Pakistan-Israel Peace Forum

The Forum

Pakistan-Israel Peace Forum [1] is an astroturf lobbying group established by pro-Israel interests in the United States to mold public opinion in Pakistan towards the recognition of Israel. According to its website, the organization was created by "three friends, Waleed Ziad (Pakistan), Dror Topf (Israel), and Michael Berenhaus (US), all currently based in Washington, DC". According to the Washington Jewish Week, Berenhaus, a staunch Zionist, "assisted" Ziad and Topf "in setting up the group" and he also serves on its advisory committee now. [2] In its own words, the organization is "dedicated to promoting dialogue and establishing relations between Pakistan and Israel at the political, cultural, social and economic levels".

Founding Members

Michael Berenhaus

The other main character is an american zionist named Michael Berenhaus, who runs a project called "Eye on the Post", that purportedly monitors the slavishly pro-Israel Washington Post for its "anti-Israel bias". ( http://www.eyeonthepost.org/about.html). Eye on the Post's "strategic alliances" include the neo-McCarthyite CAMERA and Honest Reporting.

Waleed Ziad

One of the main characters is a Pakistani called Waleed Ziad. A google on Waleed Ziad reveals that he has also written for the NYT and International Herald Tribune. Following are some interesting passages from one of these articles:

Yes, the Muslim world had an unfortunate introduction to post-Enlightenment ideals, which came in the context of invasion, colonialism and exploitation. But the Arab philosophical and political movement that came out of that experience was not inherently anti-Western. In fact, in traditional Islamic thought the concept of violent resistance against an unjust ruler was virtually unheard of; for classical jurists, tyranny was preferable to the anarchy that accompanies revolt...

At the same time, our corporations should guide local entrepreneurs to promote a free market, the backbone of democracy. If anything is going to come of the neoconservative hope of making Iraq into a beacon of our values, it will be along these lines. [3] (emphasis added)

Now this sage also happens to be a principal at the Truman National Security Project, a think-tank that "envisions a Democratic Party that is preeminent in national security once again". It's advisory board is composed of individuals from various right-wing thinktanks, from the Hoover Institution to the Council on Foreign Relations. According to its founder Rachel Kleinfeld TNSP is "very much as a counterpart to the neoconservatives of the 1970s". ( http://www.forward.com/main/printer-friendly.php?id=3267)