Mr-T’s
August 21st, 2006When Barbie and I traveled to Israel in the summer of ‘92, we visited Mr-T on many occasions. At that time, REM was huge and I bought about 5 Hebrew T-shirts of the band. Tonight, Barbie sent me this one:
At the risk of striking up another conversation about Israel, I wanted to share something. After my last post about supporting Israel 100% in the war against terrorists, I received an e-mail from another supporter who asked to remain anonymous in this post. She sent me a few links about ALA and their supposed anti-Israel “leanings”. I was very curious about this information because, if I saw that ALA was in fact “anti-Israel”, I would have severed all ties with the organization.
After reading what this reader sent me, I came to my own conclusion that ALA is, in fact, not “bluntly” anti-Israel, which means that they never came out and said, “We don’t like what Israel is doing” or “Israel should stop bombing other countries” or anything dumb of the sort. It’s what they didn’t do that bothers many, but it doesn’t mean, IMO, that ALA is anti-Israel.
For example, they have been accused of not promoting pro-Israel links:
“[C]ritics fault the ALA for endorsing a Web site for children that arguably takes an anti-Israel world view. It’s the latest skirmish between pro-Israel groups and the ALA, which has intermittently devoted a great deal of energy to singling out Israel for criticism.”
…
“In the world history section of the association’s Great Web Sites for Kids, the only information on the current political situation in the Middle East comes from an ALA-approved, Saudi-funded site called ArabNet.
“Much of the material is cultural and not objectionable, but some entries are notably one-sided. In an entry titled, “Netanyahu — the Peace Sabotage,” young readers would learn that the former Israeli prime minister, and he alone, “had definitely slowed the [peace] process with predictable results in all quarters most directly affected by it.”
I think that this is pushing it a little. ALA will of course (being a lefty org) seem to move toward one side of an issue, but I don’t think it was done consciously. In fact, as far as I have seen (correct me if I’m wrong), ALA has yet to speak out against the current Israel/Terrorist war. And they shouldn’t. It really shouldn’t concern them, just like the Council should not have passed a resolution calling for American troops to be sent home from Iraq. That makes zero sense and has little effect on national policy.
So, I’m going to send in my renewal registration for the year, with the hope that ALA stays out of the Middle East conflicts and fights for librarians and libraries, like it was meant to do.
Note - I guess it needs to be said that all views expressed here are mine and mine only and not my publisher. If you take issue with what I wrote (or happen to agree with me), leave a comment. Yadda Yadda Yadda.