Pamela Paul, the editor of The New York Times Book Review, needs some help, and the Mondoweiss community can come to her assistance.
A few weeks ago, I sharply criticized a letter that ran in the Book Review, which included the sentence, “Palestinian Arabs have avowed as their goal the killing of all Jews.” And Ira Glunts also objected to it.
The Times’s public editor, Margaret Sullivan, reports today that she asked Pamela Paul about the letter. Paul said no apology was necessary, but she did concede that “it might have been a good idea to insert a modifier, such as ‘many’ or ‘some,’ before ‘Palestinian Arabs’ in the editing process.”
This site is recently getting an average of more than 30,000 clicks a day. That’s a lot of people, many of whom have tremendous expertise on the Israel/Palestine question. We have visitors who live in Israel or Palestine, and have valuable first-hand knowledge.
So it’s time to crowd-source. Here’s our question: What is the percentage of “Palestinian Arabs” who want to kill “all Jews?” We want proof: public statements, opinion surveys, and other documentation. (As a secondary question, we want to know: does “all Jews” mean “all Jews everywhere,” or just “all Jews in Israel/Palestine?”)
We want to be able to go back to Pamela Paul with the most accurate “modifier.” “Many?” “Some?”
Or– “not a single one at all”?
Great question and effort. Tweeted.
I have a fundamental problem with all of this. This was a letter to the editor. As such it was a statement of opinion by the writer. To modify such a letter beyond simple grammar or spelling is a violation of journalistic ethics. You can’t edit someone’s opinion. It either is or isn’t what the writer says it is. I find consideration of editing the letter’s content quite revealing of the Times’ arrogance. You should either run or not run a letter. To significantly change its content is to lie. And in so doing you also cover up what can be, as in this case, the writer’s ignorance and bigotry.
At the same time those who criticize the Times as somehow agreeing with the letter writer for simply running it really don’t understand the concept of letters to the editor and publishing dissenting views.
The readers are quite capable of judging on their own.
For what it’s worth I suspect most Palestinians would be quite willing to letting every Jew anywhere live forever. What they want is justice and a return of a significant share of their homeland. But that’s just my opinion — no matter how you choose to edit this reply.
‘We want to be able to go back to Pamela Paul with the most accurate “modifier.” “Many?” “Some?”’
A fair few? A handful? More than you can shake a stick at?
My guess (based on my knowledge of human nature rather than specific knowledge of Palestinian attitudes) would be “most of the time, hardly any”.
I look forward to educated answers.
Speaking for myself and knowing many Arabs, I don’t know anyone that would want to kill any Jews. Speaking of the many Palestinians I know, some of which are relatives, I don’t know of any that would want to kill any Jews either. And that includes Israeli Jews too.
Hopefully we will hear from editor Pamela Paul with much proof, and if we are lucky also from Mr Walter Schimmerling of Washington, himself – author of the offensive letter.
James have you contacted them inviting their contribution? Pamela Paul would be easy enough to contact, I did a search looking for more information about Schimmerling and I do get a Washington based NASA employee – possibly retired now, referenced in this 2002 UPI article:
A 2012 letter to the editor of American Physical Society from a Walter Schimmerling, Washington, DC mentions the nazis then ‘genocidal’ Iran and their nuclear programme, and Israel, so I presume it is the same ‘gentlemen’ masquerading as a scientist interested in facts [my emphasis]:
From the same letter I will quote Mr Schimmerling, ironically he says:
Various web searched only turn up one person in Washington so it probably is him…