2025-05-08

Alison Weir (activist) - Wikipedia

Alison Weir (activist) - Wikipedia


Alison Weir (activist)

Extended-protected article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the British author, see Alison Weir.
Alison Weir
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Activist and writer
Known forFounder of If Americans Knew
President of the Council for the National Interest

Alison Weir is an American activist and writer known for her interest in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. She is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization If Americans Knew (IAK), president of the Council for the National Interest (CNI), and author of Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel.

She is known as a media critic and Middle East expert[1] and chronicles bias in U.S. media coverage of Middle East events.[2][3]

Activism and views

Weir traces her interest in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to the autumn of 2000, when the Second Intifada began. At the time she was "the editor of a small weekly newspaper in Sausalito, California", and noticed that news reports on the conflict "were highly Israeli-centric". Wanting access to "full information", she "began to look for additional reports on the Internet". After several months, she decided that "this was perhaps the most covered-up story I had ever seen" and quit her job in order to visit the West Bank and Gaza, where she wrote about her encounters with Palestinian suffering and with the "incredible arrogance, cruelty, selfishness" of Israelis. After returning to the U.S., she founded If Americans Knew.[4][non-primary source needed] Weir's official biography says her activism draws on her history of involvement in the American Civil Rights Movement, her work in the Peace Corps, and her childhood in a military family.[5]

Weir has alleged that Israel's US supporters are responsible for involving America in wars.[6] She has alleged that Nazi and Zionist leaders collaborated during World War II.[6] According to Tablet, she has "complained about there being too many Jews on the Supreme Court".[7]

Writing in CounterPunch, Weir said that Israel harvests Palestinian organs,[8][6][9] which has been described as an updating of the medieval blood libel that Jews harvest the blood of gentile children.

Weir has partnered with white supremacists and Holocaust deniers including Christian Identity leader and conspiracy theorist Clayton Douglas and American Free Press, both designated as hate advocates by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[7][10] On Douglas' radio show, Weir "dismissed allegations that he was a racist, did not challenge his repeated assertions of Jewish control of the world, and did not protest when he played a speech by former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke."[8] The anti-Zionist group U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation said that "Weir made little to no effort to challenge, confront, or rebut any of these views."[7] She has also worked with the Nation of Islam.[10]

Weir's writings include exhortations to action. In an article, she wrote: "Every generation has a chance to act courageously – to oppose the kind of injustice and unthinkable brutality that is going on in the Middle East right now. Or to avert our eyes, and remain silent."[11]

Weir has written that "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is central to grave events in the world—and in our nation—today."[12] In writing about antisemitism, Weir has argued, "in reality, equating the wrongdoing of Israel with Jewishness is the deepest and most insidious form of anti-Semitism of all."[11]

Reception and controversy

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called Weir "a prominent voice in the anti-Israel movement".[13] According to The Forward, "Though influential in anti-Israel circles, Weir has been accused of animosity toward the Jewish state and antisemitism, including by the Anti-Defamation League. In a 10-page report, the ADL describes Weir as someone who 'employs anti-Semitic imagery' and portrays 'Israel and its agents as ruthless forces that control American policy.'"[10]

Some anti-Zionists have severed ties with Weir for "mobilization of 'blood libel' accusations" and "elevation of far-right ideas and relationships".[14] In June 2015, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) stated that they chose not to work with Weir, on the grounds that "she has consistently chosen to stay silent when given the opportunity to challenge bigotry, which we find repugnant. There is a fundamental difference between engaging with oppressive beliefs in order to challenge them, and tacitly or directly endorsing those beliefs without challenge." JVP did not accuse Weir of holding anti-Jewish beliefs, but accused her of granting interviews to people it believed held such views and decried some of the websites that have reposted her writings.[15][16] Weir responded in detail to the accusations,[17] which provoked widespread debate among activists.[18]

More than 2,000 activists[citation needed] signed an open letter supporting Weir, including former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories Professor Emeritus Richard Falk; founding member of Birzeit University's board of Trustees Samia Khoury; Palestine Rapprochement Center Director/ISM co-founder George Rishimawi; activists Hedy Epstein, Ann Wright, Arun Gandhi, Ray McGovern, Cindy Sheehan, Greta Berlin, Paul Larudee, Philip Giraldi and James Petras; American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee founder and former Senator James Abourezk; and many members of JVP itself. The letter stated that the undersigned were "dismayed by the recent unfounded attacks on one of the top organizations working on this issue, If Americans Knew, and its dedicated leader, Alison Weir", and believed that the accusations against Weir were "scurrilous and without foundation".[19][20]

If Americans Knew

Main article: If Americans Knew

Weir founded If Americans Knew (IAK) after her visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada in 2001.[5] Weir describes IAK as "an organization that provides information on topics of importance that are substantially misreported or unreported in the US media" with a primary focus on analyzing media coverage of Israel-Palestine.[4] IAK was condemned for antisemitism by Jewish Voice for Peace, U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation and the ADL.[8]

IAK, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in California, describes its mission as follows: "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world's major sources of instability. Americans are directly connected to this conflict, and increasingly imperiled by its devastation. It is the goal of If Americans Knew to provide full and accurate information on this critical issue, and on our power – and duty – to bring a resolution."[21]

On December 16, 2012, IAK placed an advertisement in The New York Times featuring four maps purporting to show the Palestinians' progressive loss of land to Israel between 1946 and 2010.[22]

Council for the National Interest

Main article: Council for the National Interest

In June 2010, Weir was named to succeed Eugene Bird, the longtime leader of the Council for the National Interest (CNI).[13]

CNI describes itself as seeking to "encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values, protects our national interests, and contributes to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is CNI's goal to restore a political environment in America in which voters and their elected officials are free from the undue influence and pressure of foreign countries and their partisans."[23]

Recognition

In 2004, she became the first woman to receive an honorary membership in the Phi Alpha Literary Society. Weir has also won awards from the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Council on American–Islamic Relations.[5]

Book

Weir is the author of Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel, published in February 2014.[citation needed] Former US Senator James Abourezk called the book "a must for all Americans" in a review for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.[24]

References

  1. ^ Hager, L (January 31, 2015). "The United States' Hidden Hand in the Creation of Israel". Truthout. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  2. ^ Findley, Paul (December 2006). "Why Was the Palestinian Mother of Eleven Murdered?". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "'Israel-Palestine: What the Media Leave Out'". Department of Asian Studies, College of Charleston. April 17, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b "Alison Weir - Who I Am". Alison Weir. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Alison Weir bio and articles". If Americans Knew. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b c Ghert-Zand, Renee; Pasquet, Yannick; ASH, Sebastien (September 10, 2019). "US Jewish groups pan California event featuring speaker accused of anti-Semitism". The Times of Israel. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b c Gladstone, Benjamin (August 31, 2017). "Young Anti-Zionist Jews Claim to Speak For My Generation. They Don't. It's Time We Called Them On It". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to:a b c Rosenberg, Yair (April 12, 2016). "Stanford Professor Recommends Anti-Semitic Hate Site to Readers, Then Kind of Takes It Back". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Weir, Alison (August 30, 2009). "Israeli Organ Harvesting". CounterPunch. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b c Stutman, Gabe (August 6, 2020). "Was a liberal Orthodox rabbi too 'pro-Israel' to head a Berkeley seminary?". The Forward. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to:a b Weir, Alison. "Choosing to Act: Anti-Semitism is Wrong". If Americans Knew. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  12. ^ "The Coverage and Non-Coverage of Israel-Palestine". If Americans Knew. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  13. ^ Jump up to:a b "Alison Weir". ADL. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  14. ^ Burley, Shane; Haines, Pamela; Lakey, George; Miller, Anna Lekas; Smolenski, Laurie; Aronoff, Kate (June 16, 2021). "5 ways to push antisemites out of the Palestinian solidarity movement". Waging Nonviolence. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "Letter to Alison Weir", Jewish Voice for Peace, June 14, 2015.
  16. ^ "Jewish Voice for Peace Statement on Our Relationship with Alison Weir", June 15, 2015.
  17. ^ "The Accusations Against Alison Weir and If Americans Knew: The Facts". If Americans Knew. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  18. ^ "Roundtable on the Palestinian solidarity movement and Alison Weir". Mondoweiss. August 12, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  19. ^ "Stop Divisive Attacks!". Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  20. ^ "An open letter to the U.S. Campaign and other Activists for Justice in Palestine". Free Palestine Movement. July 15, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  21. ^ "If Americans Knew - what every American needs to know about Israel/Palestine". If Americans Knew. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  22. ^ "Advertisements in New York Times and beyond". Alison Weir. December 16, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  23. ^ "About Us". Council for the National Interest. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  24. ^ Abourezk, James (May 2014). "Books: Against Our Better Judgment:How the U.S. was Used to Create Israel". WRMEA. Retrieved April 29, 2016.

Further reading

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If Americans Knew

Extended-protected article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If Americans Knew logo

If Americans Knew is a nonprofit organization based in Riverside County in Southern California[1] that focuses on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the foreign policy of the United States regarding the Middle East, offering analysis of American media coverage of these issues. The group's website declares its aim is to provide "what every American needs to know about Israel/Palestine."[2] The site is critical of U.S. financial and military support of Israel. It has accused The New York Times and other mainstream news organizations of being biased in favour of Israel.[3][4][5][6][better source needed]

In addition to its founder, the freelance journalist Alison Weir,[7] board members include Paul Findley, a former United States Representative and author of They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby,[8] and Andrew Killgore, a former ambassador of the United States to Qatar.[9][10]

Background

According to the organization's website, founder Alison Weir traveled independently throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2001, where she found a situation she considered to be different from what was being reported by the American media. She stated that the U.S. press portrayal was significantly at odds with that reported by media throughout the rest of the world, and that American citizens were being misinformed and uninformed on what she considered one of the most significant issues affecting them today. Weir therefore founded an organization that would reflect what she considered to be a more objective viewpoint.[7]

In addition to its information website, If Americans Knew places billboards and advertisements about U.S. financial support for Israel[11][12][13] and founder Weir publishes op-eds about the topic in the Orlando Sentinel.[14][15]

Positions

The organization's stated goal is "to inform and educate the American public on issues of major significance that are unreported, underreported, or misreported in the American media," going on to say: "It is the goal of If Americans Knew to inform the American public accurately about [Israel-Palestine]. Most of all, it is to inform Americans about our enormous, and too often invisible, personal connection to it.".[16]

If Americans Knew holds that United States' support of Israel should be reduced on the grounds that it is not in American interest[17] or aligned with American principles, costs American taxpayers billions, is increasingly imperiling American lives, and prevents peace.

It asserts that U.S. support of Israel has long been driven by lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, often via AIPAC, over the objections of State Department and Pentagon experts,[18] and in recent years by the efforts of a "growing number of individuals with close ties to Israel (known as neoconservatives)" in high-level U.S. Government positions.[17][19]

It believes that there is a "cover-up of appalling proportions" about Israel/Palestine in the American news media.[1] In 2005, it published a study critical of The New York Times coverage of Israeli and Palestinian deaths, and met with then New York Times Public Editor Daniel Okrent to discuss their study.[3][20] In subsequent column Okrent mentioned the meeting but dismissed IAK's conclusions.[21]

It has drawn attention to the number of Jewish judges on the US Supreme Court, writing of Barack Obama's appointment of Merrick Garland that it is "questionable for one small group to have enormously disproportionate representation on the highest court of the land".[22]

It falsely claimed the 2020 Beirut explosion was caused by Israel.[23]

Executive Director Alison Weir writes that ending U.S. military aid to Israel would "help bring peace to the Middle East, build a safer world and alleviate massive misery."[24] She has "accused American supporters of Israel of fomenting wars and involving the United States in them, has said that Nazi and Zionist leaders colluded during World War II, and has claimed that Israel harvests Palestinian organs."[25]

Reception

If Americans Knew was accused of antisemitism by Jewish Voice for Peace, U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).[22] The ADL has called If Americans Knew an "anti-Israel organization"[26] (placing it in its "Top 10" "most influential and active anti-Israel groups" in the US in 2013[27]) and stated that "Weir's criticism of Israel has, at times, crossed the line into anti-Semitism." It cited Weir's use of a quotation by Israel Shahak that characterized beliefs of certain Israelis as "such a ruthless and supremacist faith."[28] Weir stated that she considered this quoted characterization as not pertaining to the mainstream of Judaism,[29] and has demanded that the ADL correct what she termed "defamatory and inaccurate statements."[30]

Jewish Voice for Peace criticised IAK for arguing that America is innocent of perpetuating injustice in the Middle East, for its "tail wags the dog" approach to Israel–US relations, and its devaluing of both Jewish and Palestinian perspectives on the conflict: "according to Weir and If Americans Knew, only non-Arab, non-Muslim, non-Palestinian, and non-Jewish voices can be trusted to speak the truth, based solely on their ethnic or religious identity".[31]

In 2016, it was recommended in Salon.com by Stanford University professor David Palumbo-Liu as an alternative source of information on Israel, but he withdrew the recommendation after controversy.[22]

In 2006, If Americans Knew was described as "valuable" by the media monitoring organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR).[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b "Was a liberal Orthodox rabbi too 'pro-Israel' to head a Berkeley seminary?". The Forward. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  2. ^ U.S. Interests and Israel/Palestine (If Americans Knew)
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b "Off the Charts - NY Times Coverage of Israeli & Palestinian Deaths". Ifamericansknew.org. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  4. ^ "Media Report Cards Grading Accuracy in News Coverage of Israel and Palestine". Ifamericansknew.org. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  5. ^ "A Study of Bias in the Associated Press - Censored Notebook, Investigative Research". Project Censored. 2010-05-02. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  6. ^ "The LA Times' notion of "relative calm"". The Electronic Intifada. 2005-02-26. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b "If Americans Knew - Who We Are". ifamericansknew.org.
  8. ^ Findley, Paul (2003-05-01). They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby (3rd ed.). Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781556524820.
  9. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". WRMEA.
  10. ^ "Andrew I. Killgore". WRMEA. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  11. ^ "Orlando billboard urges end to Israel financial support". Florida Politic. 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  12. ^ "Guest commentary: The fact on $10 million per day to Israel". EastBayTimes.com. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  13. ^ "West Haven I-95 billboard on USS Liberty is anti-Israel, critics charge". New Haven Register. 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  14. ^ "U.S. aid to Israel prevents peace". Orlando Sentinel. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  15. ^ Sentinel, Orlando (30 September 2015). "U.S. massive aid to Israel must stop: My Word". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  16. ^ "Mission Statement of If Americans Knew". ifamericansknew.org.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b U.S. Interests and Israel/Palestine. Retrieved August 2011
  18. ^ "The History of US-Israel Relations". ifamericansknew.org.
  19. ^ talkingsticktv (2014-08-01), TalkingStickTV - Alison Weir - The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2016-04-29
  20. ^ Weir, Alison. "New York Times Distortion Up Close and Personal", April 24, 2005
  21. ^ Okrent, Daniel (April 24, 2005). "Opinion | The Hottest Button: How The Times Covers Israel and Palestine". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  22. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Stanford Professor Recommends Anti-Semitic Hate Site to Readers, Then Kind of Takes It Back". Tablet Magazine. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  23. ^ Sadeghi, McKenzie; Today, Usa (2020-08-06). "Fact check: No evidence Beirut blast was an Israeli attack". USA Today. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  24. ^ "Home". The Gilmer Mirror.
  25. ^ "US Jewish groups pan California event featuring speaker accused of anti-Semitism". The Times of Israel. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  26. ^ "Wheels of Justice: A Biased View of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict" Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine December 29, 2006
  27. ^ Zion, Ilan Ben (2013-10-21). "Two Jewish organizations on ADL's list of 'top 10 anti-Israel groups'". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  28. ^ "ADL on Alison Weir". Archived from the original on December 3, 2008.
  29. ^ Alison Weir Greenwich Citizen April 4, 2008 (2008-04-04). "What Our Taxes to Israel are Funding". Ifamericansknew.org. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  30. ^ Weir, Alison (2009-02-13). "Journal - Anti-Defamation League Defames Me - My Letter to the ADL". AlisonWeir.org. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  31. ^ "Jewish Voice for Peace Statement on Our Relationship with Alison Weir". Jewish Voice for Peace. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  32. ^ FAIR, Media Views, December 1, 2006, via archive.org

Further reading


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