Many Grains of Truth in new WJN Articles

Remember Victor Lieberman’s short-lived communication to Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends? His offer to negotiate was retracted upon receipt of our counter-offer, as he opined: “As regards your counter-offer, I’m afraid it would elicit no interest. Most congregants regard the vigil as no more than a trivial nuisance with which they long ago came to terms.” This quote was contained in our “Report on Beth Israel vigil 01-02-10”. Vic also added in that email exchange: “…the congregation will simply continue to put up with what is by now a largely invisible presence”. As we reminded our readers in that report, “Victor is then hard pressed to explain, if JWPF is the trivial nuisance he claims, why the Jewish community would recognize our group in a front-page, 3,500-word article in its most recent edition of the Washtenaw Jewish News.”

This week, we report that Vic might well wish he’d never underestimated his own community to recognize, yet again, the importance of our witness every Saturday morning. Two members of the Ann Arbor Jewish community – including a former member of JWPF – continue to cast doubt upon Vic’s assessment that we are the invisible presence he wishes we were.

The Washtenaw Jewish News has published two articles in their February 2010 edition that contain an additional 4,533 words (but who’s counting?) and some additional compliments for our group: From “The few and the just”, we find Laurel Federbush describing her joining our group as a way to “acknowledge my Jewish heritage, and I thought this was a way to do it”. Nice. She also writes, “I had always thought the Middle East situation was complicated, but I learned from the group that the situation was simple.” Thanks.

And … “There was truly no shortage of colorful characters in our group: strong personalities, individuals who came into conflict time and time again. In fact, with such strong clashes of egos, it’s amazing that our group held together at all. But the point is, it did.” Yes it did, and continues to remind the general public that “Israel” continues its ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people with their tax dollars.

Not to be content wallowing around in second place, Stephen Pastner weighs in with compliments of his own, albeit some grudging ones: “Another broader group to which many [JWPF members] are tied is the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which is prominent in many of the global ‘boycott Israel’ attempts in domains as diverse as film festivals, academia and grocery stores.”

”Then there’s Friends of Sabeel/Sabeel International, an international organization founded by Palestinian Protestant priest Naim Atek [sic].” (We are proud to remind readers that Rev. Ateek supported the Middle East Task Force of Ann Arbor’s protest of the Batsheva Dance Company last year.)

Dr. Pastner also alludes as to how our group reminds the public of “USS Liberty Remembered”, “Deir Yassin Remembered”, and promotes the excellent web site “Electronic Intifada”. JWPF does not keep bad company, according to Pastner, and we thank him for reminding us and our readers what outstanding work these groups accomplish. He appears to support JWPF by writing: “I’ll conclude by reiterating what many already understand: that criticism of specific Israeli policies is sometimes both warranted and legitimate.” We couldn’t agree more, and offer an additional thank-you!

Ten, Again

This time a friend of Vigiller F pushed us into double digits, and our spirits were buoyed by the return of Vigiller J. Weather conditions still present a challenge, though it’s not clear that it dampens (or freezes, as the case may be) our commitment to speak truth to Power.

Free Speech and our Street Signs – Update

We report that the City Attorney’s office has not responded to the letter they have received from JWPF, in spite of an anticipated response by Friday, January 29. We’re promised a reply this coming week.

Quotable

”In his ten months in office Obama has authorized more drone attacks and killed more Pakistanis, Afghans and others inside Pakistan than did George Bush in eight years.”

Graham Usher, “Pakistani Anvil”, Al-Ahram Weekly

End Jewish Supremacism in Palestine
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
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