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October 13, 2024
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Linking Northern and Central NJ, Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and CT

Reliable Sources for Information on the Middle East

Part III

Jewish Virtual Library (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

The Jewish Virtual Library (JVL) is the most comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish history, politics and culture. With nearly 25,000 entries, the JVL is a one-stop shop for students of all ages interested in anything from antisemitism to Zionism. The Library has a vast global audience.

The Library has 13 wings: Antisemitism, Biography, History, the Holocaust, Israel, Israel Education, Myths & Facts, Politics, Religion Travel U.S. & Israel, Vital Stats and Women. In addition, the JVL has a bookstore, glossary, links, news, publications, a timeline of Jewish history, and the Virtual Israel Experience (VIE), an educational tool and virtual tour of Israel designed especially for students going on Birthright and other trips to Israel.

The VIE highlights Israel’s ancient history accentuated against its timeless beauty and modern culture. Much of the information in the Library cannot be found anywhere else in the world, such as material on joint U.S.-Israel projects, cooperation between Israel and the individual states, and the treatment of Americans during the Holocaust.

From the website: “We received permission from the Library of Congress to put its Judaic and Hebraic treasures on our site. We have also received permission to use material from government and non-government sources around the world.

We also publish primary documents from archives, including declassified materials from the United States and the United Kingdom. One of our goals is to offer visitors a single source for information so they don’t need to search thousands of other “Jewish” websites.”

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (https://jcpa.org/)

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.

Jerusalem Center Publications:

Daily Alert: A digest of hyperlinked news and commentary on Israel and the Middle East from the world and Israeli press since 2002.

Jerusalem Issue Brief/Jerusalem Viewpoints: Insider briefings by top-level Israeli government officials, military experts and academics, as part of the Center’s Institute for Contemporary Affairs.

The organization’s top researchers and analysts continue to guide path-breaking initiatives such as:

The Jerusalem Center’s Israel Arab Partnership Initiatives with several Abraham Accords countries.

Combating Antisemitism and “Apartheid Antisemitism”—from Iran’s genocidal threat, in international fora, and on university campuses.

Building Partnerships with Africa and African-American Leadership to Combat Israel’s Delegitimation.

The Palestinian-Israeli Relationship: Exposing, educating and engaging elites and publics in Israel and the West on the PA leadership’s political warfare and determining diplomatic options for future Israeli-Palestinian relations.

EMET (https://emetonline.org/)

EMET provides in-depth research and analyses that challenge misrepresentations about the Middle East and the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

From the website: “We develop close working relationships with senators and representatives and provide them with the up-to-date information and analysis they need while combating other interest groups that influence Congress with misrepresentations about Israel and the Middle East. We provide fact-based briefings to our nation’s policymakers, their staff, and the public-at-large.

“EMET provides weekly webinars to educate the public, legislators and their staff. We are on Capitol Hill virtually every day, meeting with senators, members of Congress, and their staffers to educate them on issues important to the security of the United States, Israel and the Middle East.

“Our webinars, briefings, articles and analyses never shy away from important topics, even if the facts point to conclusions that challenge long-held assumptions about how the Middle East operates.

“EMET was educating Congress on the Palestinian Authority’s blatant and repeated violations of the Oslo Accords while other organizations were busy drawing up detailed maps of the next territory Israel should surrender in the failed ‘Land-for-Peace’ paradigm.

“EMET was the first organization to confront the failure of the Department of Justice to investigate, indict and extradite Palestinian terrorists who have slain or injured American citizens, despite federal laws which demand such efforts. We continue to work with Congress to bring oversight to the DOJ and ensure that all Americans receive the justice they deserve.

“Today, EMET briefs legislators and their staffers on contemporary geopolitical shifts in the Middle East including the Tehran-Riyadh Peace Agreement and what it means for Israel and the United States. Additionally, a large percentage of our time is allotted to initiatives combating the rise of domestic antisemitism in the United States and other issues important to the Jewish community.

“One congressman has called the EMET Memoranda ‘required reading’ for his staff.

“This outreach capability enables EMET to deliver vital action alerts to a motivated and capable grassroots so that, to paraphrase President Reagan, “When we can’t make them see the light, we can make them feel the heat.”

Im Tirtzu (https://imti.org.il/en/)

Im Tirtzu is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen the values of Zionism in Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Established in 2006, Im Tirtzu is Israel’s largest and most influential grassroots Zionist organization in the development of the next generation of committed and aware Zionist leaders of Israel. These future leaders are to be found largely on Israel’s campuses.

With 20 campus branches, 6,000 volunteer activists and the largest Hebrew-language social media following of any pro-Israel organization, Im Tirtzu has become an important force with its Seminars for Zionist Thought, the largest extra-curricular academic program in Israel, and its efforts combating anti-Zionist politicization in academia.

Simultaneously, it aims to protect Zionism when it comes under attack within Israel.

Im Tirtzu calls out of anti-Zionist Israeli NGOs funded by foreign governments and the New Israel Fund, who have been seeking to harm IDF soldiers and influence the policies and positions of the Israeli government through the back door.

Im Tirtzu also works closely with a variety of groups within Israeli society, including bereaved families of terrorism, wounded IDF veterans, and Israeli minorities who wish to integrate into Israeli society.


Dr. Alex Grobman is the senior resident scholar at the John C. Danforth Society, a member of the Council of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East and on the advisory board of the National Christian Leadership Conference of Israel (NCLCI). He has an MA and PhD in contemporary Jewish history from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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