Complaint Regarding Misleading Coverage of IPSC Campaign

Submitted by Martin O'Quigley Chairman of Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign on behalf of the National Committee 17th July 2012

1.Executivesummary
We,theIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign(IPSC),aresubmittinganofficialcomplaintregardingtheIrish Timescoverageofourcampaignduringtheperiodfrom4thMay2012to4thJune2012.Inourcomplaintwe tracethetrajectoryofthiscoverage,whichbeganwithaninaccurateandmisleadingfrontpagestoryand continuedforamonth,withtheIPSConlyaccordedanofficialrightofreplyafull27daysintothedebate. As we show in detail below, during this period, the Irish Times through reportage and oped/analysis pieces: consistently mischaracterized the IPSCs campaign in support of the Palestinian call for a cultural boycottofIsrael,despitebeingpresentedwithinformationtothecontrary;alloweddefamatorymaterial to be published in its pages; deliberately ignored the Palestinian voices which had called for the boycott andPalestinianslivinginIrelandwhosupportbothBDSandtheIPSC(aframingwhichbypresentingthecall toboycottasanIrishthing,bothdeniedPalestiniansagencyintheirownliberationstruggle,andallowed ongoing attacks on Irish supporters of cultural boycott); sat on letters correcting the inaccuracies and criticizingthecoverage,eithernotpublishingthematall,orpublishingthemoncethecriticismhadbecome invalidatedbysubsequentcoverage. TheIrishTimesthereforeactedinclearviolationnotonlyofitsownavowedprinciples,butoftheCodeof PracticelaiddownbythePressCouncilofIreland:namelyprinciples1.1,1.2and1.3relatingtotruthand accuracy and the responsibility to correct errors; principle 2.2, relating to the reporting of conjecture as thoughitwerefact;principle3.1,strivingforfairnessandaccuracy;andprinciple4,respectfortherights andgoodnameofindividualsagainstunfoundedaccusations.Basedonpreviouscasesinwhichithasbeen established that the council will vindicate these principles as they relate to organisations as well as individuals,theIPSCwillforwardthiscomplainttothePressOmbudsmanifitdoesnotreceivesatisfaction from the Irish Times. Individuals defamed by the coverage retain their legal rights, but it is our hope to resolvethismatterwithoutrecoursetothecourts. We believe that the errors and inaccuracies of this series of articles should be addressed in its totality ratherthanonanarticlebyarticlebasis,thoughwehavebelowpresentedcomplaintsagainsteachofthem individually. We insist that, at minimum, a retraction of the initial article and the errors arising from it shouldappearonthefrontpageoftheIrishTimes,affordeddueprominenceequaltothatoftheoriginal offending article, the wording to be agreed between the Irish Times and the IPSC; and furthermore we insistthat,online,thetextofthesameretractionshouldbeaddedtoallofthearticlesmentionedinthis complaint, at the top of the web page. When appropriate, specific additions to that wording should also appear.Afulllistoftherelevantarticleswithweblinksisattachedasanappendixtothiscomplaint.

2.TheComplaintPartOne:Theoriginalarticle
2.1May4th:DervishpulloutofIsraeltouraftersocialmediavenom
ThefoundationofthecomplaintisthattheoriginalarticleofFriday4thMay2012byRonanMcGreevyand PaddyClancyheadlinedDervishpulloutofIsraeltouraftersocialmediavenom 1 ,whichappearedonthe frontpage,wasinaccurateandmisleading(inviolationofprinciples1.1,2.2,3and4),wasnevercorrected (inviolationofprinciple1.2,2.2and2.3),andframedtheentiretyofthereportingafterwards.
1.

The headline is misleading. The only venom directed at Dervish came from supporters of Israel after Dervish cancelled their tour of Israel. Therefore the chronology is inaccurate. The authors, having looked at the Dervish Facebook page should have been able to ascertain this simple fact.

DervishpulloutofIsraeltouraftersocialmediavenom,2ndMay,RonanMcGreevy&PaddyClancy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/0504/1224315593067.html

There is copious evidence to support our view of this matter, that the decision by Dervish to withdrawfromanIsraelitourprecededthevenomratherthancomingafterit;furthermorethe word after commonly denotes causation, especially in journalistic prose. The Irish Times simply had no objective evidence, in the sequence of communications, nor even any unambiguous evidence,inDervishsstatements,ofeitherthecausationortheorderofeventsclearlyallegedby this headline and this story: that activists venom preceded any decision by Dervish and caused DervishtocancelitsvisittoIsrael.Ifnoothererrorshadbeenmadeinthiscoverage,thisinitself wouldstillmeritapage1correction/retraction. 2. Thefirstsentenceismisleading,asitrepeatsthesamefalsechronologyasabove.Itfalselyequates Dervishpullingoutwithanavalancheofnegativityandvenomdirectedtowardsthemonsocial mediasites. Itignorestheoriginalstatementoftheband(issuedMondayApril30th at11.25am 2 )whichstated thatatthetimeweagreedtotheseperformanceswewereunawaretherewasaculturalboycott in place. We now feel that we do not wish to break this boycott. Instead, it attributes Cathy Jordanspersonalstatement(issuedonMay1stonedayaftertheofficialbandstatement)tothe entireband.Thebandstatementisalludedtolateroninthe4thparagraph,butinsuchawaythatit appearstobepartofasinglestatementwhichincludedMs.Jordanspersonalremarks. 4. The information regarding the chronology of events, specifically the appearance of abusive commentsdirectedattheband,wasonandremainsonthebandsFacebookpageforanyone tosee.Insteadofconductingthoroughresearchtoassesstheaccuracyoftheclaimsmadeagainst the IPSC, the reporters chose to ignore the evidence and instead publish false and misleading information. 5. Thearticlethenstates(Par4)thatinfactthereisnoofficialboycottofIsraelandartistsarefreeto play in the country if they wish. This statement is confused and makes a misleading qualitative assumptionregardingthelegitimacyofthecallforaculturalboycottofIsrael.Thestatementdoes not explain what it means by an official boycott. By using this terminology, the writers suggest thatanyboycottthatisnotofficialisthereforenottoberespected.Thefactthatthecallfora culturalboycottofIsraelcomesfromabroadcollectiveofPalestiniancivilsocietygroups(over200 suchgroups)iscompletelyignored,thusmarginalizingtheactualPalestinianvoicesthatissuedthe call. This exclusion of Palestinian voices recurs in Par 6, when the writers assert that the cultural boycottwascalledforbysome,andinPar12thearticlefalselyassertsthatDr.RaymondDeane wasthefounderoftheboycottcampaign,whichisanuntruth.Thisisarecurringthemeinthe coverage(seeSection4.1). 6. Paragraph 6 quotes the Israeli embassy as describing the cultural boycott campaign as cultural terror and a particular shame as culture is supposed to unite people. This statement is not
3.

Dervishstatement, https://www.facebook.com/dervishofsligo/posts/10150865226896341?comment_id=236467385&offset=0&total_co mments=53

balanced by any kind of statement from the Palestinian Embassy; again ignoring any kind of Palestinianvoice. Paragraph10makestheclaimthatmembersoftheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaignclaimed theywereresponsibleforforcingthebandtocalloffthetour.Thewordforcingisattributedto IPSC members, not quoted. This attribution is inaccurate and misleading, no member of the IPSC havingeversaidthatDervishwereforcedtodoanything.Infact,theaimoftheIPSCwithregard totheculturalboycottofIsraelismoralsuasion(basedonhighlightingIsraeliinjusticesagainstthe Palestinian people, Israeli breaches of international law, and the de facto cultural boycott of PalestiniansimposedbyIsrael),notcoercion. 8. Theattributionofthewordcanonlybeseenasmaliciousandformingpartofalargerrhetorical strategy involving the use of words such as venom, negativity, cultural terror, force, targeting and warn[ing]. Indeed, the next sentence states that the IPSC had directed its supporters to target [Dervishs] website, words again attributed, but not quoted, to the IPSC. In fact,astheIPSCwebsitestates,theorganisationaskedsupporterstoconsiderleavingamessage forDervishontheirofficialFacebookpage,aquotethat,haditbeenused,wouldhaveconveyed somethingratherdifferentfromtarget[Dervishs]website. The following paragraph then states that a message left by Mr. Raymond Deane constituted a warning, but selectively quoted from the message. The article quotes only the phrase lost all credibility.MrDeanescommentinfullreads:IfDervishgoesaheadwiththis,inviolationofthe culturalboycottoftheIsraelistatecalledbyPalestiniancivilsociety,thenthebandwillhavelostall credibility. Please note the large number of Irish musicians who have signed this pledge http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1333. 9. Finally, the article refers in a confused manner to the wider campaign for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions(BDS)againstIsrael,andmakestheinaccurateclaimthatthiscampaignwasstartedin August 2010. This statement is factually incorrect. The BDS campaign was officially launched by thePalestinianBoycottNationalCommittee(BNC)inJuly2005.Furthermore,thecallforacultural boycottofIsraelprecededtheBNCcallbyayear,havingbeingissuedbythePalestinianCampaign fortheAcademicandCulturalBoycottofIsrael(PACBI)inJuly2004. TheIPSCacceptsthatitwasnotunreasonableforconfusiontoarisebecauseofthesequenceofevents:a Dervish statement on April 30th; the socialmedia reaction, including proIsraeli venom; an emotive statementfromCathyJordanonMay1st;andthensilencefromMsJordanandothermembersofDervish. WhatwecannotacceptisthatitwasimpossiblefortheIrishTimestoaccuratelyreportthissequencetoits readersbyMay4th,norinanyoftheofthesubsequentcoverageoverthefollowingmonth.
7.

TheIPSChasconstantlyemphasisedthecorrectsequenceofeventsinallitssubsequentdealingswiththe Irish Times, without avail. We did so in part because we understood that, taken alone, Cathy Jordans statementofMay1stwascapableofbeinginterpretedinthemannerchosenbytheIrishTimesreporters. Given the correct chronology, and given an examination of the Dervish Facebook page the only site of activism by the IPSC on this matter and the scene of the crime alleged by the Irish Times it becomes abundantlyclearthatMsJordansimplycannothavebeenreferringtovenomaboutherbandsproposed

visit to Israel prior to the cancellation announcement on April 30th, because no such venom exists. Whereas,sincethereisconsiderableproIsraelivenomafterthatannouncementandindeedsomestrong languageinproPalestiniancommentsdirectedagainstthatvenomitislogicalthatMsJordansstatement shouldbeviewedlargelyasareactiontothestormcreatedbyDervishscancellation,nottotherelatively smalllevelofFacebookactivitypreviouslygeneratedbytheproposedtour.OverthecourseofMay,Irish Timesjournalistsresorted,inprintandonline,toclosereadingoftheJordanstatementtosupporttheir interpretation, without ever facing up to the simple contextual facts that rendered this repeated interpretationpartialandmisleading. In the May 4th story, the Irish Times reporters did more than put their own deeply questionable interpretation on the statement. In their evident zeal to make the case against the IPSC, they not only employed the biased language cited above, but they also deliberately: (1) ignored the actually existing venom on the Facebook page; (2) failed to distinguish between the April 30th Dervish statement cancellingthetourandtheMay1ststatementbyJordan,thoughtheymustobviouslyhavebeenawareof the distinction full well themselves; and even (3) joined together, without ellipsis, two sentences taken fromwidelyseparatedsectionsoftheJordanstatement(paragraphs7and8ofthestory),givingthefalse impression that they followed on from and related to one another. We contend that these deliberate choicescameattheexpenseoftruth,fairnessandhonesty.

3.TheComplaintPartTwo:Subsequentcoverage
3.1IPSCattemptstocorrectIrishTimeserrors
Mr. Raymond Deane sent a letter on May 4th (see Appendix 2.1) with corrections to this inaccurate and misleadingreportbyMessrsClancyandMcGreevy.Inhisletter,Mr.Deanechallengedthemisleadingclaim madeinthearticlethatthereisnoofficialboycottofIsrael(seeSection2.1,point5)andsoughttomake readersawarethatthecallforBoycott,DivestmentandSanctionscomesfromPalestiniansanddatesback to2005,andnotAugust2010asthearticleincorrectlyclaimed(seeSection2.1,point9).Furthermore,Mr DeanedrewattentiontothefactthatvenomcameprimarilyfromunconditionalsupportersofIsrael's occupationinspiteofthefalsechronologypresentedinthearticle(seeSection2.1,points14). Mr.Deanesletterwasnotpublished,yetonTuesdayMay8thalettersentbyMr.CiaranORaghallaighthat repeatedtheinaccurateallegationsfromtheMay4tharticlewaspublished 3 .Mr.Deanethenresubmitted theletteronMay8th(seeAppendix2.2),withslightmodifications;itwasnotpublished. Mr.Deane then resubmitted his letter on 10th May (see Appendix 2.3). Despite three submissions, containing important factualcorrections,Mr.Deanesletterwasneverpublished.

3.2May8th:ArtistsurgednottoboycottIsrael
Simultaneously, on May 8th another report by Ronan McGreevy entitled Artists urged not to boycott Israel 4 waspublishedwhichquotedextensivelytheMinisterforJusticeandDefenceAlanShatterTD,who repeatedthesamefalseallegationsagainsttheIPSC.Giventhatsomeofthelanguageusedisidenticalto that in the original report, it is reasonable to assume that the Minister based his statement on the Irish
3

Letters,May4thCiaranORagahallaigh http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0508/1224315743142.html ArtistsurgednottoboycottIsrael,8thMay,RonanMcGreevy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0508/breaking51.html

Times from several days earlier. Mr. Shatter also called the campaign cultural fascism and accused the IPSC of an utter lack of respect for the constitutional rights of Irish citizens. This same article made an unsubstantiated report of someone the Minister says he recognised from various antiIsrael protests calling the Minister a Zionist pig. This accusation was then framed in a manner that suggested such language was directed at Dervish on their Facebook page a complete falsification. The article then restatedtheinaccurateclaimaboutIPSCmembersdirectinganavalancheofnegativityandvenomon socialmediasites.Duringaphoneconversationwiththejournalistinadvanceofthisarticle,Mr.Deane pointed out that private approaches had also been made to the band Dervish from Irish musicians the identitiesofwhomMr.Deanewasnotatlibertytodivulgebutthisfactwasomittedfromthisarticleand allsubsequentcoverageoftheissueinthenewspaper. While it is not within the ambit of the Irish Times or the Press Ombudsman to correct unpublished dealings between journalists and the subjects of their stories, it is worth noting evidence, based on contemperaneous notes of phone conversations, of unreasonable prejudice on the part of one reporter involved. In phone correspondence with Mr. McGreevy, Mr. Deane repeatedly asked the journalist to provide evidence of any threats and/or abuse from members of the IPSC directed against Dervish. Mr. McGreevywasunabletoprovideanysuchevidence.ThebasisofhisargumentwasthestatementbyMr. Deane that Dervish would have lost all credibility if they toured Israel. This cannot be construed as a threatwithoutseriouslogicalgymnastics.Mr.Deanealsorepeatedlyurgedthejournalisttoquotefroma furthercommentMr.DeanehadpostedonDervishsFacebookpageonApril30thcongratulatingthemfor theircourageousandmorallycorrectdecision,andpointingoutthatthattheywouldbecomesubjectto massive defamation from supporters of Israel 5 which turned out to be an accurate prediction, as a perusalofthebandsFacebooksiteshows.Mr.McGreevyrefusedtoquotethiscomment,andinsistedthat thecommentregardinglosingcredibilityconstitutedathreat.Thisshowsthatthejournalistwasintent on framing the story in a particular manner, painting the IPSC in a negative and threatening light and choosingtoignoreanyevidencetothecontrary. The IPSC was again refused the opportunity to respond to these allegations and allusions. Although the articleinquestionwasbasedonapressreleaseby,andsubsequentinterviewwith,theMinister,afurther pressreleaseanOpenLetterrespondingtotheMinisterbytheIPSConMay11th,entitledIPSC:Justice Ministerabusespositioninattackinghumanrightscampaigners 6 wasentirelyignored.

Mr.Deanescommentread:DervishIsaluteyouforthiscourageousandmorallycorrectdecision.Youwillnowbe subjecttomassivedefamationfromZionistsandtheirfellowtravellersyoushouldseethisasproofthatyouhave madethecorrectdecision,becauseitwillrevealtoyoutheviciousnessandmendacityofIsrael'sapologists.Posted, 11.42am,April30th https://www.facebook.com/dervishofsligo/posts/10150865226896341?comment_id=236467385&offset=360&total_c omments=413

6

IPSC:JusticeMinisterabusespositioninattackinghumanrightscampaigners,IPSCPressReleaseMay8th2012. Openletterhere:http://www.ipsc.ie/pressreleases/ministerabusespositioninattackinghumanrightscampaigners

3.3May12th:Doculturalboycottsachieveanything?
AthirdarticleonthesubjectappearedonSaturdayMay12th,pennedbyMaryFitzgeraldandentitledDo cultural boycotts achieve anything? 7 Again, this article contained a series of erroneousassertions and a numberofseriouslyproblematicelements. Paragraph3makestheassertionthatwhileDervishsaidtheywereunawaretherewasaculturalboycott inplace,[i]nfact,thereisnoofficialboycottequivalenttotheUNsupportedoneimposedonapartheid era South Africa. Factchecking would have revealed that the United Nations did not endorse a cultural boycott of South Africa until 1980 8 , almost 20 years after the first calls for a cultural boycott of the apartheidstatewereissued. Dervishs singer Cathy Jordan is quoted as saying that she wasnt quite prepared for the extent of the venom directed against us. Mary Fitzgerald then claims that this was presumably a reference to the torrentofmessagesleftonDervishsFacebookpageandotherwebsitescallingforthebandtopullout. Rather than check the Facebook page and other relevant websites to determine the source of said venom,shetakesrefugeinthewordpresumablyandimplicatesproPalestinianactivists.Thissentence onitsown,andincontext,constitutesaviolationofprinciples1.1andthe2.2ofthePressCouncilCodeof Conduct. It is worth noting here that at no point in a full month of coverage did the Irish Times state, simply, that Ms Jordan and Dervish had been unavailable for comment since the April 30th and May 1st statements,thusforcingjournaliststospeculate,intheguiseoffact,astowhattheypresumablymeant. Paragraph 5 then uses loaded language (the verb to force) to describe the campaign requesting that DervishcanceltheirconcertsinIsrael. ThisparagraphalsomakesreferencetotheboycottpledgeorganisedbytheIPSC,withoutclarifyingthat thepledgeasksartistsnottoacceptinvitationstoperforminIsrael,theobjectofwhichistoforestallthe needforcampaignsrequestingartiststocancelsuchperformancesinthefuture. Paragraph6makesaconfusinganddecontextualisedreferencetoastatementfromtheIsraeliembassyin DublinwhichreferstoboycottsupportersasIsraeliselfhatersandantiSemites.Thiscruciallyleavesout what the term Israeli selfhaters is actually referring to, i.e., Israelis who support a cultural boycott of Israel (such as Boycott From Within, unmentioned by the author). She also states that the cancellation caused barely a ripple in Israel, despite the fact that many Israelis including the Israeli Embassy in IrelanditselfwereactiveinacampaignofattackingDervishforcancelingthegigonthebandsFacebook page. Indeed, it was on Dervishs Facebook page that the Israeli Embassy made the above statement, a screenshot of which was supplied via email to Irish Times journalist Ronan McGreevy by IPSC National CoordinatorKevinSquiresonThursday3rdMay. Paragraphs10and11presentafalseimageofthewriterHowardJacobson.Paragraph10frameshisquote in terms of him being someone sympathetic to the Palestinians plight, whom the boycott makes conflictedoruneasy.Infact,Mr.JacobsonisawellknownapologistforIsraeliviolationsofinternational law, who has frequently used public fora including a column in the British Independent to attack

Doculturalboycottsachieveanything,MaryFitzgerald,May12th2012 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0512/1224315955295.html

UNGeneralAssemblyResolution36/205(C.6.A.),ComprehensiveSanctionsAgainstSouthAfricahttp://daccess ddsny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/392/25/IMG/NR039225.pdf?OpenElement

Palestinian rights campaigner and the BDS movement. In one article he even called Palestinian rights activistsantiSemites 9 . British playwright Howard Brenton is then quoted in Paragraph 12, regarding the Israeli government fundednationaltheatregroupHabimasappearanceattheGlobeTheatreinLondon,butisnotbalanced withthevoiceofanartistwhosupportedtheHabimaboycottcall,suchasoneofthe37signatoriestoa letterpublishedinTheGuardiancallingontheGlobeTheatretowithdraw[Habimas]invitationsothatthe festival is not complicit with human rights violations and the illegal colonisation of occupied land 10 . Indeed,itisnowherementionedthatHabimaisinreceiptofIsraelistatefunds,northatithastouredin illegalIsraelisettlements. Inthefollowingparagraph,novelistTracyChevalier,whorequestedmeetingswithactivistsintheWest BanktownofRamallahwhensheattendstheJerusalembasedInternationalWritersFestivalnextweek,is positedbyMs.Fitzgeraldasanalternativetoaculturalboycott,sayingsomeartistsprefertohighlightthe PalestinianissuewhileparticipatingineventsinIsrael.Ofcourse,hadMs.FitzgeraldresearchedthePACBI guidelines,orcontactedPACBIabouttheproposal,shewouldhavebeenmadeawarethatsuchattemptsat normalisation have always been refused by Palestinian cultural figures and activists; and although the journalistcouldnothaveknownitatthetime,Ms.ChevaliersrequeststomeetwithPalestinianactivists weredenied. The weighting in this piece is also heavily skewed in favour of those who are opposed to the tactic of a culturalboycott.LeavingasideDervishaltogether,thereare8paragraphsthatcanbedescribedasanti Boycott, populated with plentiful quotations, as against 3 paragraphs with proBoycott arguments, with only one quotation. This latter quotation, by singer Elvis Costello, is then incredibly balanced in the very next sentence by a previous quotation of his from when he had not yet decided to observe the boycott. Similarly,aquotationisattributedtotheIsraeliEmbassy,whilethereisnoequivalentquotationfromthe PalestinianMissiontoIreland. ItisalsonoteworthythatalthoughthisisanarticleaboutthePalestiniancallforaculturalboycottofIsrael, andinspiredbycoverageoftheIPSCsworkonthatcampaign,nowherearePalestinianvoicesormembers oftheIPSCquoted(norwereanyofthelattersoughtoutforsuchaquotation). Finally, it should be pointed out that although the headline implies that this is an investigation and/or analysisintoculturalboycotts,itispatentlynotaseriousanalysisofculturalboycottsasatoolinattaining socialjustice,beitforthePalestiniansoranyoneelse,butaseriesofviewpointscollectedintoanarticle. TheIPSCunderstandsthatimbalanceisnotinitselfgroundsforcomplaintunderthePressCouncilCodeof Conduct.However,inadditiontothematterscitedabove,therearegroundsforconcernthatthisstorywas largelyanopinionpiecedisguisedasanewsreport(thusviolatingPrinciple2.2)andthatitwasunfairto peoplewhomitexplicitlyandimplicitlycriticised(Principle3.1).Inaddition,liketherestofthecoverage,it canbeviewedasbeinginstarkcontrasttotheMemorandumandArticlesofAssociationoftheIrishTimes Trust,whichinadditiontotheaboveprinciplesgivespecialconsiderationtopromotingsocialjusticeand thereasonablerepresentationofminorityinterestsanddivergentviews.
9

Letsseethe'criticism'ofIsraelforwhatitreallyis,HowardJacbonson,TheIndependent,18thFebruary2009 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/howardjacobson/howardjacobsonletrsquosseethe criticismofisraelforwhatitreallyis1624827.html

10

DismayatGlobeinvitationtoIsraelitheatre,Letters,TheGuardian,29thMarch2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/29/dismayglobeinvitationisraelitheatre

3.4May14th:ProPalestiniangrouptargetsIrishwriter
OnMondayMay14th10daysafterMr.Deanewrotehisoriginalletterprovidingrectificationofthemany inaccuracies in the original article of May 4th, which still had not been published in the Letters Page anotherarticleappearedconcerningtheIPSCsissuanceofanOpenLettertoIrishwriterGerardDonovan asking him not to attend the International Writers Festival in Jerusalem. Entitled ProPalestinian group targetsIrishwriter,itwasagainwrittenbyRonanMcGreevy 11 . The repeated use of the verb target, in both the headline and opening paragraph continues the newspapersframingoftheculturalboycottcampaign,andtheIPSC,asbeingwhollyaggressiveinnature. Thiswasfollowedbymoresuchframinginthefinaltwoparagraphs. In Paragraph 7 we see repeated, uncritically, the Irish Times interpretation of Cathy Jordans statement, placingacauseandeffectrelationshipbetweenvenom/avalancheofnegativityandthecancellation.In fact,DervishsoriginalstatementofMondayApril30thmakesclearthatthereasonforcancellationwasthat at the time [Dervish] agreed to these performances we were unaware there was a cultural boycott in place.Wenowfeelthatwedonotwishtobreakthisboycott. Paragraph8thenquotesastatementbySenatorPaschalMooneywhoclaimedthatthecancellationwasa resultofintimidationandbullyingbythecampaign.Thisisanotherunsubstantiatedaccusationflyingin thefaceofthefacts,yetitwasdeemedfittopublish. ThispiececontainsnobalanceorcounterclaimwhatsoeverbytheIPSC,butitisworthpointingoutthat inParagraph3thewriterusestheverbtourge,whichofcoursecarriesnoneofthenegativeimplications oftheverbtotarget. In light of later pieces published by the Irish Times, it is important that this article also proves that its journalistshadindeedreadtheOpenLetterissuedbytheIPSCtoMr.Donovan 12 . 3.5May15th:NovelistcondemnsintimidationbygrouppromotingboycottofIsrael A followup piece by Ronan McGreevy appeared in the next days paper. Entitled Novelist condemns intimidationbygrouppromotingboycottofIsrael 13 ,thisarticlecontinuesinthesameveinofframingthe debateintermsoftargetingandintimidation.Theopeningparagraphagainusestheverbtotargetand summarises the rest of the piece by quoting writer Gerard Donovan saying that he was the subject of outrightintimidation,andwouldnotbebulliedorcajoledbytheIPSC. Thenegativeframingisthencontradictedbytheuseofthewordsurgingandrequestingneitherof whichfitthebullyingnarrative,yetthisisnotcommentedupon.ItisknownthatthearticleauthorRonan McGreevyhadreadtheIPSCsopenletter,ashehighlightedtheletterinhisarticleofMay14th.Wemust ask why, when he was aware that no rightthinking person could construe the contents of said letter as
11

ProPalestiniangrouptargetsIrishwriter,RonanMcGreevy,May14th,2012 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0514/1224316064391.html

12

OpenLettertoIrishwriterGerardDonovanaskinghimnottobreaktheculturalboycottofIsrael,IPSC,May7th 2012http://www.ipsc.ie/pressreleases/openlettertoirishwritergerarddonovanaskinghimnottobreakthe culturalboycottofisrael

13

NovelistcondemnsintimidationbygrouppromotingboycottofIsrael,Tuesday15May2012,RonanMcGreevy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0515/1224316130335.html

beingofabullyingofintimidatorynature,heallowedthestorytobeframedinamannerthatsuggested theexactopposite. It is worth noting that in Paragraph 11 the language used in relation to the Dervish cancellation changes slightly, referring to pressure instead of other more negative terms that had been applied in previous articles. The IPSC, as noted below (see Section 3.6), is prepared to accept pressure as an accurate if somewhat loaded term for its campaign but notes that it represents a toningdown by the Irish Times, withoutanyacknowledgmentthatitsearlierandmoreinflammatorylanguagewasinaccurate. Paragraph12,includesyetanotherlateandthereforesubordinateappearanceforreactionfromtheIPSC, and can only be characterised as being incoherent. Furthermore, Mr Deane maintains that it is an inaccuratereflectionofthecommentshemadetothejournalist.ThesummaryofMrDeanescommentsis writteninamannerthatactuallymakesnosensetothereader.Theuseofthevenomandavalancheof negativity quotations again frames the debate in a negative manner, and the article follows the now familiar pattern of being weighted against the IPSC and the cultural boycott of Israel campaign, while allowingtheorganisationatokenresponsetospuriouscharges(chargeswhicharegivencredencebythe spacethenewspaperdevotestothem)attheend. On16thMayaletterappearedfromDr.LaurenceDavis 14 inwhichhecriticizedtheMinisterforJusticeand Defence Alan Shatters comments directed at the IPSC while raising the issue of the mass Palestinian hungerstrikeofover1,500prisoners.ThisletterwasinitiallysentonFridayMay11th,butpublicationwas delayed until the hunger strike was over. Incidentally, the Irish Times reported the end of the hunger strike 15 , without having covered it previously in any manner and, despite receiving numerous press releasesfromtheIPSContheissue 16 ,hassincerefusedtoreportontheprisonerswhohaveremainedon, orrestartedhungerstrikes. Furthermore,whilethepublicationonMay16thofthreelettersinsupportofthecampaignwasawelcome move,theletterwrittenbyRaymondDeaneinresponsetothis(firstsubmittedonMay12th)waseditedin amannerthatremovedaspecificcriticismofMaryFitzgeraldsarticleofMay12th.Intheoriginalletter,Mr Deanestated:ThuswereadthatCathyJordan...addedthatshewasntquitepreparedfortheextentof thevenomdirectedatus,presumablyareferencetothetorrentofmessagesleftonDervishsFacebook pageandotherwebsitescallingforthebandtopullout.Thepresumablyhereisacopoutalittlebasic researchwouldhaveshownthatNOVENOMwasdirectedatDervishpriortothecancellationoftheirtour, leastofallfromPalestinianrightsactivists,andthevenomcameEXCLUSIVELYfromIsraelssupporters.In theversionpublishedonMay16, Mr Deanescriticismthat the presumablyhereisacopout a little

14

DervishandtheboycottofIsrael,LettersPage,WednesdayMay16,Dr.LaurenceDavis http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0516/1224316194435.html

15

DealendshungerstrikebyPalestinianinmates,TuesdayMay15th,MarkWeiss http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2012/0515/1224316129692.html

16

Forexmaple,IrishGovernmentandfootballingorganisationsmustinterveneincaseofPalestinianhungerstrikers nearingdeath,IPSCPressRelease,Tuesday5thJune2012http://www.ipsc.ie/pressreleases/irishgovernmentand footballingorganisationsmustinterveneincaseofpalestinianhungerstrikersnearingdeathandHungerStrike: FIFA,FIFPro,EricCantonaexpressgraveconcernoverconditionofPalestinianfootballer,IPSCPressRelease, WednesdayJune13th2012http://www.ipsc.ie/pressreleases/hungerstrikefifafifproericcantonaexpressgrave concernoverconditionofpalestinianfootballer

basicresearchwouldhaveshownthatwasremovedfromtheletter,thusshieldingthenewspaperfroma validandveryimportantcriticism 17 . This letter was the first time the IPSC was given anything even approaching an official response (as opposedtotackedontokenquotationsinvariousarticles),despitehavingsubmittedtwopreviousletters ontheissue(oneofthemresubmitted),correctingmanyoftheerrorsanddistortionsinthecoverage.A further letter, submitted on May 14th in response to an article which appeared that day, also went unpublished.ItisworthnotingthatthislettercontainedtheinformationthatDervishcancelledoncethey were made aware [of the cultural boycott of Israel] by certain of their musical colleagues as well as, politely, by ourselves. This information about private approaches by other artists went entirely unmentionedbytheIrishTimesinallofitscoverageoftheissue. ItisincrediblethattheIrishTimeswaitedafulltwelvedaysbeforepublishingasingleofficialresponsefrom theIPSC,whowerethevictimsofanunprecedentedmediacampaignofdistortionandlies.Thattheletter wastheneditedtoremoveaspecificcriticismofonejournalistsreportingisalsoverydisturbing.

3.6May19th:PressureforartsboycottofIsraelcondemned
On May 19th an article by Mary Fitzgerald appeared entitled Pressure for arts boycott of Israel condemned 18 . The headline Pressure for arts boycott of Israel condemned is both skewed and factually incorrect. Paragraphs 7 and 8, the actual substance of the article, explain that the Irish governmentinthepersonofAnTnaisteandMinisterforForeignAffairsandTrade,Mr.EamonGilmore TDisfirmlyopposedtocampaignswhichseektoimposeaculturalboycottonIsraelbutthatitisthe right of others to take a contrary view. In no sense can this be viewed as a condem[nation] as the headline suggests. In fact, what the Minister does condemn, in Paragraph 8, are purely hypothetical unacceptableeffortstoharassartistswithaviewtointimidatingthemfrom exercisingtheirfreedom of choiceinrelationtoengagementwithIsrael.AstheIPSChadrepeatedlyexplainedtotheIrishTimesthat therewasinfactnosuchcampaignofharassmentand/orintimidationandofferedevidencetoprovethis. ThustheMinisterwascondemningsomethingacampaignofharassmentwhichhadnevertakenplace, butwasmisreportedinamannerwhichsuggestedthattherewasindeedsuchacampaign.Indeed,aswith the Minister for Justice and Defence (see Section 3.2) it is reasonable to assume that both the Dail questioner (Joanna Tuffy TD) and An Tnaiste based their assumptions about the campaign on the Irish Times inaccurate coverage of the issue over the previous two weeks. This article thus again violates principles1.1and2.2ofthePressCouncilCodeofConduct. InquotingMr.DeanesdenialofanyvenomoravalancheofnegativitybeingdirectedtowardDervish, inParagraph4(anunusuallyearlyappearanceinthissequenceofstoriesfortheinevitableIPSCdenial quotation,thoughitisinthiscasereusinganolddenial),theauthoromitsMr.Deanesfurthercomment thatabusehadbeenthrownatthebandbysupportersofIsraelafacteasilyverifiablebylookingatthe Dervish Facebook page. It is worth pointing out that even though this was the sixth article of its kind, framedinsuchawayastoattacktheculturalboycottofIsraelcampaignandtheIPSC,neitherMr.Deane noranyotherrepresentativeoftheIPSCwascontactedforfreshcommentbythejournalist. Thearticlealsousesthewordpressurewhichinthiscaseiscounterposedtoverbsliketargetand force.Itcannotbebothpressureandintimidation.Asexplainedabove,theIPSCseekstousemoral
17

DervishandtheboycottofIsrael,LettersPage,WednesdayMay16,RaymondDeane http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0516/1224316194435.html PressureforartsboycottofIsraelcondemned,May19th2012,MaryFitzgerald http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0519/1224316359130.html

18

suasion to persuade artists to refuse to play in Israel. While pressure is an accurate description of that tactic,loadedwordssuchasforcearenot. SimultaneouslyonMay19th,anopedbyFintanOToolewaspublishedwiththeheadlineWhythecultural boycottofIsraelisabluntandbackwardinstrument 19 ,whichattackedtheculturalboycottcampaign.Itis ofcourseMr.OToolesrighttopensuchapiecegivinghisopinion(thoughtheIPSCwouldobviouslyargue againsthisviews)butitisworthnotingthatthiswastheseventhpiece(6articles,1oped)criticisingthe cultural boycott campaign and/or the IPSC to have appeared in the Irish Times in 15 days. It was at this point (21st May) that the IPSC, in the person of Raymond Deane, approached the Opinion Editor Chris Dooley and submitted a piece as a right of reply. This approach was met with agreement in principle; however,MrDeanewastoldthatowingtothecoverageoftheFiscalTreatyReferendumtherewouldbe nospaceforthepieceinthecourseofthefollowingweekalthoughtheIrishTimesdidagreetopublishan opedfromhim. Subsequently, on May 23rd, another oped written by Sami Hermez of the Palestinian Campaign for the AcademicandCulturalBoycottofIsrael(PACBI)wassubmittedtoMr.Deane,whointurnsentittoChris Dooleystatingthathewouldbehappytohavethispiecepublishedinsteadofhisownoped,asitwould givethePalestinianswhoissuedthecallforaculturalboycottavoiceforthefirsttimeinathreeweeklong debate.ThisideawasrejectedbyMr.Dooley,whosaidthatsincemuchofthecommentaryinrecentdays hasbeenabouttheapproachtakenbytheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaignandnotjustthemeritsof theboycottitselfitmightbebettertohaveapiecefromyourself.Itisworthnotingthatthisonceagain deniedPalestiniansagencyandavoiceintheirowncampaign. ThenonFriday25thMayat8.54pm,Mr.DeanereceivedanemailfromMr.Dooley,informinghimthata (presumably) unsolicited oped piece from the writer Gerard Donovan had come in and that they were goingtoprintitthefollowingday,Saturday26thMay.ThusdespitehavingtoldMr.Deanepreviouslythat therewouldbenoroomforanopedonthesubjectuntiltheFiscalTreatyReferendumwasover,theIrish Timesdecidedtopublishanunsolicited1,200+wordoped,onceagainattackingtheIPSC,andMr.Deane personally,onthedayofhighestreadershipfiguresforthepaper. Mr Deane was then told that his oped could be printed on either Tuesday 29th or Thursday 31st May. BecauseahigherwordcountwasavailableontheThursday,Mr.Deaneacceptedthatdateunderprotest, saying that it was unfair that they had two consecutive highcirculation Saturday opeds attacking the cultural boycott campaign (Fintan OTooles and Gerard Donovans), while the IPSCs response would be consignedtothemidweekpaperwithlowercirculationfigures.Mr.Dooleysjustificationwasthatitwould give Mr. Deane a chance to respond to both of the antiboycott opeds and the general coverage in the paperalthoughinMr.Deanesviewthiswasmerelyallowingfurthercriticismandbiasedreportingtopile up before the IPSC ever got a chance to respond in a fitting manner. Three weeks and many, many prejudicialarticlesaftertheIrishTimeshadbegunpursuingthisstory,thepaperwasclearlyinvolationof itsobligationsunderPrinciple1.3topublisharesponsepromptly.

3.7May26th:SomuchforIrishartistssharingideaswithoutinterference
OnSaturdayMay26th,GerardDonovansopedappeared,entitledSomuchforIrishartistssharingideas withoutinterference 20 .ThepieceuseswordsthatconjureupimageryofthuggishbehaviourbyMr.Deane
19

WhytheculturalboycottofIsraelisabluntandbackwardinstrument,19thMay2012,FintanOToole http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0519/1224316323924.html

20

SomuchforIrishartistssharingideaswithoutinterference,May26th2012,GerardDonovan http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0526/1224316730779.html

and the IPSC. Some examples are as follows: at the hands of Raymond Deane; mistrust of organised mobs; our family used to get bullets in envelopes ... [my father got] himself beaten up ... those mobs haveintimechangedtokeyboardwarriors...threatsarestillthreats;terminatedmybrotherspoliteand thoughtfulpoints;activelyintimidatesanIrishwriterfrompursuinghisart;[MrDeane]createstrouble forotherartists;intimidation. It is frankly astounding that the Irish Times would deem it fit to print such outrageous and defamatory attacks on Mr. Deane, and by extension the IPSC, attacks which include a demand that the state stop fundingRaymondDeane'sculturalworkin partbecausehespendssomuchofhistime andenergieson politicalactivism.Thisdemandwouldnotbeoutofplacein1950sMcCarthyiteAmerica,anditisshocking to see this threatening demand endorsed by its prominent position in the Irish Times. It must be remembered that the Irish Times was already aware of the content of the IPSCs Open Letter to Mr. Dononvanwhichincidentally,wasnotquotedatallinMr.Donovanspieceandthereforeknewthatit couldinnowaybeconstruedasbeingofathreateningorintimidatorynature,letaloneallowaconnection withbulletsinenvelopesandbeingbeatenup. MrDonovanalsoshowsdubiousethicsinselectivelyquoting,inthepublicsphere,outofcontext,private emailsbetweenMr.DeaneandRichardDonovan,thewritersbrother. It is also worth noting that in this piece, the author frames his and his brothers actions in terms of reachingoutandbuildingbridges,whiletheactionsoftheIPSCarepresentedasbeinganorganised mobmakingthreats.ThisisironicgiventhatalltheIPSCeverdidwastowritetoMr.Donovanasking himnottoignorethePalestiniancallforaboycottofIsrael,whilefromtheoutsetMr.Donovanhasused hisplatformtoverballyabuseanddefameMr.DeaneandtheIPSC. WhileMrDonovansarticleisclearlypresentedasComment,it makesanumberofallegationsaboutMr Deanes actions that are presented not merely as opinion but as statements of fact. It is therefore in violationofprinciples2.2and3.1ofthePressCouncilCodeofPractice. The piece is followed by an allegedly explanatory note called BOYCOTTING ISRAEL THE BACKGROUND whichmakestwofactualerrorsintheopeningsentence.ThatsentencestatesthatTHEIRELANDPalestine SolidarityCampaignbeganaculturalboycottofIsraelinAugust2010.Firstly,theIPSCdidnot[begin]a cultural boycott the IPSC acts in support of the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)againstIsrael,ofwhichtheculturalboycottisonefacet.Byfailingtoletitsreadersknowthissimple fact,theIrishTimesonceagainactivelydeniedPalestiniansavoice.Secondly,theIPSCsactivitiesinsupport oftheculturalboycottdidnotbegininAugust2010;theIPSCmerelyestablishedtheIrishArtistsPledgeTo BoycottIsraelatthattime.ThispanelthereforeviolatedPrinciple1.1ofthePressCouncilCodeofPractice. ItisalsointerestingthatthesecondparagraphoftheexplanatorynotereferstotheIPSChavingurged DervishnottotourIsrael,whilethecaptiontotheaccompanyingphotoofanIPSCmarchin2007usesthe phrase efforts to deter artists from visiting Israel. Again, both these statements are at odds with the language used in the original report suggesting the IPSC had engaged in a campaign of venom and warning[s].

3.8May30th:Palestinianenvoyopposespressureoverboycott
OnWednesday30thMay afurtherarticleappearedpennedby MaryFitzgerald,concerningcommentsby the Palestinian envoy to Ireland 21 . The piece opened with a completely misleading headline, ie, Palestinianenvoyopposespressureoverboycott.Thecontentofthearticlecouldeasilyhavesupported
21

Palestinianenvoyopposespressureoverboycott,May30th2012,MaryFitzgerald http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0530/1224316913103.html

theheadlinePalestinianenvoysupportsculturalboycott.Indeed,theveryfactthatanofficialPalestinian representative is endorsing, albeit in a personal capacity, the cultural boycott is surely extremely newsworthy.However,theauthorfollowsMr.AjurriswelcomeoftheculturalboycottbyquotingMinister Gilmores criticism of unacceptable efforts to harass artists with a view to intimidating them from exercisingtheirfreedomofchoiceinrelationtoengagementwithIsrael.TheimplicationisthattheIPSCs campaignofmoralsuasionseekingtopersuadeartiststoabidebythePalestiniancallforaculturalboycott istanatamounttounacceptableeffortstoharassartistswithaviewtointimidatingthem.Aspointedout above, the Ministers statement in this regard is referring to a hypothetical scenario which never took place. The author then elicits from Mr. Ajurri a similar broad condemnation of such actions, implying withoutbasisthathetherebyacceptsthesuggestionthatDervishandGerardDonovanweresubjectedto suchactions. Infact,theIPSCcontactedMr.Ajurriaboutthearticle,andwhilehestatedthathewashappytobequoted intheIrishTimes,duetothepaperslackofcoverageofPalestinianvoices,healsoassertedrepeatedlythat thereporterhadsoughttoelicitacondemnationofthetheculturalboycottcampaigntheIPSChasbeen involved in, and when he refused to condemn the campaign, selectively quoted him so that it appeared that he was doing so. According to Mr. Ajurri, when asked about the campaign of harassment by the journalist,hestatedthathefeltthisisrubbish.Idontthinkthereisanythingofthesort,beforeadding thatofcourse,hecondemnsanyharassment.Onlythesecondpartofthestatementwasprinted.Wesee no reason to doubt Mr. Ajurris statement apart from anything else; it would be quite astonishing and absolutelyunprecedentedforhimtoissueacondemnationoftheculturalboycottcampaign. Finally,onceagain,Ms.FitzgeraldfailedtocontactMr.Deaneforcommentontheissue.Indeedthisisthe thirdarticleMs.Fitzgeraldwroteonthesubject,innoneofwhichwasMr.Deanecontactedforcomment.It isalsohardtoescapetheconclusionthatthepublicationofthispiece,comingthedaybeforeMr.Deanes oped was due to be published, formed part of an attempt to undermine Mr. Deanes piece in advance, especially when viewed in conjunction with the subsequent negative framing of Mr Deanes piece, as discussedbelow. Thisarticle,inwhichaprominentPalestinianofficialexpressedsupportfortheboycottbutthestorywas presentedasbeingabouthisopposingsomenonexistentharassment,wasaclearcaseoftheIrishTimes trying to defend its previous coverage, even to the point of violating principles 1.1 and 2.2 of the Press CouncilCodeofPractice.

3.9May31st:DefenceofartisticfreedomignoresPalestinianplight
Eventually,onThursday31stMay,Mr.DeanesopedwaspublishedunderanIrishTimespennedheadline, Defence of artistic freedom ignores Palestinian plight 22 . This publication came a full 27 days after the originalinaccurateandmisleadingpieceaboutDervishfirstappearedinthepaper. However,whilethisextremelybelatedopportunity tosettherecordstraight waswelcomedbytheIPSC, there was a serious problem with the framing of the piece. Indeed, this framing appeared precisely calculatedtounderminethecontent. Theheadline,DefenceofartisticfreedomignoresPalestinianplight,whichwaschosenbyanIrishTimes editorandnotMr.Deanehimself,bearsnorelationtothecontentofthepiece,andimpliesthatMr.Deane seekstoattackartisticfreedom,whichissimplynotthecase.NowhereinhispiecedoesMr.Deaneeven mentionartisticfreedom,letaloneseektosuggestitissubordinatetosomeothervalue,assuggestedby theerroneousheadline.
22

DefenceofartisticfreedomignoresPalestinianplight,31stMay2012,RaymondDeane http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0531/1224316987916.html

Secondly,thepiecewasaccompaniedbyanimageofhumanrightsdemonstratorsinFrance,ratherthan Ireland.Thisseeminglybizarrechoiceofimageonlymakessensewhenreadinconjunctionwithitscaption: AwomancallingforaboycottofIsraelatademonstrationlastNovemberinFranceinsupportof12pro Palestinian activists charged with inciting discrimination, hate or violence following their participation in actionspromotingtheboycottofIsraeliproducts.Itseemsthechoiceofimageisaimedatundermining Mr. Deanes entire piece, by suggesting that Palestinian rights activists incite discrimination, hate or violence.Theuseofapicturefrom7monthsearlier,inFrance,withsuchacaptioncanonlybeviewedin such a light. It is worth noting that all 12 French human rights activists were acquitted of the charges, contrarytotheimplicationofthecaptionandunmentionedbytheIrishTimes 23 . Ontheestablished,albeitanecdotal,principlethatforeveryonepersonwhoreadssuchapiece,another dozen or more just read the headline and look at the photo, there is clear evidence that the paper underminedtheimportantprincipleofrighttoreplybymisrepresentingMrDeane'sarticle,suggestingthat heopposesartisticfreedomandassociatingBDSwithincitementtodiscrimination,hateorviolence. ThereforetheIPSCmusttaketheunusualstepofcomplainingaboutanarticlewrittenbyoneofitsown NationalCommitteemembers,onthegroundsthatitspresentationviolatedPressCouncilPrinciple3.1,on fairnessandhonesty.Inthiscontext,itshouldbenotedthatinthedaysleadinguptothepublicationofMr Deanesarticle,OpinionEditorChrisDooleyhadwrittenanumberofextraordinarilyvituperativeattacks onpeoplewhocommentedonlineaboutGerardDonovanspiece,exclusivelydirectinghisireagainstpro Palestiniancommenters.WhetherthesecommentswereappropriateforarepresentativeoftheIrishTimes is a matter for that organisation. Their content and tone, including the questioning of the professional qualificationsofajournalismlecturerwhojoinedthediscussion(seeAppendix4.2),mustraisequestions foranyobjectiveobserveraboutwhetherMrDooleywasinapositiontopresentMrDeanesarticlefairly andhonestly. Finally,thepiecewasalsoframedbytwoletterspublishedonthefacingpageattackingtheculturalboycott call 24 , one of which went so far as to compare Mr Deane to a Mafia Don making an offer that one euphemisticallycannotrefuse. OnJune4th,twofurtherlettersappeared.Itisnoteworthythatoneoftheletterscontainedalargenumber ofsignaturesfromformerantiApartheidactivists,Israeli,Jewishandartistsgroupsfullyinsupportofthe IPSCandtheculturalboycottcampaign.However,equallynoteworthyisthatthepaperrefusedtopublisha lettersignedby59PalestiniansresidentinIreland,andanotherletterfromthePalestinianBoycottNational Committee (BNC) and PACBI the originators of the cultural boycott call thus, yet again, actively suppressingPalestinianvoicesandagencyintheirownliberationstruggle. OneofthosewhosubmittedtheformerletterwasinformedbytheIrishTimes,viaphone,thatthedebate surrounding the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel, and efforts by human rights activists to promotethatcallinIreland,hadnowbeenclosed.

23

InblowtoIsrael,FrenchBDSactivistsacquittedofcrimeincallingforboycott,AliAbunimah,ElectronicIntifada, Sunday18thDecember2011http://electronicintifada.net/blog/aliabunimah/blowisraelfrenchbdsactivists acquittedcrimecallingboycott

24

BoycottofIsrael,Letters,May31st,MichaelCarragher/JosephMcMinn, http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0531/1224316987817.html

4.OtherissuesandquestionsabouttheIrishTimesreportage
4.1WhydidtheculturalboycottbecomeanissuefortheIrishTimes?
ThequestionmustbeaskedastowhytheIrishTimessuddenlydecidedtotakeupthisissueofthecultural boycottofIsrael,andframeitinsuchanegativemanner? Previously the Irish Times had largely ignored the cultural boycott campaign; the IPSC had issued open letterstoartistssuchassingersAnaMoura 25 andJohnLydon 26 ,andthefilmdirectorJohnMcDonagh(who cancelledhisappearanceattheHaifaFilmFestivalafterbeingaskedtobytheIPSC 27 )yetthesegenerated nocoverage.Infact,beforetheDervishepisode,onlytwicedidtheIrishTimesreportonthecampaign but such negative framing was nowhere to be found in this coverage, which included sending an Open LettertothestageshowRiverdancein2011 28 andstagingaprotestandleafletingfansoutsideaLeonard Cohenconcertinthe02Arenain2009 29 .Onthewhole,theIrishTimesseemedtobeuninterestedinthe cultural boycott until the Dervish campaign which was carried out with much less gusto than previous suchcampaigns. Itismostcuriousthatthisbecameanissueonlywhenitappearedthatitcouldbeusedasasticktobeat Palestinianhumanrightscampaignerswith,andwassubsequentlyusedinexactlythismanner.

4.2Backtrackingonclaimsaboutforcing
Onenotablefeatureofthearticleswhenreadasawholeisthegradualchangeinthelanguageused; movingfromnearcertaintyregardingactionsoftheIPSCandtheintentionsofDervishandMsJordanto vaguerorlessvilifyingchoicesofwords,perhapsindicatinguncertaintyaboutthepaperschosennarrative ofevents. TheinitialarticleDervishpulloutofIsraeltouraftersocialmediavenombyMessrsMcGreevyandClancy (4thMay)openswiththestatementthatDervishhadpulledoutofaconcerttourofIsraelcitingan avalancheofnegativityandvenomdirectedtowardsthemonsocialmediasites.Thesamearticlealso statesthatmembersoftheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaignclaimedtheywereresponsibleforforcing thebandtocalloffthetour,misrepresentingtheviewsandtacticsoftheIPSC,whichdoesnotforce artiststotakepartintheBDScampaign.

25

OpenLettertoAnaMoura:DontperforminApartheidIsrael,IPSC,Friday30thDecember2011 http://www.ipsc.ie/pressreleases/openlettertoanamouradontperforminapartheidisrael

26

OpenLettertoJohnLydon(akaJohnnyRotten):DontPlayAlongWithApartheidIsrael,IPSC,Tuesday17thAugust 2010http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/ipsc/displayRelease.php?releaseID=391

27

BDSvictoryasTheGuarddirectordeclinestoparticipateintheHaifaFilmFestivalinIsrael,IPSC,Friday7th October2011http://www.ipsc.ie/pressreleases/ipsccallsontheguarddirectornottoparticipateinthehaifa filmfestivalinisrael

28

BallaghinprotestovershowgoingtoIsrael,JamieSmyth,FridayApril4th2011 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0429/1224295673663.html

29

Singerurgedto'rethink'TelAvivconcertplan,Monday7thJuly2009 www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0720/1224250946453.html

InMsFitzgeraldsMay12articleDoculturalboycottsachieveanything?thelanguageislesscertainthanit hadbeenuptothispoint.CathyJordanaddedthatshewasntquitepreparedfortheextentofthevenom directedatus,presumablyareferencetothetorrentofmessagesleftonDervishsFacebookpageand otherwebsitescallingforthebandtopullout.WhilethesameaccusationisdirectedattheIPSC,Ms Fitzgeraldhasconcededthatthisisapresumption,notconfirmedfact.Itshouldbenotedthatthisarticle maintainstheclaimthattheIPSCorchestratedeffortstoforceDervishtocanceltheirperformance. MrMcGreevysMay14articleProPalestiniangrouptargetsIrishwriterletsDonovanhimselfmakethe bulkofthecaseagainsttheIPSC.HoweverMrMcGreevysownlanguagehasbecomelesscertain.He makesuseoftheverbsurgeandpressureratherthanforcewhendescribingtheboycottcampaign.Mr DeanesparaphraseddefenceoftheIPSCinparagraph12iswritteninsuchaconvolutedwayastorenderit incomprehensible. MaryFitzgeraldsMay15articlePressureforartsboycottofIsraelcondemnedalsoreferstopressure ratherthanforce.ThethirdparagraphmakesuseofMsJordansstatement,withouttheimplicationthatit isrepresentativeofDervishasawhole.However,DervishsApril30statementisignored. TheexplanatorynoteattachedtoMrDonovansMay26opinionpiececlaimsthattheIPSChadurged Dervishtocanceltheirproposedtour.Thecaptionaccompanyingthepictureofa2007IPSCorganised eventmentionseffortstodeterartistsfromvisitingIsrael.Finally,theMay30articlePalestinianenvoy opposespressureoverboycott,nowtellusthattheIPSChadlobbiedDervishandMrDonovantoboycott Israel.ThischangeintheuseoflanguageindicatesthattheIrishTimesisindeedawarethatthelanguage usedintheinitialreportsweredamagingandmisleading.However,ithasyettopubliclyacknowledgethis fact.

4.3MarginalisingPalestinianvoicesandagency
WithonlytworeferencestothefactthatthecallforaculturalboycottofIsraelcamefromPalestiniancivil societyaspartofawidercampaignforBoycott,DivestmentandSanctionsagainstIsraelin thewhole reportage of the debate (that is, two references in 10 articles and opeds) the conclusion that the Irish Times is not interested in giving Palestinians a voice in their own struggle is hard to escape. This is compoundedbythepapersrefusaltoprinteithertheOpEdsubmittedbySamiHermezofthePalestinian CampaignfortheAcademicandCulturalBoycottofIsrael(PACBI)(seeSection3.6),orthetwolettersfrom PalestinianslivinginIrelandandthePalestinianBoycottNationalCommittee(BNC)andPACBI(seeSection 3.9),andthelackofquotationsfromPalestiniancivilsocietyrepresentativesinanyofthecoverage.Indeed, withtheexceptionofthePalestinianEnvoytoIreland,Mr.HikmatAjjuriwhowasinterviewedoncebut withhiswordsfalselyframedsothatheactuallyappearedtobeopposedtotheIPSCsactions(seeSection 3.8),noPalestinianvoicewaspresentinthecoverageatall.Thisissimplyincredible. WhilewenotewithsomesadnessthatthePressCouncilCodeofPracticemayhavenothingtosayabout suchanextraordinaryomission,wereturnagaintothetheMemorandumandArticlesofAssociationofthe Irish Times Trust, which as noted above (see Section 3.3) call for the promotion of social justice, the discouragementofdiscriminationandthereasonablerepresentationofminorityinterestsanddivergent views.

5.Rectificationandsatisfaction
5.1DemandsoftheIrelandPalestinianSolidarityCampaign
ItisfortheIrishTimestodeterminewhysuchaseriouserror,aprofoundlymisleadinganddamagingreport ofaseriesofeventsandtheirmeaning,wasmadeinapage1storyonMay4th;andwhywhenerrorswere drawntotheirattention,theIrishTimescontinuedwithitsnarrativeonthisstoryassistedbystatements fromGovernmentministersratherthancorrectingthemisapprehensionsfosteredbytheinitialcoverage. TheymayalsoseektodeterminewhyuntilMrRaymondDeanesMay31starticletheyrefusedtogive theIPSCanymorethanacursoryreplytotheaccusationsmade.Whateverthereason,theIreland PalestineSolidarityCampaignmustinsistonredress. WhiletheIrishTimessubtlytoneddownthelanguageofitsaccusations(seeSection4.2)againsttheIPSC overthecourseofthemonthandbylateMayinonlinediscussionsitsjournalistsinsistedthatthepaper wasonlyreportingwhatMsJordanandotherssaid,notallegingthatthosestatementsweretrue(see Appendix4.1)itneverdidwhatthemostbasicethicsandsenseofresponsibilityrequire:correctits mistakesandsetthetherecordstraight. AsoutlinedintheExecutiveSummaryabove,theIrishTimesthereforeactedinclearviolationnotonlyof itsownavowedprinciples,butoftheCodeofthePracticelaiddownbythePressCouncilofIreland:namely principles1.1,1.2and1.3relatingtotruthandaccuracyandtheresponsibilitytocorrecterrors;principle 2.2, relating to the reporting of conjecture as though it were fact; principle 3.1, striving for fairness and accuracy; and principle 4, respect for the rights and good name of individuals against unfounded accusations. Weinsistthat,atminimum,aretractionoftheinitialarticleandtheerrorsarisingfromitshouldappearon thefrontpageoftheIrishTimes,affordeddueprominenceequaltothatoftheoriginaloffendingarticle, thewordingtobeagreedbetweentheIrishTimesandtheIPSC;furthermoreweinsistthat,online,thetext ofthesameretractionshouldbeaddedtoallofthearticlesmentionedinthiscomplaint,atthetopofthe web page. When appropriate, specific additions to that wording should also appear on specific articles, againtobeagreedbetweentheIrishTimesandtheIPSC. The retraction would need to detail that the Irish Times reporting was misleading and gave rise to false conclusionsonanumberofpoints.Itmustacknowledgethatthereisnoevidenceofanyvenomdirected againstDervishbyproPalestinianactivists;thatDervishwithdrewfromaplannedtriptoIsraelbecauseit becameawareofaninternationallysupportedcallforaculturalboycottofIsrael,acalloriginatinginthe Occupied Palestinian Territories and supported by thousands of artists worldwide; that Dervish was subjected to angry abuse from proIsraeli commenters after announcing that cancellation, the only venomagainstthemvisibleintheonlinerecord;thatneitherMrRaymondDeanenoranyothermember of the IPSC issued any threats or intimidation against Dervish, Mr Gerard Donovan or any other artist in relationtotheboycottcall;thatMrDeanedoesnotopposeartisticfreedomandnordoesheincitehatred orviolence;andthatviewedasawholetheIrishTimescoverageofthismatterbetweenMay4thandMay 31st2012wasinviolationoftheaboveenumeratedprinciplessetdownbythePressCouncilofIreland,and notworthyofthetrustplacedbyitsreadersintheIrishTimes. Thisisalargedemand.Itis,however,nolargerthanthedamagedonetothereputationandgoodnameof theIPSCbythisextraordinarilybiasedcoverage,andnolargerthanthedisservicedonetothetruthbythe IrishTimesmanyfalseandmisleadingassertions,allusionsandimplications.

Appendix1:Chronologicalrecordofarticles,features,opedsandletters 1.DervishpulloutofIsraeltouraftersocialmediavenom,4thMay,RonanMcGreevy&PaddyClancy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/0504/1224315593067.html 2.Letters,May8thCiaranORagahallaigh http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0508/1224315743142.html 3.ArtistsurgednottoboycottIsrael,8thMay,RonanMcGreevy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0508/breaking51.html

4.Letters,May11thPaulKelly http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0511/1224315906701.html 5.Doculturalboycottsachieveanything?,12thMay,MaryFitzgerald http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0512/1224315955295.html 6.Letters,May12thIvorShorts http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0512/1224315982020.html 7.ProPalestiniangrouptargetsIrishwriter,14thMay,RonanMcGreevy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0514/1224316064391.html 8.Novelistcondemns'intimidation'bygrouppromotingboycottofIsrael,15thMay,RonanMcGreevy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0515/1224316130335.html 9.Letters,May16thLaurenceDavis,DavidFine,RaymondDeane,ConorMcCarthy http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0516/1224316194435.html 10.WhytheculturalboycottofIsraelisabluntandbackwardinstrument,19thMay,FintanOToole http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0519/1224316323924.html 11.PressureforartsboycottofIsraelcondemned,19thMay,MaryFitzgerald http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0519/1224316359130.html 12.Letters,May22ndDanielFinn,NuritModai,SamuelWalsh http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0522/1224316502961.html 13.SomuchforIrishartistssharingideaswithoutinterference...,26thMay,GerardODonovan http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0526/1224316730779.html 14.Letters,May29thLorraineCourtney,MargarettaDarcy,HarryBrowne,MartinOQuigleyandFred Johnstonhttp://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0529/1224316867047.html 15.Palestinianenvoyopposespressureoverboycott,30thMay,MaryFitzgerald http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0530/1224316913103.html 16.DefenceofartisticfreedomignoresPalestinianplight,31stMay,RaymondDeane http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0531/1224316987916.html 17.Letters,May31stMichaelCarragher&JosephMcMinn http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0531/1224316987817.html 18.Letters,June4thIAAM&LouisLentin http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0604/1224317205334.html

Appendix2:Letters(unpublished)submittedbyRaymondDeane
2.1 Friday,4thMayRaymondDeanetoLettersEditor From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Date:4May201210:12 Subject:DervishcancelstourofIsrael To:lettersed at irishtimes.com IrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign [64]DameStreet Dublin2 [016770253/0868124085] Sir, YourreportonDervish'scancellationofitstourofIsraelstatethat"thereisnoofficialboycottofIsraeland artistsarefreetoplayinthecountryiftheywish."(4thMay) Therewas"noofficialboycott"(whateverthatmightmean)ofApartheidSouthAfricaeither,yetthe boycottofthatstatebyartistswasoneofthefactorsthatcontributedtoitsincreasingisolationand ultimatelytothefalloftheApartheidregime. Thereis,however,anappealfromPalestiniancivilsocietyforBoycott,DivestmentandSanctions(BDS), includingaculturalboycott,againstIsraeluntilitcomplieswithinternationallaw.Thiswasfirstarticulated byover170Palestiniancivilsocietyorganisationsin2005,andhasgrowninstrengtheversince.Artistsare freetodisregardthisappealjustasallcitizensarefreetoignoretheplightofthedispossessedand oppressedPalestinians,asdothegovernmentsoftheUSAandEU. Asforthe"venom"onsocialmediawebsites,thisemanatesprimarilyfromunconditionalsupportersof Israel'soccupation. Sincerely RaymondDeane CulturalLiaisonOfficer IrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign

2.2 Tuesday,8thMayRaymondDeanetoLettersEditor From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Date:8May201210:01AM Subject:DervishcancelstourofIsrael To:lettersed at irishtimes.com DearEditor Isubmittedaversionofthisletteron4thMay,correctingthatday'sinaccuratereportbytwoIrishTimes reporters.Youchosenottopublishit.Nonetheless,todayyouhavepublishedaletterbasedonthatsame inaccuratereport.Iamnowresubmittingmyletter,modifiedtotakeaccountofthisletter. **************************** IrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign [64]DameStreet Dublin2 [016770253/0868124085] Sir, YourreportonDervish'scancellationofitstourofIsraelstatethat"thereisnoofficialboycottofIsraeland artistsarefreetoplayinthecountryiftheywish."(4thMay) TherewasatfirstnoofficialboycottofApartheidSouthAfricaeither,yettheboycottofthatstatebycivil society,includingartists,wasoneofthefactorsthatcontributedtoitsincreasingisolationandultimatelyto thefalloftheApartheidregime. Since2005therehasbeenanappealfromPalestiniancivilsocietyforBoycott,DivestmentandSanctions (BDS),includingaculturalboycott,againstIsraeluntilitcomplieswithinternationallaw.Artistsarefreeto disregardthisappealjustasallcitizensarefreetoignoretheplightofthedispossessedandoppressed Palestinians. CiarnRaghallaigh(Letters,8thMay)repeatsyourreportsfalseclaimthatDervishcancelledbecauseof acampaignofvenombyactivists.Thebandsstatementexplainedthatitcancelledbecausewewere unawaretherewasaculturalboycottinplace,addingthat[w]enowfeelthatwedonotwishtobreak thisboycott.ThesubsequentoutbreakofvenomemanatedexclusivelyfromIsraelssupporters. Sincerely RaymondDeane CulturalLiaisonOfficer IrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign

2.2 Thursday,10thMayRaymondDeanetoLettersEditor From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Date:10May20128:24AM Subject:DervishcancelstourofIsrael To:lettersed at irishtimes.com DearEditor ItbeggarsbeliefthatyouhaveasyetfailedtopublishmyletterrectifyinganincorrectIrishTimesreport publishedon4thMay.NonethelessonMondayyoupublishedaletter,basedonthatinaccuratereport, accusingPalestinianrightsactivistsof"monopolising"thediscourseonIsrael/Palestine.Thatyouwould publishsuchanunfoundedallegationwhilesimultaneouslysuppressingmyletterisextraordinary,and suggestsaverydefiniteagenda.Iamherebyresubmittingmyletter.Meanwhile,anapproachtothemedia ombudsmanisbeingseriouslyconsideredbytheIPSC,giventhepatentimbalanceofIrishTimescoverage ofthePalestineissue. **************************** IrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign [64]DameStreet Dublin2 [016770253/0868124085] Sir, YourreportonDervish'scancellationofitstourofIsraelstatedthat"thereisnoofficialboycottofIsrael andartistsarefreetoplayinthecountryiftheywish."(4thMay) TherewasatfirstnoofficialboycottofApartheidSouthAfricaeither,yettheboycottofthatstatebycivil society,includingartists,wasoneofthefactorsthatcontributedtoitsincreasingisolationandultimatelyto thefalloftheApartheidregime. Since2005therehasbeenanappealfromPalestiniancivilsocietyforBoycott,DivestmentandSanctions (BDS),includingaculturalboycott,againstIsraeluntilitcomplieswithinternationallaw.Artistsarefreeto disregardthisappealjustasallcitizensarefreetoignoretheplightofthedispossessedandoppressed Palestinians. CiarnRaghallaigh(Letters,8thMay)repeatsyourreportsfalseclaimthatDervishcancelledbecauseof acampaignofvenombyactivists.Thebandsstatementexplainedthatitcancelledbecausewewere unawaretherewasaculturalboycottinplace,addingthat[w]enowfeelthatwedonotwishtobreak thisboycott.ThesubsequentoutbreakofvenomemanatedexclusivelyfromIsraelssupporters. Sincerely RaymondDeane CulturalLiaisonOfficer

Appendix3:CorrespondencebetweenRaymondDeaneandChrisDooley,Irish TimesOpinionEditor
3.1Monday,21stMayRaymondDeanetoPaddySmyth From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Date:21May201211:07AM Subject:ProposedOpEdontheissueofCulturalBoycott To:opinion at irishtimes.com opinion at irishtimes.ie xxxx at irishtimes.com DearPaddySmyth IamherebysubmittingtheattachedarticleonthequestionoftheculturalboycottofIsrael. SincethepublicationbyyourpaperofareportbyRonanMcGreevyandPaddyClancyon4thMay,inwhich itwasallegedthatthebandDervishhadcancelledtheirIsraelitourbecauseofacampaignofintimidation bytheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign(IPSC),theissueofculturalboycotthassuddenlybecomeahot potato,despitehavingbeencomprehensivelyignoredbythemediaingeneralovertheyearssincethe PalestinianscalledforBDS. The4thMayreportbecamethebasisforaslanderouspressreleasefromMinisterShatterwidelycovered bythemedia,whereastheIPSCpressreleaserebuttingitwasignoredandamisleadinginterventioninthe SeanadbySenatorPaschalMooney.AttemptsbymyselfonbehalfoftheIPSCtorectifytheelementsof misinformationcontainedinthe4thMayreportandsubsequentlettersandarticlesintheIrishTimeswere alsoignored,althoughfinallyonesingleletter(outoffive)waspublishedmorethantwoweeksafterthe outbreakofthe"controversy". FintanO'Toole'sarticleonSaturdaylastconvincedmethatitwasnecessaryforthereadersofyourpaper tohaveaclearstatementofwhattheculturalboycott(andBDSingeneral)isabout.ThepiecethatIhave submitted,therefore,isn'tintendedmerelyasa"rebuttal"ofFintan'sarticle,butasamoregeneral statementofwhatthecampaignisabout,incorporatingafewcorrections(asIseeit)ofmisconceptions containedinsaidarticle. IhopethatyouwillconsenttopublishingthispieceinitsentiretyasanOpEd. Bestwishes RaymondDeane **************************** OpEdattachedtotheemail InmidMaytheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign(IPSC)presentedatourofIrelandfeaturing,among others, the PalestinianCanadian performance poet Rafeef Ziadah and the PalestinianIsraeli singer Terez Sliman. These artists are also articulate advocates of the Palestinian cause and of the cultural boycott of

Israel.Theyweremadeavailableforinterviewtothemedia,includingtheIrishTimesbuttherewereno takers. This becomes less surprising when one reflects that Irish media outlets scarcely mentioned the recent hungerstrikebyupto2000Palestinianpoliticalprisoners,describedbyJewishVoiceforPeaceasanew chapterinthehistoryofnonviolentresistance. Hadtheybeeninterviewed,thesePalestinianartistswouldsurelyhaverepeatedtheircomparisonofthe boycott to a picket line which conscientious people would not normally cross because they respect the wishesofthosewhoarefightingexploitation. They would have mentioned the 2004 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice that Israels construction of a wall on Palestinian territory was contrary to international law and that governments were under an obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by such construction. They would have clarified that in 2005 the failure of governments to act on this obligation, and the continuationofaidandassistanceintheshapeoftradingprivilegesofferedIsraelbytheEU,ledover170 PalestiniancivilsocietyorganisationstocallforBoycott,DivestmentandSanctions(BDS)againsttheIsraeli stateuntilitcomplieswithinternationallawanduniversalprinciplesofhumanrights. ThiscallwasfollowedbythefoundationofthePalestinianCampaignfortheCulturalandAcademicBoycott ofIsrael(PACBI),whichhaslaiddownrigorousconditionsfortheimplementationoftheculturalaspectof BDS. Citing Mandelas dictum that boycott is not a principle but a tactic depending on circumstances, PACBIemphasisesthatthetargetofthisnonviolenttacticisnotcultureperse,butitsmanipulationbythe Israeli state. Visiting Israeli artists are to be welcomed unless their trip is supported by the Israeli state and/ortheyhaveperformedintheillegalWestBanksettlements. In an Op Ed (19th May) Fintan OToole, without once mentioning the Palestinian origin of the BDS call, criticisedtheculturalboycottasabluntandbackwardinstrument.ButsurelyitisnotasbluntasF16s, Hellfiremissiles,whitephosphorus,andtheotherinstrumentsusedbytheIsraelistatetoterrorise,maim andmurderPalestiniancivilians?Orasbackwardasthewall,fourtimesaslongastheBerlinWall,being constructedwithintheoccupiedWestBankinviolationofinternationallaw,withcementprovidedbyIrish multinationalCRH? These excesses occur on a daily basis. Meticulously documented by Israeli human rights groups like BtselemandtheIsraeliCommitteeAgainstHouseDemolitions(ICAHD),theyarepracticallyignoredbyour media and fail to trigger sanctions by EU governments that are mandated by the human rights clause (Article3)oftheEuroMediterraneanAssociationAgreementthatgrantsIsraelsignificanttradingprivileges. Mr OTooles critique of the IPSC pledge "not to avail of any invitation to perform or exhibit in Israel" becauseitmakesnodistinctionbetweengovernmentsponsoredeventsand,forexample,thecourageous Israeli theatre companies that present critical work neglected to quote the Israeli foreign ministrys assertion in 2005 that [w]e see culture as a propaganda tool of the first rank, and do not differentiate between propaganda and culture. Mr OTooles injunction to artists not to let yourself be used for propagandapurposesunderestimatesthedegreetowhichastatelikeIsrael,whichhasaministrydevoted entirelytopropaganda,canexploitthemerepresenceofforeignartistsasatoolforthewhitewashingand normalisationofitssuppressionofPalestinianrights.

Mr OToole chose not to mention prominent Israeli dissidents who support BDS, including the cultural boycott,suchasthehistorianIlanPappeorJeffHalper,cofounderofICAHD.Inraisingthehistoryofanti SemiticboycottsasanimpedimenttoBDS,MrOTooleequatestheJewishpeoplewiththestateofIsrael anequationcommontoantiSemitesandZionistsalikewhilecuttingthegroundfromunderIsraeliand otherJewishopponentsofthatstatesviolationsofPalestinianrights. Finally,MrOToolescriteriaforacodeofconductforartistsandperformersinrelationtoregimesthat egregiously abuse human rights included wellmeaning advice to artists not to perform to audiences forciblysegregatedonlinesofrace,genderorethnicity.ThisoverlooksthefactthatIsraeliaudienceswill inevitably lack those forcibly excluded from attendance by the Separation Wall or the siege of Gaza. His criteriaaresupposedtosave[artists]frombeingpressured,butwhyshouldartists,unlikeothercitizens, beabsolvedfromreflectingonthepossibleconsequencesoftheiractions? A similarly narrow view of artistic responsibility is found in novelist Gerard Donovans rambling and vindictiveOpEd(26thMay),inwhichthePalestiniansmeritnotamention.AccordingtoMrDonovan,even to request artists not to cross the Palestinian picket line constitutes a threat, interference, and intimidation,meritinginvocationofArticle40oftheIrishConstitutionprotectingtheIrishcitizenfrom unjustattack. Thepoliteandformalletterfrommyselfthatpromptedthisarticle,appealingtohiminthreeimpersonal sentences not to break the boycott by attending the International Writers Festival in Jerusalem, was withdrawn from circulation when I learned that, because of illness, Mr Donovan had in fact not gone to Israel.Itisnowonceagaininthepublicdomain(Letters29thMay)sothatreaderscanassessforthemselves the falsehood of Mr Donovans claims.In this respect his diatribe is akin to the baseless campaign of vilificationoftheIPSCbecauseofitsfictitiousintimidationofthebandDervish.ConsultationofDervishs Facebook page by some intrepid investigative journalist would have revealed that the only intimidation camefromsupportersofIsrael. Equallyproblematicistheeditorialpostscriptsupposedlyprovidingbackgroundtothearticle.Hereitis implied that the IPSC invented the cultural boycott whereas, like comparable campaigns throughout the world, it merely implements the call from Palestinian civil society. Mention of this fact, however, would haveentailedmentioningthePalestinians. Seemingly for the Irish media the Palestine issue is summed up by the imaginary intimidation of Irish artists,whoareapparentlyexemptfromappealstotheirconsciences,ratherthantheviolentdispossession ofthePalestiniansandthebelligerentoccupationoftheirlandsbytherogueIsraelistate. InOctober2010ArchbishopTutu,reveredveteranoftheSouthAfricanantiApartheidcampaign,appealed toCapeTownOperatocalloffatourofIsrael"untilbothIsraeliandPalestinianoperaloversoftheregion have equal opportunity and unfettered access to attend performances". Shortly before his death, Kader Asmal,founderoftheIrishAntiApartheidMovement,expressedhissupportforcallsaroundtheworldto disrupt normal relations with Israel, by boycotting cultural and academic activities, by disrupting trade relations,andbypressurisinggovernmentstoimposeeconomicsanctions. The momentum of the peaceful tactic of BDS, including the cultural boycott of Israel, is global and unstoppable. RaymondDeaneisacomposer,andCulturalLiaisonOfficeroftheIPSC

 3.2Monday,21stMayRaymondDeanetoChrisDooley From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Sent:21May201215:29 To:xxxx at irishtimes.com Subject:Fwd:ProposedOpEdontheissueofCulturalBoycott DearChrisDooley I'vejustnowlearnedthatyou,andnotPaddySmyth,aretheOpinionEditoroftheIrishTimesalthough theITswitchboarddoesn'tseemtohavecaughtup!Ihopethatthisdoesn'tconstitutesometerriblebreach ofprotocol...Anyway,hereistheproposedOpEdIsubmittedthismorningthecoveringnotetoPaddy retainsitsvalidity. Mycontactdetails: 016766577 0868124085 Bestwishes RaymondDeane Forwardedmessage From:<culturalliaison at ipsc.ie> Date:Mon,May21,2012at11:07AM Subject:ProposedOpEdontheissueofCulturalBoycott To:opinion at irishtimes.com,opinion at irishtimes.ie,xxxx at irishtimes.com DearPaddySmyth IamherebysubmittingtheattachedarticleonthequestionoftheculturalboycottofIsrael. SincethepublicationbyyourpaperofareportbyRonanMcGreevyandPaddyClancyon4thMay,inwhich itwasallegedthatthebandDervishhadcancelledtheirIsraelitourbecauseofacampaignofintimidation bytheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign(IPSC),theissueofculturalboycotthassuddenlybecomeahot potato,despitehavingbeencomprehensivelyignoredbythemediaingeneralovertheyearssincethe PalestinianscalledforBDS. The4thMayreportbecamethebasisforaslanderouspressreleasefromMinisterShatterwidelycovered bythemedia,whereastheIPSCpressreleaserebuttingitwasignoredandamisleadinginterventioninthe SeanadbySenatorPaschalMooney.AttemptsbymyselfonbehalfoftheIPSCtorectifytheelementsof misinformationcontainedinthe4thMayreportandsubsequentlettersandarticlesintheIrishTimeswere

alsoignored,althoughfinallyonesingleletter(outoffive)waspublishedmorethantwoweeksafterthe outbreakofthe"controversy". FintanO'Toole'sarticleonSaturdaylastconvincedmethatitwasnecessaryforthereadersofyourpaper tohaveaclearstatementofwhattheculturalboycott(andBDSingeneral)isabout.ThepiecethatIhave submitted,therefore,isn'tintendedmerelyasa"rebuttal"ofFintan'sarticle,butasamoregeneral statementofwhatthecampaignisabout,incorporatingafewcorrections(asIseeit)ofmisconceptions containedinsaidarticle. IhopethatyouwillconsenttopublishingthispieceinitsentiretyasanOpEd. Bestwishes RaymondDeane 3.3Monday,21stMayChrisDooleytoRaymondDeane From: xxxx at irishtimes.com Date:21May20125:42PM Subject:RE:ProposedOpEdontheissueofCulturalBoycott To:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie HiRaymond, Thanksalotforthearticle.Iwouldliketorunapiecefromyou,butIaminundatedthisweek,partlybut notwhollybecauseofthefiscaltreatyreferendum.Thishasreallyrestrictedmyoptions.Illbebacktoyou inthenextcoupleofdayswhenIhaveabetterideaaboutwhenImightbeabletopublishsomething. Regards Chris 3.4Wednesday,23rdMayRaymondDeanetoChrisDooley From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Sent:23May20123:09PM To:ChrisDooley;opinion Subject:AnotheroptionreOpEd HiChris I'vejustbeensentadraftofanarticlebySamiHermezofPACBI,thePalestinianCampaignfortheAcademic andCulturalBoycottofIsrael,whowantedtoknowifIfeltheshouldsubmititasanOpEdtotheIrish Times. Myinitialfeeling,youmayguess,wastothankhimandsay"leavethattome"butthenIreadthearticle.

Ifeelit'sexemplaryinalotofways,andalsocomesstraightfromthehorse'smouth,sotospeaksoifhe doessubmitit(andItoldhimtofireahead)Iwouldhavenoobjectionatalltoyourconsideringitinplace ofmyown.Theinternationalperspective,Ithink,liftsitabovethespecificsofthisrecentaffray. Best Raymond 3.5Wednesday,23rdMaySamiHermeztoChrisDooley From:SamiHermez<xxxx at alumni.duke.edu> To:opinion,xxxx at irishtimes.com DearEditor, Iwishtosubmitanopinionpiecetoyournewspaperinregardstotheongoingdebateonthecultural boycottofIsrael.Mypositionwillhopefullyprovideyourreadershipwithdirectaccesstotheopinionsof thePalestinianCampaignfortheAcademicandCulturalboycottofIsrael(PACBI).PleasefindtheOped attachedinMSWordformat. Ilookforwardtohearfromyou. Allthebest, Sami ****************************

CulturalBoycottofIsrael:AMoralDuty
Dr.SamiHermez* On30April2012,theIrishmusicgroupDervishcancelledascheduledperformanceinIsrael,leadingtoa publicdebateinIrelandontheculturalboycottofIsrael.Somehavebizarrelyclaimedthatthereisno culturalboycott,implyingthatthecallbytheoverwhelmingmajorityofPalestiniancivilsocietyforboycott, divestmentandsanctions(BDS)againstIsrael,includingintheculturaldomain,isinsignificantand dismissinganIsraelboycottpledgebyover200Irishartistsandculturalworkers,nottomentionsimilar pledgesbySouthAfricanandCanadianartists SomeantiBDSargumentsarepremisedonequatingtheoppressorandoppressedinwaysthatwouldnot beacceptableinreferencetootherstrugglesintheworld,suchastheantiapartheidstruggleinSouth Africa,ortoIrelandsownhistoryofresistingcolonialism. Attheoutset,itshouldbemadeclearthatthePalestinianBDSmovementisapeacefulformofresistance basedonprinciplesoffreedom,justice,equalityandantiracism.Itrecognizesthateffectiveand sustainablepressureonIsraeltorespectPalestinianrightsunderinternationallawcanonlycomethrougha movementthatisethicallyconsistentandprincipled.TheBDSmovementhasconsistentlycondemned threatstoviolence.Therefore,itisabsurdwhencriticstrytoframethemovementsappealstoartistsas

culturalfascism.SuchaccusationsareconsistentwithIsraeliattemptstobullyinternationalartistswho supportPalestinianrightsandtodelegitimizePalestinianresistance Inarecentarticle,FintanOToole(IrishTimes,May19,2012)weighedintocritiquethePalestinianledBDS movement.OTooleclaimsthattheSouthAfricanantiapartheidboycottwasineffectiveandbluntonceit wastakenupbytheUnitedNationsandlostitsselectivityintargets.Heproceedstoarguethatthe PalestinianBDSmovement,modeledafteritsSouthAfricanpredecessor,isequallyfutilebecauseitisnot selective.Thisassertionfliesinthefaceofthehistoricrecord,asnarratedbyleadersoftheantiapartheid movement. TheinternationalboycottofapartheidSouthAfricaislargelycreditedtobeoneoffourpillarsofthe strugglethatendedapartheid,asconfirmedby,amongothers,NelsonMandelaandDesmondTutu,who shouldknow.Tutu,inparticular,hasstoodfirmlyinsupportofBDS,includingculturalboycottofIsrael. WhenCapeTownOperacrossedthePalestinianboycottpicketline,Tutusaid:Justaswesaidduring apartheidthatitwasinappropriateforinternationalartiststoperforminSouthAfricainasocietyfounded ondiscriminatorylawsandracialexclusivity,soitwouldbewrongforCapeTownOperatoperformin Israel. Ontheissueofselectiveness,thePalestinianBDSmovementdoesindeedadoptagradualandselective approach.Aquicklookattheguidelinesofthemovementortheliteratureexplainingnormalizationand theroleofinternationalscanadequatelyexplainthis.UnliketheSouthAfricanboycott,thePalestinianled BDSmovementdoesnottargetindividuals,neitherintheculturalnoracademicsphere,butspecifically institutionscomplicitinIsraelsoccupation,colonialismandapartheid.Thiscomplicityisdeterminedbythe movementsguidelinesandincoordinationwiththePalestinianCampaignfortheAcademicandCultural BoycottofIsrael(PACBI). Irishartistsandculturalworkerswhohavesignedtheboycottpledgearealsoaccusedofpracticing collectivepunishment.Yet,itistheirright,nottomentiontheirethicalduty,torefusetovisitacountry committingegregioushumanrightsviolations.Tocallthisbasicrighttofreedomofexpressionaformof collectivepunishmentseemstobeadisingenuousabuseoftheterm,andaimstodeflecthumanrights reportsthathaveconsistentlyestablishedIsraelscollectivepunishmentofthePalestinianpeopleunderits occupation. Anexceptionallyintimidating,andcynical,tacticusedtosuppressdebateontheboycottofIsraelisto evokethememoryofJewishboycottsinhistory.However,tousethisasapremisetodiscredita nonviolentresistancemovementthatresolutelyrejectsantiSemitismandallformsofdiscriminationis baseless,evenlibelous.AntiSemiticboycottsofthepastcannotbeusedasthebogeytopreventboycotts againstIsraelduetoitsviolationsofinternationallaw.TodosowouldbetoconflateZionismwithJudaism, andtoequateIsrael,astheJewishstate,withallJewishpeople,asiftheJewishcommunityhasnodiversity ofidentitiesorpositions;thesearedeeplytroublingandantiSemiticworldviewsintheirownright.Bythe sametoken,boycottingaMuslimstatebasedonitsbleakhumanrightsrecordwouldludicrouslybe regardedasIslamophobic! ButwhytargetIsraelandignoreotherviolatorsofhumanrights,Israelsapologistsoftenask.Thosewho raisethisstandardtalkingpointarehardpressedtoexplainwhyboycottingSouthAfricaduringapartheid wasnotsimilarlyconditioneduponsimultaneouslyboycottingallotheroffenders.EuropeandtheUSare theoneswhoaresinglingoutIsrael,lavishingbillionsonitdespiteitscrimesagainstthePalestinians.

Moreover,theIsraeligovernmentopenlyusesvisitsbyculturalworkersforitshasbara(orpropaganda) purposes,morethananyothersimilarlyoppressiveregime,andittriestoshowthecountryasaliberal bastionofculturalactivity,therebywhitewashingitsviolationsofinternationallawandhumanrightsthis isallpartofawelloiledgovernmentsponsoredprogramtorebrandIsrael. Finally,missinginthisdebateisaconsiderationofIsraels64yearolddenialofthePalestinianrighttoself determination,freedom,justiceandequalityanditssuppressionofthePalestiniansrighttonormal culturalrelationswiththeworld.Toconsiderthis,wemustendIsraeliexceptionalism,inmuchthesame wayastheinternationalcommunityendeditspreferentialtreatmentofapartheidSouthAfrica.BDSisnot onlyanethicallyconsistentandprincipledwaytodoso;itisamoralduty. *AsteeringcommitteememberofthePalestinianCampaignfortheAcademicandCulturalBoycottofIsrael (PACBI). 3.6Friday,25thMayChrisDooleytoRaymondDeane From:opinion at irishtimes.com Sent:25May20128:54PM: To:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Subject:AnotheroptionreOpEd HiRaymond, Apologiesforthedelayingettingbacktoyou.ThanksforsendingonthepiecebySamiHermez,whichI read.Itreadsverywellandwouldmakeforagoodopinionpiece,thoughmyinitialthoughtwasthat,since muchofthecommentaryinrecentdayshasbeenabouttheapproachtakenbytheIrelandPalestine SolidarityCampaign,andnotjustthemeritsoftheboycottitself,itmightbebettertohaveapiecefrom yourself. Asithappens,thepicturehaschangedabitanywayinthatsincewewerelastintouchIhavereceivedan articlefromGerardDonovan,outlininghisperspectiveonthematter.Myviewofitisthatitdoesntmake sensetohaveapiecefromyouorSamiHermez,tobefollowedbyonefromhim,whichinturnmightlead toarequirementforaresponsefromyourside. SoIamgoingtorunGerardDonovansarticleintomorrowspaper,andIwillofcoursebehappytoprovide youwitharightofreplynextweek. Bestregards Chris

3.7May25thRaymondDeanetoChrisDooley From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Sent:25May20129:12PM To:opinion at irishtimes.com Subject:AnotheroptionreOpEd HiChris ImustadmitI'mdeeplyshockedbythis,forallkindsofreasonsincludingprioritymyandSami'spieces werebothultimatelyprovokedbyanarticlebyFintanO'Toole,regardedbymanyasthemostclearheaded commentatorintheIrishTimes,thatcontainedmanymisapprehensionsandomissions.Itnowappearsthat thisistogobydefault. Youwritethat"muchofthecommentaryinrecentdayshasbeenabouttheapproachtakenbytheIreland PalestineSolidarityCampaign",butthatapproachisbasedonthegeneralprinciplesofBDSandcultural boycottenunciatedbyPACBI(andneveroncereferredtoor,apparently,evenconsultedbyanybodywho haswrittenonthissubjectinyourpaper).Inotherwords,thequestionof"themeritsoftheboycottitself" isnotseparablefromtheIPSC'sapproach.Reducingtheissueonceagaintoakindofclashofindividuals andlocalorganisationstrivialisesit,andonceagainleavesthePalestinianperspectiveoutofaccount(Iam assumingthatthiswillbethecasewithwhateverDonovanwrites). Sincerely Raymond 3.8 Saturday,26thMayRaymondDeanetoChrisDooley From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Sent:26May201212:57AM To:opinion at irishtimes.com Subject:Another option re Op Ed HavingseenDonovan'sarticle,IcanonlysaythatIbelieveitisadespicable,potentiallylibellousrantand thatpublishingittrulyconstitutesalapseofjournalisticstandards. ItissignificantthathedoesnotquoteonesentencefromtheentirelyformalandimpersonalletterthatI senthimoriginally,inwhichthereisnotasingle"threat"oranytraceof"intimidation".Healsoliesabout hisbrother'smailstome,whichweretruculentandconsistentlybesidethepointthisiswhyIterminated ourcorrespondence.Furthermore,heclaimsthatIaccusedhimofconductingacampaignofdefamation againstactivistswhereasIexpressedmyregretthathehadlenthimselftoexploitationbyyourpaperfor ITScampaign. YourpurposeinpublishingthisbileisclearlytodeflectthediscussionfromtheissueofPalestine(which, onceagain,hefailstomention)anditsnoncoveragebytheIrishmediaintoanunseemlypersonaltussle. ThiswouldbedegradingbothtomeandtothePalestiniancause.Atthispoint,it'sclearthattheIrishTimes isbeyonddegradation,andhasdescendedtothelevelofIndependentNewspapers.

RaymondDeane 3.9Saturday,26thMayChrisDooleytoRaymondDeane From:opinion at irishtimes.com Sent:26May20127:39PM To:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Subject:Another option re Op Ed DearRaymond, Thanksforyourcomments.Imnotclearfromreadingthemwhetherornotyouwishtoavailofan opportunitytoreplytoGerardDonovansarticle,andtheothercriticismsoftheculturalboycottandthe mannerofitsimplementation. Aspreviouslystated,Imhappytoprovidesuchopportunity.IdonthavespaceforapieceonMonday,but IcouldtakeanarticlefromyouinTuesdayspaper,orinThursdayspaperifthatsuitsbetter.Ifitsfor Tuesday,Icouldtakeapieceof1,000words;onThursdays,thereisspacetogoupto1,200wordsthe approximatelengthofGerardDonovansarticle. IfyoudecidetowriteanarticleforTuesday,Iwouldneedtoknowtomorrow(Sunday).Ihavealready commissionedanarticleforthatday,andIwouldneedtogivethewritersomenoticethattheirpieceisto postponed. Idonthaveaccesstothisemailaddressovertheentireweekend,soifyouwishtowriteanarticlefor Tuesdaypleaseemailmeatxxxx [at]irishtimes.com Bestregards ChrisDooley 3.9.1Monday,28thMayRaymondDeanetoChrisDooley From:culturalliaison at ipsc.ie Sent:28May20123.47PM To:opinion at irishtimes.com Subject:ProposedOpEdontheCulturalBoycott HiChris Hereitis,neithernarcissisticnorselfserving.Ihopeit'spublishedintact. Thanks Raymond InmidMaytheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaign(IPSC)presentedatourofIrelandfeaturing,among others,thePalestinianCanadianperformancepoetRafeefZiadahandthePalestinianIsraelisingerTerez

Sliman.TheseartistsarealsoarticulateadvocatesofthePalestiniancauseandoftheculturalboycottof Israel.Theyweremadeavailableforinterviewtothemedia,includingtheIrishTimesbuttherewereno takers. ThisbecomeslesssurprisingwhenonereflectsthatIrishmediaoutletsscarcelymentionedtherecent hungerstrikebyupto2000Palestinianpoliticalprisoners,describedbyJewishVoiceforPeaceasanew chapterinthehistoryofnonviolentresistance. Hadtheybeeninterviewed,thesePalestinianartistswouldsurelyhaverepeatedtheircomparisonofthe boycotttoapicketlinewhichconscientiouspeoplewouldnotnormallycrossbecausetheyrespectthe wishesofthosewhoarefightingexploitation. Theywouldhavementionedthe2004AdvisoryOpinionoftheInternationalCourtofJusticethatIsraels constructionofawallonPalestinianterritorywascontrarytointernationallawandthatgovernments wereunderanobligationnottorenderaidorassistanceinmaintainingthesituationcreatedbysuch construction. Theywouldhaveclarifiedthatin2005thefailureofgovernmentstoactonthisobligation,andthe continuationofaidandassistanceintheshapeoftradingprivilegesofferedIsraelbytheEU,ledover170 PalestiniancivilsocietyorganisationstocallforBoycott,DivestmentandSanctions(BDS)againsttheIsraeli stateuntilitcomplieswithinternationallawanduniversalprinciplesofhumanrights. ThiscallwasfollowedbythefoundationofthePalestinianCampaignfortheCulturalandAcademicBoycott ofIsrael(PACBI),whichhaslaiddownrigorousconditionsfortheimplementationoftheculturalaspectof BDS.CitingMandelasdictumthatboycottisnotaprinciplebutatacticdependingoncircumstances, PACBIemphasisesthatthetargetofthisnonviolenttacticisnotcultureperse,butitsmanipulationbythe Israelistate.VisitingIsraeliartistsaretobewelcomedunlesstheirtripissupportedbytheIsraelistate and/ortheyhaveperformedintheillegalWestBanksettlements. InanOpEd(19thMay)FintanOToole,withoutoncementioningthePalestinianoriginoftheBDScall, criticisedtheculturalboycottasabluntandbackwardinstrument.ButsurelyitisnotasbluntasF16s, Hellfiremissiles,whitephosphorus,andtheotherinstrumentsusedbytheIsraelistatetoterrorise,maim andmurderPalestiniancivilians?Orasbackwardasthewall,fourtimesaslongastheBerlinWall,being constructedwithintheoccupiedWestBankinviolationofinternationallaw,withcementprovidedbyIrish multinationalCRH? Theseexcessesoccuronadailybasis.MeticulouslydocumentedbyIsraelihumanrightsgroupslike BtselemandtheIsraeliCommitteeAgainstHouseDemolitions(ICAHD),theyarepracticallyignoredbyour mediaandfailtotriggersanctionsbyEUgovernmentsthataremandatedbythehumanrightsclause (Article3)oftheEuroMediterraneanAssociationAgreementthatgrantsIsraelsignificanttradingprivileges. MrOToolescritiqueoftheIPSCpledge"nottoavailofanyinvitationtoperformorexhibitinIsrael" becauseitmakesnodistinctionbetweengovernmentsponsoredeventsand,forexample,thecourageous IsraelitheatrecompaniesthatpresentcriticalworkneglectedtoquotetheIsraeliforeignministrys assertionin2005that[w]eseecultureasapropagandatoolofthefirstrank,anddonotdifferentiate betweenpropagandaandculture.MrOToolesinjunctiontoartistsnottoletyourselfbeusedfor propagandapurposesunderestimatesthedegreetowhichastatelikeIsrael,whichhasaministrydevoted entirelytopropaganda,canexploitthemerepresenceofforeignartistsasatoolforthewhitewashingand normalisationofitssuppressionofPalestinianrights. MrOToolechosenottomentionprominentIsraelidissidentswhosupportBDS,includingthecultural boycott,suchasthehistorianIlanPappeorJeffHalper,cofounderofICAHD.Inraisingthehistoryofanti SemiticboycottsasanimpedimenttoBDS,MrOTooleequatestheJewishpeoplewiththestateofIsrael

anequationcommontoantiSemitesandZionistsalikewhilecuttingthegroundfromunderIsraeliand otherJewishopponentsofthatstatesviolationsofPalestinianrights. Finally,MrOToolescriteriaforacodeofconductforartistsandperformersinrelationtoregimesthat egregiouslyabusehumanrightsincludedwellmeaningadvicetoartistsnottoperformtoaudiences forciblysegregatedonlinesofrace,genderorethnicity.ThisoverlooksthefactthatIsraeliaudienceswill inevitablylackthoseforciblyexcludedfromattendancebytheSeparationWallorthesiegeofGaza.His criteriaaresupposedtosave[artists]frombeingpressured,butwhyshouldartists,unlikeothercitizens, beabsolvedfromreflectingonthepossibleconsequencesoftheiractions? AsimilarlynarrowviewofartisticresponsibilityisfoundinnovelistGerardDonovansramblingand vindictiveOpEd(26thMay),inwhichthePalestiniansmeritnotamention.AccordingtoMrDonovan,even torequestartistsnottocrossthePalestinianpicketlineconstitutesathreat,interference,and intimidation,meritinginvocationofArticle40oftheIrishConstitutionprotectingtheIrishcitizenfrom unjustattack. Thepoliteandformalletterfrommyselfthatpromptedthisarticle,appealingtohiminthreeimpersonal sentencesnottobreaktheboycottbyattendingtheInternationalWritersFestivalinJerusalem,was withdrawnfromcirculationwhenIlearnedthat,becauseofillness,MrDonovanhadinfactnotgoneto Israel.Itisnowonceagaininthepublicdomain(seetheIPSCandPACBIwebsites)sothatreaderscan assessforthemselvesthefalsehoodofMrDonovansclaims. InthisrespecthisdiatribeisakintothebaselesscampaignofvilificationoftheIPSCbecauseofitsfictitious intimidationofthebandDervish.ConsultationofDervishsFacebookpagebysomeintrepidinvestigative journalistwouldhaverevealedthesefacts. Equallyproblematicistheeditorialpostscriptsupposedlyprovidingbackgroundtothearticle.Hereitis impliedthattheIPSCinventedtheculturalboycottwhereas,likecomparablecampaignsthroughoutthe world,itmerelyimplementsthecallfromPalestiniancivilsociety.Mentionofthisfact,however,would haveentailedmentioningthePalestinians. SeeminglyfortheIrishmediathePalestineissuecanbereducedtoapettysquabblebetweenIrishartists ratherthantheviolentdispossessionofthePalestiniansandthebelligerentoccupationoftheirlandsbythe rogueIsraelistate.Meanwhile,229conscientiousIrishcreativeandperformingartistshavesofarsigned theIPSCpledgetoboycottIsrael. InOctober2010ArchbishopTutu,reveredveteranoftheSouthAfricanantiApartheidcampaign,appealed toCapeTownOperatocalloffatourofIsrael"untilbothIsraeliandPalestinianoperaloversoftheregion haveequalopportunityandunfetteredaccesstoattendperformances".Shortlybeforehisdeath,Kader Asmal,founderoftheIrishAntiApartheidMovement,expressedhissupportforcallsaroundtheworldto disruptnormalrelationswithIsrael,byboycottingculturalandacademicactivities,bydisruptingtrade relations,andbypressurisinggovernmentstoimposeeconomicsanctions. ThemomentumofthepeacefultacticofBDS,includingtheculturalboycottofIsrael,isglobaland unstoppable. RaymondDeaneisacomposer,andCulturalLiaisonOfficeroftheIPSC

Appendix4:CommentthreadonGerardDonovanOpEd 30
4.1ChrisDooleysresponsetoDavidLandyandDermotBrowne ADMINISTRATORMODERATOR HiDermot...andDavidagain. Ohdear.Wheretobegin? Dermot,IwouldbeverygratefulifyoucouldpointoutoneincorrectreportonthisinTheIrishTimes, unlessyouareoftheviewandIambeginningtogettheimpressionthatformanypeoplethisisthecase thatCathyJordanandGerardDonovanhavenorighttospeak,andthatquotingthemsomehowconstitutes "incorrectreporting". Torecap,andaddressthemanyincorrectassertionsmadebyDavidinhislatestposthere.TheIrishTimes neverallegedtherewasa"campaignofintimidation"byanybody.Rather,itaccuratelyreportedthe statementmadebyCathyJordanofDervish.Ifyoudoubtthat,readherstatementagain. Forexample,shesaid:"...althoughIwasawareoftheconcernswithourproposedvisittoIsrael,Iwasn't quitepreparedfortheextentofthevenomdirectedatus".Nohonestreadingofthatstatementcould resultintheinterpretationthatthe"venon",arisingfroma"proposedtriptoIsrael",wasdirectedtowards thegroupafterthetripwascancelled. Similarly,followingalengthyexplanationinherstatementoftheband'smotivesforgoingtoIsraelinthe firstplace,Jordanconcludes:"Itwasfarfromourintentiontostirupallthisangerandhatred,whenthe oppositewaswhatwasintended."Fromthecontextitisquiteclearthatsheissayingitwastheproposalto gotoIsrael,andnotthecancellationofthetrip,thatstirredup"allthisangerandhatred".Iammakingno allegationagainstanybodyhere,I'mjustdefendingaccuratereporting. David,youmakethedemonstrablyfalseclaimthatinournewsstoriesonthisissuealinesuchas"theIPSC dismissedtheallegations"was"tackedonasameansofdisplayingbalance".Youreallyhavenoproblem throwingmudatconscientiousanddiligentreporters,doyou? Here'swhatwecarriedfromtheIPSCinourinitialstoryontheissue,reportingDervish'sdecisionto withdrawfromIsraelitour,onMay4th. "MembersoftheIrelandPalestineSolidarityCampaignclaimedtheywereresponsibleforforcingtheband tocalloffthetour. "NationalcoordinatorKevinSquiressaidtheorganisationhadmadethebandawareoftheculturalboycott andhaddirecteditssupporterstotargetitswebsite,althoughhedeniedtherewasany'venom'directed towardsit." InthestoryquotingAlanShatter,onMay9th,weincludedthefollowing: "IPSCfounderDrRaymondDeanedeniedtherewasintimidationoftheband.HesaidMrShatter'sviews werethe'typeofpsychologicalprojectionyoualwaysgetfromIsrael'ssupporters.Intimidationandbulying isabouttheonlytacticstheyhavebecausetheydon'thavetruthorjusticeontheirside.Theyliketo pretendtheyarethevictimswhentheyarethevictimisers." InourstoryofMay14th,quotingGerardDonovan,weincludedthefollowing:
30

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0526/1224316730779.html

"DrDeanedeniedthatcommentsontheband'swebsiteaboutthembeingsubjectedtoacampaignof 'venom'andan'avalancheofnegativity'wasdirectedathisorganisation. "Instead,hesaid,thecommentswerereallydirectedatsupportersofIsraelwhohadtargetedtheband aftertheypulledoutofthetour. "DrDeaneapologisedtotheauthorlastnightfor'anydistressthismisunderstandingmayhavecausedhim' andhadbeenunawarethewriterwasnotgoingtothefestival.Hesaiditwas'regrettable'thatfouremails hehadsenttotheUniversityofPlymouth,whereMrDonovanwasawriterinresidence,didnotreachhim. "However,DrDeanemaintainedthatgoingtoIsraelwasnotanapoliticalactasthepersonwouldbe 'exploitedbytheregimethere'." AlsoDavid,yousaidyesterdaya"rightofreply"toFintanO'Toole'sarticlewasrefused.Youwerewrong.I explainedthatsuchareplywasneversought,muchlessrefused.Yetyou'rebacknowwithanequally misinformedaccusation:itwas"effectivelyrefused...sinceinitsplace,theITdecidedtoprinttheabove diatribe".Wrongagain.GerardDonovan'sarticlewasnotpublishedinplaceofanythingelse,itwas publishedonitsownmerits. Onthatnote,canIjustmakethepointthatGerardDonovanisawriterofsomerepute,anddeservedlyso becausethequalityofhisworkisthereforalltosee.Hehasaperspectiveinthismatter,andIthinkheis entitledtohisviewandtohaveitaired.IftheapologytoDonovanforthedistresscausedtohimbythe IPSCwassincere,ishenotentitledtoarticulatethatdistress?OfequalinterestandvalueisRaymond Deane'sperspective,andhehaschosentolethisarticleruninThursday'spaper,ratherthantoday'swhich wasalsoavailabletohim,becauseIcanofferhimmorespaceonThursday. ThedecisiontorunGerardDonovan'sarticlebeforeRaymondDeane'swastakenoneditorialgrounds.To repeatwhatIsaidyesterday,itmadesensetodoitthatwaysothatDrDeanecouldrespond,ifhewished to,tothetotalityofthecriticismsmade. Andfinally,fortheconspiracytheorists,therehasbeennoexternalinfluenceofanykindatplayhere.I trulyhopeFredJohnstonwasjokingwhenhesaid(below)that"onecanonlyspeculateastohowmuch Israeliinfluencehasfeaturedinthis". Fred,theonlycorrespondenceorcontactofanykindthatIhaveeverreceivedfromanyIsraeliagency,at leastthatIcanrecall,wasabouttwoyearsago,afterIhadwrittenapiecefromSyriaabouttheIsraelis' destructionofthetownofQuneitra,intheGolanHeights.IreceivedanemailfromtheIsraeliembassyon thatoccasion.Itwasn'tcomplimentary,andIhaven'theardfromthemsince. It'squitesadthatIshouldfeeltheneedtopointthisout,butthereseemstobemorethanalittleparanoia aroundsomeoftheresponsestoGerardDonovan'sarticle. 4.2ChrisDooleysresponsetoHarryBrowne ADMINISTRATORMODERATOR Harry,it'sbeenalongday,andIdon'thavetimetotimetogiveapointforpointrebuttalofyourposthere. Butlestsilenceonmypartbemistakenforacquiescence,canIjustsay,withthegreatestofrespect,that youtalkafairamountofnonsense. Forexample,yousaythis:"AsChriswellknows,injournalismethicsandinmedialaw,anewspaperis responsibleforwhatanyonesaysinitspages,andweconstantlyrefrainfromquotingpeople,nomatter

howpassionateandhonestwebelievetheirsubjectivebeliefstobe,becausewecantshowthemtobe true." Areyouserious?Youcannotquotesomeone,nomatterhowcredibleanindividualtheyare,unlessyoucan independentlyverifythatwhattheysayistrue?Howonearthwouldwehavecovered,forexample,the opposingclaimsmadebythetwosidesinthefiscaltreaty?WhenwequoteBasharalAssadassayingthe Syriangovernmenthasnotbeenresponsibleforanymassmurdersofitscivilians,doesthatmeanweare sayingitistrue?Harry,wequotepeopleeverydayinthenewspaper,givingtheiropinion,tellingtheir story,recallinganeventand,yes,evenoutliningasubjectiveexperience,andwedonotmakeourselves judgeandjuryonwhetherwhattheyhavetosayis"true".Rather,weletthereaderdecide. You,bizarrely,complainabouttheuseoftheword"warned"inthefollowingsentence:Amongthosewho wroteonthebandswebsitewasDrRaymondDeane,thefounderoftheboycottcampaign,whowarned thebandthatitwouldhavelostallcredibilityifithadplayedinIsrael.Wellthatsurelookslikeawarning tome. Doyouteachjournalismstudents,Harry?Anyway,feelfreetocomebackandlecturemeaboutjournalism andethicsandmedialaw,butpleasedon'ttakeanylackofreplyonmypartasasignalthatIamconceding toyourmagisterialpoints.Icameonhereinitiallytodefendmycolleaguesinthenewsroomwho,inspite ofRaymond'sdigatoneofourfinestreportersinMaryFitzgerald,goabouttheirworkscrupulouslyand conscientiouslyanddonotpursueany"line".Whenpeoplearemindedtoseeconspiraciesandagendas wheretheydon'texist,however,itisveryhardtoconvincethemotherwise,soIthinkI'llleavemy contributionatthat.