The Difference Between Sami and Gerry
Friends of Sinn Fein is registered with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as an agent of Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein was founded in 1905 and is the oldest political party in Ireland. Sinn Fein operates on an all-island basis, and has 132 elected officials in the north and 64 in the Republic of Ireland.
Since 1995, we have raised more than $5-million in the U.S., including in Tampa's Four Green Fields. If there was even a suggestion that money raised was being misused, Friends of Sinn Fein would shut itself down and save the Justice Department, who monitors the funds, the trouble.
The funds have helped make Sinn Fein the largest nationalist party in the north, and in their mission to bring peace and justice to a united Ireland through democratic means. With all its remaining problems, the Irish Peace Process remains a ray of hope in our troubled world. Friends of Sinn Fein is proud of its continuing role in supporting Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein in the peace process, and we hope to be in Tampa's Four Green Fields again.
—Lawrence Downes, President, Friends of Sinn Fein, New York
I read your column in the Planet. Much I agree with but much more I do not.
Gerry Adams should have been arrested for his efforts in raising money for the IRA. No doubt about that. I'd also question Bob O'Neill and his situation in raising money for the IRA.
However, Al-Arian's arrest is just, if not for anything more than his blatant speeches on supporting Israel's permanent demise. This type of rhetoric is "shouting fire in a crowded building." It is not abrogating free speech. USF is correct and it is right to prosecute him and let the courts rule. If he hates the U.S. so much perhaps he should be sent to a country more his liking.
—William R. McIntire, Sarasota
More on Al-Arian
John F. Sugg's article about Al-Arian's arrest bothers me. It's all about the might of the Jews and the plight of the Palestinians, which is a trend I'm seeing in the political articles of Weekly Planet. Need I remind Mr. Sugg that the balance of power shifted only recently? The Jews have had their share of persecution and homelessness as well.
Although racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims is an unfortunate consequence of post-9-11 America, compare this profiling with the prejudice the Jews have had to overcome in this country. The current racial profiling is being done for the sake of national security. For which reason extremists have had to suffer a few arrests, and Arabs, a few inconveniences. Boo-hoo-hoo. If the Arabs think they have it tough, I'd like to see how they would have handled life as Jews in the 1930s.
The homelessness of the Palestinians is an injustice. But every time I hear about another suicide bombing, it leaves me a little less receptive to their cause. The sooner these extremists stop acting like a bunch of spoiled children throwing tantrums in the toy store, the faster they will find a home. They would do better to study Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," which Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. employed to great effect, calling attention to their own causes.
Palestinian injustice should not go unnoticed. But neither should it be an excuse for Weekly Planet to ignore the misfortunes of the Jews, implying that the only parties suffering in this conflict are Arabs and Muslims. Our hearts should bleed for both sides, not just for one.
—William J. Jacko, Tampa
Thank you for having the courage to say and print the real version of the truth behind the arrest of Professor Sami Al-Arian.
I have had the good fortune of meeting and speaking with Sami many times and know that he is a peaceful, cerebral, gentle man. No one can blame anyone of Palestinian heritage for feeling angry or distraught over their dilemma in the Middle East. I knew (as he did as well) that this was inevitable, his arrest on trumped up charges all in the name of the War on Terror and the heinous Patriot Act.
What you did enlighten me to were specifics about the bigger picture and the people who should be behind bars that aren't, unfortunately because they are currently in power.
I am grateful for people like you who will stand up and speak their truth and do so with conviction and courage. You are what makes America a great place to live, not Adolph W. Bush and the Bushinistas.
Keep up the good work. Peace.
—Tim White, Sarasota
Thanks for exposing all those "hypocrisies, double standards and lies," and how breathtaking they are! If only there were more journalists like you around as opposed to stenographers.
—Helga Fremlin, Melbourne, Australia
Thank you for your excellent article on Sami al-Arian, which I found on the Internet. Today's media, whether intentionally or not, tend to be biased toward the official viewpoint of our government. Therefore it is heartening to read important facts that have been concealed from us by those who are obsessed with making war.
My personal bias is based on a good liberal education as well as many years spent living abroad. Although I was born in Chicago, most of my career (1951-86) was spent teaching mathematics at the American University of Beirut. From that vantage point, I was able to make frequent visits to all other countries in the region. I have been shot at and have spent nights in bomb shelters, an experience lacking among our presidential parody and most of his advisors.
As I see it, if Bush goes ahead with his destabilization of the Middle East, only the warhawks of Israel will stand to gain.
Please keep up the good work.
—Peter Yff, via e-mail
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2003.