<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1141" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> From the CounterPunch website. This all seems pretty straightforward to me, and to jibe with my knowledge of Lerner. I've since heard from Arab American activists who say he's pretended to be interested in "dialogue" but then devolves into hysterical racist attacks when Palestinians mention, for example, the right to return (which Ira Glass on the popular radio show This American Life, by the way, gave a very fair treatment of last weekend. Glass is Jewish.).  Lerner is an egomaniacal creep and I hope to god he's not speaking in San Francisco. Let Ira Glass speak! Lerner: Worse Than A Mere "Flake" From John Garcia, of the University of Iowa and Davis, Ca., comes this forceful commentary on Lerner: <BLOCKQUOTE> "Your jabs at Lerner are well-aimed, but they're heavy on his ego and too light on his actual racist "vision". You would be more forceful if you would mention these points: 1. During his KPFA interview on February 11, Lerner set about describing the acts of anti-Semitism displayed by the anti-war rally organizers in SF (here he blurs the distinction between ANSWER and the other organizers), and -- this as an utterly shocking racist slip -- he enumerated among these "anti-Semitic" acts the fact that the volunteers who toted around the buckets for donations WORE PALESTINIAN KAFFIYEHS. "Leave aside the reality that there were dozens of volunteers, many of them walk-ups from the rally itself, only a few of which wore the kaffiyeh. The key point is we have him saying on tape that wearing one is anti-Semitic! If you haven't heard the interview, you really must acquire the tape. It comes about half way through the broadcast of the KPFA evening news (6-7pm). "2.Lerner has repeatedly called for Israel's induction into NATO or some other mutual defense treaty with the United States. I've seen this in several Tikkun bulletins. Does this Dalai Lama of fairness ask for anything similar for the future Palestinian state? "3. Lerner constantly asks for "reparations" for Palestinians. That is, they get cash payouts in return for dropping their claim to their homeland, to be instead herded into their discontiguous "state" wholly dominated by a NATO neighbor armed to the teeth. This is his vision of peace and reconciliation? Lerner plays a key role in the US branch of the Zionist movement. He is the lenient liberal who supplies a conceptual haven for Jews troubled by their conscience. But his "vision" tallies out to the same morally depleted two-state solution championed by Bush and Sharon. I find that he is much more dangerous than merely a "flake" as Alex called him."</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BODY></HTML>