Friday, February 9, 2007

Joel Beinin and Muzzlewatch “expose” exposed!

The JVP project “Muzzlewatch” claims it “broke” the story of anti-Israel former Standford professor Joel Beinin being “muzzled” by the Jewish Community Relations Council and being prevented from giving a talk at a private school. At the time, they referred to the JCRC as an “outside advocacy organization.”

They then stated:
Professor Joel Beinin being booted at the last minute from a Harker School speaking engagement due to pressure from a parents group, with some kind of involvement by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Silicon Valley (though they have not responded to a request for a statement), that was no doubt, fulfilling its mission as a “protector of Israel.”

Turns out this is the classic example of a lie upon a half truth.

Here is the real story from an anonymous source within JCRC.

The Harker School wanted a discussion of the Arab-Isareli conflict. To that end, they brought in an anti-Israel Arab to speak. To balance the discussion, they wanted to bring a Jewish voice to the table. Unfortunately, according to my source, a person with “malicious intent” suggested the Jewish voice be Joel Beinin. The organizers of the event did not know that Beinin, despite being Jewish, is notoriously anti-Israel.

The organizers may have not have known, but they found out. The school’s parents also found out and protested loudly over this obvious mistake. Realizing that the planning committee has erred, the principal cancelled Beinin’s invitation. By the time the Silicon Valley JCRC called the principal, the principal had already made his decision.

This was another classic case of the anti-Israel forces trying to put on what they call a “balanced” presentation – that is “balanced” between an anti-Israel Arab and an anti-Israel Jew. When the duplicity was discovered, Beinin was rightly booted from the panel.

JVP suffers a severe credibility problem which, more than their political agenda keeps them out of mainstream discourse. This case is yet one more nail in the coffin of JVP’s credibility.

5 comments:

  1. Here's my letter to the editor in the San Francisco Chronicle, in response to Beinin. Thanks for getting the truth out!

    "Joel Beinin's unfounded complaints about being "silenced" by the Jewish community reek of hypocrisy. After all, Beinin is frequently found speaking in many locations in the Bay Area, usually to groups that oppose the very existence of a Jewish state. Sometimes he provides "balance" to a presentation -- the Jewish speaker opposing Israel's conduct in counterpoint to an Arab speaker opposing Israel's existence -- no doubt because anti-Israel groups feel it's important to hear such diverse points of view.
    Of course, if one looks at the actual history, Israel has considered a range of policy options, which include a Palestinian state in virtually all of the territory that Israel took from Egypt and Jordan in 1967. Beinin fails to acknowledge the uncomfortable fact that the Palestinians, first under Yasser Arafat and now under Hamas, have only wanted to consider the option of a Palestinian state in place of Israel.

    Like Jimmy Carter, with whom he compares himself, Beinin claims he's being labeled anti-Semitic. Like Carter, whose book has been exposed for its multiple historical errors, Beinin's just plain wrong."

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  2. Rather than being "muzzled" it sounds like Joel Benin was attemptiong to insist on inflicting his opinion on others, whether or not they wanted to hear it. Theres a different word for that!

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  3. What garbage. Why the "anonymous source"? Could it be because you made it up? hmmm... We're not exactly talking about some secret underground group, if this is true then there is no reason to hide behind ""anonymous sources" is there? Notice how muzzlewatch actually cited real people in the real world and not imaginary "anonymous sources"?

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  4. Dear "Annonymous,"

    Why the "annonymous source?" Because it was not an official spokesperson delivering an official statement.

    Interesting you call the article "garbage" when no less a JVP/Muzzlewatch partisan as Richard Silverstein confirmed the accuracy of the report!
    http://www.muzzlewatch.com/?p=18#comment-170

    Of course, he claims otherwise, but seems content to name Beshara Doumani as the Arab chosen to be on the panel. This was not something we had previously published, and please keep in mind that JVP had previously tried to mask that this was supposed a panel with opposing views.

    After confirming that Doumani had indeed been part of the panel, Silverstein attempts to attack us in his usual rabid dog style for THAT WHICH JCRC AND HARKER HAD ALREADY OFFICIALLY STATED and was well reported upon in the media.

    To me, this seems like a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

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  5. Dear "annonymous,"

    You claim that JVP/Muzzlewatch "names their sources." This claim is absurd when their whole premise is that they are being muzzled!

    They claim that they are supported by scores of unnamed Rabbis and others within the Jewish community but refuse to name any. Perhaps this is becuase they lack the support from any but the most fringe elements within the Jewish community?

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