Petition to Preserve Editorial Independence at KPFT

Petition to Preserve Editorial Independence at KPFT (sign below)

KPFT is being asked to participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign that targets all Israeli media, sporting, cultural and even academic institutions. We urge KPFT to join respected media organizations such as Britains National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in rejecting a boycott as a direct attack on the editorial independence of KPFT and Pacifica Radio.

Whereas over the last ten years, boycott and divestment proposals similar to the one proposed at KPFT have been universally rejected by progressive organizations such as colleges and universities, churches, unions and community groups across the country as being anti-peace and representing attempts to exploit the name and reputation of respected civic organizations;

Whereas the boycott proposal requires KPFT (in the words of another civic organization that rejected BDS) to accept the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions for Palestine (BDS) Campaign's characterization and judgment of Israeli actions as fact rather than exercise its own journalistic and editorial judgment regarding one of the most important and controversial political issues of the day;

Whereas the proposal requires KPFT to subject decision-making regarding which people, organizations, news content and opinions are allowed on its airwaves to approval to a third party (BDS activists) that have no fiduciary or other responsibility to the radio station, its members or its listeners;

Whereas BDS organizations have, on several occasions over the last two years, attempted to manipulate media organizations by communicating news stories regarding divestment at major financial institutions and colleges/universities that have been exposed as fraudulent;

Whereas BDS organizations have targeted Jews and Palestinians working together on cooperative charitable activities and other enterprises with boycott, demonstrating the boycott and divestment activities as being anti-communication, anti-cooperation and anti-peace;

Whereas Jewish organizations across the political spectrum have spoken out against BDS, with progressive organizations such as J-Street stating that: The BDS movement wrongly places the entirety of blame for the conflict on Israel and urging investments in peace vs. participation in propaganda campaigns masquerading as a peace movement

As journalists at the globally respected British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) put it when rejecting similar boycott proposals: As members of a corporation which prides itself on providing impartial news coverage, we cannot associate ourselves with a move which involves taking sides in any conflict. We the undersigned urge KPFT to take a similar stand against those who seek to control what gets on the station and to exploit the name and reputation of KPFT and Pacifica Radio for their own political gain.