An article from the UA’s student newspaper, The Arizona Daily Wildcat, has been drawing objections from several community and student members of the campus’ Hillel Foundation, reports the Arizona Jewish Post in its March 12 edition.
The Feb. 15 Wildcat article “Human Rights Violations” cites the efforts of a student group that is trying to end a contract between the UA Police Department and Motorola because of alleged ties the telecommunications company has to human-rights violations in the Gaza Strip.
From the Jewish Post:
One serious concern with the Feb. 15 “Human Rights Violations” article, which the students’ letter addressed, was that UA President Robert Shelton was misquoted, says (Hillel Executive Director Michelle) Blumenberg. Shelton was quoted in the Wildcat as saying, “I certainly haven’t made up my mind. I’m gathering information … In terms of divesting, I also need to get some advice from council [sic], and that’s always dangerous, about what you can do as a state entity or not. The Israeli lobby has been very powerful in this country for many years.”
In an e-mail to the AJP on March 3, Shelton wrote that the article “was the result of a conversation I had with the author who never mentioned the phone discussion was an interview for an article. We discussed many issues and she chose selected comments. I add that such deception is unusual for the Wildcat, which is normally an excellent student-run publication.”
The Feb. 15 Wildcat article appeared on national listserves as a news article stating that Shelton “was supporting divestment from Israel,” says Blumenberg. “What was most upsetting was the implication that he would look at divesting but can’t because of the powerful Israel lobby.”
We couldn’t find the Post‘s story online, but we were able to get a hold of the PDFs, which can be seen here and here.
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2010.
It is an absolutely verifiable fact that pro-Israeli lobbies are very powerful in this country and have been “for many years.” AIPAC courts, and in some cases approves or chastises our politicians, up to and including presidential candidates. This is simply true, and easily verifiable. Why are people scared stiff to simply state these facts? Further, there are products for sale in this country (in our big box stores, even) that are manufactured on land that according to the United Nations is illegally occupied land. So, the question should be: can a free-thinking person support the boycott of such products without being slandered or libeled?