"A huge lie repeated often enough is accepted as truth." — Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Propaganda Minister

"Unanswered media bias and misinformation repeated often enough is accepted as truth." — PRIMER

Resources

Many organizations have put together excellent resources that may be used to respond to the unfair attacks and biased reporting. PRIMER sees no need to duplicate these efforts. The following is a list of some of these excellent resources. Please let PRIMER know of others we should include.

The Daily Alert: The Daily Alert contains synopses of articles and links to the full versions. It's worth looking through their archives.
PRIMER's own resource list: The PRIMER web site contains a general list of resources for activists. Most of the sites cited have additional very useful information.
The IDF's YouTube Channel: This contains videos from the incident, including attacks on the IDF soldiers.
CAMERA
HonestReporting
ADL
AIPAC
JINSA
ZOA
StandWithUs
The Israel Project
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Israeli Embassy
We Con the World: This is a terrific video in the political satire realm. It puts to song the thoughts that were obviously going through the minds of the flotilla organizers.
Free Gaza - From Its Arab Oppressors: Op-Ed by PRIMER President Alan Stein published in the Manchester Journal-Inquirer on June 2.

Write a Letter

The Israel Project has a web form which may be used to write letters to your local newspaper without having to remember its email address. It's called Write a letter to your local newspaper.

Taking the Offensive

PRIMER board member Don Morris recognizes the increasing pressure Israel is facing to make more unreciprocated, counterproductive concessions and is making an effort to educate with a series of op-eds which may be read here and on the PRIMER blog.

These op-eds include the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily represent positions of PRIMER.

Setting the Record Straight: Distortions of Commission and Omission By Alan Stein — The degree of misinformation and misunderstanding relating to the issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict is astounding. Patently false information is pervasive yet is often taken as common knowledge and falsely transmitted in conversations, over the Internet, in the traditional media and even by governments. (December 10, 2012)

Dismissive Behavior-Perspective is Critical to Understanding Another's Point of View By Don Morris — It does the nation no good to berate and negate one another's positions. This human situation requires leadership that operates with an ability to listen and hear what the two parties say. (November 23, 2012)

We are at War By Don Morris — The West can win this war, we have the truth on our side, and our societal values are as valued today as they were so many generations ago. The question becomes when will we find the resolve to take a stand and defend ourselves? Our enemy is counting on never! (June 10, 2012)

Going to the well time and again pays off-why not keep going? By Don Morris — Don Morris examines Mahmoud Abbas' latest offer to pretend to negotiate if Israel first releases more terrorists, further arms his thugs and strangles the Jewish communities in the disputed territories. (June 9, 2012)

Offensive Words and Policies Defined By Don Morris — Don Morris examines how groups which do not share the West's way of life or sense of toleration and humanity are using language to promote a destructive narrative. (November 8, 2011)

Intentional misrepresentation of facts MSM? By Don Morris — Don Morris examines the apparently intentional misrepresentation of facts by the mainstream media, particularly regarding the terrorist kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. (October 18, 2011)

Misplaced Assumptions By Don Morris — Don Morris examines misplaced assumptions on which President Barack Obama is apparently basing his Arab-Israeli Conflict policies. (May 21, 2011)

Call it what it is: Absurdity beyond the pale By Don Morris — Following the brutal terrorist murder of five members of the Fogel family, including slashing the throat of a three-month old baby girl, the focus of United Nations special coordinator Robert Serry was not the terror, but the possibility that homes might be built for more Jews in the disputed territory. (March 13, 2011)

Israel falsely accused of distractor's sins By Alan Stein — Response written to a vicious anti-Israel letter in The Hour. It was published as an op-ed. (August 22, 2010)

We are onto your lies and distractions! By Don Morris (June 22, 2010)

Since does gender matter when you break the law? By Don Morris — Don Morris considers the cowardice of the media in reporting on the Hizbullah-linked Lebanese boat trying to evade the Israeli blockade of arms to Hamas by carrying woman. The reports quote spokespersons for the mission blatantlylying without challenge. (June 21, 2010)

Why is the West Ignoring the Facts? By Don Morris (June 16, 2010)

Free Gaza-from what, from whom-do you mean from the autocratic control by Hamas? By Don Morris (June 15, 2010)

Borders Do Not Exist By Don Morris (June 11, 2010)

Understanding the Fourth Geneva Convention By Don Morris (June 5, 2010)

Peace with Truth as its Base By Don Morris — On campuses across the United States, Israel is being accused of human rights violations. The accusations are so many and so detailed that even relatively well informed pro-Israel students are often at a loss to refute them. (April 22, 2010)

Wanting to believe By Don Morris (March 28, 2010)

Islamophobia-Example of Irresponsible Behavior:re-visited By Don Morris — A year since Don Morris last wrote on this topic, we see the persistence of our enemy. (March 27, 2010)

Profile in Courage?

Two protesters braving at least one inch of snow to protest the study of antisemitism in front of Luce Auditorium.

One has to be a bit of a lunatic to protest in favor of antisemitism, but that's what two lonely fanatics did in New Haven on Tuesday evening, February 3.

They stood out, in more ways than one, in the cold on a snowy night, in front of Yale's Luce Auditorium in New Haven, protesting the Second Annual Professor William Prusoff Honorary Lecture, part of the Antisemitism in Comparative Perspective seminar series organized by YIISA, the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism.

The intrepid supporters of antisemitism were surrounded by a half dozen protest signs, apparently brought to be carried by the hoards of supporters they expected to join in the protest called by The Middle East Crisis Committee, proud of its crusade against any efforts to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Jews from their ancestral homeland.

While they felt no shame in protesting against the study of antisemitism, one of the two was apparently ashamed of the way he looked, frantically hiding his face behind an envelope as soon as a camera came out.

Bringing all that paraphernalia was a waste of time, since primerprez was apparently the only person who stopped by long enough to either see or hear them, but at least they adhered to one tenet that some incorrectly believe is part of the Hippocratic Oath: with nobody being misled, for once they did no harm.

Prayer for the Israel Defense Forces

May He who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, bless the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and the security personnel who stand guard over Israel and the cities of our God, from the Lebanese border to the Egyptian wilderness, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the edges of the desert - or wherever they might be - on land, in the air, or at sea.

May God cause our enemies who attack us to suffer defeat at the hands of the troops. May the Holy One, blessed is He, shield and protect them from any adversity of anguish, any ordeal or suffering, and send blessing and success to everything they do. May He bring those who hate us under their sway, and glorify the forces with the crown of salvation and the mantle of victory, so that the verse, "The Lord, your God marches with you to do battle for you against your enemies and to save you," will be fulfilled through then, and let us say Amen.

Revealing Quote

"The U.S. and Israel and other regional powers were generous enough to provide Fatah security with very good weapons, and now they are in our hands." — Hamas gunman.

Read Hamas Militants Train for Attack on Israel on Fox News for an article containing this quote.

Food For Thought

"Israel is the only country whose very right to stay on the map is constantly questioned.

"The true reason is simple: Israel is a Jewish state. This is the reason it is loved by many, and this is the reason it is hated by so many as well. Democracy and human rights are just the popular ways to justify the hatred, since Western society seems to be sensitive to these two issues nowadays."

Posted to the Jewish Faculty Roundtable discussion list by George Kaminski (kamin1ga@cmich.edu).

Qumsiyeh's Inconvenient Truth

Perhaps it was a bit of his conscience bothering him when he and a handful of other Anti-Israel fanatics protested a lecture at the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA), but Mazin Qumsiyeh inadvertantly told the truth during his protest.

After human rights activist Alan Dershowitz stopped by for a few minutes before his lecture, Qumsiyeh addressed the half-dozen or so fanatics who were protesting with him and were the only ones, aside from the video photographer and the reporter shown in the video, who didn't leave with Dershowitz.

The video shows Qumsiyeh saying "he [apparently referring to some unmentioned critic] then claims that Dershowitz lies" before clearly defending the human rights activist by saying "I urge you to get Dershowitz' book and read it because [undecipherable] one of the best documented."

At that point, he gets distracted until one of his shills who had noticed Qumsiyeh had accidentally told the truth prompts him with the words "Finkelstein, Finkelstein." At that point, Qumsiyeh changes his tune and starts praising the screeds of Norman Finkelstein, the mediocre former DePaul University faculty member.

The PRIMER Blog

PRIMER has its own blog. PRIMER members are invited to contribute. The entries represent the personal views of the writers and are not necessarily endorsed by PRIMER.

Media bias and misinformation frequently characterize what is reported about the state of Israel in the American press and around the world.

This practice, when left unchallenged, negatively molds public opinion, which steers public policy, and can adversely affect Israel's well being and continued existence.

PRIMER — Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting — is dedicated to countering media bias and misinformation on a regional basis. PRIMER-Connecticut focuses on generating LETTERS TO THE EDITOR and periodically publishing TREND REPORTS in which PRIMER analyzes a newspaper's coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Each year, PRIMER publishes its Media Review, a "critical review and analysis of print and other media reports."

PRIMER also maintains a list of spokespersons able to speak knowledgeably to the media on matters relating to the Middle East.
The reality about civilian casualties generally ignored by the press.

Collectively, Regional Groups Can Make a Difference!

Using a small group of dedicated activists, over a period of years PRIMER-Connecticut has been responsible for approximately three-quarters of the pro-Israel letters published in Connecticut's flagship newspaper, the Hartford Courant.

Regional groups with as few as a half dozen active members can help promote the shared interests of America and Israel and can make a big difference. PRIMER-Connecticut anticipates the creation of a network of regional monotoring and response groups across the country and is eager to assist in establishing other regional groups for effectively Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting.

PRIMER-Connecticut also generates op-eds promoting the pro-Israel viewpoint and annually publishes Media Review, a critical review and analysis of print and other media reports.

Of Current Interest

Israel falsely accused of distractor's sins By Alan Stein — Response written to a vicious anti-Israel letter in The Hour. It was published as an op-ed. (August 22, 2010)

We are onto your lies and distractions! By Don Morris (June 22, 2010)

Why is the West Ignoring the Facts? By Don Morris (June 16, 2010)

Free Gaza-from what, from whom-do you mean from the autocratic control by Hamas? By Don Morris (June 15, 2010)

Borders Do Not Exist By Don Morris (June 11, 2010)

Understanding the Fourth Geneva Convention By Don Morris (June 5, 2010)

Free Gaza - From Its Arab Oppressors By Alan Stein — Published in the Manchester Journal-Inquirer on June 2, 2010 (June 1, 2010)

Only word-smithing has changed from May 2005-November 2009 By Don Morris — The West Bank, i.e. Judea and Samaria, to this day remain disputed, not occupied, territories. (November 18, 2009)

Time for Truth–Time to Change the Lexicon By Don Morris — Forget the settlements. If the world truly wants to identify an obstacle to peace, it could do much worse than cast its eyes towards Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. (September 9, 2009)

Settlers-rights and/or wrongs-another look By GS Don Morris (September 6, 2009)

It's not only about Yaalon's Comments, it's much more that is in the balance By Don Morris (August 21, 2009)

The Hypocrisy of the Israel-Haters By Alan H. Stein — Hatred and bigotry have always been at the heart of the global anti-Israel conspiracy, of which lies, distortions and hypocrisy have always been staples. Those Israel-haters are now hypocritically attacking Doc's Talk, an excellent blog from PRIMER board member Don Morris. (June 12, 2009)

And now, the Unspoken Truth By GS Don Morris — Don Morris analyzes Barack Obama's Cairo speech, including exaggerations, misconceptions and misrepresentations. (June 6, 2009)

Borders Do Not Exist By GS Don Morris — Don Morris reminds readers of the reality Israel has never had the luxury of borders, so talking about going back to the "1967 borders" is nonsensical. (May 27, 2009)

What's in a name? By GS Don Morris — Don Morris on the inappropriate and counterproductive acquiescence in the use of the term "settler." (May 25, 2009)

So, You Want to Be a State? By GS Don Morris — Morris analyzes the standard criteria used to recognize whether an entity qualifies as a state, demonstrating the Palestinian Authority has a long way to go before it would be reasonable to give it that status. (May 23, 2009)

Solution: Implies common agreement on the problem and … By GS Don Morris (May 20, 2009)

Entitlement Thinking: We are paying for it now! By GS Don Morris (April 16, 2009)

Settlers By GS Don Morris (September 9, 2008)

Time for Some Plain Talk By GS Don Morris (July 17, 2008)

Some thoughts-do with as you like! By GS Don Morris — The Return of Israel's Abducted Soldiers (July 15, 2008)

It's not only the barbaric act, it is their aberrant social behavior! By GS Don Morris — Yes, the world should condemn the attack on Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva and there should be moral, social outrage with this evil act, but it's even worse than that. (March 6, 2008)

Showing Good Faith In The Arab-Israeli Conflict By Alan Stein — Events such as the annual Israel-bashing at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme are counterproductive to any efforts to bring about an Arab-Israeli peace and an end to the death and destruction resulting from the Arab effort to destroy Israel. Published by The Day of New London. (November 25, 2007)

Misdirection is a mystery unless you know the truth By Don Morris (November 12, 2007)

What Version of the Road Map? By Don Morris (November 5, 2007)

Incomprehensible Negligence By Don Morris (October 29, 2007)

Ignorance is NOT bliss By Don Morris (October 17, 2007)

Too weak to govern-use the weakness as a weapon-it works in the West! By Don Morris (October 14, 2007)

Let's not get ahead of ourselves By Don Morris — Analysis of the gross distortions in the reports claiming the Palestinian Arabs are ready to use the "Taba Draft" as a basis for talks (October 12, 2007)

"I'll take my ball and go home if you don't let me ..." By Don Morris — Israel wants a genuine, authentic peace. This requires negotiations, not a repeat of failed, concessions-based diplomacy (October 7, 2007)

The Paradox here in Israel By Don Morris — The range of emotions in Israel on Erev Rosh Hashanah (September 12, 2007)

At the end of the day whose values do you want to live by? By Don Morris (September 10, 2007)

Abdicate All Responsibility-It's Their Fault! By Don Morris — Israel's enemies continue to engage in public relations practices that serve only their own special interests. Their playbook is the same as it has been for the last decade: obfuscate the truth, redirect the reader's focus, abdicate all responsibility and resort to name calling and placing blame upon Israel for one's own intentional behavior. (September 1, 2007)

The Devil is in the Details By Don Morris — Generally ignored details of the new defense agreement between the United States and Israel. (August 17, 2007)

For the Record By Don Morris — The new ten year defense agreement between the United States and Israel comes at a steep price to Israel. (August 16, 2007)

Connect the Dots By Don Morris — If you believed the media, Israel is acting responsibly and independently in opening talks with Abbas. Think again. (August 7, 2007)

Too Long in Iraq-Get Out Now! By Don Morris (August 2, 2007)

Change the Paradigm of Bias, Part II By Alan Stein — It's Time for our government to adopt a truly balanced approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. (June 22, 2007)

'Islamophobia'-Example of Irresponsible Behavior By Don Morris (June 1, 2007)

Change the Paradigm of Bias, Part I By Alan Stein — It's time for our government to adopt a truly balanced approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. (May 18, 2007)

Political Correctness is Killing Us-Part Three By Don Morris (May 12, 2007)

Political Correctness is Killing Us-Part Two By Don Morris (April 22, 2007)

Political Correctness is Killing Us-Part One By Don Morris (March 26, 2007)

What Hypocrisy? By Don Morris (February 24, 2007)

Time To Gather Our Courage By Don Morris (January 21, 2007)

Peace, Not Propaganda By Alan Stein — Comment & Analysis of biased essay by Marilyn Aligata in the Waterbury Observer (January 7, 2007)

Hillel Halkin's Good News By David Basch — A harsh critique of Hillel Halkin's perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict (December 14, 2006)

Review of Jimmy Carter's book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid — Mitchell Bard, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict and of Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict, has written a comprehensive review of the book, pointing out many of the core contradictions, distortions and falsehoods written by the former president.

Rockets' Red Glare By Joel Abramson — Commentary on Hamas kidnapping of Gilad Shalit and launching Kassam rockets at Israeli towns (July 14, 2006)

Definition of a Terrorist — The widespread use of the term "militant" rather than the more accurate term "terrorist" is one of the widespread aspects of subtle bias in the media. PRIMER was sent an unpublished commentary describing the difference.

… View More PRIMER Commentaries

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Last modified Monday, December 10, 2012.