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February 28, 2003
From cover to cover
Letters
Editor: In her so-called "explanation," ("Author
clarifies views," Bulletin Letters, Feb. 14) Ms. Deborah
Campbell tried to obfuscate her true agenda, by firstly quoting
some book reviews and then accusing me of not reading her book.
The reviews were unknown to me, and anyone else, I guess, for they
do not appear either on her Web site or on the cover of her book.
But I read the book and, even before one opens it, there are some
laudatory remarks from Hanna Kawas, the chair of the Canada-Palestine
Support Network, known to the readers of the Bulletin as
the organizer of the anti-Israel propaganda event at Langara College
a few weeks ago and numerous other similar events.
Another person enchanted by the book, quoted on the back cover and
the Web site, is Gila Svirsky, an extreme left wing, harsh critic
of Israel and a founder of the Women in Black. To give you but an
example of these peoples' views, as written in the book, a member
of the group compares the Israelis to Nazis.
If one thinks that this is the only comparison in the book between
Israel and Nazi Germany, think again. A few pages later, Ms. Campbell
quotes another discussion companion, an elderly man from Germany.
"What I cannot believe is that [the] Jewish can be to the Palestinians,
as Hitler was to the Jewish," he comments.
But the warm reviews by Kawas and Svirsky raise another disturbing
question.
Those familiar with the publishing business know that in order to
have some positive remarks printed in the first edition, the author
must give the manuscript, in advance, for review and advice, to
some trusted friends, months before it is printed. From all the
people in Vancouver, or even in Canada, especially having worked
for the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Jewish Family Service Agency,
why would a "balanced" writer seek the input and recognition
from the most acerbic enemy of Israel and the Jews in our city,
one wonders?
And what can one find in the book?
About 70 per cent is devoted to pure Palestinian propaganda: how
Israeli soldiers are brutal, heartless, irrational and enjoy harassing
the Arabs. Over and over again, there are the sobbing stories of
Palestinian children killed while watching TV in their living rooms,
or trying to escape from Israeli bullets. When talking about a leader
of a vicious terrorist group killed by the soldiers, Ms. Campbell
quotes a student who says that they "loved him because he was
so nice."
One full chapter of the book is devoted to the story of the young
Palestinian Mohammed al Durrah, who was killed during the first
days of the intifada. Ms. Campbell repeats, over many pages, the
discredited Palestinian version of events and dismisses the inquiries
by independent bodies, staffed by foreign experts, that have clearly
demonstrated that the young man should have not been where he was
and that he was killed by friendly (Palestinian) fire. She also
seems to totally ignore a documentary by the German government-sponsored
ARD TV network, the equivalent of the CBC in Canada, well known
for its anti-Israel bias. After months of assiduous research, the
German journalists were forced to admit that the young Mohammed
could not have been killed by the Israelis, but by his own people.
The program was shown all over the world.
And how are the Israelis portrayed?
The ones who sympathize with the Palestinians, or the "refusniks,"
are thoughtful, determined, with a clear and unimpeachable consciousness.
Others, like the driver of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, "looks intimidating,
as if he needs nothing more than a sword swinging from his side
and a few token scalps dangling from his belt." Ms. Campbell
even claims that this devoted, religious man tried "to pull
me toward him" and that "for an instant I believe that
it will turn out very badly."
Ms. Campbell is also able to even outdo the most aggressive Palestinian
negotiators or spokesmen. I have read dozens of books, hundreds
of articles or position papers and, at worst, the Palestinians ask
for the removal of the 200,000 "settlers" living in the
West Bank. Our writer seems capable of a quantum leap, by doubling
the figure when she adds to the number "a further 200,000 [settlers]
in East Jerusalem."
It is time to ask how many pages, how many sentences, even how many
words, has Ms. Campbell devoted, in her entire book, to the victims
of the murderous suicide bombings? How many interviews has she conducted
with the relatives of those killed or with the ones left maimed,
disfigured, paralyzed by the horrific attacks? How many times did
she describe the suffering of those affected by the barbaric acts
of terror unleashed by Palestinians?
The answer is none and never!
However, there is one passage where she describes her thoughts,
while eating with a friend at a restaurant:
" 'It's too open for a suicide bomber,' says Candace. 'They
want a close space.'
"I start to laugh."
No wonder that Mr. Kawas writes that Ms. Campbell is "showing
courage and morality as she unravels distortions and manufactured
images. She stands on the side of humanity." As a reward, the
Web site run by Mr. Kawas at CanPalNet prominently displays Ms.
Campbell's book on its home page.
The whole debate about Ms. Campbell's presence at a seminar at the
Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver raises an additional
simple question. A few weeks ago, the Dutch government decided to
remove the diplomatic passport of Gerda Duisenberg, the wife of
the president of the European Central Bank, because she was comparing
the Israelis with the Nazis.
In our city, the JCC, its leadership and its board of directors
have given Ms. Campbell a "free pass" to lecture in our
community centre, even after using similar remarks in her book.
Go figure!
Jack Chivo
West Vancouver
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