Middle East Media Research Institute

Marketing itself as a research institute that "explores the Middle East through the region's media," the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translates individually selected non-English articles with the intent of distributing them to media outlets.

Founded in February 1998 by Meyrav Wurmser and Colonel Yigal Carmon, MEMRI aims to "inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East,"as an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. MEMRI has been widely criticized for an alleged bias and ulterior agenda. At one time MEMRI included in its mission statement that through its research "the institute emphasizes the continuing relevance of Zionism to the Jewish people and to the state of Israel, but has since removed this statement. MEMRI is based in Washington, DC, and claims to have branch offices in major cities all over the world.

History

MEMRI was founded in 1998 by Meyrav Wurmser and Colonel Yigal Carmon, formerly of Israeli military intelligence. Wurmser left MEMRI in 2002 to join the Center of Middle East Policy at the Hudson Institute. Wurmser's position as executive director was replaced by Steven Stalinsky. All of MEMRI's principal members reportedly harbour hardline pro-Israel views. Analysts argue that MEMRI gained prominence and was able to enforce its legitimacy after the events of 9/11. MEMRI's translations and reports are distributed without charge, and their reports are frequently published in right-wing and neoconservative media outlets. While some analysts argue that MEMRI "could have more impact with a commercial subscription based news service business model," MEMRI's growing influence in US foreign policy is nevertheless widely acknowledged.

Founders include Romanian born Yigal Carmon who is a reserve colonel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Yigal also served in the IDF/Intelligence Branch from 1968 to 1988) and Meyrav Wurmser, an Israeli-born academic and neoconservative analyst who acknowledges her role (along with other neoconservative) in manufacturing consent for the US war on Iraq in a 2003 BBC documentary. Although MEMRI insists on its objectivity, the deeply political and strongly aligned background of its founders casts doubt on this claim.

People

Principals

• Yigal Carmon - Co-founder, President
• Meyrav Wurmser - Co-founder, Former Executive Director
• Steve Stalinsky - Current Executive Director
• Menahem Milson - Chairman of Board of Advisors

Board of Directors

• Oliver Revell
• Elliott Abrams
• Steve Emerson
• Jeffrey Kaufman
• Robert Reilly

Board of Advisors

• Bernard Lewis
• James Woolsey
• Elie Wiesel
• Jose Maria Aznar
• Stephen J. Trachtenberg
• John Bolton
• Stuart Eizenstat
• Josef Joffe
• John Ashcroft
• Ehud Barak
• Irwin Cotler
• Mortimer Zuckerman
• Michael Mukasey
• Lafif Lakhdar
• Jana Hybaskova
• Norman Podhoretz
• William Bennett
• Paul Bremer
• Lord George Weidenfeld
• Yehuda Bauer
• Khaled Fouad Allam
• Moses, Former
• Herb London
• Natan Sharansky
• James Q. Wilson
• Edgar Bronfman
• Max Kampelman
• Yohanan Friedmann
• Ikbal Al-Gharbi]
• Christopher DeMuth
• Khaled Fouad Allam
• Amel Grami
• Lafif Lakhdar
• Shaker Al-Nabulsi
• Magdi Khalil
• Faraj Sarkouhi
• Deborah Lipstadt

Directors/Editor

• Tufail Ahmad - Director of MEMRI’s Urdu-Pashtu Media Project
• Nimrod Raphael - Senior Analyst and editor of MEMRI's Economic Blog
• Mansour Al-Hadj - Director of MEMRI’s Reform in The Arab and Muslim World project
• Stephen D’Ettorre - Director of Government Affairs

Funding

The funding of MEMRI is under scrutiny at this time due to questions and comments raised by professor Juan Cole. Although MEMRI claim to have funds under $2 million, Cole, insists that the organization receives in the region of $60 million per annum for its operations.

It has been reported that many of the funds received by MEMRI are either not accounted for, or that only the American profits are disclosed. MEMRI is of course a multinational organization with offices across the world. It is through these offices, Juan Cole maintains, that the estimated $60 million is accumulated.

MEMRI maintains that all its funding comes directly from around 250 private donations and that it does not receive any government funding. Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation, a right wing organization, donated $100,000 between 1992 and 2000. Ronald & Mary Ann Lachman Foundation is another private donor.

Controversy

MEMRI has faced numerous allegations of bias and unprofessionalism with regard to its presentation of the Middle East news. Critics of the organization have said that MEMRI is selective in the content it translates and that in doing so, it portrays an anti-Arab view.

MEMRI has altered its homepage on the internet following the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001. Prior to the attacks, the 'About us' section had clearly stated the following quote as part of their mission statement: 'In its research, the institute puts emphasis on the continuing relevance of Zionism to the Jewish people and to the state of Israel.'

Furthermore, the profiles of MEMRI staff were also deleted along with any information of funding.

The following is a list of critics and their personal views on MEMRI:

Dr. Juan Cole accused the organization of selectivity in their translation process in that they "cherry-pick" the press for particularly extreme cases rather than providing an overview.

Brian Whitaker maintains that MEMRI articles follow a distinct pattern of 'reflecting badly on the character of Arabs or they in some way further the political agenda of Israel.'

Ibrahim Hooper in an interview with the Washington Post claimed; 'Memri's intent is to find the worst possible quotes from the Muslim world and disseminate them as widely as possible.

Marc Lynch: also in agreement that MEMRI offers a biased source of Middle East publications and says that MEMRI 'routinely selects articles which show the worst of Arab discourse.'

William Rugh states that MEMRI portrays Arabs as hating Jews and refusing any peaceful settlement of Palestine issues.

MEMRI's Response

In light of the article 'Osama Threatening Red States?' by Juan Cole, MEMRI's co-founder, Yigal Carmon, wrote a response to Dr. Cole. the email can be accessed through this link *^[1][2] and it clearly identifies some threat of legal action against Dr. Cole on accounts of libel and slander. MEMRI claim to be offering translations of current affairs and topical issues on the Middle Easter and international agendas form a non-partisan, non-profit view point. However, MEMRI fail to provide any contact details through their website which would allow the general public to assess the situation for themselves.

Users of MEMRI materials (alpha order)

• Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian columnist, writes:

"On the other hand, few challenge the accuracy of MEMRI's translations: unpalatable though they are, the texts MEMRI finds are all too real."[3]

• Thomas Friedman – New York Times columnist.

"The role that MEMRI is playing in bringing the voices of the Arab and Muslim Reform – from Arabic into English, to the world – has been absolutely invaluable for everyone who cares about this process and wants to follow it."
- Thomas Friedman, May 6, 2003 [4]

• Kevin Myers – writes for the Irish Times and The Telegraph. He writes:

"I receive an invaluable service from the Middle East Media Research Institute, which translates material from the region. What is impossible to appreciate without such translations is the sheer scale of genocidal anti-Semitism which infuses Palestinian Authority propaganda.[5]

• Stephen Schwartz – Tech Central Station.

"In the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the ultraextreme sect of Wahhabism is the state religion, various sermons and other declamations were heard, alleging that Allah punished the Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and non-Wahhabi Muslims of the South Asian countries for their failure to accept Islam, above all in its Saudi form (as recorded and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute).[6]

• United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2003 Report on Saudi Arabia (pdf) Eight endnotes credit material to MEMRI or Stalinski.

"Numerous articles and commentary in the Saudi press are openly anti-Jewish, offensive, and discriminatory: the "Zionist movement" is labeled as evil; blood libel accusations are made; hatred toward Jews is encouraged; Jews are said to be trying to take over the world; and the existence of the Holocaust is denied.[60]

[60]See multiple translated articles with anti-Semitic and discriminatory language from the Saudi press at the Middle East Media Research Institute ( MEMRI ) Web site: [followed by four links]

• Elie Wiesel – Professional Holocaust survivor (as Uri Avnery refers to him), member of the Irgun Zvei Leumi [7], and professional moralist.

"I hope you receive MEMRI's publications. I do. I find its material – translations and analyses of poisonous articles, hate-filled statements and slanderous accusations – vitally needed for the fight against antisemitism in the Arab world. Policy makers, legislators, teachers, and news commentators greatly benefit from its efforts to use truth in the service of peace."
- Elie Wiesel, May 22, 2003[8]

• James Woolsey – former CIA director

"… the excellent Middle East Media Research Institute"
-Former CIA director James Woolsey, June 10, 2002 [9]

Contact, References and Resources

Contact

The only address provided is one to send donations to and is as follows:

MEMRI

P.O. Box 27837

Washington, DC 20038-7837

Phone: (202) 955-9070

Fax: (202) 955-9077

Website: www.memri.org/, (Accessed 25t April 2006)

Additional URLs: http://www.memri.info; http://www.memri.net

MEMRI-TV:http://www.memritv.org/

MEMRI blog:http://www.thememriblog.org/

The MEMRI blog on Twitter:http://twitter.com/memrireports

MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor:http://www.memrijttm.org/

MEMRI on Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/user/MEMRITVVideos

MEMRI on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Middle-East-Media-Research-Institute-MEMRI/14310874716

MEMRI on Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/people/memri/

Resources

• David Tell, "The Baby Face of Hate -- MEMRI releases an astonishing example of the "true Muslim" faith", The Daily Standard, June 12, 2002.
• Brian Whitaker , Selective Memri, Guardian Unlimited, August 12, 2002. "Investigates whether the 'independent' media institute that translates the Arabic newspapers is quite what it seems."
• Brian Whitaker and Yigal Carmon, "Email debate: Yigal Carmon and Brian Whitaker", Guardian, Jan 23 2004.
• "The truth about MEMRI" from Palestine Media Watch, August 13, 2002.
• Sarah Maserati, "Terror TV / MEMRI brings English-speakers the world of Arab hate", National Review Online, November 14, 2002.
• Craig Cox, "Making a MEMRI", Utne Web Watch, Archives.
• Leah Harris, "A Note on MEMRI & Translations", CounterPunch, 15 January 2003.
• Ori Nir, "Arab Envoys Planning Translation Service / Information Ministers Hope To Counter Success of Memri", Forward, 24 January 2003.
• Mohammed El Oifi, "Gained in translation: Why the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is a source of English versions of Arabic texts that are designed to mislead and disinform", Le Monde Diplomatique, October 2005.
• CounterPunch News Service, Fake Saddam Interview Put Out By Israel Lobby Catspaw…, CounterPunch, 29 March 2006.
• Brian Whitaker, Arabic under fire, The Guardian, 16 May 2007.

Profiles

• Rightweb Middle East Media Research Institute