Hi Folks,
I don't know if you have heard the latest of the biased anti-Israeli
programs from "This American Life,"
(http://www.thislife.org/pages/archive03.html) carried on WYEP and WDUQ.
I have chosen to withdraw my support from these stations, and to let them
know why. I have also sent an email directly to "This American Life"
informing them of this decision. As a part of the Consumer Watch group, I
will eventually be lisiting such companies online, as well as information
for contacting them, and sample letters. For now, I have included the
emails I sent to "This American Life" ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and WYEP
([EMAIL PROTECTED]) below.
I encourage you to send an email to these organizations, expressing your
dissatisfaction. Feel free to use anything you would like from the
letters below (though don't forget to put YOUR NAME under the
"Sincerely," at the end of the letter. Please also forward this to your
friends.
Jacques
-------------
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Withdrawal of support
Dear This American Life,
I have been a "This American Life" listener for many years now, and have
even purchased a portable radio to allow me to listen when I'm not at
home. I believe that the This American Life has been an entertaining and
often insightful show.
Unfortunately, I wished to inform you that as of today, I have made the
decision to withdraw all monetary and other support from our local
stations carrying your show, and will encourage others to do so as well.
To make sure that there are no misunderstandings about this decision, let
me state it clearly: This American Life, and Ira Glass in particular,
have shown an ever increasing anti-Israel bias. The existence of the
State of Israel and her place in the world directly affect the quality of
my life. I will not knowingly support, directly or indirectly, any
institution that seeks to undermine the State of Israel.
The most recent episode 232, "The 'Real' Story," was the final indignity.
In purporting to shed light on the definitive "real" story, This American
Life tells about the flight of ~700,000 Arabs from the land of Israel in
the war of Israeli Independence. This historical fact is something with
which few would argue (though officially, the UN sets the number at
500,000, and the Arab League claims there were 650,000). The problem is
that This American Life chooses to ignore other essential pieces of
history in favor of spinning an "interesting," and heavily biased piece.
- No mention is made of the ~700,000 Jews who were expelled from Arab
lands in the same time period (Al-Nahur (Beirut), May 15, 1975; also,
United States Committee for Refugees, 1981 world refugee survey, p. 27).
- No mention is made that some ARAB leaders suggested even before the
conflict that this would be a fair population exchange (Mojli Amin, Arab
Defense Committe for Palestine, May 16, 1939).
- No mention was made that such population exchanges have a historical
preccedent, and have happened on a much larger scale, between Greece
(1,250,000 refugees) and Turkey (355,000 refugees) in 1923, and between
India (8,500,000 refugees) and Pakistan (6,500,000 refugees) in the 1950s
(US committee for Refugees, 1969 Report).
- No mention was made that the Arabs were in fact getting the better end
of the deal as the assets left behind by Jews in the Arab world were in
fact greater than those being left behind by Arabs leaving Israel (Maruice
Roumani, "The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue",
1975, p. 82).
- No mention is made that of the tens of millions of refugees and dozensof
host countries worldwide, the only instance in which host countires
refused to asssist properly, or even to accept aid in the permanent
rehabiliation of their refugees, occurred in the Arab States (United
States Committee for Refugees, 1975-76 report).
These are neither small nor inconsequential facts. They are readily
available to anyone willing to do a little bit of research. I can only
conclude that the programming of This American Life is either biased or
uninformed, both of which constitute poor radio.
The decision then, is a simple one. I have chosen not to support This
American Life because This American Life does not support me, or any Jew
in North America. This is not however, an irreversible decision. To the
extent that This American Life eventually decides to work towards a
positive change in the their portrayal of Middle Eastern and Israeli
affairs, my support, monetary and otherwise, may again be directed towards
This American Life and those stations that carry it. I would, if at all
possible, appreciate being informd as to any steps made in this regard.
------------------
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Withdrawal of support
Dear WYEP,
I have been a WYEP listener for two years, and have been considering
becoming a member. I believe that the WYEP makes a valuable contribution
to life in Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, I wished to inform you that I have decided not to make any
form of contribution at this time, monetarily or otherwise. The reason is
simple, and rests on your carrying of the program "This American Life".
To make sure that there are no misunderstandings about the decision, let
me state it clearly: This American Life, and Ira Glass in particular,
have shown an ever increasing anti-Israel bias, both in their programming,
and in Mr. Glass' live appearances. The existence of the State of Israel
and her place in the world directly affect the quality of my life. I will
not knowingly support, directly or indirectly, any institution that seeks
to undermine the State of Israel.
The decision then, is a simple one. I have chosen not to support This
American Life and those stations that carry it because This American Life
does not support me, or any Jew in North America. This is not however, an
irreversible decision. To the extent that WYEP chooses to no longer carry
this show, or This American Life eventually decides to work towards a
positive change in the their portrayal of Middle Eastern and Israeli
affairs, my support, monetary and otherwise, may again be directed towards
This American Life and those stations that carry it. I would, if at all
possible, appreciate being informed as to any steps made in this regard.
For your information, I have also sent a letter to the producers of "This
American Life," exerpts of which I have included below
Sincerely,
<Your name here>
-------------------------------------------
>From letter sent to "This American Life"
The most recent episode 232, "The 'Real' Story," was the final indignity.
In purporting to shed light on the definitive "real" story, This American
Life tells about the flight of ~700,000 Arabs from the land of Israel in
the war of Israeli Independence. This historical fact is something with
which few would argue (though officially, the UN sets the number at
500,000, and the Arab League claims there were 650,000). The problem is
that This American Life chooses to ignore other essential pieces of
history in favor of spinning an "interesting," and heavily biased piece.
- No mention is made of the ~700,000 Jews who were expelled from Arab
lands in the same time period (Al-Nahur (Beirut), May 15, 1975; also,
United States Committee for Refugees, 1981 world refugee survey, p. 27).
- No mention is made that some ARAB leaders suggested even before the
conflict that this would be a fair population exchange (Mojli Amin, Arab
Defense Committe for Palestine, May 16, 1939).
- No mention was made that such population exchanges have a historical
preccedent, and have happened on a much larger scale, between Greece
(1,250,000 refugees) and Turkey (355,000 refugees) in 1923, and between
India (8,500,000 refugees) and Pakistan (6,500,000 refugees) in the 1950s
(US committee for Refugees, 1969 Report).
- No mention was made that the Arabs were in fact getting the better end
of the deal as the assets left behind by Jews in the Arab world were in
fact greater than those being left behind by Arabs leaving Israel (Maruice
Roumani, "The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue",
1975, p. 82).
- No mention is made that of the tens of millions of refugees and dozens
of host countries worldwide, the only instance in which host countires
refused to asssist properly, or even to accept aid in the permanent
rehabiliation of their refugees, occurred in the Arab States (United
States Committee for Refugees, 1975-76 report).
These are neither small nor inconsequential facts. They are readily
available to anyone willing to do a little bit of research. I can only
conclude that the programming of This American Life is either biased or
uninformed, both of which constitute poor radio.
Zionist-Info is a service of ZOA.
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