If Americans Knew is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

in Southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, that focuses on the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים‎, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jew ...

and the

foreign policy of the United States The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

regarding the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, 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." The site is critical of U.S. financial and military support of Israel. It has accused ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and other mainstream news organizations of being biased in favour of Israel. In addition to its founder, the freelance journalist

Alison Weir Alison Weir ( Matthews; born 1951) is a British author and public historian. She primarily writes about the history of English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical setting. She has also written nu ...

, board members include

Paul Findley Paul Augustus Findley (June 23, 1921 – August 9, 2019) was an American writer and politician. He served as United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1960. A moderate Repu ...

, a former United States Representative and author of ''They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby'', and

Andrew Killgore Andrew Ivy Killgore (November 7, 1919 – December 20, 2016) was an American diplomat and a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. He was ambassador of the United States to Qatar from 1977 until his retirement from the U.S. Foreign Service in 1980. ...

, a former ambassador of the United States to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. It has been denounced as antisemitic by both pro- and anti-Israel groups.

Background

According to the organization's website, founder Alison Weir traveled independently throughout the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

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. In addition to its information website, If Americans Knew places billboards and advertisements about U.S. financial support for Israel and founder Weir publishes op-eds about the topic in the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

''.

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 srael-Palestine Most of all, it is to inform Americans about our enormous, and too often invisible, personal connection to it.". If Americans Knew holds that United States' support of Israel should be reduced on the grounds that it is not in American interestU.S. Interests and Israel/Palestine
Retrieved August 2011 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, and in recent years by the efforts of a "growing number of individuals with close ties to Israel (known as

neoconservatives Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and cou ...

)" in high-level U.S. Government positions. It believes that there is a “cover-up of appalling proportions” about Israel/Palestine in the American news media. In 2005, it published a study critical of ''

'' coverage of Israeli and Palestinian deaths, and met with then ''New York Times'' Public Editor

Daniel Okrent Daniel Okrent (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and editing, editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of ''The New York Times'' newspaper, inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books ( ...

to discuss their study.Weir, Alison.
New York Times Distortion Up Close and Personal
, April 24, 2005 In subsequent column Okrent mentioned the meeting but dismissed IAK's conclusions. It has drawn attention to the number of Jewish judges on the US

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, writing of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's appointment of

Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...

that it is "questionable for one small group to have enormously disproportionate representation on the highest court of the land". It falsely claimed the

2020 Beirut explosion On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and United States dollar, US$15 billion in property damage, as well as lea ...

was caused by Israel. 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." 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."

Reception

If Americans Knew was accused of antisemitism by

Jewish Voice for Peace Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP; קול יהודי לשלום ''Kol Yehudi la-Shalom'') is a left-wing Jewish activist organization in the United States that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. Founding, staff ...

, U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation and the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

(ADL). The ADL has called If Americans Knew an "anti-Israel organization" (placing it in its "Top 10" “most influential and active anti-Israel groups” in the US in 2013) 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 Israel Shahak ( he, ישראל שחק; born Israel Himmelstaub, 28 April 1933 – 2 July 2001) was an Israeli professor of organic chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a Holocaust survivor, an intellectual of liberal political bent, ...

that characterized beliefs of certain Israelis as "such a ruthless and supremacist faith." Weir stated that she considered this quoted characterization as not pertaining to the mainstream of Judaism, and has demanded that the ADL correct what she termed "defamatory and inaccurate statements." 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". In 2016, it was recommended in

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

professor David Palumbo-Liu as an alternative source of information on Israel, but he withdrew the recommendation after controversy. In 2006, If Americans Knew was described as "valuable" by the media monitoring organization

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccura ...

(FAIR).FAIR, Media Views, December 1, 2006
via archive.org

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in the United States Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Foreign policy political advocacy groups in the United States Media analysis organizations and websites Mass media-related controversies in the United States Arab–American relations Israel–United States relations State of Palestine–United States relations

Background

Positions

Reception

See also

References

Further reading

External links