Thanks for the other point of view

Editor: I think what Deborah Campbell did at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver was important, though perhaps many of the people in the audience were already well-informed about the oppression of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. Campbell established her credentials as a responsible journalist with solid connections and affection for Israel, and spoke with calm reason. Jews (as do Americans) need to know what our country's (Israel's) actions and attitudes look like to others, in this case to Palestinians and to more objective observers like Campbell, the Christian Peacemaker Project and numerous others, including most progressive groups.

Rather than condemning our media and our institutions when they attempt to expose the real multiplicity of views, we should be grateful that alternative voices are being heard, principally through the Internet and various list-serves. Campbell provided an excellent list of Mideast information resources and peace activist groups, including both Jewish and Palestinian, inside and outside Israel. The Jewish Western Bulletin would do a great service by publishing this list so readers can better inform themselves. We can no longer afford ignorance or naiveté. I thank the Peacewalker Society for presenting this program, and the JCC for housing it.

Bonnie Sherr Klein
Vancouver