Quick Take
A local group of pro-Palestinian supporters has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning outside of the Santa Cruz office of Good Times to demand the weekly paper issue an apology for an article published online on Saturday. The article, which has since been updated online, was about a pro-Israel rally Friday and included Islamophobic statements.
A group of pro-Palestinian supporters say they are planning a rally in front of the Santa Cruz offices of Good Times this week after the local newspaper published an article Saturday about a pro-Israel rally that included Islamophobic statements.
The article, “Pro-Israel demonstrators rally on West Cliff,” was about a protest last Friday by about 50 supporters of Israel.
In a media release issued Monday, Palestine Solidarity Central Coast Santa Cruz — a coalition of local Palestinian solidarity groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America, that formed in the wake of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October — pointed to statements from demonstrators quoted in the Good Times article, such as “Islam believes in killing,” and that “Muslims wish to eradicate Jews,” as reasons why it was organizing a news conference for Wednesday morning in front of the paper’s office in Santa Cruz.
The article, which appeared online, also included comments condoning the killing of Palestinian civilians as part of Israel’s efforts to eradicate Hamas, and that “all pro-Palestinian protests are antisemitic in nature.”
The story was later changed to remove several paragraphs containing the inflammatory statements. Good Times updated the article with a note at the bottom saying: “An earlier version of this article contained quotes from pro-Israel demonstrators that community members on both sides of the issue, including one of the individuals who was quoted, have asked to be removed.”
“This is a horrific abuse of journalistic responsibility, and it fuels racist and Islamophobic hate crimes,” the coalition members wrote in the release. “The abhorrent quotes have since been removed as a result of public outcry, although no apology has been issued, nor any meaningful engagements with community accountability been made by the Good Times.”
The group is also asking that the publication not include the article in any upcoming print edition, issue a public apology and hold “the appropriate editor(s) and journalist(s) accountable,” among other demands.
Brad Kava, Good Times’ interim editor, told Lookout on Monday that the newspaper will publish an editorial about the article on Wednesday. He declined to provide further comment.
The article comes months after the Good Times removed a transphobic letter to the editor following demands from community members. The letter, published in May, was in reference to a drag story time event.
Good Times publisher Dan Pulcrano wrote an apology and said the paper would work alongside local organizations to make the community more inclusive. The interim editor at that time left Good Times after the incident and Kava was then brought in.
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