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May 9, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Reverence, Yes; Worship, No

Mona Charen: Did Israel Drive Out the Arabs 60 Years Ago?

JWisdom: Ultimate opportunities by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

May 8, 2008

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Israel at 3,500+

Jonathan Tobin: Still Fighting the Same War

Steven Plaut: How ‘nakba’ proves the fiction of a Palestinian Nation

JWisdom: Taking Israel for Granted? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

May 7, 2008

Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Israel is irrelevant to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Dion Nissenbaum: Latest Olmert scandal could derail efforts to force Israel's compromises

JWisdom: My Inner Ventriloquist by Sara Yoheved Rigler

May 6, 2008

Caroline B. Glick: Anti-Zionism at 60

The Kosher Gourmet By Ethel G. Hofman: In honor of Israel's 60th anniversary, the former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with a smorgasbord featuring the taste and essence of the Jewish homeland

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Jewish Deer in Nazi Headlights

May 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Busy work

Jonathan Mark: Remarkable half-century old Mike Wallace interview with Abba Eban puts current anti-Israel sentiment into perspective

May 2, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: Rote religiosity

Caroline B. Glick: Whitewashing Hamas

JWisdom: Parent trap?

May 1, 2008

David Zwiebel: Faith communities can learn from Orthodox Jews in stimulating private philanthropy for religious education

George Friedman and Peter Zeihan of Stratfor: The Shift Toward an Israeli-Syrian Agreement

JWisdom: It's time to wake up by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

April 30, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Pennsylvania's Democratic slugfest may leave some Jewish votes up for grabs

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Fresh herbs, sauteed veal and tiny creamer potatoes makes a light spring dinner

JWisdom: How to Build a Mentch by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

April 29, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Barack Obama's Muslim Childhood

Joel Brinkley: On human rights, the U.N. once again strikes out

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: When The Truth is Unbelievable

April 28, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I'm often stuck in the doctor's waiting room for hours! Doesn't he owe me something for my wasted time?

Steven Emerson: New U.S. government policy advises agencies to avoid using some of the very same words that make up terror groups' names

JWisdom: Why You & I Never Die: A Jewish View of Immortality, Part I by Rabbi David Aaron

April 25, 2008

Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg: Schadenfreude isn't kosher for Passover --- or at any other time

Rabbi Berel Wein: The secret of how the data bank of memory is transferred from one generation to the next

JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part III

April 24, 2008

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The successful failure

Fred Burton and Scott Stewart of Stratfor: Placing the terrorist threat to the food supply in perspective

JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part II

April 23, 2008

Connie Ogle: An intricate game of a novel

Jonathan Tobin: Making Sense of the 'J Street' Jive

JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen

April 22, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Why Israel's 'Leaven law' matters

Caroline B. Glick: Obama the Savior

April 18, 2008

Rabbi Harvey Belovski: Multimedia tool of antiquity

Caroline B. Glick: Revealed Truths vs. revealed lies

JWisdom: More than miracles by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

April 17, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Deconstructing Dayeinu

Rabbi Elazar Meisels: Is innovation at the Seder a slap at tradition?

JWisdom: Discovering Your Divine Mission, Part III by Rabbi David Aaron

April 16, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: A Prayer for Sderot's Children

Ethel G. Hofman: Sumptuous Seder

JWisdom: The Divine is in the details by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

April 15, 2008

Rabbi Dovid Zauderer: Let Charlton Heston Go!

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Jimma, tyranny's enabler

JWisdom: Relationships: Beyond Mars & Venus, Part IV by Dr. Lisa Aiken

April 14, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: The Snitching Supervisor

Jonathan Tobin: Forget the Fun and Games!

JWisdom: Sincerity is Valued Most by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.

April 11, 2008

Rabbi David Gutterman: A Mystery in the Middle East

Caroline B. Glick: Why Ahmadinejad smiles

JWisdom: Elevated illness by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

April 10, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing by George Friedman: A Mystery in the Middle East

The Kosher Gourmet By Steve Petusevsky: The spring elegance of asparagus

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: The Power of Rational Lies

April 9, 2008

Michael Feldberg: An all but forgotten Colonial doctor who put his Jewish values before his life

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel's "Everything's Relative" gets philosophical

JWisdom: Four Rabbis in Bnei Brak by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

April 8, 2008

Caroline Glick: Covering for the enemy

Elliot B. Gertel: 'House' goes Hasidic

JWisdom: Relationships: Beyond Mars & Venus, Part III by Dr. Lisa Aiken

April 7, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I have a translating business. Recently someone asked me to translate some financial documents that are clearly forged. Should I agree?

Jonathan Rosenblum : Israel is unwittingly helping to fuel the international campaign of delegitimization against it

JWisdom: Matzah and leaven as a life philosophy by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.

April 4, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The Mystery of Suffering

Caroline B. Glick: Fear of democracy

JWisdom: Dirty Jews by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

April 3, 2008

Rabbi Y. Y. Rubinstein: Parents --- and the children who would be them

The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: Tempted by restaurant dressings? Don't be. Here are recipes that can be made at home, healthier!

JWisdom: The importance of retaining a 'slave mentality' by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

April 2, 2008

Mitch Albom: Child abuse, disguised as faith

Jonathan Tobin: Unreasonable Accommodations

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith with Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Eliminating Jewish Influence over Germans

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Sept. 3, 2004 / 17 Elul, 5764

‘Fair and balanced’ Muslim-style

By Ike Seamans


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TV war for Arab viewers


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | MONTE CARLO — This jewel of the Cote D'Azur oozes glamour, money and relaxation, not exactly the place to become immersed in the controversy about alleged jaundiced reporting by Arab satellite news channels.


But it was here on the Riviera, as a panelist at the annual television festival sponsored by Monaco's royal family, that I promptly was engaged in spirited debate with representatives of al Jazeera, the Qatar-based network launched in 1996, often accused of being anti-American and anti-Israel; and al Hurra, a U.S. government-financed Arabic language TV operation that began broadcasting to the Middle East on Valentine's Day.


Headquartered in Springfield, Va., al Hurra mission is to counter perceived slanted, prejudiced news by Arab competitors.


''We're neutral and simply report the facts,'' al Jazeera's London bureau chief Mostefa Souga told me. ``Al Hurra is the Bush administration's mouthpiece.''


''Al Jazeera fans the flames,'' contends Farrell Meisel, an al Hurra founding father, formerly program director at Miami's WCIX-TV (now WFOR). ``We're legally shielded from White House interference and have balanced reporting by experienced Arab journalists. We avoid propaganda.''


CBS' 60 Minutes analyzed some of their Iraq coverage. In Fallujah, al Jazeera showed horrific images, branding U.S. soldiers ''occupiers'' who target ''martyrs'' and civilians. Al Hurra aired less graphic video while emphasizing ''American forces'' were fighting ''gunmen,'' restoring order and preventing chaos. Both covered the Abu Gharib prison scandal that dominated al Jazeera's broadcasts, but was infrequently the lead on al Hurra. ''The others incite,'' its Lebanese news director told CBS. ``Our job is to provide accurate information.''

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The Control Room, a one-sided, sympathetic documentary released earlier this year about al Jazeera's war coverage is replete with negativity about the United States and Israel expressed by supposedly objective journalists, mostly ex-staffers of the BBC's Arabic Service. None are Iraqi.


Despite crushing social, economic and political problems in Arab countries, al Jazeera devotes an inordinate amount of time to the despised U.S.-Israel relationship, guaranteed to make Arab blood boil. ''It's the Middle East's biggest issue,'' asserts Souga, an Algerian with a doctorate in literature from American University in Washington, D.C. ``Arabs can't understand why the U.S. isn't even-handed. They believe Israel sets the agenda, is anti-peace and hides the truth. But we aren't biased.''


However, its website (http://english.aljazeera.net/) has featured inflammatory articles such as ''Israelization of Washington Policy,'' ''We Advise The U.S.: Get Rid Of The Jew'' and opinion polls concluding that Zionism is worse than Nazism. Al Jazeera's Israel correspondent has been known to sign on from ''occupied Jersualem'' when filing pro-Palestinian stories.


Unlike other Arab news organizations, al Jazeera invites Israeli officials to appear on its programs. Privately, they complain that questions are leading and loaded. ''It sounds like propaganda to someone from the West,'' says Richard Bardenstein, director of Access/Middle East, a Jerusalem news monitoring service. ``Just presenting the Israeli side is a breath of fresh air compared to government-controlled information.''


Al Jazeera is clearly No. 1, but newcomer al Hurra believes that it's closing the gap. ''There are 50-75 million satellite viewers in the Arab world; at least 30 percent are watching us,'' claims Meisel.


Al Jazeera is available only in Arabic via satellite subscription. Next year, however, it expects to broadcast in English to many nations, including the United States, hoping to convince critics that it's fair and balanced. It will be interesting to see how al Hurra meets the challenge.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and in Washington consider must-reading. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Ike Seamans, a columnist for the Mimi Herald, is senior correspondent for NBC 6/WTVJ News in Miami and a a former NBC News Middle East correspondent and bureau chief. Comment by clicking here.

© 2004, Ike Seamans