letters

Good riddance to Daily Planet

I used to work for a newspaper publisher for over three years and have felt the pain first-hand of changes in the newsprint industry. So when I hear about yet another newsprint source going out of business (“Controversial Berkeley paper to cease printing,” Feb. 19) these days I usually feel a certain degree of sadness for the before mentioned reason and because it is evidence of a still troubled economy.

But not so with the Berkeley Daily Planet, for which I take great delight in saying good riddance! The Daily Planet provided a forum for Israel bashers and terror apologists to demonize the Jewish state.

Standing up for Israel here in the “tolerant and liberal” Bay Area has always been an uphill battle. As such, the occasional victory that comes our way is most welcomed.

Jim Sinkinson and Dan Spitzer should be commended for their efforts in informing the Planet’s advertisers about the paper’s anti-Israel bias which contributed to it’s demise.

The publisher and editor, Michael and Becky O’Malley, don’t appear to have learned a thing from all this. Hopefully the online version will vanish some day as well.

David Holsey   |   Castro Valley

Anti-Semitic screed ... and much more

There are several common misunderstandings regarding the Berkeley Daily Planet (“Controversial Berkeley paper to cease printing,” Feb. 19):

1. Outside letter writers were hardly the sole source of the BDP’s hysterical anti-Israel and anti-Semitic content.

As amply documented at DPWatchDog.com, the BDP’s paid staff and columnists fully endorsed and participated in the hatefest.

2. The BDP did not simply publish all-comers — who just happened to be anti-Zionists. BDP routinely refused to publish the retorts of Israel’s defenders, including articles submitted by myself.

3. The problem did not start with Kurosh Arianpour’s 2006 op-ed contending that the Jews got what they deserved in the Holocaust.

The only time I ever met Becky O’Malley was when she accepted my invitation to lunch to discuss anti-Semitism at the BDP. This was a year and a half before Arianpour. I went with the full knowledge of the organized Jewish community, which by 2004 was already extremely worried about the BDP.

O’Malley showed up with a well-known anti-Israel activist in tow, whom she described as her “Middle East adviser.” That person spent the entire lunch screaming anti-Israel propaganda at me, so that we never did manage to discuss anti-Semitism.

John Gertz   |   Berkeley

Editor, DPWatchDog.com

Killed, not murdered

Your paper reported the “murder” of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh (“Shalit talks break down; Hamas blames Netanyahu,” Feb. 5).

Murder is the deliberate unjustified killing of an innocent person. This Hamas terrorist leader was not innocent and was justifiably  killed. Therefore this event was a killing, not murder.

Edward Tamler   |   San Mateo

Kosher inspiration

I was moved and touched by your article about Robin Alexander “the baker” and his Metropolis Bakery in Berkeley (“After buying bakery, owner gives it the Jewish touch,” Feb. 12).

Robin’s passion for his craft and his personal success story are something we all strive for.

One important facet left out of the story is simply that the best bread available anywhere is now certified kosher! This should be an inspiration to all that kosher can be delicious.

Michael Levenson   |   San Anselmo

‘Religious war’ is already going on

This week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that the inclusion of Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on the list of sites of national importance for Israel could ignite a “religious war.” Where has Mr. Abbas been since 1948?

Someone erudite once said to me that the Middle East crisis will never be resolved because it’s a religious dispute. At the time I doubted these words, but after thinking about it for the past 20 years or so, and reading and traveling a lot, I’ve concluded he was correct.

Indeed, with the entire Muslim world inflamed over the existence of the State of Israel ever since its creation, who could doubt this is anything but a religious dispute?

That’s unfortunately why Israel’s military superiority over its neighbors needs to be maintained for evermore, and why any Jew who thinks that a lasting, genuine  peace with the Palestinians based on a two-state solution is possible is simply missing the point.

Desmond Tuck   |   San Mateo