|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Article and Photos By: Lieba Nesis
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) held its annual dinner for $750 a ticket at Chelsea Piers on Sunday June 4th 2023 with cocktails and a smorgasbord beginning at 5:30 PM. Founded in 1982, CAMERA works tirelessly to ensure balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East in a media skewed toward promoting a Palestinian point of view. CAMERA monitors the North American, Spanish, British, Israel and Arabic media to hold them accountable for their untruths as their research department tracks and corrects falsehoods continually perpetuated by a biased media which unfairly influences the public resulting in anti-Semitic attacks and violence. Moreover, CAMERA maintains an Education Institute which provides tools such as one-on-one support and educational materials and conferences which assists parents and students in combating false information which is widely disseminated across campuses worldwide.
This evening a group of over 400 like-minded individuals joined forces to say Jews won’t stand for unchecked bias among outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, the Guardian and dozens of other outlets. Illustrious guests joining to herald Israel’s 75 miraculous years included Alan Dershowitz, Colonel Richard Kemp, Noa Tishby, Lizzy Savetsky and Mort Klein.
Andrea Levin, President and Executive Director of CAMERA, noted the incredible strides of the organization including issuing a record breaking 250 corrections to the global media last year which will be surpassed in 2023. She condemned The New York Times for its coverage of the 2023 Passover attack in the Jordan Valley resulting in the deaths of Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, who were driving to a family holiday in Tiberias before they were shot at point blank range by Hamas affiliated terrorists with 22 bullets from a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
The Times devoted more attention to Palestinian’s Tala and Galia Abu’s choice of rice, chicken and vegetables on the day of the funerals then to the deaths of three innocent women-so much for women’s rights. The Times furthermore, failed to report on the funerals which were attended by thousands and the fact that Lucy Dee donated her organs to five people one of whom was a Palestinian in desperate need of a kidney. CAMERA is currently working on a documentary exposing the insidious anti-Semitism of The New York Times which cunningly uses the passive voice when reporting on Palestinian attacks while headlining Israeli retaliation with active headlines.
Also addressing the enthusiastic assemblage was Alex Safian, the Associate Director or CAMERA. He spoke of the critical importance of the army of intrepid letter writers that CAMERA has organized. These folks spend their time voluntarily writing letters to the editors of mainstream and radical publications as well as other assorted news outlets, in an attempt to correct their skewed and often malevolent coverage of Israel. Being honored this year for his decades long efforts in speaking truth to power and challenging the anti-Israel narrative that has pervaded the media in terms of their coverage of Israel was Len Bennett. Mr. Bennett has written over 9000 letters in the span of many years and has had over 500 of them published in prominent and highly influential media outlets. He received thunderous applause from his contemporaries at the gala for his perseverance and determination in setting the record straight in this cognitive war of vociferous propaganda directed at Israel.
Another person who has consistently been at the receiving end of praise from CAMERA for her letter writing skills is Arizona resident Ginette Weiner. Ms. Weiner regularly sends her letters to a large swath of the media and holds nothing back in providing correct information while deftly debunking the gross distortions and bald faced lies that are routinely spewed forth against Israel.
CAMERA monitors the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel fiction books that pervade school libraries-the only organization to hold our educational institutions accountable. Keynote speaker and Professor Emeritus of Law at Harvard, Alan Dershowitz, whose brilliant mind and oratory skills continue to stun, said there is no country that has contributed more to humanity in its first 75 years than Israel noting that the endoscopy pill he would be ingesting the following day was invented in Israel.
Dershowitz said Israel Derangement Syndrome has been rapidly picking up steam as Israel is continually attacked; calling out CNN’s Christiane Amanpour who shamefully referred to the three Dee murders as a shootout and failed to apologize until six weeks later-shame on her. The father, Rabbi Leo Dee, rejected her too little too late apology as he acknowledged the reprehensible and systemic bias of CNN. Dershowitz remarked on the differing levels of tolerance for anti-Semitism as compared to homophobia and racism and thanked CAMERA for being the sole entity that supplies the world with facts.
Israel which may act against Iran in the next couple of months may have to do so alone, said Dershowitz, inferring that the current US administration was less than favorable towards Israel’s interests a sentiment privately communicated to me by Russel Pergament, chairman of the Board of Directors of CAMERA.
Pergament said that every penny donated to the non-politically affiliated CAMERA was given for research and raising awareness of bias which has become normalized. He expressed his personal disappointment with the Democratic party which has propagated anti-Semitism as Chuck Schumer and other Democratic senators show little backbone and fail to condemn the anti-Israel bias of its party. Alternatively, he praised Lindsey Graham for his fearlessness in supporting Israel and remarked on the incredible advocacy of former President Donald Trump.
President of ZOA Mort Klein reiterated that Trump was the best President Israel ever had, noting that he relinquished all aid to the Palestinians during his term while the Biden administration has reinstated the $800 million aid much of which helps Abbas who he referred to as a monster who compensates Palestinians for murdering Jews. He recalled recently joining a frustrated Trump at his Mar-a-lago estate in Palm Beach in which Trump bemoaned the Jews lack of appreciation for his commitment to Israel. The beef and chicken dinner concluded with a delicious chocolate dessert and a panel containing Jonah Cohen, Colonel Richard Kemp and Noa Tishby.
Tishby joked that she had combated bias through her cunning use of “facts and cleavage” while a more serious Richard Kemp who served in the British Army for 30 years noted it was his honor to continually defend Israel on the BBC and elsewhere-a righteous non-Jew whom the world needs more of.
