At CJR, Max Blumenthal has published an incisive piece of reporting showing that Times Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner is represented by an Israeli speakers bureau called Lone Star Communications that has rightwing bonafides, and that Bronner has several times reported on Lone Star's clients. The Times issued a pro forma defense of Bronner, that it respects his professionalism and impartiality. Say, remember when the Times publicly rebuked contributor Daniel Ming for going to pro-Palestinian rallies when he was writing about Jewish Voice for Peace for the newspaper? Bronner had a son in the Israeli army, too. Does his enmeshment in Israeli society ever cross a line for the Times?
In early 2009, [Charley]Levine supplemented Lone Star’s operation by establishing a speakers bureau designed to arrange paid lectures for major media figures in Israel. His first speaker was Bronner, who he described in an e-mail to CJR as “a nominal friend and a terrific journalist.” Levine rounded out his roster of speakers with eight well-known Israeli media figures, including Haim Yavin, “founding father of Israel television news”; David Baker, “senior foreign press coordinator of the Israeli prime minister’s office—under four prime ministers”; and Amiel Ungar, “well-known spokesman of the settler movement in Judea and Samaria.” The speakers bureau section of the Lone Star site is illustrated with a photo of Levine and Bronner arm-in-arm....
Bronner says he does not share what he described as “Charley Levine’s rightist politics.” According to Levine’s bio on Lone Star’s website, he lives in a “suburb of Jerusalem.” That “suburb” is, in fact, the Jewish mega-settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, which cuts deep into the West Bank. “I see myself as a mainstream Israeli who believes first and foremost in the Zionist mission of the state of Israel, in free enterprise, in the rule of law, and in the twin democratic and Jewish pillars of this nation,” Levine wrote in an e-mail.
Levine’s client roster includes people and organizations identified with the Israeli political center, like Kadima USA. But Levine has not shied away from promoting people like Dov Hikind, a New York State Assemblyman and acolyte of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose terrorism-linked Kach Party is banned inside Israel. Another Lone Star client, Danny Danon, a member of the Knesset, argued this May in The New York Times’s op-ed section that Israel should annex large sections of the West Bank in response to the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations. Lone Star handled publicity during a visit to Israel for longshot Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who said at one point during his campaign that he supported loyalty oaths for Muslims seeking to serve in his administration. Lone Star coordinated the media for Glenn Beck’s recent “Restoring Courage” rally in Jerusalem. Beck is listed as a client. ...
Among other Lone Star Communications clients that Bronner has covered or mentioned in the period since he joined Lone Star’s speaker’s bureau are The Israel Project, on September 4, 2009; NGO Monitor, on April 4, 2011; and Danny Danon, a conservative member of the Knesset, on May 20, 2011. He also did a piece on The Jewish National Fund—which Levine says is not on retainer, but which Lone Star has done occasional projects for—on March 12, 2009.
Where can I buy a Judea and Samaria t-shirt? One day there won’t be any of them.
Well, a few years ago Haim Yavin went around the world promoting an extraordinarily critical documentary he made about the settlers and how they were a threat to Israel. I saw him speak in NY. So whatever the politics of the head of the speakers’ bureau, Bronner’s presence in it proves nothing about his politics.
Well, what do you think about this part?
I knew a David Baker when I served in the Israel Defense Forces Spokesman’s Unit (this was in the days of yore when we were all spokesmen, regardless of gender). I don’t know what “senior foreign press coordinator” is. Back in my day, the job of the head of the Government Press Office was to yell at reporters when they got it wrong. If they were Jewish, they got yelled at even louder. As an Israeli, I received an extra dose of special treatment when I didn’t tow the official line on “Judea and Samaria.”
The line-up is truly odd. They’ve got Ha’aretz’s token Israeli-Palestinian (who actually does expose the realities of life as a Palestinian in Israel.)
I have worked with several of the people on the Lone Star list and don’t get it. This is not the team that will unleash a hasbara tsunami. I wouldn’t bother going to their speeches, even if it was just as a heckling opportunity.
Finally, what’s with the name? Was this a nod to W.?
Elliot: Every time you tell us more of your personal history you become more and more fascinating.
And why do you think Bronner was suddenly taken off the roster? If not to shield him and allow his employer to say they “respect his professionalism and impartiality” without looking silly.
There is a certain guilt by association here, especially since at root it is a business relationship. I mean, Bronner was probably asked to be part of some Speaker’s Bureau and it is an opportunity for him to make some speeches and get paid. That’s all I will infer here.
The founder has bad politics, though. And so do some of the other speakers. I still do not see Bronner’s misdeeds. I would be happy to see any of his speeches if he gave any for the Bureau. And we can judge him on that.
Phil/Annie all check this out over at Chris Matthews blog
link to hardballblog.msnbc.msn.com
Let Me Start…
Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:18 AM CDT
A bad omen for the White House: Democrats fail to hold on to the seat once held by Rep. Anthony Weiner. Republican Bob Turner defeated his Democrat David Weprin in a special election in heavily Democratic NY-9 last night. And while Weprin was far from a strong candidate, there’s no way the Democratic Party thought they’d lose Weiner’s seat when he became embroiled in scandal earlier this year. Republicans will say this is another sign of President Obama’s weakness, and there may be some truth to that. NY-9 is a heavily Jewish district where the president’s approval ratings are in the 30s. Israel was a major issue in this race. But if Democrats failed here, what does it tell us about how they might do in South Florida in 2012?
Bravo to Max Blumenthal. It’s so rare to see actual investigative journalism.
Interesting stuff on the Leonard Cohen Israel concert. “Later, we advised on the theme of this special appearance which took on a charitable character in support of Israel-Arab reconciliation, elevating it to still a higher plane.” I like that “still higher plane.” :)
Over at Informed Comment
Helman: The Palestinians Seek UN Recognition
Posted on 09/14/2011 by Juan
Ambassador Gerald B. Helman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment:
link to juancole.com
“By itself, Israel can do little effective to counter or modify any potential PA recourse to the UN. As a deterrent, Israel has said that such a move would set back the peace process perhaps by years (although the press fails to report why Israel believes this need be so). The US has undertaken to persuade both sides to resume peace talks as an alternative to UN action, thus far without success. Moreover, the US is committed to veto any Security Council resolution recommending PLO membership. Beyond that, the US is unlikely to be able to influence many votes either in the Security Council or the General Assembly. The UN remains largely an environment hostile to Israel, worse now than it has been for a while when Israel could rely on the quiet support of countries such as Egypt and Turkey to deflect or moderate hostile proposals. While Israel’s governmental relations with Egypt and Turkey remain correct, they have deteriorated, especially on a popular level. As the sacking of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and the defense of Israel in the UN reveal, Israel after over sixty years remains almost uniquely dependent on the US (whose President they freely revile, even as they ask him to intercede on their behalf with Egypt).”