(ADL)'s Foxman should stop using lies
and denials (of the Armenian Genocide, of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and of the lobby's influence). ACTION ITEM AT BOTTOM
(please take action because silence is complicity) This material is posted with other links and will be regularly updated at http://www.qumsiyeh.org/theadllobby/ In the most recent (albeit limited) US mainstream media discussion of Mearsheimer and Walt's highly successful book, there is mention of Foxman's new book but without comment or challenge to the credibility of these accusers. Foxman's newest book is more appropriately a collection of unfounded accusations and diatribes that hopes against all odds to convince readers to believe that Foxman (a part of the lobby) has no influence ("the lobby is not significant n shaping US Policy").
By writing the book, Foxman \ironically proves the thesis of Mearsheimer and Walt and thus validates their book taht he does not like. But Foxman goes beyond that to repeat the tired claim that criticism of Zionism or of the harmful effects of the Lobby on US and Israeli interests are equivalent to anti-Jewish attitudes. I wanted here to encourage everyone to write to the media to expose the little discussed record of ADL and Foxman, a records of lies and distortions. Authors of books on the lobby and activists who get attacked by the lobby (ironically a lobby that attacks them claiming there is no lobby),
the best defense (against absurd and tired charges of anti-Semitism) is a good offense: exposing the lies and distortions of the ADL and other Israel-first lobby groups. Towards that I made the following compilation and decided to focus on five areas only (ADL's financial scandal, the ADL spy scandal, Attack on President Carter, Denial of the Armenian Genocide, Denial of the Lobby's influence). ADL/Foxman's financial scandals ADL received $250,000 from fugitive billionaire Marc Rich to lobby for a pardon by President Clinton.
Even the neocon Zionist William Saffire was not happy with that deal (op-ed NY Times, 2001 and article in the Jewish Forward magazine calls on Foxman to resign over the issue http://www.webshells.com/adlwatch/news25.htm ).
Unfortunately there is little investigation of ADL finances let alone its activities by mainstream media. According to available IRS forms 990 for non-profits (frmguidingstar.org), for the year 2005,
ADL collected revenues of $57,452,488 and spent $54,174,161.
The ADL foundation whose accounting si done separately claimed revenues of $101,774,774 and expenses of $17,060,080.
Thus total revenue for Foxman's outfit was $159 million and expenses $71 million) The vast majority of their expenses were n salaries and beefits to 220+ employees (and Foxman writes a book that says there is no influetial lobby).
Here is how much some of the top ADL employees got enriched (again for 2005 only):
Abraham Foxman ($307,075 direct + $79,534 other),
Caryll Stern ($188,505+$40,451),
Marshall Levin ($118,750+$13,766),
Michael Kellman ($104,375+16,294),
Kenneth Jacobson ($182 direct+ 54,668 benefits),
Arthur Teitelbaum ($160,000+$55,104),
Ann Turk ($188,467+142,425),
Robert Lelkind ($182,353+79,610),
and Ronni Meltzer ($132,213+107,203).
ADL also paid over 1.2 million to five contractors for professional services and .
Incredibly, ADL declared/claimed about 0.3% ($257K) of the ADL & ADL foundation expenses as resources devoted to lobbying! ADL Spy Scandal ADL also spied on Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and African Americans in order to support the close linkage between Apartheid South Africa and Apartheid Israel. In 1992, the nation-wide spy network of the Anti-Defamation League was uncovered. Roy Bullock, described as the ADL's leading "fact-finder" by Irwin Suall, the organization's spy-master, was also working for South African intelligence, spying on the anti-apartheid movement and South African exiles in the US who were working with the ANC which the ADL had denounced as a "terrorist" organization. For more info on the ADL case see: http://www.counterpunch.org/adlspies.html Attack on President Carter Foxman's attacks on President Carter is classic for the kind of distortions and shenanigans that the Israel first lobby engages in.
Carter was actually far more pro-Israel and in his book claimed there is no apartheid inside the Green line (Palestinian areas that became Israel by 1949). Carter was speaking about a "developing" apartheid system in the 22% of Palestine occupied by Israel in 1967. Carter also claims that racism was not a factor in this apartheid but desire for land grab (this is simply false as any casual reading of Zionist own literature illustrates). DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ADL Foxman's Armenian Genocide Denial road show http://www.counterpunch.org/walsh08272007.html Video of Watertown town council meeting in which the town disassociates itself from ADL for refusing to recognize Armenian genocide: See Here Audio clip on some reasons why the ADL doesn't want to recognize the Armenian genocide: See Here Te ADL reversed itself partially on this issue by acknowledging the atrocities but still refuses top back down from its rejection of the congressional resolution that recognizes the Armenian Genocide DENIAL OF THE ISRAEL LOBBY POWER Mainstream writers who happen to be Jewish do not shy away from describing the lobby's influence on US foreign policy. For example anyone can browse such well researched and successful books by Jews who are mainstream Zionists: J.J. Goldberg "Jewish Power", Steven Silbiger "The Jewish Phenomenon," David Zurawik "The Jews of Prime Time," Andrew Heinze "Jews and the American Soul", Yuri Slezkine's "The Jewish Century". Considerable evidence for the power of the lobby is provided by these and many other books (like Mearsheimer and Walt, James Petras, John Coley, John Mulhall, etc).
Gentile writers are actually more careful and distinguish between Jews and Zionists (many Jews are not Zionists and many Zionists are not Jews).
Mearsheimer and Walt repeatedly make the point that the Israel lobby is not Ethnic or Religious as it includes Christians and Jews and its opponents similarly include Christians and Jews. But facts do not seem to matter to Foxman who was so so incensed perhaps because any talk of the influence of groups like ADL may risk his source of power and income.
Foxman gains a considerable salary (reported in 2005 tax forms at $307,000+$80,000 benefits) for his activities on behalf of Israel while claiming that the Israel lobby does not influence US policy. There is one Yiddish word that describes that arrogance: Chutzpah. For a good set of other resources (and where I got some of this information), visit http://adlwatch.org/ BTW, and for the sake of full disclosure: the ADL has a backgrounder on me on their website: http://www.adl.org/israel/qumsiyeh/ also see the article attached on our protest in New Haven against the local ADL's efforts to silence free speech. ACTION ITEM: Thursday is a US national call-in Day to end the war on Iraq and stop the war on Iran.
Contact your representatives (http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/ )
and contact the media (use http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=111 and http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/ ).
Resources and talking points on issues of Iran are posted at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3263 ; even though those links ignore the Israel lobby's persistent push for war). So let us discuss these issues (especially the Lobby's influence) with elected officials and media pundits, journalists, and editors. In solidarity, Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD http://qumsiyeh.org http://justicewheels.org
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