Support WESPAC Foundation's Response to FLAME Ad In The Nation Magazine

Free Speech? How About the Truth?

The Nation, in its January 9 issue published a full-page ad entitled Arabian Fables
placed and paid for by FLAME (Facts and Logic About the Middle East).

Here are some of FLAME's Fables, and the truth:

The nationhood of the `Palestinians is a myth.

'Palestinians' are, by definition, the indigenous people of Palestine. Israel's own
records confirm their ancient presence there. Their ancient towns and villages stand
there, their society is rooted there, and their political identity was shaped there. Their
nationhood emerged from their twentieth-century struggle for self-determination in
their ancestral homeland. Their right to citizenship in that homeland remains
inalienable. None of these facts will vanish solely because Israel finds them
inconvenient.

The concept of the West Bank is a myth.

It is nonsense to say that the modern designation for any territory is a 'myth.' 'Judea'
and 'Samaria' are two names for a highland region that has known hundreds of names
through the millennia. If some people wish to call the West Bank by older or newer
names, they may. But this does not erase the Palestinians' presence there, their right to
remain there, and their right to enjoy the privileges and protections of citizenship.

The concept of occupied territories ... is another of the many myths created by Arab propaganda.

This is an outright lie. Military occupation is not a myth created by Arab propaganda.
It is a fact created by guns. Since 1967, Israel has been holding an indigenous
population of millions under belligerent occupation, as Israel's own international
diplomacy admits. The boundaries of these territories were established by Israel
through war.


The undersigned believe we live in a country where certain expression is out of
bounds for intellectual honesty and decency. We do not attack people on the basis of
their race, religion, ethnicity or national origin. We believe that human rights as
defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights apply to all peoples including
the Palestinians. It is unacceptable to deny the existence of the Palestinian people and
their human rights, including their right to self-determination.

The Nation, in the past, has rejected ads it believes are racist, patently fraudulent, and
libelous. The FLAME ad clearly meets those criteria. The FLAME ad has no place,
paid or free, in the pages of what purports to be a progressive magazine. We believe
that The Nation should publicly apologize to the Palestinian People and to all people
of conscience who have been deeply offended by their decision to publish the FLAME
ad, and we recommend that the money received by The Nation from FLAME be
donated to a respected Palestinian charity.