UNMIA

During the long discussion about the outrageous “Three Jerusalem Women” presentation sponsored in part by MEPJA (Middle East Peace and Justice Alliance), and in part by the UNM Humanities department, we not only published the articles and video on the UNMIA website, but the UNM Daily Lobo printed comments about the event.

The first article it published was a protest by Dotan Kennedy, and Israeli student who was present at the event. Then the rabid anti-Israel Lobo regular, Brian Fejer posted his standard anti-Israel statement, something stupid about the “Zionist Regime”. Kennedy made a brief answer to that. In the meantime UNMIA members posted two publishable comments, neither of which was posted on the Daily Lobo. Next it published four glowing accounts of the events, mainly by MEPJA members, and rejected two more comments critical of the event.

The “independent” Daily Lobo’s effort was evidently to make the Israeli student look like a lone and unreasonable dissenter in a flood of loving and approving comments about the publicly sponsored anti-Israel propaganda. At least two other people wrote to voice their protest of this event, but their comments didn’t appear in the Lobo. All but perhaps one of the people who found inspiration in hearing Palestinian sponsored lies were members of MEPJA, who evidently went on a letter writing campaign, which was warmly received by the pro-Palestinian editor of the Lobo, Christopher Sanchez.
When I mistakenly gave the Lobo credit for having printed a dissenting view, Mr. Sanchez wrote to demand that I correct it. Heaven forbid that the UNM Lobo appear to be an honest publication.

Susan Schuurman wrote in her letter:

I’m certain all members of the audience did not agree with all comments made by the speakers. But it’s a stretch to call the dialog I witnessed one-sided and a propaganda. And, in fact, it’s getting a bit tiresome to hear such charges every time Israel’s human rights record is scrutinized.

As voices that protest the propaganda are not allowed to be heard in the UNM news or at UNM sponsored events, exactly how can it be tiresome? The left, for all its crying, is not silenced. However, it is very quick to be the silencer. It was five against one in the Lobo, and Kennedy’s account would probably not have been published either, if his comment had not been seen as an opportunity to be twisted, to try and make Israel and Israelis look bad.

UNMIA published the opposing opinion word for word and then replied publicly. It did not silence the opposing view the way the Lobo, MEPJA and the UNM Humanities departments did.

Why were we willing to publish their view, but they refused to publish ours? Because the anti-Israel people are unable to answer our charges, and so they are obliged to try to silence our voices in order to advance their false agenda.

Here are all of the comments that appeared, in case you would like to see for yourself:

• Dotan Kennedy’s first comment
• Brian Fejer’s standard short anti-Israel outburst : “The apartheid Zionist Regime is its own worst enemy.”
• Dotan Kennedy’s response: “nice generic, uninformed, anti-israel statement. you would have loved this presentation”
• A rhapsodic account of the event from Rita Erikson…

Lori Rudolph, a leader in MEPJA, wrote this warped reply. Millions are deprived of basic rights? They say such things but can’t support the statement. The facts on the ground say differently. Marginalized and rarely heard? These PA and Hamas speakers make regular tours through the US, and are certainly the only voices allowed at UNM, where they are invited several times a year, courtesy of MEPJA and left-wing faculty.

• Katherine Hughes-Fraitek, one of the major movers of ethnic hatred in New Mexico, a founder of MEPJA and the Peace and Justice Alliance, and an organizer of this event wrote this comment
• Finally, we have Another set of MEPJA lies by Susan Schuurman, a MEPJA member, does not even know enough about Israel to recognize that “Dotan” is a man’s name, and it shows in the ignorance of her comments.