Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

West Bankrupt

I was contacted via e-mail by Daniel Brook, who wanted to interview me because he was "interested in [my] story of going to Israel with Birthright and becoming a human shield ["West Bank Stowaway," Aug. 7, 2003]." I told him that I was willing to do an interview about my activities in Palestine and participation with the International Solidarity Movement on the condition that Birthright is not to be discussed. This was for multiple reasons but most importantly because the premise under which I was willing to be interviewed was to bring light to the Palestinian struggle and to provide a firsthand account of the illegal occupation of Palestine to the international media. Brook responded by writing, "I agree not to ask you about Birthright but Birthright will have to be mentioned in the story" solely because "it's part of the chronology of your story."

Judging by the article published by the City Paper, it is clear through Brook's angle that he intentionally misrepresented his agenda. There is an obvious difference between mentioning Birthright as part of a larger, more holistic story and running a feature on Birthright. Besides being ethically questionable journalism, it is also lazy, irresponsible and irrelevant. Who cares if I went to Palestine via Birthright? I did nothing that violates Birthright's policies or even their agenda. My motivation for participating with the Palestinian resistance comes directly out my experience and sentiments as a Jew. In fact, organizing for Palestine is definitely the most "Jewish" thing I've done in years. If the aim of Birthright is for diaspora Jews to reconnect with their culture and heritage, then I can honestly say that was achieved for me.

Furthermore, in the greater scheme of things, who cares if I'm supporting Palestine "on Israel's dime"? I think that the real question to be asked is why does Israel illegally occupy Palestine on America's dime? The $2,000 claimed by Birthright to have been spent on my trip seems paltry in comparison to the $9 billion supplied to Israel by the U.S. in this year alone. Since the cease-fire, 11 Palestinians have been murdered by the Israeli army and more than 300 have been injured. Israel has passed its racist marriage law, of which even the usually pro-Israel ADL has been critical. Word has it that even the ultraconservative Bush administration views the separation wall as an obstacle to peace. With all these important, newsworthy events occurring, I find it sad that the City Paper prefers to ignore real information coming from the ground and write a namby-pamby feature instead.

I have published a copy of Brook's interview questions and my responses, almost none of which he used for the article, on Philadelphia's indy media website: www.phillyimc.org/article.pl?sid=03/08/09/094246.

Even though Daniel Brook and the City Paper apparently have no interest in the Palestinian resistance or its international support, I strongly believe that there are many in Philadelphia that do. They will be able to learn about it, regardless.

Danielle Sara Frank
Tulkarm, Palestine