[Peace-discuss] Michael Lerner

[Jim Buell]

At 09:02 PM 2/13/2003 -0600, Morton K.Brussel wrote:
>My guess is that many people who signed on to the letter condemning the 
>San Francisco organisers of the protest/rally did not wait to learn the 
>full story, and were conned by the likes of David Corn,  Marc Cooper and 
>Eric Alterman, "cruise missile liberals" on the Nation staff. McChesney 
>was only one of many I was surprised to see signing on to that letter. 
>I've got to believe they did it through ignorance.
>
>The whole business is unfortunate and harmful to our anti-war efforts.
>
>Mort Brussel

I wouldn't be surprised if something like that happened. I did notice on 
Common Dreams that the organizers (NION, UFPJ, BAUAW as well as ANSWER) are 
taking pains to set the record straight on this tempest-in-a-teapot. 
(http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0211-01.htm) I really do hope that 
Bob McC and other signers will shed some light on what happened. While the 
ANSWER leadership do sound like an unappealing crew in some ways, I don't 
see Corn, Cooper et al. setting up alternative hundred-thousand-strong 
protests, and my hat's off to anybody who can pull off such events at a 
time like this. I agree - the carping is very unfortunate.

jb


>On Thursday, Feb 13, 2003, at 18:01 US/Central, Jim Buell wrote:
>
>>What strikes me as most interesting about this whole brouhaha is that Bob 
>>McChesney is listed as the second signer of one of the big petitions to 
>>get Lerner onto the podium 
>>(http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0211-09.htm - "Let Anti-War 
>>Rabbi Michael Lerner Speak"). I wonder if someone who knows McChesney 
>>better than I might get in touch with him to find out more about his views.
>>
>>jb
>>
>>At 06:16 PM 2/13/2003 -0500, Karen Kohn wrote:
>>>I am curious whether anyone knows more about Michael Lerner.  I've read 
>>>his magazine, Tikkun, and he strikes me as a little weird (faults 
>>>Palestinians for not welcoming with open arms all the Jews who came to 
>>>then-Palestine after the Holocaust) and touchy-feely (likes to talk 
>>>about how Israelis and Palestinians need to heal their emotional 
>>>wounds), but until this issue came up I didn't realize people had major 
>>>issues with him.  Sometimes he seems overly fastidious about reminding 
>>>everyone that Palestinians have done things wrong, too, but it seems 
>>>like most Zionist anti-Occupation groups do that.
>>>I guess I was missing more information than I realized, because to me he 
>>>seemed mildly annoying but basically doing something important.
>>>What is it that people don't like about him?