Letters to the Editor on Hanan Ashrawi

Important and interesting observations by people not affiliated with our organization on Dr. Hanan Ashrawi’s visit to Boise State University.

LACK OF COVERAGE

Statesman ignores plight

The Statesman did its readers a disservice by ignoring Hanan Ashwari’s recent talk at Boise State University. Dr. Ashwari’s stature in the world as a humanitarian and spokesperson for the Palestinian people is well-recognized. Her Boise speaking engagements, attended by maybe 200 or 300 people, were her only public appearances on her U.S. visit, yet the Statesman chose to pretend this was not a newsworthy event. Could it be that McClatchy corporate policy dictates that the Palestinians’ plight under Israel’s apartheid policies, blindly supported by U.S. armaments and billions of tax dollars, should not be told? Could it be that the Statesman/McClatchy, like virtually all of the U.S. media, has succumbed to pro-Israeli lobby pressures of reprisals for telling of injustices rendered to the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation?

The long-standing Israel-Palestine conflict will begin to be resolved only when both sides of the conflict are fairly and accurately reported, leading to better understanding of the issues.

McClatchy’s Web site states that the company “is dedicated to the values of quality journalism, free expression and community service.” Maybe this statement needs to be revised.

GEORGE QUINN, Garden City

MIDDLE EAST

Media unfairly reports

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, a pre-eminent spokesperson for the Palestinians, visited Boise recently. Dr. Ashrawi spoke at BSU’s Special Events Center April 7. She reminded the audience about the 6 million Palestinian refugees created in the 60 years since the establishment of Israel and the systematic occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank. She received two standing ovations.

On a recent trip to the Middle East, I learned of the frustration and anger most people there feel toward the hypocrisy of both the Israeli government as well as our own. That frustration and anger are metastasizing all over the world, and most of our people don’t even know it! Why? Because we aren’t told!

There was not a single television station present at Dr. Ashrawi’s speech. Nor was there any report of her remarks in the Statesman or the Weekly.

Is it possible that discussing Israel’s behavior is the third rail? There is, however, a growing awareness of the misery we are inflicting on the Palestinian people. We can only hope the media will have the courage to be fair and even-handed in its reporting.

ELISABETH RATCLIFF, Garden City