Source Note #11: CAMERA rips authors of The Israel Lobby a new one

February 12, 2009 in Source Notes
Tags: Institutional: Nonprofit

 Summary: The “Israel lobby” has allegedly distorted US foreign policy to unequivocally favor Israel, causing the US to become a target for terrorists

Topic: Should the Obama administration continue to fund Israel’s defense?
Category: Institutional – nonprofit
What is it? Webpage with the text of the article. 

Title: The Fraudulent Scholarship of Professors Walt and Mearsheimer
Publication Information: CAMERA; Feb. 11, 2008
Author: Alex Safian
Location: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=41&x_article=1446
Accessed: Feb. 11, 2009

Support:
The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister
Expulsion of the Palestinians by Nur Masalha
Righteous Victims by Benny Morris
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe
Moshe Dayan, former Israeli Foreign Minister and Defense Minister

 The writer of this article alleges that the items quoted by the authors of the book in question are taken out of context and intentionally manipulated. According to Safian, the statements made by Ben-Gurion and Dayan are not inherently anti-Palestine, but are misconstrued by the authors of the above sources.

 Audience and Agenda:
CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, claims to be a non-partisan organization dedicated to providing accurate and balanced news on Israel and the Middle East. According to their website, “public opinion ultimately shapes public policy … distorted news coverage that misleads the public can be detrimental to sound policy making.”  They allege reports of the Middle East and Israel are “inaccurate and distorted” and “fuel anti-Israel prejudice.” As a non-profit, it relies on membership dues for funding and currently has upwards of 55,000 members.

Usefulness:
Safian alleges that The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, a book that claims the US’s favoritism towards Israel has left the US a vulnerable terrorist target, contains “fraudulent and falsified quotations.” According to Safian, the authors of the book use these quotes, which are generally construed as anti-Palestine, to make the case that there is no moral cause for a close relationship with Israel. However, Daniel Levy, former adviser to Ehud Barak, called the book a “wake-up call.“

Works cited:
The Fraudulent Case of Professors Walt and Mearsheimer
History of CAMERA
About CAMERA

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