60 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 9 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Stop Blaming the Messenger

By       (Page 1 of 3 pages)   2 comments
Message Ari Bussel

Stop Blaming the Messenger

By Ari Bussel

Ten days ago, the Los Angeles Times published an Op-Ed by an Israeli Professor from Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The article called for a boycott of Israel. It was neither on the front page nor written by a known anti-Semite, but the community is up in arms.

Suddenly, the local Jewish community in Greater Los Angeles finds the message delivered daily by the Los Angeles Times unpleasant. I say suddenly, but over the past three decades, there have been repeated calls to cancel subscriptions and withdraw advertisement dollars, to very little or no avail. The Los Angeles Times main readership remains Jewish, as are many of its advertisers.

If most readers were enemies of Israel, they would be dancing in the streets " like the Palestinians and other Arabs on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Their wholehearted support of the publication and general euphoria would have drowned out any opposing views. The uproar indicates the readership remains predominantly Jewish.

The morning of the article, I received a call from an outraged major donor to Israeli causes asking what to do. I took it in stride, suggesting the only effective way to fight is to withhold funding. It took him just a few minutes to call me back. He is a member of a very influential circle of friends whose names every person would recognize. Only one of these is a major BGU donor and half the University is named for his and his wife's contributions.

Many were outraged and an Israeli advocacy group on campus called for a demonstration against the professor who authored the piece. The local Israeli paper ran full-page interviews with both the local Israeli Consul General and the President of the University. The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles financially benefited from the Op-Ed when the American Associates of BGU bought a full-page ad. The Executive VP of the American Associates suggested he would "be happy to help [Dr. Gordon] pack if he chooses "a home that more closely identifies with [his] values and beliefs.

This was just the tip of the iceberg: today, Prof. Rivka Carmi, the President of BGU was allowed an equal platform and her main argument was, "like it or not, Gordon cannot be readily dismissed. What a field day for the Los Angeles Times. Last week at an Anti-Defamation League function, I listened to a disgruntled person who had already contacted the Op-Ed editor four times. But suddenly, I found myself in the peculiar position of defending the newspaper.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Ari Bussel Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Ari Bussel is an activist with a deep passion and commitment to truth. His continuous fact-finding missions to the Middle East to secure truthful and factual information about the status of the situation are disseminated to a worldwide audience (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

The Persian Jewish Community of Beverly Hills

DANIEL PEARL - THE BEHEADED SYMBOL OF A WORLD GONE CRAZY

A Hospital Visit (Corrected Version)

The Hamas Death Factory

Merit-Based Pay

Israel, Hear Our Prayer

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend