- Note: The following Storify account is the continuation of this one, begun on October 3. The previous account is an integral part of the narrative, and I encourage you to read it before continuing below.
Update: Greta Berlin Finds a Few Allies, Loses a Few Others, as Her Claims Crumble and Free Gaza Movement Becomes a Pariah (Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, 3:01 a.m.)
- On Thursday evening, October 4, Greta Berlin published an "apology" in her own name on the Free Gaza Movement website (it was apparently supposed to appear as though it came from the organization's board; in yet another act of deception, it was later changed from "Written by Greta Berlin" to "Written by Free Gaza Team"). This was the original version (it has since been altered):
- A TWEET from the Free Gaza TWITTER account was posted several days ago that had a link to a lecture titled, "Zionists Ran the Holocaust and the Concentration Camps." This TWEET did not come from Free Gaza, and does not represent FG's position in any way whatsoever; in fact we condemn its content. It came from Greta's private Facebook page and was shared to a group of people who were discussing the evils of propaganda and racism. For some reason, Facebook connected our Free Gaza account to her personal Facebook account, and the link was posted.
Greta has added, "I apologize that I did not watch the video before hitting SHARE on Facebook. I was in a rush to get to a book event and simply reposted. The fault is completely mine. I personally apologize for not watching the video before sharing it on Facebook. Free Gaza had nothing t do with the post at all. "
The Free Gaza movement is a human rights group that is an expression of citizen nonviolent, direct action, confronting Israel's ongoing abuses of Palestinian human and political rights and will continue to challenge Israel's illegal siege on Gaza. In the future, we will work to ensure that material posted from our account relates only to FGM's activities, including Gaza's Ark. - Berlin later released an additional statement (her authorship has thus far been left unchanged) declaring herself "not a Holocaust denier" and again claiming that the video had been shared in the context of a discussion on propaganda. "I passed it on because of the title," she wrote, declaring that "it was, in fact, an example of propaganda that is EXACTLY what I and others are horrified over."
Derfner to Berlin's Rescue
- Though these non-apologies met with quite a bit of mockery, they -- and Berlin herself -- found a fan in Larry Derfner, a writer for the radical website +972, who had previously been fired from The Jerusalem Post after appearing to justify terror against Israelis. On Friday, Derfner published a frankly embarrassing piece attacking seemingly the entire media -- and me -- for "slandering" Greta Berlin. His central argument was that Berlin had stated in her "apology" that Sunday's video had been "shared to a group of people who were discussing the evils of propaganda and racism" -- a claim that he accepted without any evidence at all. "Do you believe her? I do, absolutely," he wrote, offering no plausible explanation for his stunning credulity. He also ignored all other examples of Berlin's anti-Semitism -- including those detailed above -- absolving her of all guilt and calling me and a range of respectable news outlets "shameless."
- I responded:
As detailed at bit.ly/QGOupp, Berlin's anti-Semitism has manifested itself on multiple occasions, well beyond Sunday's vile video.- Beyond Sunday's video, Berlin promoted a 1943 Nazi propaganda film and endorsed anti-Semite Gilad Atzmon. bit.ly/QGOupp
An Ironic Challenger
- In a fascinating twist of irony, the individual who put Greta's claim to the test was none other than Ali Abunimah, the editor of the viciously anti-Israel website Electronic Intifada. In a blog post published on Saturday, Abunimah stated that Berlin's claim about a discussion of propaganda and racism was plainly false.
Greta Berlin's statement is not correctOn 30 September a tweet was made from the official Twitter account of the Free Gaza Movement (@freegazaorg) which stated "Zionists Ran th...- Excerpt:
This evening I had an opportunity to spend several hours with full access to a private Facebook group of which Berlin is an administrator, and where the video was first posted by another administrator on 28 September with the comment “This will be a real thought provoker for some.”
When the video was posted on 28 September it was neither preceded nor followed by any interactions that would fit the description that it “was shared with a group of people who were discussing propaganda and racism, and this link was an example of the terrible propaganda that could be spewed on websites.” This context does not exist.
Klein Peaces Out
- In the meantime, the Free Gaza Movement began losing supporters. On Saturday, renowned Canadian radical Naomi Klein tweeted the following:
- Setting aside that her claim about a change in leadership is false -- Greta Berlin was one of the co-founders of the organization back in 2006 -- this marked the second retreat of a major figure associated with the Free Gaza Movement, after Huwaida Arraf herself (who notably scrubbed all references to her role as Chair of the organization after the scandal broke).
The Return of Derfner
- Later on Saturday, Larry Derfner published yet another disturbingly sycophantic article on the subject, this time based on a series of emails and a conversation with Berlin. Her claims are both telling and damning, and I will now parse them here.
Claim One: The Mullins Video is "Disgusting," Never Made It to Her "Group Discussion," Which Also Never Happened
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- Kat DawsonAvi, I've been toiling away at my keyboard here trying to ensure Ms Berlin is denied a venue for her current book tour on her last two dates coming up in Canada...more2012-10-13T01:59:05.200Z
- Buber ZionistVery complete. No mention of Emily Hauser's flip flop and later credulous defense of Greta Berlin.2012-10-09T01:53:55.212Z
- Kat DawsonAvi, I've been toiling away at my keyboard here trying to ensure Ms Berlin is denied a venue for her current book tour on her last two dates coming up in Canada...Avi, I've been toiling away at my keyboard here trying to ensure Ms Berlin is denied a venue for her current book tour on her last two dates coming up in Canada. Successful in having her appearance in Nanaimo, BC "postponed" but still working on Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. I understand she has dates in the US as well. Perhaps some of your readers would be able to address this?more2012-10-13T01:59:05.200Z
- Buber ZionistVery complete. No mention of Emily Hauser's flip flop and later credulous defense of Greta Berlin.2012-10-09T01:53:55.212Z
