BJörn Lindqvist (bjourne@gmail.com) [050121 22:10]:
Because of this information and the fact that the number 472,000 Palestinian refugees cannot be traced to any other source, I doubt that the UN Mediator ever wrote it. I've also had an e-mail conversation with Mitchell Bard and he has so far refused to quote the full line(s) from where his number 472,000 comes from. To me, that and the fact that he is an editor of a strongly pro-Israel site (www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org), does make his claim less believable.
You know, it really would have been more convincing if you'd actually mentioned your efforts to check the reference on the talk page, rather than just reverting without doing so. This would also have avoided 3RR blocks.
I've tried to discuss for over three months now with Jayjg, but it just doesn't seem to work. His editing behaviour is very hostile - if something is even slightly POV according to his perception he will always revert instead of trying to fix it or working out a compromise. I've written for Wikipedia for over four years but I've never encountered an editor quite like him.
Did you inform him of your efforts to verify the reference with Mitchell Bard?
I don't know what to do. Do you?
Detailing your correspondence with Bard on the talk of the article strikes me as a good start!
- d.