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UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 001556 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ASEC OPRC KPAO SCUL BB XL
SUBJECT: BARBADOS:  OP-ED RILES LOCAL JEWISH COMMUNITY 
 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  On August 26, a leading daily newspaper ran 
a half-page op-ed piece in its weekly "As A Matter Of Fact" 
column, which offended Barbados' Jewish community.  Intended 
as criticism of the armed conflict in Lebanon, the article 
degenerated into the propaganda of intolerance.  The paper 
printed an apology on August 29 dissociating itself from the 
views expressed by the author and disavowing the op-ed's 
anti-Semitic sentiments.  Fortunately, there have been no 
violent repercussions in response to either the article or 
the reaction to it.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  In an August 26 op-ed in "The Barbados Advocate," a 
leading daily newspaper, regular columnist David "Joey" 
Harper made several insulting and erroneous remarks which 
were an affront to the Jewish community.  Referring to the 
Jewish people as "stiff necked, wicked" and "uncontrollable," 
he also accused them of having an "ultimate Aryan agenda" and 
being "Bush administration lackeys."  Harper is the Chairman 
of the Child Care Board and the Chief Executive Officer for 
the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP).  This is not the 
first time he has expressed incendiary opinions, nor is the 
Jewish community the sole target of his condemnation.  He has 
also lambasted homosexuals, teachers, and the Anglican church 
for various perceived offenses and shortcomings. 
 
OPINION 
------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Harper's article appears to be intended to criticize 
the recent conflict in Lebanon, as he begins his harangue by 
stating that no one people has the right to determine which 
groups have the right to exist in a world created for all 
men.  He laments the loss of innocent life from Hiroshima to 
Lebanon.  Harper then digresses into an anti-Semitic rant on 
the historic relationship between God and the Jews.  His 
argument goes on to include criticism of the Bush 
administration and American foreign policy for subjecting the 
Middle East to "American style terrorism" and murdering 
innocents in the name of "collateral damage."  Harper 
concludes by exhorting "the Jews" to accept the teachings of 
the New Testament to allow world peace to flourish. 
 
REACTION 
-------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Members of the local Jewish community protested the 
paper's publication of this hate-filled, anti-Semitic 
diatribe, noting in calls, e-mail messages and letters to the 
editor that "hatred corrupts one's ability to relay the facts 
accurately," and "incites violence."  The Advocate's 
editorial committee took quick steps to distance itself from 
the sentiments espoused in Harper's piece, but took full 
responsibility for inadvertently allowing it to be printed. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Members of the small local Jewish community have 
enjoyed a generally peaceful coexistence with the rest of 
Barbados society since 1654.  They report, however, that in 
times of national or global distress, articles and sentiments 
such as those expressed by Harper do occasionally surface. 
They attribute such sentiments to incomplete information on 
world events and the insularity and narrow social views of 
the majority. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Insensitive and slanderous remarks, while not the 
norm, are not uncommon in the sheltered, homogeneous culture 
of Barbados where such comments about "others," usually 
foreigners, are unremarkable.  The paper, which has made 
similar publishing blunders before, is culpable for a lack of 
journalistic editing standards rather than for supporting any 
particular ideology.  Fortunately, there have been no/no 
reports of discrimination or violence as a a result of the 
op-ed or the rebuttal letters.  Nonetheless, that a prominent 
individual holds such views and finds it appropriate to share 
them publicly is disturbing. 
KRAMER