news hour (although the piece we aired on the News show was much shorter than what was originally on the website).<br>
<br>
I apologize on KBOO's behalf for anyone who was aired without their permission. Crystal said she left your group a voicemail to that same effect.<br>
<br>
Crystal Elinski told me that she received no phone call from Tim Titrud, and did not come to the event at his request. Please tell me how you verified this particular accusation against Crystal.<br>
<br>
Normally I train volunteer reporters in news standards, then give them a lot of leeway to report the stories they want to report, in their own way. I try to empower citizen journalism in every way I can. Sometimes, people need a bit more guidance than that, and this appears to be one of those cases. I will be working with Crystal on a closer basis in the future.<br>
<br>
As for comments on the website, the KBOO website will not automatically publish anonymous comments, unless the poster's email address has been verified. I have unhidden the comment in question, but the email verification is part of our web policy.<br>
<br>
That said, I also have concerns with your response. I am someone who supports the need for anonymity in certain cases (I lived in Zapatista communities, etc), but have a problem with anonymity being used as a cover to engage in personal attack or the spread of misinformation. I am especially concerned with the accusations made against Alison Weir. Please provide the source of your statement that she cites "extreme anti-Semitic sources for her claims." I have seen the accusations against Alison Weir regarding blood libel before, and have found them to be without merit (although I would be happy to consider any evidence you provide). Her article on Israeli organ harvesting, which is the source of these accusations, uses mainly Israeli sources, and extensive documentation of facts that have been openly admitted by the Israeli government. <br>
<br>
I myself have interviewed Alison Weir on this issue for the KBOO News:<br>
http://kboo.fm/node/18356<br>
http://kboo.fm/node/16207<br>
<br>
Also, please provide more information about your claim that she was "creating a spectacle for the sake of it." Another KBOO Reporter who covered the event on behalf of KBOO (I finally got her report uploaded - http://kboo.fm/node/21394 ), told me that she was concerned about the way Alison Weir was shouted down based on one person's accusation - I mean, if this is the standard for shouting someone down and kicking someone out of a public forum, then anyone could accuse anyone of anything, and the accused would have no recourse. Please tell me the process and criteria used by your group for blacklisting someone or kicking them out of your events. <br>
<br>
Also, not sure how pointing out the omission of anti-Arab racism in an anti-racism forum leads to the comment that she's some sort of 'tin cap' conspiracy nut - someone posted this in the comment section of Crystal's report - don't know if it was anyone from your group or not, because everyone is 'Anonymous'. If it was, or even if it wasn't, please tell me how your group is addressing the very real issue of anti-Arab racism in our area.<br>
<br>
I have also shared your email with AM News Director Kathleen Stephenson to see if she is interested in addressing your concerns about Tim Calvert, who is a volunteer here, as she oversees the Political Perspectives program (she may not have time to address it, because the number of program issues she has to address pushes her to prioritize ones that are not anonymous). If you have more information about Tim Calvert stating that he denies the Holocaust or is anti-Jewish, please send it along. I have seen statements from him stating the opposite. The statements I _have_ seen from him involve supporting controversial speakers' right to free speech, which is the same stand that Noam Chomsky takes on Holocaust deniers (even writing the foreward for a Holocaust denier's book, in which he says the ridiculousness of the claim should speak for itself, but muzzling it and preventing the writer from saying it will only add fuel to the fire). Now, I'm not saying I agree with this stance, just saying that Tim Calvert's stance is quite similar to Chomsky's on this issue. Tim Titrud seems to have taken a similar stance - defending the right of David Irving and Valdas Anelauskas to speak, while disagreeing with the things they say.<br>
<br>
That said, actually inviting a speaker like Irving or Anelauskas into a place where white racists are actively organizing and recruiting seems extremely misguided at best. Plus, Titrud and Calvert ally themselves with a group that has been taken over by white supremacists (the Pacifica Forum). This stance is indefensible.<br>
<br>
One note: In Titrud's response to your group's critique, he notes that in your 2009 article "David Irving’s Holocaust-Denial Speaking Tour: The Show that Must Not Go On" on Portland Indymedia, you copy the exact wording from the website antisemitism.org.il . I have verified this: http://www.antisemitism.org.il/eng/struggle/41181/USA-DavidIrving%E2%80%...
but there is no citation on the Portland Indymedia article by Rose City Antifa indicating the source. Antisemitism.org.il does, as Titrud points out, frequently equate criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish sentiment, as do the ADL, the Jewish Agency, the World Jewish Congress, and the Israeli Prime Minister's office, which are the main contributors to and originators of the Antisemitism.org.il website.<br>
<br>
Thank you for your response. Your email makes a number of points, without the information I would need to verify the accusations made.<br>
<br>
Also, Alison Weir says she would be happy to be part of an on-air forum with a representative from Rose City Antifa to address the claims made against her. Please let me know if anyone from your group would be interested in this.<br>
<br>
------------------------------<br>
Jenka Soderberg<br>
PM News and Public Affairs Director<br>
KBOO Community Radio - Portland, OR<br>
90.7 FM http://www.kboo.fm<br>
503-231-8032 ext. 203</p>
Thanks, but...
Obviously, Jenka, you are trying to be fair. But between Alison Weir and Anti-Racist Action, a group which threatens violence against people it disagrees with, and gives a platform to Zionists... surely the issue is clear. And PLEASE... put Crystal's interview with Alison back on the site... there is no reason to censor it, it doesn't harm the security of the ARA thought police, it just exposes them for what they are... Thanks!
for the record
For the record, Crystal Elinski is a very nice person.
Whatever happened with her professionally is whatever happened with her professionally. She may have made mistakes, but she's certainly not the zealot-villain that she's been depicted as.
News stories have the potential for creating a big reaction in folks! We at kboo understand the power of the media, and work here because we don't want the media to abuse its power over public opionion/action. Our mission is to be an self-correcting antidote to that problem by intentionally covering the stories/issues/people that the other media outlets have blacklisted.
Sometimes that job can feel like being an ice-cube in hell! We try to function like a community, but we are being encroached upon by folks who think it's easier to do away with community participation and concentrate power with a small group. Naturally, that doesn't work in a community station, and naturally our broadcast is affected.
Another problem we have at kboo is hierarchy. One lesser known negative effect of hierchy is that the people pulling all the strings often become scapegoats for problems in which everyone else participated/condoned. I see people at kboo making mistakes within flawed structures, and like Crystal, they get a lot of flack, but I don't think it's fair.
Eventhough kboo has a lot of room for improvement, we are still ahead of the other stations because we have fantastic goals, and we have people working on those goals. For example, we are guilty of blacklisting stories like the corporate media, but only because of our dysfunctionality, not because we have owners commanding us to.
So, for all those pulling out of kboo, I would say that if you care about your cause, you really should participate in kboo! We are a community radio station, and we're only as good as the community which participates. If we don't use it, we're gonna lose it! We already see the signs of atrophy. I know it sucks to have to go so far just for a balanced broadcast, but the media is one area where I feel it's worth the effort, and all media should be controlled by the community anyway, don't you think?
If you participated in kboo, you may be able to do something about our censorhip problem, and the hidden posts, etc. And that would definitely help the issues that you care about, and it would help others too!
Anti-Racist Action gives a platform to racists!
I'm not sure why KBOO has published the correspondence with Anti-Racist Action, and their long, detailed comments attacking Alison Weir, Crystal Elinsky and Tim Titrud. ARA clearly gave a platform to Zionists, in other words, racists, at their meeting, to attack a moderate, liberal critic of Israel's crimes, Alison Weir, and her well-researched organization, ifamericansknew.org. However, it is a step forward that KBOO at least allows some comments countering the Zionist campaign of lies to which Anti-Racist Action has given its blessing. The times the ARE a-changin', and I hope this attack on Alison will go down as the beginning of the end for the 'anti-racists' who tolerate one of the most obvious forms of racism in the country. But - please restore the original interview! It shows Alison at her best, and the young know-it-alls at their worst, without in any way compromising their security.
Rose City Antifa are Zionist Gatekeepers
Four members of the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance, on their own initiative and not as representatives of the group, attended a David Irving lecture. The Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance hosted a talk by Valdas Anelauskas, but Anelauskas' talk was not about the Holocaust, Zionism, or Israel. That is the sole evidence for the Rose City's accusation that the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance has 'formed an alliance' with the Pacifica Forum and with white supremacists.
No one from the Rose City Antifa has ever attended any of the open meetings of the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance to hear what was being discussed or to question the members of the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance on their views. No one from the Rose City Antifa has ever solicited an official response from the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance regarding the accusations that the Rose City Antifa has made against the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance.
Members of the the Rose City Antifa have sprayed hateful graffiti at Tim Calvert's workplace and they have repeatedly harrangued and threatened Tim Calvert's employer in an on-going effort to get Tim fired. Members of the the Rose City Antifa have twice sent threatening hate mail to Tim Titrude's home. Titrude's wife is a Japanese immigrant. The FBI have been informed of the harrassment of Tim Calvert and Tim Titrude by the Rose City Antifa.
Why has the Rose City Antifa chosen to attack a 9/11 Truth group with these flimsy, trumped-up accusations? Why is it that, in spite of their claim to be anti-racist and anti-fascist, the members of the Rose City Antifa are consistently and conspicuously absent from local public protests against Israeli racism and fascism?
Don't Mention The War
It looks like antisemitism.org.il and Anti-Racist Action got the story about Irving being a 'neo-Nazi' from a third source, as they published it at the same time. The story was 'disinformation', but not in the way ARA think it was! But the basic point about ARA's attitide to facts still stands. Their obsession with the minor issue of white racism blinds them to Zionism. They are happy to repeat stories about Alison Weir which come straight from the Anti-Defamation League. Alison actually wrote "Regarding Haiti, however, at this point my feeling is that the Israeli team is most likely there largely for humanitarian reasons", rather than stealing organs. However, given the cases of the latter admitted by the Israeli government to the Israeli press, it's worth keeping an eye on the situation. All ARA folks see is the danger of age-old anti-Semitic canards, rather than looking coldly at the facts. As a result, they oppose saying things which offend Jews, even if they are true!
They don't really defend people against violent racists. There is as much danger from far-left as from far-right violence. And there isn't much of either, because the police, whatever you think of them, are watching. To stay in business, ARA have to invent violent opponents, and attack people who are completely harmless, just expressing an opinion, or even left-wing people listening to controversial speakers, as 'anti-Semites' and so on. Attacking Alison is a new low for this outfit. There can be no doubt any more which interest they serve. Whatever they think they are doing, their role is to undermine the Left for the benefit of Israel.
They use a 'Maoist' style of language to avoid discussion: always demanding, denouncing and labelling. "Anti-Semites". "Collaborators". "Shame on you". "Intercepted communication". They think it's World War II! It would be funny if they weren't trying to damage our community. They would be just kids who need to be taught a bit of respect. Why don't you just tell them where to go, Jenka!? Your attempts to be reasonable have not been reciprocated. Their approach, attempting to divide and police us, is completely alien and harmful to Portland's progressive community, and should be opposed.
the "third source" revealed?
Is this the "third source" you're refering to?
"The charges which I have found to be substantially true include the charges that Irving has for his own ideological reasons persistently and deliberately misrepresented and manipulated historical evidence; that for the same reasons he has portrayed Hitler in an unwarrantedly favourable light, principally in relation to his attitude towards and responsibility for the treatment of the Jews; that he is an active Holocaust denier; that he is anti-semitic and racist and that he associates with right wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism."
Irving v. Lipstadt verdict: http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/judgement/13.71.1
Compared to Deborah Lipstadt, David Irving looks like a nice guy
Irving vs. that lying Zionist Deborah Lipstadt in the British legal system, fount of fairness and reliable source for Zionists and crypto-Zionists around the world...
Radicals accept court decision in favor of zionist
Isn't it strange how left-wing people will accept uncritically a court decision in favor of a Zionist? Isn't it strange how easily a radical radio station gives in to pressure?
It turns out that the statement which said anti-racist action copied from an Israeli govt. website was a genuine mistake. It was not 'disinformation'. The only 'disinformation' was 'Holocaust denial tour - the show that must not go on'. It was not a holocaust denial tour. It was not 'fascist organizing'. Those who went to see it can confirm this. 'Must not go on'? This is America - tell the Zios where to go, guys!
Israel has just killed many peace activists 80 miles offshore. The US govt. has expressed concern. It's time to deal with the real power relations in this country.
I'm a Zionist and a critic of the government of Israel
A Zionist is a person who believes that the Jewish people have the same right to desire a national homeland as any other ethnic group. Let's see for example, Iran is an "Islamic Republic", many countries in Europe have their brand of Christianity built in, we have wingnuts here who want the USA to be recognized as "Christian" as well. Wow, even the Czechs and Slovaks ... who share very similar religious and ethnic backgrounds seperated back into two seperate nations and countries as soon as the iron curtain was lifted. Ethnic nationalism is not a uniquely Jewish thing, it is a very common feature of humanity.
A progressive Zionist also believes that the original intent of the partition of Palestine must be respected, and that the long delayed state of Palestine must be created, nurtured, and helped to suceed. Some day a democratic independent Palestine can be a proud partner with a democratic Israel in peace.
To get there, the idiotic government in Israel must change, and final status borders and all refugee issues negotiated and implemented with a peace treaty. Everything else is a distraction and continues the misery for the Palestinians. For unfortunate anti-Arab sentiments in Israeli society to change, peace must last long enough for a new generation of Israelis to recognize that the minority population in the final status border state of Israel must have equal and full rights. This only will happen when there no longer is the immediate expectation of violence. Is this uniquely a Jewish problem? Not at all, just look at our USA borders with Mexico, the violence from the uncontrolled drug wars on our borders is what is behind the new and horrible law in Arizona. When there is a real fear of violence, tolerance goes out the window.
We can go back in history and find violence and repression from every ethnic group in the Mideast conflict. The history no longer interests me, as I am looking forward and trying to envision where we go from here. All the narratives of who did what to whom are valid, but the only path is forward ... not backward.
So ... what is the relavance here? How disturbing that in a discussion of Rose City Antifa and virulent anti-semites such as David Irving and Alison Weir, everybody tries to present themselves as "not anti-semitic" but also "not a Zionist". How low this conversation goes, when the word "Zionist" is thrown about as an all-purpose epithet, with no thought or nuance, and people are falling all over themselves to make it clear that they are not Zionists (heaven forbid).
No different than right wing talk radio saying the "Gay" this, or "Liberal" that, or "Illegal Ailens", or any other targeted group for hate and derision.
I didn't realize I was a Zionist, until exposed too often to hate speech on the airwaves at KBOO radio. How amusing that KBOO also routinely airs programs (usually produced by the Mideast Studies dept at PSU and the usual personalities from KBOO) that try to explain for the listener, the difference between anti-Israel and anti-Semitism. Of course, no one from the organized Jewish community participates, or is offered anywhere near enough air time to discuss this from Jewish viewpoints.
balderdash
It is already clear that the Irving event, as well as itself being a fascist gathering, was also connected to and paved the way for another neo-Nazi event, see "The David Irving Connection" part of the "Northwest Nazi Campout" story here: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2009/09/394197.shtml
So stop lying.
Bald-faced balderdash
Balderdash - Portland Indymedia is as colonized as the rest of the US media. It publishes slanders against critics of Israel without hesitation, and threats of violence against those who disagree, and deletes posts defending dissidents, taking no notice of its own guidelines, following only the politics of anti-racist action. The post you refer to is a particularly lame piece of fearmongering - it amounts to saying two genuine fascists met at the Irving meeting and subsequently attended a bbq together. I met a member of Code Pink at the Irving talk, and later met her at a party. So was it a pacifist/feminist organizing meeting too? There were at least four lefty liberal types listening to Irving's talk, which affirmed, rather than denied, the Holocaust - was it a liberal meeting as well? The only tendency not represented were the Zionists. They were all outside wearing bandanas! The people you accuse of 'lying', balderdash, know what they are talking about. You don't. Thanks again to the KBOO website for allowing comments outside the parameters defined by the Israeli embassy. We don't expect it to last... pdx anti-zionist truth posse...
It's all lies.
After reading this thread, I am amazed by the number of hollow-ringing accusations of "Zionism." I suspect most of these comments are the work of anti-Jewish conspiracy wingnuts, who hurl accusations of "Zionism" against anyone who challenges their bigoted, wingnut agenda. Now Indymedia is controlled by "the Zionists?" Give me a fucking break.
Can anyone cite a single instance in which Rose City Antifa has advocated for an ethnocratic or theocratic Jewish state in historic Palestine? No? Oh. Well. . . can anyone cite a single instance in which Rose City Antifa has supported anyone else who advocated for an ethnocratic or theocratic Jewish state in historic Palestine? The answer is no.
Anti-racists need not choose between resisting anti-Jewish prejudice (Holocaust denial, accusations of world domination, and other new twists on classic anti-Jewish scapegoating) and resisting anti-Arab prejudice, Islamophobia, and the atrocities committed by the Israeli state.
Why? Because anti-racists believe in freedom, safety, and self-determination for all people.
It's all lies.
After reading this thread, I am amazed by the number of hollow-ringing accusations of "Zionism." I suspect most of these comments are the work of anti-Jewish conspiracy wingnuts, who hurl accusations of "Zionism" against anyone who challenges their bigoted, wingnut agenda. Now Indymedia is controlled by "the Zionists?" Give me a fucking break.
Can anyone cite a single instance in which Rose City Antifa has advocated for an ethnocratic or theocratic Jewish state in historic Palestine? No? Oh. Well. . . can anyone cite a single instance in which Rose City Antifa has supported anyone else who advocated for an ethnocratic or theocratic Jewish state in historic Palestine? The answer is no.
Anti-racists need not choose between resisting anti-Jewish prejudice (Holocaust denial, accusations of world domination, and other new twists on classic anti-Jewish scapegoating) and resisting anti-Arab prejudice, Islamophobia, and the atrocities committed by the Israeli state.
Why? Because anti-racists believe in freedom, safety, and self-determination for all people.
This is a dishonest reply.
This is a dishonest reply. This person says 'I suspect most of these comments are the work of anti-Jewish conspiracy wingnuts, who hurl accusations of "Zionism" against anyone who challenges their bigoted, wingnut agenda'.
This is not a fair reply to the critique of anti-racist action and its attacks on Palestinian solidarity activists you can find on this site: "Whatever they think they are doing, their role is to undermine the Left for the benefit of Israel".
Not quite the same thing. Attempt to stir up fear of 'bigotry' and so on IS a Zionist tactic. Supporting the Palestinians means opposing Jewish power. In America. In the left. Anti-racist Action and the like try to make us afraid of drawing these obvious conclusions.
"Anti-racists believe in freedom, safety, and self-determination for all people". I agree. It's a shame they allow themselves to be used by people who don't.
Tim Calvert's bigoted organizing: the saga continues
A lot of the discussion on this piece concerns Tim Calvert as well as the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance to which Calvert belongs. It's possible that some readers may believe that the situation of Calvert’s Judeophobic activism and work with white supremacists has been resolved, which is unfortunately not true at all. Tim Calvert's antisemitic organizing has rather continued over the past couple of years, with the tacit acceptance of Citybikes Workers' Cooperative, of which Calvert is President and who refuse to acknowledge any serious problem.
Most recently, anti-racists are pointing out that Citybikes President Tim Calvert helped to organize a couple of events for an extreme-Right bomber/convicted bank robber, see the information here:
http://rosecityantifa.org/1/post/2012/09/portland-911-truth-alliance-hos...
A full chronology of Calvert’s bigoted organizing, including the disgraceful response of Citybikes Co-op, has also now been compiled and is available here:
http://rosecityantifa.org/1/post/2012/09/911-truth-timeline.html
It's a shame that while all this has been going on, Calvert was invited as a guest on KBOO a couple of times.
Rose City Antifa - A History of Violence Against the Community
The Rose City Antifa has a long and well-documented history of violence, going back to their inception in 2007. The list below focuses on the Rose City Antifa's violence committed just during the past year.
November 14, 2011 - Antifa members smashed several windows at the Umpqua Bank at NE 18th and Alberta in Portland.
Feb 6, 2012 - Antifa members smashed shop windows, including the Genoa Restaurant, and "tagged" (spraypainted) or broke windows of random cars throughout the Buckman neighborhood between Southeast Hawthorne and Stark Streets in Portland.
Feb 28, 2012 - Antifa members smashed several windows at the U.S. Bank branch near the intersection of Southeast Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Main Street in Portland.
Feb 29, 2012 - Antifa members smashed several windows at a Key Bank branch and a Starbucks coffee shop at the intersection of Northeast Broadway and 39th Avenue in Portland.
April 24, 2012 - Antifa members smashed nearly a dozen windows, some of them stained glass, at the historic Mars Hill church on Southeast 32nd in Portland.
April 24, 2012 - Antifa members smashed several windows at the US Bank at 1225 Southeast 32nd in Portland.
July 25, 2012 - The FBI arrested four Portland Anarchists for their alleged participation in the May 1st, 2012 Seattle riot.
October 11, 2012 - Antifa members smashed windows at four banks in Southeast Portland, including rocks through multiple windows at an Umpqua Bank, a large metal chair through a Wells Fargo window, and
rocks through windows at a Chase Bank and a U.S. Bank. A Walgreens window was also smashed. Portland Anarchist websites announced that their October 11, 2012 riot was in retaliation for Grand Jury proceedings against the four Portland Anarchists who were arrested by the FBI on July 25, 2012.
November 5, 2012 - Antifa member Sergey Yefimobich Turzhanskiy, 24, was arrested just after police said he threw a fire bomb at an unoccupied police cruiser parked in the North Precinct parking lot in the 400 block of NE Emerson Street in Portland.
The members of the Rose City Antifa, who have frequently vandalized banks, shops, and cars throughout Portland, and who despise the Police and the Rule of Law, claim to be the protectors of justice in the community. In truth, the Rose City Antifa have a history of vandalism and violent threats against the law-abiding citizens of the community. No one should support the Rose City Antifa or their smear campaigns and mob violence.