BERKELEY, Calif. — For the last six years, The Berkeley Daily Planet has published a freewheeling assortment of submissions from readers, who offer sharp-elbowed views on everything from raucous college parties (generally bad) to the war in Iraq (ditto).
Becky O’Malley, front, is the editor of The Berkeley Daily Planet, a California weekly that critics accuse of publishing too many letters and other commentary critical of Israel. Ms. O’Malley, 69, denies any personal or editorial bias. “I have the old-fashioned basic liberal thing of believing that the remedy for speech you don’t like is more speech,” she said.
John Gertz, editor of dpwatchdog.com, a site containing what it calls anti-Semitic writings published in The Planet. He says his goal is not to close the paper.
But since March, that running commentary has been under attack by a small but vociferous group of critics who accuse the paper’s editor, Becky O’Malley, of publishing too many letters and other commentary pieces critical of Israel. Those accusations are the basis of a campaign to drive away the paper’s advertisers and a Web site that strongly suggests The Planet and its editor are anti-Semitic.
“We think that Ms. O’Malley is addicted to anti-Israel expression just as an alcoholic is to drinking,” Jim Sinkinson, who has led the campaign to discourage advertisers, wrote in an e-mail message. He is the publishe… >>>
