Aaron Klein
Aaron Klein is the Jerusalem bureau chief for the conservative news website WorldNetDaily. Klein joined WND in 2004 as Middle East correspondent and was named Jerusalem bureau chief in February 2005.[1] Klein has made regular appearances on John Batchelor's radio show[2], and his articles have also appeared in The New York Sun[3] and the Jewish Press[4].
Klein's slant
Klein's WorldNetDaily articles are generally sympathetic to conservative and right-wing causes in Israel. He has promoted the cause of Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Gaza who opposed Israel's plan of disengagement from those areas and has consistently failed to disclose the ties of Israeli activists tied to the far-right Kach and Kahane Chai movement.[5] When AWOL Israeli soldier Eden Natan-Zada shot and killed four people on a bus in Gaza on August 4, 2005, he was beaten to death afterwards by a crowd that witnessed the shooting; Klein wrote an article for WND claiming that Zada was "murdered" by a "mob of Palestinians" after the shooting.[6][7] Klein has also written numerous articles critical of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.[8]
Klein has written a book, Schmoozing With Terrorists, in which he claimed to have interviewed Middle Eastern terrorists about "who they want to see in the White House, their thoughts on big name American celebrities, what day-to-day life would be like if the global jihad took over the U.S., and why terrorists kill and maim."[9] Critics have noted that the terrorists Klein documented uniformly reinforce conservative talking points against Democrats and liberals, and that Klein appears to ignore the possibility that the terrorists have their own agenda in allowing Klein to advance their claims.[10]
Klein has written numerous articles attacking Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, which have tended to be guilt-by-association attacks on associates such as adviser Robert Malley.[11] Klein has accused Obama's supporters of having a "malignant messianic infatuation" with him.[12] In April 2008, Klein and Batchelor conducted an interview with Hamas official Ahmed Yousef, who appeared to endorse Obama[13]; Klein and Batchelor did not explain why a member of Hamas would willingly be interviewed by two people who oppose Hamas, nor have they explained to what extent Yousef was aware he was furthering Klein's and Batchelor's anti-Obama agenda.[14]
Controversies
In November 2006, Klein wrote an article[15] which implied that Fox News paid a ransom for the release of two journalists who had been kidnapped in Gaza. After Fox News denied that any such ransom had been paid (the denial was published by the Drudge Report), WND defended Klein by insisting that "No one in the story even suggested the money originated with Fox"[16], and Klein added that "I don't believe Fox News paid any money or knew any money was paid."[17] But Klein's original article never explicitly stated that Fox News played no role in the alleged ransom.[18]
In June 2005, WorldNetDaily retracted a Klein article claiming that the charity Islamic Relief was linked to terrorism and accused the group of making a fraudulent appeal for money for orphans that don't exist.[19][20]
Books
- Aaron Klein, Schmoozing With Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans - to a Jew!, WND Books, September 2007. (ISBN 0979045126).
- Aaron Klein and Brenda J. Elliott, The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists (2010 book), WND Books, May 2010. (ISBN 1935071874).
References
- ↑ "WND to open Jerusalem bureau", WorldNetDaily, January 25, 2005
- ↑ "Aaron Klein on 'John Batchelor Show' debut", WorldNetDaily, October 7, 2007.
- ↑ Aaron Klein article archive, The New York Sun, accessed March 18, 2008.
- ↑ Article archive, The Jewish Press, accessed March 18, 2008.
- ↑ Terry Krepel, "Something to Hide", ConWebWatch, January 13, 2006.
- ↑ Aaron Klein, "Arab mob lynches Israeli who killed 4", WorldNetDaily, August 4, 2005.
- ↑ Terry Krepel, "Where the Killer Is A Victim", ConWebWatch, August 12, 2005.
- ↑ Terry Krepel, "WorldNetDaily Undermines Olmert", ConWebWatch, July 13, 2006.
- ↑ "Schmoozing With Terrorists", WorldNetDaily store, accessed March 16, 2008.
- ↑ Terry Krepel, "Aaron Klein's Terrorist Buddies", ConWebWatch, November 6, 2006.
- ↑ 'Anti-Obama Frenzy: The Case of Aaron Klein", ConWebWatch, March 27, 2008.
- ↑ Aaron Klein, "Smeared by Obama-hacks", WorldNetDaily, March 14, 2008.
- ↑ Aaron Klein, "Hamas terrorists make 2008 U.S. presidential pick", WorldNetDaily, April 14, 2008.
- ↑ Terry Krepel, "Schmoozing With Smearmongers", ConWebWatch, May 8, 2008.
- ↑ Aaron Klein, "Terrorists: Fox News reporters freed for $2 million", WorldNetDaily, November 14, 2006.
- ↑ [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp? ARTICLE_ID=52974 "Farah responds to Fox News' Ailes"], WorldNetDaily, November 15, 2006.
- ↑ Aaron Klein, "Stop attacking Fox News!", WorldNetDaily, November 20, 2006.
- ↑ Terry Krepel, 'Implications Have Consequences", ConWebWatch, November 22, 2006.
- ↑ "WND retracts story about Islamic Relief", WorldNetDaily, June 11, 2005.
- ↑ Terry Krepel,"Another WND Retraction", ConWebWatch, June 12, 2005.
External links
- Terry Krepel, "Aaron Klein's Mighty Wurlitzer", ConWebWatch, May 24, 2007.
- Ari Berman, "Smearing Obama", The Nation, March 13, 2008.
- Terry Krepel, Aaron Klein, Extremist, ConWebWatch, March 25, 2010.
David Joseph,[1], Opening Aaron Klein's Pandora's Box,09/09/09.
