[WCUSP] Opportunity to Respond to the Media Re. Carter
Marlene Santoyo
marlsan at cavtel.net
Tue Jan 9 22:53:04 CST 2007
CAMERA Alert: Simon & Schuster "Stick With" Carter; Another Prof. Rebukes
Carter; NYT Review; Dersh]
www.CAMERA.
org
Please forward this alert
to friends and family
who care about fair and factual reporting about
Israel and the Middle East.
Shalom CAMERA E-Mail Team:
This alert contains info on:
* Simon & Schuster Chooses to "Stick With" Carter's "Version"
* New York Times' Ethan Bronner Reviews Carter's Book
* Professor Melvin Konnor Rebukes Carter for Condoning Murder
and for His Failure to Respond to Critics' Substantive Objections
* Dershowitz to write Series about Carter Center's Arab Funding
at Gather.com
Action Items are Below.
Simon & Schuster Chooses to "Stick With" Carter's "Version"
An article entitled "S&S Stand Behinds Carter" appeared in
Publishers Weekly on January 2nd, 2007, about CAMERA's ad in the New York
Times concerning the many errors in Jimmy Carter's new anti-Israel book,
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. CAMERA's ad was an open letter to the book's
publisher, Simon & Schuster, urging them to publicly correct the book's many
inaccuracies. In the Publishers Weekly article, Adam Rothberg, head of Simon
& Schuster's corporate communications, was asked whether S&S will "change
the book", and Rothberg replied tellingly: "We're going to stick with the
president's version."
Notice he doesn't say that the "president's version" is
accurate, just that they're going to "stick with" it.
Action Item below.
New York Times' Ethan Bronner Reviews Carter Book
Deputy Foreign Editor of the New York Times, Ethan Bronner, has
written an interesting review of Carter's "strange little book." Click here
to read "Jews, Arabs and Jimmy Carter" (January 7, 2007, NY Times)
Here are some excerpts:
"[Carter] offers a narrative that is largely unsympathetic to
Israel. Israeli bad faith fills the pages. Hollow statements by Israel's
enemies are presented without comment. Broader regional developments go
largely unexamined. In other words, whether or not Carter is right that most
Americans have a distorted view of the conflict, his contribution is to
offer a distortion of his own...Yasir Arafat is portrayed as someone who
disavowed terrorism...The separation barrier that Israel is building along
and inside parts of the West Bank is not to stop suicide bombers and other
violent attacks. Its 'driving purpose,' Carter says, is 'the acquisition of
land...' "
"...The debate about the Israeli occupation 'will shape the
future of Israel; it may also determine the prospects for peace in the
Middle East - and perhaps the world.' This is an awfully narrow
perspective...there are other factors to consider, including that for the
most radical leaders of the Muslim world - and their numbers are not
dwindling - settling the Israel question does not mean an equitable division
of land between Israel and Palestine. It means eliminating Israel..."
"There is a weird scene toward the start of the book...But the
episode hints at his tone deafness about Israel and Jews." [read the whole
review to find out what this weird scene entailed.]
Action item below.
Professor Konnor Rebukes Carter for Condoning Murder and for His
Failure to Respond to Critics' Substantive Objections
Melvin Konnor, a professor of anthropology at Emory University,
added his
voice to the list of prominent critics of Jimmy Carter's new
book, Palestine:
Peace not Apartheid. Konner expressed his thoughts in a letter
to the Carter
Center and in an Op-Ed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In
the letter,
addressed to Carter Center Executive Director John Hardman,
Konner
explained why he chose to decline a position on the Carter
Center's advisory
panel, and urged the Center to distance itself from the former
president's
"irrevocably tarnished legacy."
Excerpts from the letter:
"...in television interviews I have seen over the past week,
President Carter has revealed himself to be so rigid and inflexible in his
views that he seems to me no longer capable of dialogue. In an interview
with Soledad O'Brien of CNN he failed to address a single one of the
criticisms she quoted from various experts in a very serious tone of voice,
pointing out that she was not reading the worst of the criticisms; he began
laughing inappropriately while she spoke, and when she asked him how he
would respond to the criticisms he stated, 'With laughter.' In a number of
interviews I have seen and heard him respond to highly specific questions
merely by stating again and again in one form or another, 'My book is
completely accurate.' This rigidity of thought and complete failure to
engage criticisms from much greater experts than me about his numerous and
serious errors of commission and omission make it clear to me that an
attempt by me to advise him would be pointless and counterproductive. In
addition, his repeated public insinuations that the Jews control the media
and the Congress - well-worn anti-Semitic slurs that, especially coming from
President Carter, present a clear and present danger to American Jews - are
offensive to me beyond what I can politely say..."
"...I will call your attention to a sentence on p. 213 that had
not stood out for me the first time I read it: 'It is imperative that the
general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear
that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when
international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are
accepted by Israel.' As someone who has lived his life as a professional
reader and writer, I cannot find any way to read this sentence that does not
condone the murder of Jews until such time as Israel unilaterally follows
President Carter's prescription for peace. This sentence, simply put, makes
President Carter an apologist for terrorists and places my children, along
with all Jews everywhere, in greater danger..." [emphasis added]
"...Meanwhile, in my own private and modest public capacity as a
university professor and writer, I will work very hard in the foreseeable
future to help discredit President Carter's biased, intemperate and
inflexible mischaracterizations of the reality of Israel, Palestine,
terrorism, and the American Jewish community. I will urge all my colleagues
and students to do the same..."
Action item below.
Dershowitz to write Series about Carter's Arab Funding at
Gather.com
www.Gather.com will be featuring six columns about Jimmy Carter
by Alan Dershowitz on six successive Tuesdays beginning Jan 9. The columns
will appear from 6 AM through 3 PM on the home page and then can be found by
entering the search term alandershowitz.gather.com. The presumptive title
of the series is "Ex-President for Sale." The columns will focus on the Arab
funding and Carter.
Please monitor this series and if you find the columns helpful
and informative, send them to friends, family, the media, clergy and
politicians. Continue to educate the public about Jimmy Carter's flawed book
and extreme views.
ACTION ITEMS
Please take action on one or more of the following items:
* Continue to hold Simon & Schuster accountable for publishing a
book filled with inaccuracies, distortions and lack of context. Adam
Rothberg, head of S&S's corporate communications, should get e-mail and
phone calls.
Call him at: 212-698-1132
Email him at: adam_rothberg at simonandschuster.com
Callers/writers should urge Simon & Schuster to issue
corrections of errors for existing books and to stop publishing this flawed
version of the book. The book should be revised to correct the factual
errors before any more books are printed.
* Write a letter-to-the-editor of the New York Times commenting
on Ethan Bronner's review. Mention an important criticism of Carter's book
and then add a couple of sentences of commentary to that. To get a letter
into the Times, one needs to keep letters very brief!
letters at nytimes.com
* Commend Professor Melvin Konnor for his strong and eloquent
rebuke of Carter and his book. You can write to him at:
antmk at mindspring.com
* Continue to educate the public, government officials, media
and clergy about the flawed nature of Carter's book. Make it well known that
the book is filled with inaccuracies and distortions and is an extremely
lopsided Arabist perspective of the conflict.
Send a note to media, friends, family, politicians, clergy.
Include links to Professor Konnor's letter, as well as other analyses of
Carter's book and interviews archived on CAMERA's Web site.
The link to Konnor's letter is: http://tinyurl.com/yko2jz
The link to the roundup of analyses is:
http://tinyurl.com/y8jdkr
Media, church and government addresses are below.
Please send CAMERA a blind copy of your letter(s) and let CAMERA
know if you made any phonecalls: letters at camera.org
With thanks,
Lee Green
Director, National Letter-Writing Group
CAMERA
MEDIA CONTACT INFO
Reliable at cnn.com,
viewer at c-span.org, booktv at c-span.org , comments at foxnews.com ,
oreilly at foxnews.com ,hannity at foxnews.com , foxreport at foxnews.com ,
special at foxnews.com , beltway at foxnews.com , hemmer at foxnews.com ,
feedback at foxnews.com , generalcomments at feedback.msnbc.com ,
letters at msnbc.com ,
hardball at msnbc.com , countdown at msnbc.com , joe at msnbc.com ,
abramsreport at msnbc.com , newshour at pbs.org , ombudsman at npr.org ,
onthemedia at wnyc.org , Monica at wabcradio.com , suggestions at lauraingraham.com ,
rush at eibnet.com ,
janet at jpamerica.com,dennisprager at dennisprager.com ,
letter at globe.com , ombud at globe.com , jsmith at globe.com , letters at suntimes.com
,
ctc-tribletter at tribune.com , publiceditor at tribune.com ,
alipinski at tribune.com , cmcmahon at tribune.com , letters at plaind.com ,
dclifton at plaind.com , letters at star-telegram.com , letters at latimes.com ,
readers.rep at latimes.com , marjorie.miller at latimes.com , heralded at herald.com,
editor at nysun.com , newsdesk at nysun.com , letters at nytimes.com ,
public at nytimes.com , foreign at nytimes.com ,
executive-editor at nytimes.com , insight at orlandosentinel.com ,
mpynn at orlandosentinel.com ,
editor at orlandosentinel.com , inquirer.letters at phillynews.com ,
editor at phillynews.com , foreign at phillynews.com ,
forum at newsobserver.com , msill at newsobserver.com ,
oquarles at newsoberver.com , letters at uniontrib.com,
david.smith at uniontrib.com , letters at sfchronicle.com ,
readerrep at sfchronicle.com , letters at sun-sentinel.com ,
letters at post-dispatch.com , eletters at starledger.com
readerrep at starledger.com ,charrison at starledger.com ,
editor at usatoday.com ,etinsley at usatoday.com ,
wsj.ltrs at wsj.com , letters at washpost.com ,
ombudsman at washpost.com ,
foreign at washpost.com,letters at newsweek.com,
Editors at newsweek.com,letters at time.com,letters at usnews.com,
info at ap.org , editor.reuters at reuters.com,
levine.joanne at gmail.com
GOVERNMENT CONTACT INFO
To find your senators' addresses, go to www.senate.gov
To find your congressional rep's address, go to www.house.gov
To write to the president, write to: president at whitehouse.gov
CHRISTIAN LEADERS AND PUBLICATIONS
(We welcome suggestions for this section.)
Anglican Communion News: clare.amos at anglicancommunion.org
Clare Amos in charge of Anglican Holy Land website
Catholic World News URL:
http://www.cwnews.com/about/contactus.cfm
Christian Broadcasting Network's Newswatch URL:
http://tinyurl.com/84crl
(click on "suggested topic for a feature story")
Christian Century magazine email: main at christiancentury.org
Christian Science Monitor URL:
http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/contactus.pl
Christianity Today email: letters at ChristianityToday.com
Episcopal Life editor: jhames at episcopalchurch.org
letters at episcopal-life.org
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Frank G.
Griswald
pboffice at episcopalchurch.org Fax #: (212) 490-3298
God's Learning Channel: info at ptcbglc.com
Leadership Journal (of Christianity Today magazine):
ljeditor at leadershipjournal.net
Janet Parshall radioshow: janet at jpamerica.com 1-800-343-9282
Presbyterians Today URL: http://tinyurl.com/e2lnc
To find your local Presbyterian USA church:
http://pcusa.org/search/churches/default.jsp
Presbyterian News Service Director: Rev. Jerry Van Marter
fax: 502-569-8073 email: jvanmart at ctr.pcusa.org
Alexa Smith, International News: AaSmith at ctr.pcusa.org
Today's Christian: tceditor at Todays-Christian.com
United Church of Christ leaders:
thomasj at ucc.org, guffeye at ucc.org, jacksonb at ucc.org,
malayanj at ucc.org, copel at ucc.org
UCC Ecumenical Officer Lydia Veliko: velikol at ucc.org
United Methodist News Service email: newsdesk at umcom.org
Worthy Ministries Newstip URL:
http://contactus.worthyministries.com/
Zola Levitt Ministries' "Levitt Letter" email : staff at levitt.com
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