MEMRI

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), officially the Middle East Media and Research Institute, is an American nonprofit press monitoring organization. MEMRI tracks and translates Arabic and Muslim media,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> including extremist comments by Arab and Iranian leaders<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and communications from terrorist groups.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

MEMRI was co-founded by Israeli ex-intelligence officer Yigal Carmon and Israeli-American political scientist Meyrav Wurmser in 1998.<ref name="MondeDiplomatique"/> MEMRI describes itself as being independent and non-partisan.Template:Sfn<ref name="selectmemri">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn Some critics have described MEMRI as aiming to portray the Arab world and the Muslim world in a negative light by producing and disseminating incomplete or inaccurate translations of the original versions of the media reports that it republishes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Overview

The organization indirectly gained public prominence as a source of news and analysis about the Muslim world following the September 11 attacks and the subsequent war on terror by the Bush administration. According to MEMRI, its translations and reports are distributed to "congresspersons, congressional staff, policy makers, journalists, academics, and interested parties". According to Political Research Associates, MEMRI's translated articles and its commentary are routinely cited in national media outlets in the United States, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, while analyses by MEMRI staff and officers are frequently published by conservative media outlets such as National Review, Fox News, Commentary, and the Weekly Standard. Political Research Associates wrote that both critics and supporters of MEMRI note its increasing influence in shaping perceptions of the Middle East.<ref name="PRAonMEMRI">Template:Cite web</ref> It has maintained longstanding relations with law enforcement agencies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2012, Haaretz reported that Israeli intelligence agencies have reduced their monitoring of the Palestinian media with MEMRI and Palestinian Media Watch now providing the Israeli government with coverage of "anti-Israel incitement" in social media, blogs and other online sources. The Prime Minister's Bureau has stated that before the government cites information provided by the two sources, the source of the material and its credibility is confirmed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Projects

MEMRI's work is organized into projects, each with a specific focus. The main subjects the organization addresses are jihad and terrorism; relations between the U.S. and Middle East; pro-democracy and pro-civil rights views; inter-Arab relations; and anti-Semitism.<ref name="GreerFayCashman" />

The Reform Project, according to MEMRI, focuses on monitoring, translating, and amplifying media from Muslim figures and movements with progressive viewpoints in the Arab and Muslim world.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The project also aims to provide a platform for those sources to expand their reach. MEMRI has stated that this is the organization's flagship project.<ref name="GreerFayCashman">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="JayNordlinger">Template:Cite news</ref>

The MEMRI Lantos Archives on anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial, a joint project with the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice launched in 2009, is a repository of translated Arabic and Farsi material on anti-Semitism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The project is sponsored by the U.S. State Department.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Through its translations and research, the project aims to document anti-Semitic trends in the Middle East and South Asia. The project provides policymakers with translations and footage of anti-Semitic comments made by media personalities, academics, and government and religious leaders.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> MEMRI holds an annual Capitol Hill gathering through the project, and publishes an annual report on anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. The archives were named for Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in United States Congress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Arab and Iranian television programming is monitored, translated, and analyzed through the MEMRI TV Monitoring Project. The project's translated video clips are available to the media and general public.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Activity by terrorist and violent extremist organizations is tracked through the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM).<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> The project disseminates jihadi-associated social media content and propaganda released by various Islamic State media companies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="homelandmag" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The organization's Cyber and Jihad Lab (CJL) tracks cyberterrorism.<ref name="MyraIqbal">Template:Cite news</ref> According to MEMRI, the CJL's goal is to inform and make recommendations to legislators and the business community about the threat of cyberterrorism.<ref name="ArielBenSolomon">Template:Cite news</ref> Initiatives have included encouraging social media companies to remove terrorist accounts and sought legislation to prevent terrorist entities from using their platforms.<ref name="homelandmag">Template:Cite news</ref>

MEMRI's other projects include the Russian Media Studies Project, which translates Russian media and publishes reports analyzing Russian political ideology,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Iran Studies Project,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> the South Asia Studies Project,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the 9/11 Documentation Project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Funding

MEMRI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.<ref name= irseos>"Middle East Media and Research Institute Inc. Template:Webarchive" Tax Exempt Organization Search. Retrieved March 11, 2020.</ref> As of 2004, it had a policy of not accepting money from governments. MEMRI primarily relies on around 250 private donors, including some foundations.<ref name=JayNordlinger/>

MediaTransparency, an organization that monitors the financial ties of conservative think tanks to conservative foundations in the United States, reported that for the years 1999 to 2004, MEMRI received $100,000 from The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc., $100,000 from The Randolph Foundation, and $5,000 from the John M. Olin Foundation.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

In August 2011, the United States Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, awarded MEMRI a $200,000 grant.<ref name="state.gov">Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

The organization's translations are regularly quoted by major international newspapers, and its work has generated strong criticism and praise. Critics have accused MEMRI of producing inaccurate, unreliable translations with undue emphasis and selectivity in translating and disseminating the most extreme views from Arabic and Persian media, which portray the Arab and Muslim world in a negative light, while ignoring moderate views that are often found in the same media outlets. Other critics charge that while MEMRI does sometimes translate pro-US or pro-democracy voices in the regional media, it systematically leaves out intelligent criticism of Western-style democracy, US and Israeli policy and secularism.<ref name=selectmemri /><ref name=Lalami>Template:Citation.</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name="Debate on CNN">Template:Citation.</ref>

In 2006, MEMRI released an interview with Norman Finkelstein on Lebanese Al Jadeed in which he discussed his book The Holocaust Industry which made it appear as if Finkelstein was questioning the death toll of the Holocaust.Template:Sfn Finkelstein said in response that MEMRI edited the television interview he gave in order to falsely impute that he was a Holocaust denier. In an interview with the Muslim-American newspaper In Focus in 2007, he said MEMRI uses "the same sort of...techniques as the Nazis" and "take[s] things out of context in order to do personal and political harm to people they don't like".<ref name="Swain">Lawrence Swaim, Template:Cite web, InFocus, June 7, 2007</ref>

Juan Cole, a professor of modern Middle East history at the University of Michigan, argues MEMRI has a tendency to "cleverly cherry-pick the vast Arabic press, which serves 300 million people, for the most extreme and objectionable articles and editorials... On more than one occasion I have seen, say, a bigoted Arabic article translated by MEMRI and when I went to the source on the web, found that it was on the same op-ed page with other, moderate articles arguing for tolerance. These latter were not translated."<ref name="Osama">Template:Citation.</ref> Former head of the CIA's counterintelligence unit, Vincent Cannistraro, said that MEMRI "are selective...for their political point of view, which is the extreme-right of Likud. They simply don't present the whole picture."<ref name="Perelman20011207">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn Laila Lalami, writing in The Nation, states that MEMRI "consistently picks the most violent, hateful rubbish it can find, translates it and distributes it in email newsletters to media and members of Congress in Washington."<ref name="Lalami" /> As a result, critics such as UK Labour politician Ken Livingstone state that MEMRI's analyses are distortion.<ref name="MondeDiplomatique">Template:Cite news See in French (freely available) Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="LivingstonePress">"... when it distorts ..." inTemplate:Citation.</ref>

MEMRI argues that they are quoting the government-controlled press and not obscure or extremist publications, a fact their critics acknowledge, according to Marc Perelman: "When we quote Al-Ahram in Egypt, it is as if we were quoting The New York Times. We know there are people questioning our work, probably those who have difficulties seeing the truth. But no one can show anything wrong about our translations."<ref name=Perelman20011207/>

Translation accuracy

Template:See also Arabic-language speakers have highlighted substantial distortions in some of MEMRI's translations;<ref name="UnderFire">Template:Cite news</ref> in response MEMRI has stated, "[we have] never claimed to 'represent the view of the Arabic media', but rather to reflect, through our translations, general trends which are widespread and topical."<ref name="Debate">Template:Cite news</ref>

Syrian sociologist and novelist Halim Barakat claimed an essay he wrote for the Al-Hayat Daily of London titled "The Wild Beast that Zionism Created: Self-Destruction", was mistranslated by MEMRI and retitled as "Jews Have Lost Their Humanity". Barakat further stated "Every time I wrote 'Zionism', MEMRI replaced the word by 'Jew' or 'Judaism'. They want to give the impression that I'm not criticizing Israeli policy, but that what I'm saying is anti-Semitic."<ref name="Swain" />Template:Sfn<ref name="MondeDiplomatique" /> According to Barakat, he was subject to widespread condemnation from faculty and his office was "flooded with hatemail".<ref>Template:Citation.</ref> Fellow Georgetown faculty member Aviel Roshwald accused Barakat in an article he published of promoting a "demonization of Israel and of Jews".<ref name="Rosh">Template:Citation.</ref> Supported by Georgetown colleagues, Barakat denied the claim,<ref>Template:Citation.</ref> which Roshwald had based on MEMRI's translation of Barakat's essay.<ref name="Rosh" />

In an email debate with Yigal Carmon, Brian Whitaker asked about MEMRI's November 2000 translation of an interview given by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem to Al-Ahram al-Arabi. One question asked by the interviewer was: "How do you deal with the Jews who are besieging al-Aqsa and are scattered around it?" which was translated as: "How do you feel about the Jews?" MEMRI cut out the first part of the reply and combined it with the answer to the next question, which, Whitaker claimed, made "Arabs look more anti-Semitic than they are". Carmon admitted this was an error in translation but defended combining the two replies, as both questions referred to the same subject. Carmon rejected other claims of distortion by Whitaker, saying: "it is perhaps reassuring that you had to go back so far to find a mistake ... You accused us of distortion by omission but when asked to provide examples of trends and views we have missed, you have failed to answer." Carmon also accused Whitaker of "using insults rather than evidence" in his criticism of MEMRI.<ref name="Debate" />

Positive reception

In 2003 John Lloyd defended MEMRI in the New Statesman:

In a 2005 piece Thomas Friedman, a political opinion columnist for The New York Times, praised MEMRI, and credited MEMRI with helping to "shine a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears".<ref name="friedman">Template:Cite news</ref> Friedman has written in The New York Times that "what I respect about MEMRI is that it translates not only the ugly stuff but the courageous liberal, reformist Arab commentators as well." In addition, he has cited MEMRI's translations in his op-eds.<ref name="NYT mirror">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2002 Brit Hume of Fox News said, "These people tell you what's going on in pulpits and in the state-controlled TV. If you have indoctrination, it's important to know about it."<ref name="Columbia">Template:Cite web</ref>

Jay Nordlinger, the managing editor of National Review, wrote in 2002: Template:Blockquote

See also

• Hasbara
• Media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict
• Palestinian Media Watch

Bibliography

• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite magazine
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Official website