Lenin's Journalists

As Israel approaches the sixty-third anniversary of its independence, the Middle East is ablaze in a revolution whose outcome none can accurately predict, and Israel's detractors are increasing their efforts to delegitimize the Jewish State.  Perhaps now more than ever, unity in the pro-Israel community is paramount.  We will not always agree on policy, but organizations who associate themselves with Israel advocacy must shun the most unethical tactics in the public relations' arsenal -- lest we expend resources attacking each other, rather than defending the Jewish State.

In February 2007, activist journalist Bruce Wilson quoted Christians United for Israel (CUFI) founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee as having advocated an attack on Iran in order to bring about Armageddon.  There was one major problem: Hagee never made the statement; in fact it is a fundamental contradiction of his theology.  The quote Wilson attributed to Hagee was written by another activist journalist, Sarah Posner, in her own voice, as part of her (albeit hopelessly inaccurate) characterization of Hagee's views.

Some may be inclined to believe that Wilson simply made an error.  But just a few months before attributing the quote to Hagee, Wilson published a lengthy blog post citing Posner's article, including the paragraph containing her relevant assertion.  Though he may not have been the first to do so, the sequence of events suggests that Wilson knowingly misattributed the quote to Hagee.  Despite this, and the fact that Hagee does not advocate such an attack or seek to speed the "end of days," the quote is widely cited by Hagee's detractors.

Wilson and his ilk ought to be relegated to that dark corner of the internet generally ignored by the open-minded mainstream.  Unfortunately Wilson's assertion was not ignored.  In fact, the Jewish Daily Forward has cited the falsely attributed quote.  Furthermore, J Street has extended "special thanks" to Wilson as well as activist journalists Max Blumenthal and Haim Beliak for their hateful attacks on Christians who support Israel.

The pro-Israel community is certainly not alone in its vulnerability to activist journalism.  Across the board, political commentators and advocacy organizations seem increasingly comfortable with such devious tactics.  But given how often we in the self-described pro-Israel community decry the unfair treatment of the Jewish State by activist journalists, we should be most wary of this phenomenon.

Most Westerners believe that the media's job is to inform; holding that truth, accuracy, and fairness are paramount.  In stark contrast to this, there are those who have adopted Vladimir Lenin's view that the media "is not only a collective propagandist and a collective agitator, it is also a collective organizer."

Unlike most opinion columnists, activist journalists in the Leninist tradition are less concerned with offering thoughtful insight.  Rather, as the Wilson example shows, they are focused on advancing their cause; journalism, or some distortion thereof, is simply a means to that end.


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