Why isn't this news? US Rabbis call for Gaza Cease-Fire

[Joanne98]

Today on page 17 of the NY Times, a group of prominent liberal rabbis and other religious and cultural leaders called for a cease-fire in Gaza. They were backed by over 2,800 American citizens. Because they could not get their opinion presented in the major media they had to buy this full page ad. Haaretz considered it news. So far no U.S. media have considered it news. Why not? This is a great puzzle to me. I hope you will consider it news and will pass the ad around, sign it, even contribute if you can so it can be put in more places.

This is a story about Gaza but also about the way that liberal Jewish voices (shared by many other interfaith and secular people) are being shut out of the US media. No American rabbi has a longer or more substantial track record as a liberal on Israel/Palestine than Rabbi Michael Lerner, who convened the group and raised the money for the ad from 1200 people, mostly in small donations (he started Tikkun magazine 23 years ago as a counter to Commentary and the Jewish right), but he could not get his views into any oped pages of major newspapers despite valiant efforts since the Gaza invasion. He did however have this in the Times of London.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-belden/why-isnt-this-news-us-rab_b_158019.html

[ZombieHorde]

1. Sounds like a good question.

[baldguy]

2. Because they're obviously part of the fringe knee-jerk leftist Israel-haters.

Possibly anti-semitic.

[TomClash]

3. Because the Christian and Jewish Right won't allow it

In America, you have to march in lockstep - courageous, decent, intelligent people like Rabbi Lerner are shunned.