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Radio Commentary
Facts Not Refuted

In your report of the human
rights commentary which I
gave on station WDET on July
16 ("Radio Commentary Irks
JCCouncil," Aug. 29), you in-
cluded a quote from Mr. Alvin
Kushner, executive director of
the Jewish Community Coun-
cil, which stated that he had
refuted my facts. Your readers
should know that such a "refu-
tation" never took place.
In a letter dated July 17, Mr.
Kushner questioned the per-
centage of land on the West
Bank that has been confiscated
by Israeli authorities. As soon
as I received a copy of his letter
upon my return from Israel, I
provided him with the sources
of my statements (Meron Ben-
veniste and Sara Roy of the
West Bank Data Project;
Amnon Zichroni, an Israeli
jurist; Robert Zelnick, the ABC
correspondent in Israel; plus
others). Since Mr. Kushner
seemed unfamiliar with the
question, I Xeroxed large
chunks of several works so that
Mr. Kushner could read the
full context. In my response I
also stated: "If you wish any
further references for any of
the information I cited, please
let me know. I would be happy
to share material with you.
You have termed my state-
ments 'lies,' but you have not
as yet done me the courtesy of
sharing with me your sources."
To this date I have had no
reply from Mr. Kushner. I
would really like to know what
information he has. What are
his sources? Why won't he cite
them? Are they reliable? I have
been told by Bishop McGehee
and the Rev. Hugh White at
the diocese of Michigan that,
although Mr. Kushner has ob-
jected strenuously to the com-
mentary, he has offered them
no shred of evidence to con-
tradict the statements made in
the commentary or sources
provided to him in my letter of
Aug. 7. He contents himself
with asserting that my state-
ments are "lies." I am always
looking for new or better in-
formation. One expects to be
challenged on sources. That is
how scholarship proceeds. But
Mr. Kushner doesn't really
help the process. Just assrting
that a statement is wrong is
not sufficient to make it wrong.
That is just about as effective
as insisting that the world is
flat. Mr. Kushner's vehement
personal attacks on me, com-
bined with his unwillingness
or inability to discuss the facts
at issue, are surprising in view
of his post as a representative
of a distinguished Jewish
organization.
The matter of land confisca-
tion in the West Bank and
Gaza is of more than esoteric
concern. As I stated in my let-
ter to Mr. Kushner:
"As more and more land is
taken from these Palestinians,
and more Jewish settlers build
on the land in what was desig-
nated to be the Arab state, the
possibility of a two-state solu-
tion becomes most problema-
tic. If there is only to be one

FORMER WHOLESALER
NOW SELLING TO THE

state — Israel — in the area
that used to be known as Pales-
tine, what happens to the two
million Palestinians? If they
are given the franchise and the
full rights of citizenship, Israel
may lose its Jewish character.
If they are allowed to remain in
their homes and not given the
full rights of citizens, what
happens to Israeli democracy?
If the; are not allowed to re-
main in their homes, but are
harassed and hounded till they
leave or die, what happens to
the ethical integrity of the
state? These are questions of
great concern that require
thought and discussion. We as
Americans cannot escape re-
sponsibility for allowing our
money to be used in ways that
undercut our announced policy
and create an obstacle to peace.
". .. let me say that I am not
surprised that you and - your
community are aroused and
irate. I was too when I learned
more about the situation.
However, I believe that the di-
rection of your anger is mis-
placed — it should be directed
at the situation_ itself, rather
than at the person who notices
and comments."
I hope that this information
will help to clarify matters for
your readers.

Betsy Barlow
Ann Arbor

I write in follow up to your
story on the Jewish community
reaction to the strongly ex-
pressed anti-Israel comments
of Betsy Barlow, substituting
on WDET for Bishop McGehee
of the Episcopal Diocese.
Please know that our con-
' terns were not directed at
WDET. Nor did we choose to
engage in a dialogue, written
or otherwise, with Betsy Bar-
low.
From the transcript of Betsy
Barlow's comments, "sub-
stituting" for Bishop McGehee,
we know of her position.
We directed a letter to
Bishop McGehee (July 24)
stressing our request that at
the least, a disclaimer be made
which would note that not only
were the Barlow views not
those of WDET but that they
were not the views of the good
Bishop or the Episcopal Dio-
cese. To this date, a response
from Bishop McGehee has not
been forthcoming.

Alvin L. Kushner
Executive Director,
Jewish Community Council

On August 29, you reported
on an attack made by Alvin
Kushner, the executive direc-
tor of the Jewish Community
Council, upon Betsy Barlow,
for comments made as a guest
commentator on WDET earlier
this summer. I know Betsy
Barlow personally and am glad
to call her a friend. She is not in
any way anti-Israel. Indeed,
she has frequently initiated
joint statements by religious
groups and people of faith re-
garding the political and moral
unacceptability of terrorism

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