tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post2055492242840911683..comments2023-10-15T07:25:13.077-07:00Comments on BRUMSPEAK: A Clarification on a very Controversial Issue: Plus, Calev Ben-David on the Tragedy back in 2003David Brumerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04290621672310065155noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-84215275590561607022007-03-27T14:04:00.000-07:002007-03-27T14:04:00.000-07:00I have to admit I'm shocked that the PI insisted t...I have to admit I'm shocked that the PI insisted that you provide context for your op-ed piece. How dare them! After the dozens of anti-Israel opinion pieces appearing in the PI comparing Israel to Nazis, communists, apartheid, and every evil under the sun, they have the nerve to insist that you provide context on how Rachel Corrie died?! I've called them on many occassions complaining about the blatant distortions in opinion pieces on Israel, but I always get dismissed because it's an opinion piece and the writer can express whatever he wants, whether it holds up to five seconds of scrutiny or not. I think that they NEVER check facts in the opinion pieces and NEVER ask anti-Israel authors to provide context. If it had been me, I would have produced a few of their past pieces and said, but why didn't you insist on context here? Do you really have objectivity standards or are you particularly biased in this situation? In any case, good job on the article. I'm glad you wrote it, and you did a good job.<BR/><BR/>Mark Smilowitz<BR/>Beit Shemesh, IsraelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-53209363076185436762007-03-20T14:24:00.000-07:002007-03-20T14:24:00.000-07:00"You said. Some of Corrie's compatriots who joined..."You said. Some of Corrie's compatriots who joined the extremist International Solidarity Movement alongside her, who might be gay or lesbian, would also not fare well under the yoke of Hamas."<BR/><BR/>we gays do work with hamas, and if that sound a bit extream to you could think about the fact that alot of people think of the International Committee of the Anti-Defamation League of the Pacific Northwest as a bunch of Zionist crackpots that Suck up to the Clueless Fundimentalist Christians base who sell Israel Atom bombs and Catipillar tractors wich in turn trrorize others.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-90167485673201732272007-03-20T11:03:00.000-07:002007-03-20T11:03:00.000-07:00I again can only say that I greatly regret the mis...I again can only say that I greatly regret the mis-labeling of the ISM; My mistake was an unfortunate but honest one and I it was an inadvertent error. However, I stand by my intended point, that the International Solidarity Movement is an extremist organization. There are many organizations that work tirelessly to further peaceful reconciliation between the parties to the conflict, including 'Breaking the Ice', http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/index.php; 'Seeds of Peace'<BR/>http://www.seedsofpeace.org/site/PageServer; 'Hands of Peace', http://www.hands-of-peace.org/;<BR/>and 'Building Bridges for Peace,'<BR/>http://www.s-c-g.org/buildingbridges/; to name but a few. The ISM is not such a group. Please see the links below to further demonstrate why they are an extremist organization.<BR/>respectfully,<BR/>David Brumer<BR/> <BR/>http://rachelcorriefacts.org/ISM_Origins.aspx<BR/>Origins of ISM <BR/>http://rachelcorriefacts.org/ISM_Violence.aspx<BR/>ISM Ties to Violent Groups <BR/>http://rachelcorriefacts.org/ISM_Tactics.aspx<BR/>ISM TacticsDavid Brumerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04290621672310065155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-50956228793371291292007-03-20T10:29:00.000-07:002007-03-20T10:29:00.000-07:00The tragedy of Rachel Corrie arises precisely from...The tragedy of Rachel Corrie arises precisely from the fact that she was not an Islamist. She was a person who opposed persecuting gays, women, and minorities. Like most such young, idealistic people, she had not the slightest idea that Israel is a land of women's rights, gay rights, and minority rights. Like many idealistic, educated young people, she sided with Islamists—who oppose everything she stood for.Lao Qiaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15295030239306528508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-61004771552666675552007-03-20T09:40:00.000-07:002007-03-20T09:40:00.000-07:00I am very sad and frustrated by the Rachel Corrie ...I am very sad and frustrated by the Rachel Corrie story. It appears to me that there is a lot of misinformation circulated about her and what she did. It also appears that there are many aspects of the story that we will never know the truth about (e.g. whether the bulldozer driver saw her or not). I have also witnessed a lot of people judging her and her story based not on any personal knowledge or research, but on hearsay designed to generate fear. It is for this reason that I am dismayed by the error over the Islamic/International Solidarity Movement. Based on the comment to this blog from lao qiao, it appears that at least one reader was led to believe that Rachel belonged to a fundamentalist Islamic organization. Who knows how many others reached the same conclusion? I think this conclusion could be exacerbated by the photo of Rachel that was chosen to run with the story, in which she appears to be veiled (I spoke to a colleague who drew this conclusion from the photo and content of the piece). I know this photo and she is actually wearing a hooded sweatshirt.<BR/><BR/>This piece may have been an editorial, but a lot of readers will take the content away as fact. <BR/><BR/>I would also be interested to hear more about why ISM is an "extremist" organization. I see they were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends' Service Committee, another organization that takes non-violence as a premise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-43638352354993483002007-03-19T15:31:00.000-07:002007-03-19T15:31:00.000-07:00Yes, strange as that may sound. I thought I rememb...Yes, strange as that may sound. I thought I remembered making sure that just such an error would not occur due to the sensitivity of the issue, and the mistake was completely inadvertent. I deeply regret the mischaracterization and had no intention of labeling the ISM as Islamic. In an earlier sentence, I was talking about the acronym for Hamas, and I must have rewrote Islamic unthinkingly. <BR/>Believe me, I'll be re-reading my future pieces over and over to avoid such an unfortunate error.<BR/>DavidDavid Brumerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04290621672310065155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-80350505365489650402007-03-19T14:59:00.000-07:002007-03-19T14:59:00.000-07:00I'm confused. Did you mean to say "International"...I'm confused. Did you mean to say "International" and it just came out "Islamic?" How did the error occur?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-16162856281087355872007-03-19T14:35:00.000-07:002007-03-19T14:35:00.000-07:00To anonymous,I am fully aware the ISM stands for I...To anonymous,<BR/>I am fully aware the ISM stands for International Solidarity Movement-and not Islamic-but stand by the assertion that they are an extremist organization. I do regret the error and had no intention to mischaracterize the ISM. <BR/>David BrumerDavid Brumerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04290621672310065155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-23895582937475531742007-03-19T14:10:00.000-07:002007-03-19T14:10:00.000-07:00How could you have made an error like citing "Isla...How could you have made an error like citing "Islamic Solidarity Movement" instead of "International Solidarity Movement?" Was this not a fact you could have checked in less than five minutes? Were you just going off of someone else's hearsay? Do you even have any idea what the ISM is about? I don't, but I'm betting you don't either and have no idea whether they're "extremist" or not.<BR/><BR/>How much credibility do you expect the rest of your story to add?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-51112972927225670572007-03-19T09:20:00.000-07:002007-03-19T09:20:00.000-07:00The fact that idealistic young people on the left ...The fact that idealistic young people on the left have allied themselves with Islamic fundamentalists remains a great mystery. Golda Meir was the first woman head of government in history who was not the wife (like Sirimavo Bandaranaike) nor the daughter (like Indira Gandhi) of a previous head of government. Nevertheless feminists are typically anti-Israel. Israel drafted gays into the army since Day One of its existence; nevertheless, gay organizations are typically anti-Israel. Rachel Corrie gave her life to protect a tunnel that was used by terrorists. This can't be understood rationally.Lao Qiaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15295030239306528508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-7748362092038487472007-03-19T06:31:00.000-07:002007-03-19T06:31:00.000-07:00Hi Gordon,You are quite right and that is my error...Hi Gordon,<BR/>You are quite right and that is my error. It should have read <BR/>"Some of Corrie's compatriots who joined the extremist International Solidarity Movement alongside her"<BR/><BR/>I will make a further clarification of this on my website. Thanks for pointing out.<BR/>DavidDavid Brumerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04290621672310065155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-89077390966486044972007-03-18T21:33:00.000-07:002007-03-18T21:33:00.000-07:00David,Here and in the PI you wrote: "Some of Corri...David,<BR/>Here and in the PI you wrote: "Some of Corrie's compatriots who joined the extremist Islamic Solidarity Movement alongside her..."<BR/><BR/>The Israel Project website says that she "was a politically active member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)."<BR/><BR/>Where did the mixup come in... <BR/>you or the paper?<BR/>Thx, GordonAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01597079603774055946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-52725329528510632682007-03-18T12:33:00.000-07:002007-03-18T12:33:00.000-07:00Thanks for a wonderful article in the P-I. Too oft...Thanks for a wonderful article in the P-I. Too often, we are fed one-sided propaganda on this issue (as with many others) with no historical background, no context, and no details explaining Israel's actions. I think if more reporters and historians relied more on the historical facts than on propaganda, we would all realize that this conflict is much more complex than they would like us to believe. I fully agree that if many westerners really knew what/who they were supporting, they would hopefully think twice about that support. <BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>Holly Havnaer<BR/>SeattleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2873837983794172904.post-36635245332257665952007-03-18T10:29:00.000-07:002007-03-18T10:29:00.000-07:00I could KISS you!Thank you for your perspective, a...I could KISS you!<BR/>Thank you for your perspective, and for reminding us to look at both sides of the coin before rushing to knee-jerk judgements.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com