Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (also known as The Washington Report and WRMEA) magazine, published nine times per year in Washington, D.C.
, focuses on "news and analysis from and about the Middle East and U.S. policy in that region." The New York Times
has characterized it as "critical of United States policies in the Middle East." In 2005 USA Today
called it "a non-partisan publication that has been critical of Bush's policies."
(AET), founded in 1982 as a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, D.C. under 501(c)4 by retired U.S. foreign service officers including Andrew Killgore
, who was U.S. Ambassador to Qatar
when he retired from the United States Foreign Service
in 1980 and Richard Curtiss, a former head of the Arabic Service of the Voice of America
, who was chief inspector of the U.S. Information Agency when he retired from the United States Foreign Service
in 1980. Killgore is the publisher and Curtiss is the Executive Editor.
AET's Foreign Policy
Committee has included former U.S. ambassadors, government officials, and members of the United States Congress
, including the late Democrat
ic Senator
J. William Fulbright
, and Republican
Senator Charles Percy
, both former chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and members of its Board of Directors and advisory committees "receive no fees for their services."
The Washington Report began in 1982 as a bi-weekly eight-page newsletter and today is a 76-page full-color magazine. Its affiliate Middle East Books web site writes it is "recognized worldwide as a leader in its field," publishing "a wide variety of views from and about the Middle East by Muslim, Jewish and Christian writers, many of whom live or have lived in the region". The magazine's "nonprofit wing has donated 3,200 free subscriptions" and dozens of books to libraries.
Presently, the Washington Report is making a significant effort to enhance its presence online, specifically through Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Additionally, the publication is reportedly investigating opportunities in mobile applications, following the growing trend of magazines investing further in electronic media.
The Washington Report carries articles with perspectives ranging from the Israeli left
(e.g., Uri Avnery
, Ilan Pappe
) to libertarians
(e.g., Sheldon Richman
and Leon Hadar
) to the isolationist U.S. right
(e.g., Robert Novak
, Pat Buchanan
). As long ago as 1990, the publication argued that criticism of Israel should not be equated with antisemitism.
The Washington Report publishes listings of pro-Israel political action committee
contributions to congressional candidates for each Congress, as well as elected representatives' voting records during each Congress. It also publishes a sum total of direct aid to Israel, which it estimates at almost $114 billion. This resource has been quoted by a number of publications over the years.
The Washington Report has published dozens of articles about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC). In 1998 founders Andrew Killgore and Richard Curtiss joined other plaintiffs in complaining that the Federal Election Commission had improperly refused to label AIPAC a "political action committee" (PAC) and require AIPAC to disclose the sources and uses of money. The case went to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in a majority decision that the plaintiffs had the right to raise issues regarding AIPAC, but referred the PAC matter back to the FEC.
The Washington Report has published a number of articles on Israel’s 1967 attack on the USS Liberty
. James Ennes, a retired Naval lieutenant commander who was on the USS Liberty the day of the attack wrote two articles detailing evidence the attack was deliberate. The magazine also has published articles on the topic by former representative Paul Findley
, former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
James E. Akins
and former Central Intelligence Agency
analyst Ray McGovern
In 1996 the magazine reported that the United States Department of Defense
and the General Accounting Office had both noted Israeli thefts of U.S. military technology secrets, confirming that Israel had transferred technology from the largely U.S. taxpayer funded Lavi fighter
program to China. It was one of several publications that pointed out in 2007 that China’s Chengdu J-10
fighter bore a striking similarity to the Lavi.
In 1998 the magazine reported on the case of Mohammed Salah, the first American citizen to be placed on the U.S. government list of terrorists after being arrested and imprisoned for five years by Israel, charged with being a member of Hamas
. When he returned home, the U.S. seized his assets. Richard Curtiss wrote about the "Secret Evidence Repeal Act of 1999" which was motivated in part by the government's use of "secret evidence" to justify seizing Salah's assets. In 1999 Curtiss wrote that Salah alleged he was tortured with beatings by interrogators, including an American-born Israeli, and that evidence was being used by U.S. prosecutors. Curtiss also quoted Salah's comments on his attorney's urging him to help "put Israel on trial." Quoting this, Jeff Breinholt, then Deputy Chief, Counterterrorism Section, United States Department of Justice
, criticized Salah’s attorneys for pressuring him to use the torture defense, calling it “lawfare.” He also defended the judge's decision to allow Israeli interrogators to testify in closed court. In 2007 Salah was acquitted of financing Hamas.
In 2003 the publication wrote that the United States government in that year provided the U.S. Holocaust Museum $38.4 million dollars, or 67 percent of its annual budget, more than it provided to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It opined that "Americans well might wonder why" when the National World War II Memorial
, the National Museum of the American Indian
and the National Museum of African American History and Culture
were not yet completed, "the U.S. government places a higher priority on a museum dedicated to the victims and survivors of a European horror."
In 2004 AET’s Andrew Killgore spearheaded a letter to President George W. Bush signed by a number of former American diplomats objecting to US policy towards Israel and the Palestinians, especially then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
's plan to leave Gaza
without bothering to negotiate with Palestinian representatives.
In 2007 Fox News quoted Andrew Kilgore on the prosecution of two AIPAC employees in the Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal. Kilgore said that although AIPAC was not a registered foreign agent under the law
, it was in fact a foreign agent and that the U.S. government should assume intelligence shared with allies “all over the world." He has written at length on the topic in "The Washington Report."
In 2008 a number of publications reported that Mohammed Omer
, the Gaza correspondent for the Washington Report, was hospitalized after Israeli soldiers cracked his ribs and inflicted other injuries at a crossing from Jordan into the occupied West Bank
. The Israeli government disputed Omer's claims.
, the Anti-Defamation League
, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
as well as conservative oriented news outlets like Fox News and the Jerusalem Post. Specific cases include:
In 1992, then AIPAC Deputy Director of Research and Information Michael Lewis charged that "Arabists" have become a major problem for Israel in the United States, distributing copies of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs to an audience as evidence. He also wrote up his critique in AIPAC's "Near East Report." The Washington Report printed a rebuttal of Lewis' accusations. In 1997 Michael Lewis accused the Washington Report of promoting conspiracy theories (notably regarding the USS Liberty Incident
) and publishing reports that accuse Israel and Zionists of being collectively responsible for many issues in the United States and the Middle East. Lewis is now AIPAC's Director of Policy Analysis.
In 2000 Jonathan S. Tobin
wrote in Jewish World Review
that the publication was "the guidebook to the Arabist lobby in the United States," that it "specializes in defaming Israel," and that it is "a must-read for friends of Israel who want a reliable indicator of the thinking of the anti-Israel crowd." In a book published in 2002 Rafael Medoff
, founding director of the David Wyman
Institute for Holocaust Studies, wrote that "in addition to the standard denunciations of Israeli policies, the Washington Report has published articles belittling the magnitude of the Holocaust
, listing the names of Jewish publishers of leading U.S. newspapers to demonstrate 'Zionist' control of the media, and accusing Israel of 'Nazi-style' genocide
against the Arabs. Each issue is filled with wild conspiracy theories about Israel and pro-Israel lobbying groups, accusing them of orchestrating everything from the Monica Lewinsky
scandal to the assassination of John F. Kennedy
."
During the George W. Bush administration, the Anti-Defamation League
criticized the publication for hosting an essay by Paul Craig Roberts
in which he writes the "fanatical neoconservatives and Israelis are using Bush
to commit the United States to a catastrophic course." The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
("CAMERA"), which has been noted for its pro-Israel media monitoring and advocacy, describes The Washington Report as being "virulently anti-Israel". The Jewish Virtual Library
(a member of the Israel on Campus Coalition
) says of the Washington Report that it "publishes many articles that are considered to be anti-Israel and anti-Zionist" and "supports the false accusation that there was a coverup regarding" the USS Liberty incident
.
In February 2010 Fox News reported that the Washington Report had deleted from a 2007 article a comment by Rashad Hussain
, the newly appointed U.S. envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), calling the prosecution of Sami Al-Arian
a “politically motivated persecution.” Editor Delinda Hanley told Fox News she believed the change was made in February 2009, because the comments attributed to Hussain were actually made by Sami al-Arian's daughter, Laila, who also attended the event. But article's author, Shereen Kandil, told Fox News that she did not confuse the two people. The White House
also attributed the comments to Al-Arian's daughter. (In 2006, Al-Arian had entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to help people associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.) Hussain himself said he had made the remarks in response to a question from Laila Al-Arian, but had complained to the Washington Report shortly after they were published that they "lacked context", and the publication eventually removed the remarks.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, focuses on "news and analysis from and about the Middle East and U.S. policy in that region." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
has characterized it as "critical of United States policies in the Middle East." In 2005 USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
called it "a non-partisan publication that has been critical of Bush's policies."
Organization
The Washington Report is published by the American Educational TrustAmerican Educational Trust
The American Educational Trust is a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, D.C., under taxation provision 5014 by retired U.S. foreign service officers. Because of AET's activities to influence the political process, donations to the AET are not tax deductible...
(AET), founded in 1982 as a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, D.C. under 501(c)4 by retired U.S. foreign service officers including Andrew Killgore
Andrew Killgore
Andrew I. Killgore was a United States Foreign Service Officer and diplomat. He was ambassador of the United States to Qatar when he retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 1980. He was one of the original founders of the American Educational Trust, best known for publishing the magazine The...
, who was U.S. Ambassador to Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
when he retired from the United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
in 1980 and Richard Curtiss, a former head of the Arabic Service of the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
, who was chief inspector of the U.S. Information Agency when he retired from the United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
in 1980. Killgore is the publisher and Curtiss is the Executive Editor.
AET's Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
Committee has included former U.S. ambassadors, government officials, and members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, including the late Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
ic Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
, and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Senator Charles Percy
Charles H. Percy
Charles Harting "Chuck" Percy was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964. He was elected United States Senator from Illinois in 1966, re-elected through his term ending in 1985; he concentrated on business and foreign relations...
, both former chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and members of its Board of Directors and advisory committees "receive no fees for their services."
The Washington Report began in 1982 as a bi-weekly eight-page newsletter and today is a 76-page full-color magazine. Its affiliate Middle East Books web site writes it is "recognized worldwide as a leader in its field," publishing "a wide variety of views from and about the Middle East by Muslim, Jewish and Christian writers, many of whom live or have lived in the region". The magazine's "nonprofit wing has donated 3,200 free subscriptions" and dozens of books to libraries.
Presently, the Washington Report is making a significant effort to enhance its presence online, specifically through Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Additionally, the publication is reportedly investigating opportunities in mobile applications, following the growing trend of magazines investing further in electronic media.
Political positions
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs states its position as follows:
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs does not take partisan domestic political positions. As a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli-Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution 242´s land-for-peace formula, supported by seven successive U.S. presidents. In general, the Washington Report supports Middle East solutions which it judges to be consistent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, self-determination and fair play.
The Washington Report carries articles with perspectives ranging from the Israeli left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
(e.g., Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement.A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat in the Knesset from 1965–74 and 1979–81...
, Ilan Pappe
Ilan Pappé
Ilan Pappé is a professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the UK, director of the university's European Centre for Palestine Studies, co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies, and political activist...
) to libertarians
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
(e.g., Sheldon Richman
Sheldon Richman
Sheldon Richman is an American political writer and academic, best known for his advocacy of libertarianism.He is the editor of The Freeman, a magazine published by The Foundation for Economic Education, a Senior Fellow at the Future of Freedom Foundation, a Research Fellow at The Independent...
and Leon Hadar
Leon Hadar
Leon Hadar, is a global affairs analyst, journalist, blogger and author. A long-time critic of American policy in the Middle East, and a former research fellow with the Cato Institute, Hadar is a contributing editor for the American Conservative and a regular contributor to Chronicles and Reason...
) to the isolationist U.S. right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
(e.g., Robert Novak
Robert Novak
Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
, Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
). As long ago as 1990, the publication argued that criticism of Israel should not be equated with antisemitism.
The Washington Report publishes listings of pro-Israel political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
contributions to congressional candidates for each Congress, as well as elected representatives' voting records during each Congress. It also publishes a sum total of direct aid to Israel, which it estimates at almost $114 billion. This resource has been quoted by a number of publications over the years.
The Washington Report has published dozens of articles about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
(AIPAC). In 1998 founders Andrew Killgore and Richard Curtiss joined other plaintiffs in complaining that the Federal Election Commission had improperly refused to label AIPAC a "political action committee" (PAC) and require AIPAC to disclose the sources and uses of money. The case went to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in a majority decision that the plaintiffs had the right to raise issues regarding AIPAC, but referred the PAC matter back to the FEC.
The Washington Report has published a number of articles on Israel’s 1967 attack on the USS Liberty
USS Liberty incident
The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, , by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members , wounded 170 crew members, and...
. James Ennes, a retired Naval lieutenant commander who was on the USS Liberty the day of the attack wrote two articles detailing evidence the attack was deliberate. The magazine also has published articles on the topic by former representative Paul Findley
Paul Findley
Paul Findley is a former United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1961. Findley lost his seat in 1982 to current United States Senator Dick Durbin. Findley attended Illinois College and is a member of Phi Alpha Literary Society...
, former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
James E. Akins
James E. Akins
James Elmer Akins was the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from September, 1973 to February, 1976, just in time to serve during the 1973 Oil Crisis of October, 1973 - March, 1974. Akins was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and on the advisory council of the Iran Policy Committee...
and former Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
analyst Ray McGovern
Ray McGovern
Raymond McGovern is a retired CIA officer turned political activist. McGovern was a Federal employee under seven U.S. presidents over 27 years, presenting the morning intelligence briefings at the White House for many of them.-Early life:...
In 1996 the magazine reported that the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and the General Accounting Office had both noted Israeli thefts of U.S. military technology secrets, confirming that Israel had transferred technology from the largely U.S. taxpayer funded Lavi fighter
IAI Lavi
The IAI Lavi was a combat aircraft developed in Israel in the 1980s. It was a multi-billion dollar fighter aircraft project that was disbanded when the Israeli government concluded it could not finance production on its own, could not achieve a consensus on the Lavi's cost-effectiveness and...
program to China. It was one of several publications that pointed out in 2007 that China’s Chengdu J-10
Chengdu J-10
The Chengdu J-10 is a multirole fighter aircraft designed and produced by the People's Republic of China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force...
fighter bore a striking similarity to the Lavi.
In 1998 the magazine reported on the case of Mohammed Salah, the first American citizen to be placed on the U.S. government list of terrorists after being arrested and imprisoned for five years by Israel, charged with being a member of Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. When he returned home, the U.S. seized his assets. Richard Curtiss wrote about the "Secret Evidence Repeal Act of 1999" which was motivated in part by the government's use of "secret evidence" to justify seizing Salah's assets. In 1999 Curtiss wrote that Salah alleged he was tortured with beatings by interrogators, including an American-born Israeli, and that evidence was being used by U.S. prosecutors. Curtiss also quoted Salah's comments on his attorney's urging him to help "put Israel on trial." Quoting this, Jeff Breinholt, then Deputy Chief, Counterterrorism Section, United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, criticized Salah’s attorneys for pressuring him to use the torture defense, calling it “lawfare.” He also defended the judge's decision to allow Israeli interrogators to testify in closed court. In 2007 Salah was acquitted of financing Hamas.
In 2003 the publication wrote that the United States government in that year provided the U.S. Holocaust Museum $38.4 million dollars, or 67 percent of its annual budget, more than it provided to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It opined that "Americans well might wonder why" when the National World War II Memorial
National World War II Memorial
The U.S. National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II...
, the National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
and the National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a Smithsonian Institution museum established in 2003. It will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. In 2006, the Smithsonian's Board of Regents selected a site near the grounds of the Washington Monument and the...
were not yet completed, "the U.S. government places a higher priority on a museum dedicated to the victims and survivors of a European horror."
In 2004 AET’s Andrew Killgore spearheaded a letter to President George W. Bush signed by a number of former American diplomats objecting to US policy towards Israel and the Palestinians, especially then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
's plan to leave Gaza
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
without bothering to negotiate with Palestinian representatives.
In 2007 Fox News quoted Andrew Kilgore on the prosecution of two AIPAC employees in the Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal. Kilgore said that although AIPAC was not a registered foreign agent under the law
Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act is a United States law passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers be properly identified to the American public. The act was passed in response to German propaganda in the lead-up to World War II...
, it was in fact a foreign agent and that the U.S. government should assume intelligence shared with allies “all over the world." He has written at length on the topic in "The Washington Report."
In 2008 a number of publications reported that Mohammed Omer
Mohammed Omer
Mohammed Omer is a Palestinian journalist. He has reported for numerous media outlets, including: the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, ; Al Jazeera ; New Statesman ; Pacifica Radio; Electronic Intifada ; The Nation ; Inter Press Service ; Free Speech Radio News ; Vermont Guardian ;...
, the Gaza correspondent for the Washington Report, was hospitalized after Israeli soldiers cracked his ribs and inflicted other injuries at a crossing from Jordan into the occupied West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. The Israeli government disputed Omer's claims.
Criticism
A bulk of the criticism for the publication comes from pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC, Jewish World ReviewJewish World Review
Jewish World Review is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday , which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously."It carries informational articles related to Judaism, dozens of...
, the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is an American non-profit pro-Israel media watchdog group. The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to the Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general...
as well as conservative oriented news outlets like Fox News and the Jerusalem Post. Specific cases include:
In 1992, then AIPAC Deputy Director of Research and Information Michael Lewis charged that "Arabists" have become a major problem for Israel in the United States, distributing copies of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs to an audience as evidence. He also wrote up his critique in AIPAC's "Near East Report." The Washington Report printed a rebuttal of Lewis' accusations. In 1997 Michael Lewis accused the Washington Report of promoting conspiracy theories (notably regarding the USS Liberty Incident
USS Liberty incident
The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, , by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members , wounded 170 crew members, and...
) and publishing reports that accuse Israel and Zionists of being collectively responsible for many issues in the United States and the Middle East. Lewis is now AIPAC's Director of Policy Analysis.
In 2000 Jonathan S. Tobin
Jonathan S. Tobin
Jonathan S. Tobin is the senior online editor of Commentary magazine, a neo-Conservative monthly magazine covering politics, international affairs, Judaism and social, cultural and literary issues....
wrote in Jewish World Review
Jewish World Review
Jewish World Review is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday , which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously."It carries informational articles related to Judaism, dozens of...
that the publication was "the guidebook to the Arabist lobby in the United States," that it "specializes in defaming Israel," and that it is "a must-read for friends of Israel who want a reliable indicator of the thinking of the anti-Israel crowd." In a book published in 2002 Rafael Medoff
Rafael Medoff
Rafael Medoff is founding director of The David Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, which is based in Washington, D.C. and focuses on issues related to America's response to the Holocaust.-Academic career:...
, founding director of the David Wyman
David Wyman
David S. Wyman is the author of several books on the responses of the United States to Nazi Germany's persecution of and programs to exterminate Jews....
Institute for Holocaust Studies, wrote that "in addition to the standard denunciations of Israeli policies, the Washington Report has published articles belittling the magnitude of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, listing the names of Jewish publishers of leading U.S. newspapers to demonstrate 'Zionist' control of the media, and accusing Israel of 'Nazi-style' genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
against the Arabs. Each issue is filled with wild conspiracy theories about Israel and pro-Israel lobbying groups, accusing them of orchestrating everything from the Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
scandal to the assassination of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
."
During the George W. Bush administration, the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
criticized the publication for hosting an essay by Paul Craig Roberts
Paul Craig Roberts
Paul Craig Roberts is an American economist and a columnist for Creators Syndicate. He served as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration earning fame as a co-founder of Reaganomics. He is a former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and...
in which he writes the "fanatical neoconservatives and Israelis are using Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to commit the United States to a catastrophic course." The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is an American non-profit pro-Israel media watchdog group. The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to the Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general...
("CAMERA"), which has been noted for its pro-Israel media monitoring and advocacy, describes The Washington Report as being "virulently anti-Israel". The Jewish Virtual Library
Jewish Virtual Library
Jewish Virtual Library is an online encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise . Established in 1993, it is a comprehensive website covering Israel, the Jewish people, and Jewish culture.-History:...
(a member of the Israel on Campus Coalition
Israel On Campus Coalition
The Israel on Campus Coalition is a pro-Israel umbrella organization founded in 2002 under the auspices of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life...
) says of the Washington Report that it "publishes many articles that are considered to be anti-Israel and anti-Zionist" and "supports the false accusation that there was a coverup regarding" the USS Liberty incident
USS Liberty incident
The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, , by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members , wounded 170 crew members, and...
.
In February 2010 Fox News reported that the Washington Report had deleted from a 2007 article a comment by Rashad Hussain
Rashad Hussain
Rashad Hussain , is an American attorney, and U.S. Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , an intergovernmental group with 57 member states. Hussain, a Muslim of Indian heritage, has served in the White House Counsel's Office, and in his role as Envoy, has advised the...
, the newly appointed U.S. envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), calling the prosecution of Sami Al-Arian
Sami Al-Arian
Dr. Sami Amin Al-Arian , is a former resident of Temple Terrace, Florida, now living in Northern Virginia, who is a Muslim activist, and former University of South Florida professor of computer engineering...
a “politically motivated persecution.” Editor Delinda Hanley told Fox News she believed the change was made in February 2009, because the comments attributed to Hussain were actually made by Sami al-Arian's daughter, Laila, who also attended the event. But article's author, Shereen Kandil, told Fox News that she did not confuse the two people. The White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
also attributed the comments to Al-Arian's daughter. (In 2006, Al-Arian had entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to help people associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.) Hussain himself said he had made the remarks in response to a question from Laila Al-Arian, but had complained to the Washington Report shortly after they were published that they "lacked context", and the publication eventually removed the remarks.
Contributors
Writers for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs include retired U.S. foreign service officers and people with a wide range of political, national and religious backgrounds. The following is an incomplete list of people who have, at one or more times, contributed to WRMEA:
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John Esposito John Louis Esposito is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University... Paul Findley Paul Findley is a former United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1961. Findley lost his seat in 1982 to current United States Senator Dick Durbin. Findley attended Illinois College and is a member of Phi Alpha Literary Society... Robert Fisk Robert Fisk is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years. He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States's war in Afghanistan and the same country's... Neve Gordon Neve Gordon is a doctor of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, who writes on issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and human rights. A third-generation Israeli, Gordon did his military service in an IDF Paratrooper unit, and suffered severe injuries in... Ran HaCohen Dr. Ran HaCohen is an Israeli university teacher and translator known for his strong criticism of Israel's policies. Having graduated from university with a B.A. in Computer Science, an M.A. in Comparative Literature and a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies, he works as a literary translator of German,... Leon Hadar Leon Hadar, is a global affairs analyst, journalist, blogger and author. A long-time critic of American policy in the Middle East, and a former research fellow with the Cato Institute, Hadar is a contributing editor for the American Conservative and a regular contributor to Chronicles and Reason... Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies... |
Alfred Lilienthal Alfred M. Lilienthal was an American Jew, who was a prominent critic of Zionism and the state of Israel.-Early life:... Michael Lind Michael Lind is an American writer. Currently Lind is Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., Editor of New American Contract and its blog Value Added, and a columnist for Salon magazine. Lind was a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School and... Pete McCloskey Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. He ran on an anti-war platform for the Republican nomination for President in 1972 but was defeated by incumbent President... Norton Mezvinsky Norton Mezvinsky is a historian. He is a Distinguished University Professor, Emeritus, Connecticut State University and is the president of the International Council for Middle East Studies, Inc., a new academic think tank in Washington, D.C. He has written numerous published books, articles and... Donald Neff Donald Neff is an American journalist. He spent 16 years in service for Time Magazine, and is a former Time Magazine Bureau Chief in Israel. He also worked for the Washington Star.... Robert Novak Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for... Mohammed Omer Mohammed Omer is a Palestinian journalist. He has reported for numerous media outlets, including: the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, ; Al Jazeera ; New Statesman ; Pacifica Radio; Electronic Intifada ; The Nation ; Inter Press Service ; Free Speech Radio News ; Vermont Guardian ;... Victor Ostrovsky Victor John Ostrovsky is an author, artist and former katsa for the Israeli Mossad . He authored two non-fiction books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception, a New York Times No. 1 bestseller in 1990, and The Other Side of Deception several years later... Ilan Pappé Ilan Pappé is a professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the UK, director of the university's European Centre for Palestine Studies, co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies, and political activist... |
William Pfaff William Pfaff is an American author, op-ed columnist for the International Herald Tribune and frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. He was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and is of German, English, and Irish origin... Charley Reese Charley Reese is a syndicated columnist known for his anti-Isreal and conservative views. He was associated with the Orlando Sentinel from 1971–2001, both as a writer and in various editorial capacities... Sheldon Richman Sheldon Richman is an American political writer and academic, best known for his advocacy of libertarianism.He is the editor of The Freeman, a magazine published by The Foundation for Economic Education, a Senior Fellow at the Future of Freedom Foundation, a Research Fellow at The Independent... Scott Ritter William Scott Ritter, Jr. was an important United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, and later a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass... Paul Craig Roberts Paul Craig Roberts is an American economist and a columnist for Creators Syndicate. He served as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration earning fame as a co-founder of Reaganomics. He is a former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and... Edward Said Edward Wadie Saïd was a Palestinian-American literary theorist and advocate for Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and a founding figure in postcolonialism... Israel Shahak Israel Shahak was a Polish-born Israeli professor of chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, known especially as a radical political thinker, author, and civil rights activist. Between 1970-1990, he was president of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights and was an outspoken critic... Alan Weisman Alan H. Weisman is an American author, professor, and journalist.- Education and career :Weisman holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in literature from Northwestern University... |
See also
- US lobby against Israeli Occupation
- Israel lobby in the United StatesIsrael lobby in the United StatesThe Israel lobby is a term used to describe the diverse coalition of those who, as individuals and as groups, seek and have sought to influence the foreign policy of the United States in support of Zionism, Israel or the specific policies of its government...
- Council for the National InterestCouncil for the National InterestThe Council for the National Interest is a 501 organization in the United States advocating a "new direction for U.S. Middle East policy." With its sister organization the Council for the National Interest Foundation it works to educate about and promote what it describes as "even handed...
- Rashad Hussain's comments on Sami Al-ArianRashad Hussain's comments on Sami Al-ArianRashad Hussain's comments on Sami Al-Arian, became the subject of national coverage after Rashad Hussain was appointed United States Special Envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in February 2010. The controversy concerned remarks made by Hussain in 2004, criticizing the U.S. terror...
External links
- Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Publication website.