By Philip R. Scheier , , Shoreline
There are growing questions surrounding the real sponsorship of the deceptive anti-Israel I-97 petition being peddled by for-hire signature gatherers merely as an “anti-war petition.” For many, there seems to be the stench of oil money permeating this so-called petition. Basically, what this camouflaged scheme seeks is to have Seattle divest any of its pension fund from being invested in companies doing business with Israel.
State Senator Adam Kline (D-37th District) accurately charged in the Aug. 8 issue (“Taking a stand”), that the two-sided petition is written with two different subjects: The unpopular Iraq war is the selling point. This by design cloaks the hidden anti-Israel thrust of the I-97 initiative.
With the shadowy sponsors of the initiative trying to get 18,000 unsuspecting Seattle citizens to sign the anti-Israel petition in the coming month under the guise of opposing the war, all concerned citizens should be e-mailing and calling Seattle family members and friends against signing a deceptive I-97 petition being peddled prominently in Seattle-wide food fairs, which apparently makes lush pickings for the signature hawkers.
A citywide drive for volunteers to expose the real anti-Israel goal of the I-97 petition is underway by Seattle area StandWithUs organization, which is also holding volunteer training sessions. For details and information, e-mail: robjacobs@standwithus.com.
Also curious was the letter from one of your readers in the previous issue. He was affronted that an earlier JTNews article on I-97 “classified” those against the petition as “pro-Israel.” In his view, he felt this suggested that “all those who support I-97 are anti-Israel.” He didn’t seem disturbed by the deceptive nature of the petition which was being sold in the signature effort as an “anti-war” petition even as it hid the — yes — anti-Israel goal. Amazing.