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59 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, February 28, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classifieds Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 18, 2005 Friends stand by Seda, slam ‘bogus’ Patriot Act tactics By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Pete Seda’s friends caution that an indictment for tax fraud is not a guilty verdict for terrorism. "Let’s not jump to any conclusions until the investigation is done," said Rabbi David Zaslow of Havurah Shir Hadash in Ashland. "I support my government investigating this but meanwhile I stand by my colleague." Zaslow, who has known Seda for 15 years, said his friend has never wavered in his opposition to terrorism. "He’s been an outspoken spokesman against violence and terrorism, and he has earned my respect," he said. "When a Muslim American is willing to stand up for Israel and against terrorism, I find that person to be quite brave and visionary," he added. "Pete has done just that since 1990 in many public forums that I have participated in with him." Advertisement Zaslow, who has been communicating with Seda via e-mail monthly and by telephone several times a year, suggested that Seda could be the victim of guilt by association. Seda did receive grants from Saudi Arabia before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, he said. However, that doesn’t mean that Seda knew about or condoned terrorism, he said. "You can imagine how sensitive a Zionist rabbi like myself would be to anything that would threaten the United States and I personally find it very hard to believe that Pete would have participated in what he’s accused of," Zaslow concluded. Said Ashland resident David Berger, a retired attorney and friend of Seda, "I am very saddened to hear of this development and feel it is unwarranted." Paul Copeland, a software developer in Ashland who is also a friend of Seda, agreed. "They run this guy out of the country and take his property under provisions in the Patriot Act," Copeland said. "And they still don’t have any terrorist-related charges to bring against him." The American public should see the indictment as a threat to freedom, not one in which the federal government is preventing terrorism, he indicated. "They have to get him on something now that they’ve ruined his life," Copeland said. "For our government to use bogus Patriot Act terrorist power to destroy an upstanding citizen . . . it’s an outrage. "It’s unforgivable, using government power to destroy an individual and his family," he added. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress Advertisement s