February 7th, Wednesday night, board of trustees of the Workmen circle will be making a decision whether support amicus brief FOR the defamation suit by the ISB against a large number of defendants including the David Project. There were no JCRC representatives addressing the audience as it was originally advertised in the event flyer.
Oh yeah, Andy Tarsy of ADL, is a right-winger per Cooper. Andy, welcome to the club. We will teach all the tricks, and there will be no hazing. (Here is our previous post on Cooper and his background)
JRT exclusive:
Howard Cooper at Workmen Circle
About 200 people got together at Workmen Circle Monday February 5th to listen to the presentation of Howard Cooper, attorney for the Islamic Society of Boston. Cooper's presentation was in relation to his request for a amicus brief from the organization in support of the ISB's defamation suit against media outlets and various parties of different persuasions and nationalities. Neither press nor recording were allowed in the building. Cooper's presentation was followed by the presentation of attorney Jeffrey Robbins, representing the David Project. We got in the room and took seats providing us clear view of the presenter. Cooper looks young forties, younger than his 46, before the presentation he looked somewhat nervous, though it was obvious that he was playing on the home field. We were very interested in attorney Cooper. Who is this Jewish man, who dedicates such energy to defense of people, who putting it very mildly, are not friends of the Jewish people? Is he an ideologue? An idealist? A self-hating Jew? An assimilationist? Such were questions on our mind. Also, it was very interesting to learn -- how would he tie up so many different parties into a conspiracy network? A vast conspiratorial network used to be a dream of KGB -- it meant a big case, large project, recognition and promotions. But even they had to connect somehow different pieces and had to back off occasionally. We have to admit that thoughts and memories of the KGB came to our mind looking at attorney Cooper. He is smart, articulate, dramatic, and thoroughly, deeply dishonest. He is also not entirely comfortable with his situation. But at WC, he was at home. He started with obligatory story about his grand-father or grand-mother being members of the WC, that he was Jewish, and that defending the ISB was his high calling. He told about how he was recruited by the ISB who observed him during another defamation case. How the fact that he was Jewish did not bother his new client, and how he is impressed with friendliness, and good intentions of his charge. He dealt with the conspiracy problem rather simply. Per his interpretation behind everything, all the undeserving evil, that happened to peaceful Muslims, was a Jewish organization, the David project. He never before even could think that such a terrible, intimidating Jewish organization could exist. Every time he was mentioning the David Project you could hear the audience gasping. This was not a friendly territory for the David Project, the hard-core lefties, a majority in the audience, though not an absolute majority, were palpitating with emotion. What about the experts? What about the media? What about charges of terrorism? Cooper dealt with these issues with a broad brush. He summarily dismissed Steve Emerson -- he is an Muslim-hating agitator, the media in Boston are full of bias, Jewish organizations like ADL took a shameful position.
Friends, this was like a time machine traveling back to the Soviet Union, where black was white, and white was black. The audience, for the most part, was eating from Cooper's palm. On the occasion, he showed some strain -- when he spoke about accusations of being a self-hating Jew, or about the fact that the David Project made a presentation at his temple in Acton, though he protested. There was also a sticky point of four individuals with close connections to the ISB and to the international terrorist circles -- Qaradawi, Alamoudi, Kandil, and Fitaihi. Cooper sounded like an teacher talking about his favorite students who either went slightly off the road -- as in the case of Alamoudi currently serving 15 year jail term -- who knew that it would turn out this way ? -- or the rest , who were maligned and besmirched by conspirators -- that is the Jews. Cooper deftly handled all the questions, but, at any rate, questions were for the most part of friendly, flattering, and sucking up character. He received warm and fairly loud applause at the end of his presentation. He sat the stage for Jeffrey Robbins by saying that attorney Robbins is a very professional man with a very different view of the case, and, as he, Cooper, suspects, different view of the world. A few of admiring lefties jumped to shake Cooper's hand, pick up his prompts and walk him out of the building. All in all, our headline of the other day stating that Cooper DEMANDED a brief from WC is incorrect. Cooper was solicited to come by the Mid East work group of the Workmen Circle. This was not blackmail, this was a meeting of lovebirds. That is for the most part. There were people in the audience truly concerned with the situation, and others thoroughly disgusted. So who is attorney Cooper? In our opinion, he is an ordinary man, an ordinary Jewish lawyer, who, after an average career, hit a lucky streak with the defamation suit business. He jumped at opportunity without much of a hesitation, and after that, he, apparently, adjusted his pliable morals.
The evil is never work of evil people alone, it is magnified by participation and cooperation of ordinary people who simply need to make a living. Howard Cooper is such an ordinary man. Like that KGB agent who begged our friend to confess in crimes against the Socialist homeland, because, he, the agent, needed time off for vacation with his family. (It was August, people were going on vacations with their children.)
After Howard Cooper spoke attorney Jeffrey Robbins. He spoke very well, and made a very strong case. But this is a topic of our next post.
by: jrtelegraph
Here is the request for amicus brief submitted by Cooper to WC:
1/24/07
You have asked that I provide you with a brief statement articulating a compelling reason why your organization should file an amicus brief in the Massachusetts Appeals Court in support of the Islamic Society of Boston's defense of the trial court's decision denying the David Project and its allies' motion to dismiss the ISB's defamation and civil rights lawsuit on anti-Slapp grounds. I can think of no more compelling reason than the fact that the ISB's lawsuit is an effort to battle discrimination and secure for area Muslims the same rights of freedom of worship and assembly that all faith and non-faith based groups in our society hold dear. The ISB's lawsuit alleges that the David Project conspired with others to stop area Muslims from building a Mosque and Cultural Center which, ironically, would include a center for inter-faith dialogue. The ISB's lawsuit claims that the David Project did so by initiating a media campaign to spread false facts about the ISB and its leaders "links" to radical Islam and terrorism. One person with whom the David Project cooperated in this effort, the ISB alleges, was Steve Emerson, the self-styled terrorism "expert" who declared the Oklahoma City bombing to be the work of Middle Eastern terrorists within hours of it occurring. In the Muslim community, and elsewhere, Mr. Emerson is regarded as a person who has made a living attacking Muslims. The ISB believes that the David Project's effort to claim the protection of the anti-Slapp statute (a law conceived to protect abutting land owners from strategic lawsuits brought by developers to intimidate them), is antithetical to the notion that we have courts of law to hold people responsible for their actions.
I understand that your organization is a Jewish group. To date, the open-minded, progressive segments of the Jewish community have been largely silent in the face of more conservative groups efforts to silence any opposition to or disagreement with the David Project's agenda. It is they who shout the loudest and shout down all who disagree, all while paradoxically claiming that anyone who disagrees with them or seeks to hold them accountable is violating their free speech rights.
The ISB's lawsuit is an important civil rights case. Islamaphobia is as wrong as anti-Semitism and all other forms of racism. If you need further evidence of the critical battle the ISB is waging against intolerance, please read Jessica Masse's Op Ed piece in the Globe today. I don't think I could improve on what she had to say.
My best regards and thanks.
Howard Cooper
(attorney for ISB)
posted by: jrtelegraph
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