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'''Middle East Media Research Institute''' (MEMRI), according is a Israeli propaganda organization that selectively translates materials from the Arab/Muslim/Iranian press purportedly demonstrating hostility against Israel/Jews. According to the MEMRI web site: "MEMRI emphasizes the continuing relevance of Zionism to the Jewish people and to the state of Israel."<ref>Middle East Media Research Institute's , [http://web.archive.org/web site/19991118000658/http://memri.org/about.html About The Institute: Mission Statement], MEMRI website, archived from November 1999.</ref> It "explores the Middle East through the region's [[media]]. MEMRI bridges the language gap which exists between the West and the Middle East, providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East." <ref>Middle East Media Research Institute, [http://www.memri.org/aboutus.html"About Us"] , Middle East Media Research Institute website, accessed March 2009.</ref>

MEMRI has several offices around the world. Americans work in D.C.; British, Spaniards, Italians, Germans, and Norwegians work in the [[European Union]]; Israelis in [[Israel]]; Japanese in Japan; Arabs also make up some of the people who work for MEMRI.

The MEMRI Web site also says, "selected subtitled clips from mainly arabic and Iranian television have been published since 2004." <ref>[http://www.memritv.org www.memritv.org]</ref>

According to its website, founded in February 1998 by former/current Israeli intelligence officers "to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, [[501(c)(3)]] organization. MEMRI's headquarters is located in Washington, DC with branch offices in Berlin, London, and Jerusalem, where MEMRI also maintains its Media Center. MEMRI research is translated to English, German, Hebrew, Italian, French, Spanish, Turkish, and Russian."

MEMRI's stance is that it is opposed to Islamic fundamentalism, not Islam itself, although the integrity of this position may be questioned because of links on MEMRI's website to certain evangelical Christian organizations who take a harder line on Islam. [[Yigal Carmon]], MEMRI's founder, is a former advisor on [[terrorism]] to the Israeli Prime Ministers, [[Yitzhak Shamir]] and [[Yitzhak Rabin]], so he actually worked for both Labor and [[Likud]] governments. Both criticism and praise of MEMRI should be taken with a grain of salt, since analyses of MEMRI are almost always motivated by politics, not the quantity or quality of MEMRI's work.

MEMRI has gained currency with most pro-Israel writers, as well as [[right-wing]] publications. For example, [[New York Times]] writer [[Thomas Friedman]], a an influential foreign affairs columnist, has used MEMRI translations a number of times in his columns. MEMRI is cited in several publications, such as The Times, The Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, The Jerusalem Post, The National Review, The Toronto Sun, Wall Street Journal, Libertad, [[FrontPageMag.com|FrontPageMagazine]], Columbia Journalism Review, Associated Press, The Jerusalem Post, etc. <ref>[http://memri.org/mediaall.html] Also see archived PRWatch forum [http://www.prwatch.org/vbforum</showthread.php?t=103 discussion] on "The Propaganda and Bias of MEMRI". ==Translations==In an October 7, 2005, ''Nieman Watchdog'' [http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=showcase.view&showcaseid=0027 article] about MEMRI, published by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, Alex Kingsbury wrote: :"MEMRI monitors broadcast media an average of 16 hours per day and advertises its 'in-house capability to translate, subtitle and distribute the segments from Arab TV in real time to Western news channels across the world.'  :"'Our goal is bridging the language gap between the Middle East and the West,' [said] MEMRI executive director [[Steven Stalinsky]]. :"Out of offices in Washington, Berlin, Baghdad and Jerusalem, the Institute provides translations in English, German, Hebrew, Italian, French, Spanish, Turkish, and Russian. They regularly monitor the print media in numerous countries, religious sermons, textbooks and a host of television channels including Al-Arabiya TV (Dubai), Al-'Alam TV (Iran), Iqra TV (Saudi Arabia), Syrian TV (Syria) and Al-Majd TV (UAE). :"MEMRI boasts 75,000 subscribers to its daily mailing list, including many journalists and academics, who receive regular updates about new translations. The institute also delivers briefings on Middle Eastern media to the [[FBI]] and [[Congress]], Stalinsky [said]. :"Video clips and translated transcripts are MEMRI's bread and butter. ... The institute has been the target of criticism for highlighting inflammatory statements from the vast stream of Middle Eastern media. Stalinsky [said] that while there is editorial judgment in deciding what gets translated, the Institute also covers and amplifies the voices of Middle East reformers."ref>

In November 2004, MEMRI threatened Middle East scholar [[Juan Cole]] (Univ. of Michigan) with a [[SLAPP's|SLAPP]] lawsuit unless he retracted some of his claims. <ref>[http://www.juancole.com/2004/11/intimidation-by-israeli-linked.html MEMRI tries a SLAPP] Juan Cole's website, November 2004.</ref>

:"[[psychological warfare|Psychological warfare]] officers were in touch with Israeli journalists covering the Arab world, gave them translated articles from Arab papers (which were planted by the [Israel Defense Forces] IDF) and pressed the Israeli reporters to publish the same news here." --Amos Harel, [http://www.haaretzdailyhaaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=531712 IDF reviving psychological warfare unit], Haaretz, January 25, 2005.

:"So is MEMRI, which translates articles from the Arabic press into English for thousands of US subscribers, in any way involved in all this? Its director formerly served in&hellip; Israeli military intelligence. How much of what we "know" from "Arab sources" about "[[Hizballah|Hizbullah ]] terrorism" was simply made up by this fantasy factory in Tel Aviv? <br>As someone who reads the Arabic press quite a lot, this sort of revelation is extremely disturbing.<br>I also saw an allegation that British military intelligence had planted stories in the US press about [[Saddam Hussein|Saddam]]'s [[Iraq]].<br>You begin to wonder how much of what you think you know is just [[propaganda]] manufactured by some bored colonel. No wonder post-Baath Iraq looks nothing like what we were led to to expect by the press, including the Arab press!" <ref>[http://www.juancole.com/2005/01/israeli-arab-news-cycle-i-found-this.html]</ref>

:If you rely on MEMRI for your knowledge of Arab discourse, you are really not informed. Arab public opinion, based on MEMRI's releases, is reduced or caricatured to either [[Osama Bin Laden|Bin Laden]] fans or [[George W. Bush|Bush]] fans, while Arab public opinion is mosty a fan of neither people. --As'ad AbuKhalil <ref>[http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2005/09/academics-for-bush-and-his-wars-fouad.html]</ref> :Although widely used in the mainstream media as a source of information on the Arab world, it is as trustworthy as Julius Streicher's Der Sturmer was on the Jewish world. --Norman Finkelstein <ref>[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=605]</ref> ===Wafa Sultan===Los Angeles based Syrian/American Psychiatrist [[Wafa Sultan]] appeared on an [[al-Jazeera]] television show opposite Dr. [[Ibrahim al-Khouly]], a lecturer at Cairo's Al-Azhar University. Memri offered a heavily edited version of the show, and mistranslated several of the exchanges, making it appear that al-Khouly had issued a death [[w:fatwa|fatwa]] against Sultan. Wafa Sultan became known as someone who had her life threatened because of her "[[Clash of Civilizations]]" point of view. It turns out that Sultan had appeared on a daytime al Jazeera show, roughly equivalent to Jerry Springer, that Western Educated Dr. Ibrahim al-Khouly had not issued a fatwa, and as he is not a recognized Mufti, had he issued a fatwa, it would not be considered in any way, authoritarian. A secularist blog covering topics broadly related to [[w:MENA|MENA]], named [http://www.aqoul.com/ Aqoul], took a tape of the whole show, and translated it, making it available in a PDF file: [http://aqoul.com/images/wafa_sultan.pdf Transcript Translation: al-Jazeera - The Opposite Direction (26/02/2006)]. Posts on Aqoul, as well as one on the [http://www.windsofchange.net/ Winds of Change] blog offer a great deal of insight into the distortions: *[http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2006/03/fatwas_and_wafa.php Fatwas and Wafa Sultan], Aqoul, March 15, 2006*[http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2006/03/on_memri_transl_1.php On MEMRI & Translations: Winds of Change, a Thread Reply], Aqoul, March 29, 2006*[http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2006/03/how_to_be_a_mus.php How to be a Muslim reformer], Aqoul, March 13, 2006*[http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2006/10/memri_mendacity.php MEMRI Mendacity, brief thoughts], Aqoul, October 14, 2006*[http://lounsbury.aqoul.com/archives/2006/10/a_fine_illustra.html A Fine Illustration of MEMRI Mendacity], Aqoul, October 14, 2006*[http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/008359.php Wafa Sultan: A tale of two transcripts], Winds of Change, March 30, 2006

MEMRI was co-founded by [[Meyrav Wurmser]] and Colonel Yigal Carmon, formerly of Israeli military intelligence, "both of whom were early critics of the [[Oslo Accords|Oslo accords]]." [http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.01.24/news9.html]

== Principals and Staff : 2012 ==<table align="center" cellpadding="2%" cellspacing="0" border="1" width="80%" style="font-size:10pt"><tr><th colspan="3" bgcolor="palegoldenrod">Board of Directors: 2012</th></tr><tr><td width="33%">[[Oliver Revell|Oliver "Buck" Revell]] Chairman</td><td width="33%">[[Elliott Abrams]]</td><td width="33%">[[Steven Emerson|Steve Emerson]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Jeffrey Kaufman]]</td><td>[[Robert Reilly]]</td></tr>

In its original website <th colspan="3" bgcolor="palegoldenrod">Board of 1998, MEMRI listed 6 staff membersAdvisors: its President and cofounder Israeli Colonel Yigal Carmon, cofounder Dr2012</th><tr><td>[[Bernard Lewis]]</td><td>[[Elie Wiesel]]</td><td>Gen. [[Michael V. Hayden]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Jose Maria Aznar]]</td><td>[[Stephen J. Meyrav Wurmser (Executive Director), Trachtenberg]]</td><td>[[Donald Rumsfeld]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[James Woolsey]]</td><td>[[John Bolton]]</td><td>[[John Ashcroft]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Ehud Barak]]</td><td>[[Irwin Cotler]]</td><td>[[Mort Zuckerman]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Chin Ho Lee]]</td><td>[[Michael Mukasey]]</td><td>[[Deborah Lipstadt]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Norman Podhoretz]]</td><td>[[William Bennett]]</td><td>[[Christopher DeMuth]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Paul Bremer]]</td><td>[[George Weidenfeld]]</td><td>[[Yehuda Bauer]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Alfred Moses]]</td><td>[[Aaron MannesHerb London]] (Director of Research), </td><td>[[Yotam FeldnerStuart Eizenstat]] (Director of Media Analysis), </td></tr><tr><td>[[Stacey LakindJosef Joffe]] (Research Associate), and </td><td>[[Aluma SolnickNatan Sharansky]] (Research Associate)</td><td>[[James Q. Stacey Lakind left in late 1998, and Aaron Mannes in early 2001; the others were still MEMRI staff as of October 5, 2001, when MEMRI stopped listing its employees on its website. Dr. Meyrav Wurmser left in early 2002 to join the Wilson]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Edgar Bronfman]]</td><td>[[Max Kampelman]]</td><td>[[Jana Hybaskova]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Alan Dershowitz]]</td><td>[[Yohanan Friedmann]]</td><td>[[Khaled Fouad Allam]]</td></tr><tr><td>[[Hudson InstituteLafif Lakhdar]]; she was replaced as Executive Director by </td><td>[[Steven StalinskyShaker Al-Nabulsi]]. </td><td>[[http:Magdi Khalil]]</td></www.frontpagemag.comtr><tr><td>[[Faraj Sarkouhi]]</Articlestd></ReadArticle.asp?IDtr><th colspan="3" bgcolor=12715]"palegoldenrod">In Memoriam:</th>

Aluma Solnick appears to have changed her name to <tr><td>[[Aluma DankowitzRichard Holbrooke]], in which case she is now Director of MEMRI's Reform Project. </td><td>[[Jack Kemp]]</td><td>[[http:Jeane Kirkpatrick]]</td></www.memri.orgtr><tr><td>[[Irving Kristol]]</bintd></articles.cgi?Pagetr><th colspan=archives&Area"3" bgcolor=ia&ID=IA16704"palegoldenrod">Staff</th><tr><td>[[Yigal Carmon]]<br>President and founder</td><td>[[Steven Stalinsky]]<br>Executive Director</td><td>[[Menahem Milson]]<br>chairman of Board of Advisors</td></tr>

As of January 17, 2002, MEMRI had a much larger number of employees [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=7996] and had "over 30" in August 2002, with the current number unknown). Citing bomb threats, it provides no information on their identities beyond stating that they are "of different nationalities" and different religions. These include or have included: <tr>*<td>[[B. ChernitskyTufail Ahmad]]/Tchernitzky (Research Fellow, 2003) [http://www.nuitdorient.com/n2112.htm]*[[Allan Polak]] (<br>Director of Communications, 2002) [http:South Asia Studies Project<//www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA13803]td>*[[Jan Cleaver]] (2002) [http://memri.org/book/MEMRI_Book_PGS.pdf]*Dr. <td>[[Nimrod Raphaeli]] (Chief <br>Senior Analyst, joined 2001; Iraqi-born Israeli, former [[World Bank]] employee) [http:<//www.meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2003/issue3/raphaeli.pdf]td>*[<td>[Ayelet Savyon]] (Director of Iranian Media Project, 2001) [http://www.memri.org/bin/french/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA8001]*[[Ronen Sebag]] (Research Associate, 2001)[http://www.ourjerusalem.com/arabpress/story/ap20010101.html]*[[Eli Carmeli]] (Research Associate, 2000) [http://www.cdn-friendsMansour Al-icej.ca/isreport/marapr00/armed.htmlHadj] *[[Miriam Posner]] was Associate Director <br>director of Communications and Special Projects until recently[http://www.panim.org/News/NewsList.cfm?c=30], having since moved on to [[PANIM]], "the Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values". *[[Jess Sadick]] claims to have helped found the organization, but to have left Reform in 1998. [http://www.defenddemocracy.org/biographies/biographies_show.htm?doc_id=205008]*[[Adam Pashut]] (supposedly Research Fellow, 2004) has a name meaning "simple person" in Hebrew, and is presumably a pseudonym. [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12249]) *The Berlin branch's Director is Dr. Jochen M? (2004) [http://www.digberlin.de/termin.php]*Other members or ex-members include [[Goetz Nordbruch]], Research Fellow, 2001 [http://www.mafhoum.com/press/48P2.htm]; Director, 2002 [http://memri.org/book/MEMRI_Book_PGS.pdf] Arab and German domain name contact; and [[Mirjam Glä³¥r]] (2003). [http://d-a-s-h.orgMuslim World project</dossiertd></07/17_MEMRI.html]tr>

The Jerusalem branch includes<th colspan="3" bgcolor="palegoldenrod" align="left">Source</th><tr><td colspan="3" align="left" style="font-size:10pt; font-style:normal">Memri:*[[Yael Yehoshua]] (Research Fellow, 2003) [httpAbout Us<ref>MEMRI://www.nuitdorient.com/n2112.htm]*[[Ezra Dalumi]] (2004) [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=53919]*[[Angi Jacobs]] (2002) [http://memri.org/bookcontent/MEMRI_Book_PGSen/about.pdf]*[[Menahem Milson]htm About Us] (Lt. Col. (ret.), Academic AdvisorAccessed: 29 January 2012)*Yotam Feldner and Aluma Solnick are also now based there. [http:</ref></memri.orgtd></booktr></MEMRI_Book_PGS.pdf]. *The domain names contacts for its site are [[Shmuel Segev]] and [[Noga Feldner]] of [[Amutat Yesodot Shalom]] (Organization for the Foundations of Peace); the former may be the author and [[Maariv]] journalist.table>

== External Links ==*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEMRI MEMRI], ''Wikipedia''. This article has a list of most of the MEMRI staff, from which the above is taken.*David Tell, "[http://www.nospank.net/memri.htm The Baby Face of Hate -- MEMRI releases an astonishing example of the "true Muslim" faith]", ''The Daily Standard'', June 12, 2002. *Brian Whitaker , [http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,773258,00.html Selective Memri], ''Guardian Unlimited'', August 12, 2002. "Investigates whether the 'independent' media institute that translates the Arabic newspapers is quite what it seems."*Brian Whitaker and Yigal Carmon, "[http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4593445,00.html Email debate: Yigal Carmon previous Principals and Brian WhitakerStaff]", Guardian, Jan 23 2004. *[http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/cast/memri.asp "The truth about MEMRI"] from [[Palestine Media Watch]], August 13, 2002.*Sarah Maserati, "[http://www.nationalreview.com/maserati/maserati111402.asp Terror TV / MEMRI brings English-speakers the world of Arab hate]", ''National Review Online'', November 14, 2002.*Craig Cox, "[http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_archives/articles/2534-1.html Making a MEMRI]", ''Utne Web Watch'', Archives.*Leah Harris, "[http://www.counterpunch.org/harris01152003.html A Note on MEMRI & Translations]", ''CounterPunch'', January 15, 2003.*Ori Nir, "[http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.01.24/news9.html Arab Envoys Planning Translation Service / Information Ministers Hope To Counter Success of Memri]", ''Forward'', January 24, 2003.*Mohammed El Oifi, "[http://mondediplo.com/2005/10/15propaganda Gained in translation]: Why the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is a source of English versions of Arabic texts that are designed to mislead and disinform", ''Le Monde Diplomatique'', October 2005.*[http://www.counterpunch.org/news03292006.html "Fake Saddam Interview Put Out By Israel Lobby Catspaw, Endorsed by Neo-Cons Pet Cassandra, Now Wiping Egg From Face,"] ''CounterPunch'', March 29, 2006.*[http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1511 MEMRI] ''Right Web'', International Relations center, August 31,2006.

::"The role that MEMRI is playing in bringing the voices of the Arab and Muslim Reform &ndash; from Arabic into English, to the world – has been absolutely invaluable for everyone who cares about this process and wants to follow it."<br>- Thomas Friedman, May 6, 2003 <ref>[http://www.memri.org/aboutus.html]</ref>

::I receive an invaluable service from the Middle East Media Research Institute, which translates material from the region. What is impossible to appreciate without such translations is the sheer scale of genocidal anti-Semitism which infuses Palestinian Authority propaganda.<ref>[http://memri.org/bin/media.cgi?ID=78004]</ref>

::In the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the ultraextreme sect of [[Wahhabism ]] is the state religion, various sermons and other declamations were heard, alleging that Allah punished the Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and non-Wahhabi Muslims of the South Asian countries for their failure to accept Islam, above all in its Saudi form (as recorded and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute).<ref>[http://memri.org/bin/media.cgi?ID=117405]</ref>

*[[Elie Wiesel]] &ndash; Professional Holocaust survivor (as [http://www.amin.org/eng/uri_avnery/2005/mar20.html as Uri Avnery] refers to him), member of the Irgun Zvei Leumi <ref>[http://jewishpeople.net/eliewiesel.html]</ref>, and professional moralist.::"I hope you receive MEMRI's publications. I do. I find its material – translations and analyses of poisonous articles, hate-filled statements and slanderous accusations &ndash; vitally needed for the fight against antisemitism in the Arab world. Policy makers, legislators, teachers, and news commentators greatly benefit from its efforts to use truth in the service of peace."<br>- Elie Wiesel, May 22, 2003<ref>[http://www.memri.org/aboutus.html]</ref>

::"… the excellent Middle East Media Research Institute"<br>-Former CIA director James Woolsey, June 10, 2002 <ref>[http://www.memri.org/aboutus.html]</ref>

==Articles and Resources=====Related SourceWatch Articles=== ===References===<references/> === External links ===*[http://www.neoconeurope.eu/index.php/MEMRI MEMRI], NeoCon Europe.*[http://memriwatch.org/ MEMRI Watch]*[http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHMG_enUS299US303&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=site:abuaardvark.typepad.com/abuaardvark/++memri Search blog posts on "MEMRI"] on academic Marc Lynch's blog*[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=605 How MEMRI Doctored Norman Finkelstein's Interview to Present him as a "Holocaust Denier"]*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEMRI MEMRI], ''Wikipedia''. This article has a list of most of the MEMRI staff, from which the above is taken.*David Tell, "[http://www.nospank.net/memri.htm The Baby Face of Hate -- MEMRI releases an astonishing example of the "true Muslim" faith]", ''The Daily Standard'', June 12, 2002. *Brian Whitaker , [http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,773258,00.html Selective Memri], ''Guardian Unlimited'', August 12, 2002. "Investigates whether the 'independent' media institute that translates the Arabic newspapers is quite what it seems."*Brian Whitaker and Yigal Carmon, "[http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4593445,00.html Email debate: Yigal Carmon and Brian Whitaker]", Guardian, Jan 23 2004. *[http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/cast/memri.asp "The truth about MEMRI"] from [[Palestine Media Watch]], August 13, 2002.*Sarah Maserati, "[http://www.nationalreview.com/maserati/maserati111402.asp Terror TV / MEMRI brings English-speakers the world of Arab hate]", ''National Review Online'', November 14, 2002.*Craig Cox, "[http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_archives/articles/2534-1.html Making a MEMRI]", ''Utne Web Watch'', Archives.*Alex Kingsbury, [http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=showcase.view&showcaseid=0027 Two Web sites help reporters overcome the language barrier], Nieman Watchdog, 7 October 2005.*Leah Harris, "[http://www.counterpunch.org/harris01152003.html A Note on MEMRI & Translations]", ''CounterPunch'', January 15, 2003.*Ori Nir, "[http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.01.24/news9.html Arab Envoys Planning Translation Service / Information Ministers Hope To Counter Success of Memri]", ''Forward'', January 24, 2003.*Mohammed El Oifi, "[http://mondediplo.com/2005/10/15propaganda Gained in translation]: Why the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is a source of English versions of Arabic texts that are designed to mislead and disinform", ''Le Monde Diplomatique'', October 2005.*[http://www.counterpunch.org/news03292006.html "Fake Saddam Interview Put Out By Israel Lobby Catspaw, Endorsed by Neo-Cons Pet Cassandra, Now Wiping Egg From Face,"] ''CounterPunch'', March 29, 2006.*[http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1511 MEMRI] ''Right Web'', International Relations center, August 31,2006. [[Category:Islamophobia]][[Category:Israel]][[Category:Mediapropaganda]][[Category:Middle East]]