Part IV
The sheer volume of books, articles, periodicals and information produced each day about events in Israel and the Middle East makes the quest to keep current a daunting experience at best. How does one distinguish which news outlets, think tanks and other organizations to consult?
Below are a number of key resources that are perhaps less well known than CAMERA, HonestReporting.com, UN Watch, or Israel Behind the News. Though not an exhaustive list, it does provide some direction for those attempting to learn more about this seemingly overwhelming subject.
A Daily Review of Current Articles
The Daily Alert of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, prepared by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, is among the first sources to check. The Alert is a digest of the latest news and commentary about Israel and the Middle East from around the world. (www.dailyalert.org)
The Israel Project (TIP) is a non-partisan American educational organization that informs the media and public about Israel and the Middle East. A one-stop source for detailed and accurate information, TIP provides facts to press, policymakers and the public on issues affecting Israel and the Middle East, the Jewish people and America’s interests in the Middle East. (www.theisraelproject.org)
IMRA: Middle East News & Analysis. IMRA is an extensive digest of media, polls and significant interviews and events. (https://www.imra.org.il/) Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/IMRA_UPDATES
Palestinian Arab Media: What the Arabs Are Reporting to Their People
The American media does not often report the extent of what the Palestinian Arabs are telling their people.
The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) is “an Israeli research institute that studies Palestinian Arab society from a broad range of perspectives by monitoring and analyzing the Palestinian Authority through its media and schoolbooks. PMW’s major focus is on the messages that the Palestinian Arab leaders, from the Palestinian Authority, Fatah and Hamas, send to the population through the broad range of institutions and infrastructures they control.
“PMW’s many reports and studies on Palestinian summer camps, poetry, schoolbooks, crossword puzzles, religious ideology, women and mothers, children’s music videos and the PA’s indoctrination of adults and children to seek Shahada (martyrdom) have had significant impact on the way the world sees the Palestinians.” (https://www.palwatch.org/)
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is a press-monitoring and analysis organization. MEMRI publishes and distributes free English-language translations of Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto and Turkish media reports. (https://www.memri.org/)
In-Depth Analysis of the Conflict by Premier Think Tanks
The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA Center) is an independent, non-partisan think tank conducting research on Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, particularly as they relate to the national security and foreign policy of Israel and regional peace and stability.
Publications and policy recommendations are directed towards senior Israeli decision-makers in military and civilian life, the defense and foreign affairs establishments in Israel and abroad, the diplomatic corps, the press, the academic community, leaders of Jewish communities around the world and the public. (https://besacenter.org/)
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a leading independent research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy. The Center has produced hundreds of studies and initiatives by leading experts on a wide range of strategic topics. (Jcpa.org)
Middle East Forum focuses on ways to defeat radical Islam, works for Palestinian Arab acceptance of Israel and develops strategies to contain Iran.
In the US, the Forum emphasizes the danger of lawful Islamism; protects the freedoms of anti-Islamist authors, activists and publishers; and works to improve Middle East studies. (www.meforum.org)
Gatestone Institute is a non-partisan international policy council and think tank dedicated to educating the public about what the mainstream media fails to report regarding threats to our individual liberty, sovereignty and free speech. (https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/)
Phyllis Chesler.Com, PhD focuses on anti-Semitism and the demonization of Israel; the psychology of terrorism; the nature of propaganda and the importance of the cognitive war against fact and reason; honor-based violence; and the rights of women, dissidents and gays in the Islamic world. Dr. Chesler has published studies about honor-related violence, including honor killings, and penned a position paper on why the West should ban the burqa. She has testified for Muslim and ex-Muslim women who are seeking asylum or citizenship based on their credible belief that their families will “honor” kill them. She has archived most of her articles at her website. (https://phyllis-chesler.com/)
The Jewish Policy Center (JPC) provides timely perspectives and analysis of foreign and domestic policies by leading scholars, academics and commentators.
The JPC supports a strong American defense capability, U.S.-Israel security cooperation and missile defense. They support Israel in its quest for legitimacy and security. JPC offers comprehensive coverage of security developments in Gaza, Sinai, Judea and Samaria, Golan, southern Lebanon and, increasingly, Israel’s maritime frontiers. (https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/)
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) is a not-for-profit, grass-roots community of scholars who have united to promote honest, fact-based and civil discourse, especially in regard to Middle East issues. They believe that ethnic, national and religious hatreds, including anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism, have no place in our institutions, disciplines and communities. They employ academic means to address these issues. (spme.org/).
How the Non-Governmental Work to Undermine Israel
NGO Monitor provides information and analysis, promotes accountability and supports discussion on the reports and activities of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) claiming to advance human rights and humanitarian agendas. (https://www.ngo-monitor.org/) For more on NGOs, please see Alex Grobman, “What Is an NGO? How Do They Demonize Israel?” http://www.jewishlinknj.com/features/16185-what-is-an-ngo-how-do-they-demonize-israel.
Shurat HaDin NGO utilizes court systems worldwide to go on the legal offensive against those who attack Israel. Latest work: “Operation Harpoon: How the Mossad and an Israeli NGO Destroyed Terrorist Money Networks.” (israellawcenter.org/)
The Lawfare Project is a nonprofit legal think tank based in New York that mobilizes public officials, media, jurists and legal experts to counter the international lawfare phenomenon: the use of the law as a weapon of war against Western democracy. (https://thelawfareproject.org/mission-2/)
By Alex Grobman, PhD
Alex Grobman, a Hebrew University-trained historian, has written extensively in books and articles on the Palestinian Arab conflict. He is a member of the Council of Scholars for Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), and a member of the Advisory Board of The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET). He has trained students how to respond to Arab propaganda on American campuses. One student, who worked with him for three years, became president of Harvard Students for Israel.
