From: Ali Abunimah
To: morning@npr.org
Subject: Linda Gradstein supports Israel's position on Jerusalem

August 10, 2001

This morning in the 8 AM eastern time news spot, reporter Linda Gradstein reported Israel's seizure of the Orient House PLO headquarters in "disputed east Jerusalem."

Thus Gradstein continued her campaign of misinformation about Jerusalem. As Linda Gradstein well knows, east Jerusalem is occupied territory in fact and under international law. This is clear and unambiguous. As a reminder:

UN Security Resolution 267 "Confirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel which purport to change the status of Jerusalem, including expropriation of land and properties thereon, are invalid and cannot change that status."

And UN Security Council Resolution 298 (1971) "Confirms in the clearest possible terms that all legislative and administrative actions taken by Israel to change the status of the city of Jerusalem including expropriation of land and properties, transfer of populations and legislation aimed at the incorporation of the occupied section are totally invalid and cannot change that status."

These are only two examples of overwhelming international reaffirmation of this fact.

By using the Israeli and US government inspired euphemism "disputed" Gradstein attempts to obscure the facts about Jerusalem's occupied status and imply there is an equality of the claim and legal status between occupier and occupied. Gradstein has consistently supported Israel's claims to east Jerusalem, by for example, refusing to include Israeli settlers in that part of the city in the total number of settlers illegally occupying Palestinian land, and accepting Israel's illegal definition of the borders of "greater" Jerusalem which inludes a vast swathe of occupied West Bank territory.

See, for instance:
http://www.abunimah.org/nprletters/010704gradstein.html

After Gradstein's open incitement to violence against Palestinians yesterday, isn't it time NPR put a stop to this reign of error?

Ali Abunimah
http://www.abunimah.org