Date: 04 Aug 00 17:35:47 -0400
Subject: CNN


ADC Action Alert:
Protest CNNs Return to Describing Jerusalem as Part of Israel

CNN Interactive, the website of CNN, has reverted to describing
Jerusalem as Jerusalem, Israel in its international weather section
<http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/me/Israel/JerusalemJRUX.html>.  A small note
attached to the bottom of the page states that the city is simply a
disputed issue in peace talks between Israel and Palestinians.  It makes
no mention of international law or the many Security Council resolutions
that confirm Jerusalems status as an occupied city which is in no way a
part of Israel.  CNN describes its move as nonpartisan and
objective.

ACTION REQUESTED:
Please contact the Editor-in-Chief of CNN Interactive, Scott Woelfel and
tell him that it is outrageous for CNN to mislead its audience in this
manner.  CNN has no business endorsing Israels conquest of Jerusalem or
accepting Israels illegitimate claims to the city while ignoring
international law, the will of the international community and the
declarations of the UN Security Council.  Feel free to use ADCs letter
to CNN Interactive as a model.  Please cc all communications to
adc-AT-adc.org.

Please contact:

Scott Woelfel
Vice-President, General Manager and Editor-in-Chief
CNN Interactive
One CNN Center
Atlanta, GA 30303
Fax: (404) 588-0100
scott.woelfel-AT-turner.com


TEXT OF ADC LETTER TO CNN INTERACTIVE:

August 3, 2000

Scott Woelfel
Vice-President, General Manager and Editor-in-Chief
CNN Interactive
One CNN Center
Atlanta, GA 30303

Dear Mr. Woelfel:

I write to you as Communications Director of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nations largest Arab-American
membership organization, to express our deep concern over the
representation of the status of Jerusalem by CNN Interactive.

As you no doubt recall, on March 6 you were contacted by ADC member Ali
Abunimah who alerted you to the problem of representing Jerusalem as
part of Israel, which CNN Interactive was doing at the time.  Mr.
Abunimah suggested a more neutral policy, simply listing Jerusalem
without denoting a country.  This is what the US government does on the
passports of US citizens born in that city, and it would ensure that
none of your audience would misinterpret CNN's intentions.  On March
19, you informed Mr. Abunimah that CNN has decided to allow Jerusalem
to stand alone as a city in our listings.

On August 3, Wired News reported that CNN restored Jerusalem's status
as part of
Israel after the American Jewish Congress complained that the news
organization was making a political statement by failing to list the
city as part of the country on its online weather map --
as it does with every other major city in the world.  CNN Interactive
spokeswoman Edna Johnson is quoted as saying We weren't implying that
we were taking Jerusalem out of
Israel, our intention was to say, This is a disputed territory.  In
fact, there is no international dispute as to the status of East
Jerusalem - it is universally recognized as an occupied city, conquered
by Israel in 1967.  The United Nations Security Council, including the
United States, has affirmed and reaffirmed this on countless occasions.

To mention but a few Security Council resolutions declaring Israel to be
an occupying power in Jerusalem: Resolution 478 (1980) determines that
all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel,
the occupying Power, which have altered or purport to alter the
character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and in particular
the recent "basic law" on Jerusalem, are null and void and must be
rescinded forthwith.  Resolution 476 (1980) reaffirms the overriding
necessity to end the prolonged occupation of Arab territories occupied
by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem; and strongly deplores the
continued refusal of Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the
relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Resolution 298 (1971) denounces measures and actions by Israel designed
to change the status of the Israeli-occupied section of Jerusalem.
Please find the full text of these resolutions enclosed.

Clearly, under international law, East Jerusalem is an occupied city,
and in no way can it be considered to be a part of Israel.  The current
listing of the city by CNN Interactive as Jerusalem, Israel flouts
international law and the will and opinion of virtually the entire
international community, and endorses conquest as a means of territorial
expansion.  Please note that all embassies to Israel, including the
United States Embassy, are located in Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem (the only
exceptions being the embassies of El Salvador, Costa Rica and the
Democratic Republic of Congo).  Both the European Union and the Vatican
have recently reiterated that all of Jerusalem constitutes a corpus
separatum, or distinct body, from the State of Israel.  The rhetoric
which describes Jerusalem as disputed rather than occupied, which your
spokesperson repeated, is a transparent Israeli ploy to obscure the Holy
Citys clear status  under international law as an occupied territory.

The footnote on the Jerusalem weather page of CNN Interactive which
reads The status of Jerusalem, the seat of Israeli government, is the
most contentious issue in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Palestinian and Arab leaders consider part of Jerusalem the capital of
the prospective Palestinian state is highly misleading.  It completely
ignores the extraordinary body of international law defining Jerusalem
as occupied and refuting any and all Israeli claims to sovereignty in
East Jerusalem.  Visitors to your site are encouraged by this misleading
note to believe that the status of East Jerusalem is merely a matter of
dispute between Israelis who possess the city and Palestinians who have
ambitions attached to it.  This formulation is utterly false, insofar as
it leaves out the repeated and unambiguous affirmations of the legal and
political status of East Jerusalem as an occupied city.

Sadly, CNN Interactive has returned to the mistake you corrected in
March.  However, responsible new organizations need to be able to hold
on to journalistic standards.  It is completely inaccurate to describe
Jerusalem as Jerusalem, Israel, or to state that the status of the
city is disputed rather than occupied and ignore international law and
the repeated declarations of the Security Council.

Your spokesperson is quoted by Wired News as saying We elected to list
it as Jerusalem, Israel, as a nonpartisan move. We are hopeful that the
explanation gives some insight. Our objective is simply to be
objective.  Obviously, endorsing conquest as a means of territorial
expansion and accepting Israels claims while rejecting the judgement of
the Security Council and international community is anything but
non-partisan or objective.  In the interests of the credibility of
CNN and CNN Interactive, and the need of your audience for accurate and
unbiased information, it is necessary that you restore your policy of
not mistakenly and misleadingly referring to Jerusalem, Israel.

I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding this important matter.

Yours,
Hussein Ibish
Communications Director
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

cc: W. Thomas Johnson, Chairman and CEO
Richard Davis, Executive Vice-President, Standards and Practices

American Committee on Jerusalem * 4201 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 302 Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 237-0215 * Fax: (202) 244-3196 * e-mail: acj-AT-acj.org
The ACJ is a coalition of various organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting a solution to Jerusalem which addresses the deep attachments of adherents to the three monotheistic religions to the city and the political aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis.



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