"L’enquête réalisée en 1962-63 par la Commission des Affaires étrangères du Sénat des Etats-Unis sur le lobby pro-israélien dans les médias vient d’être déclassifiée à la demande de l’Institute for Research Middle Eastern Policy. Cette enquête faisait suite aux interventions de l’Attorney général des Etats-Unis, Robert F. Kennedy, pour contraindre les lobbyistes israéliens à se dévoiler.
Elle établit que le gouvernement israélien, via l’Agence juive, finançait l’American Zionist Council afin de corrompre des journalistes et de « planter » des articles de propagande dans les grands médias US (Reader’s Digest, Saturday Evening Post, Life, The Atlantic…).
A l’époque, les campagne visaient principalement à dénier l’existence du programme nucléaire militaire israélien et à faire accroire que les réfugiés palestiniens renonceraient à leur droit inaliénable au retour pour se fondre à terme parmi les autres populations arabes.
Au cours de l’enquête, le gouvernement israélien réforma son système de propagande aux Etats-Unis. Il mit en sommeil l’AZC, qui avait violé plusieurs lois fédérales, et lui substitua l’AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), qui continua ses activités sous un montage juridique plus approprié."
---------------------------
Le document original en anglais :
08/18/2010 News Release
Declassified Senate Investigation Files Reveal Clandestine Israeli PR Campaign in America
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Declassified files from a Senate investigation into Israeli-funded covert public relations and lobbying activity in the United States were released by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on July 23rd, 2010. The subpoenaed documents reveal Israel's clandestine programs for "cultivation of editors," the "stimulation and placement of suitable articles in the major consumer magazines" as well as U.S. reporting about sensitive subjects such as the Dimona nuclear weapons facility.
Documents are now available for download from http://IRmep.org/ila/azc include:
Dimona (excerpt): "The nuclear reactor story inspired comment from many sources; editorial writers, columnists, science writers and cartoonists. Most of the press seemed finally to accept the thesis that the reactor was being built for peaceful purposes and not for bombs."
Content placement and promotion (excerpt): "The Atlantic Monthly in its October issue carried the outstanding Martha Gellhorn piece on the Arab refugees, which made quite an impact around the country. We arranged for the distribution of 10,000 reprints to public opinion molders in all categories… Interested friends are making arrangements with the Atlantic for another reprint of the Gellhorn article to be sent to all 53,000 persons whose names appear in Who's Who in America…Our Committee is now planning articles for the women's magazines for the trade and business publications." http://www.irmep.org/09101961AZC.pdf
Pressure campaigns (excerpt): "It can be said that the press of the nation…has by and large shown sympathy and understanding of Israel's position. There are, of course, exceptions, notably the Scripps-Howard chain where we still need to achieve a 'break-through,' the Pulliam chain (where some progress has been made) and some locally-owned papers."
http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
Magazine Committee achievements (excerpt): "We cannot pinpoint all that has already been accomplished by this Committee except to say that it has been responsible for the writing and placement of articles on Israel in some of America's leading magazines...."
http://www.IRmep.org/10301962_AZC.pdf
En voici la traduction rapide en français :
Des archives déclassifiées provenant d'une enquête du Sénat américain révèlent une campagne clandestine israélienne de "public relations" en Amérique.
Des archives déclassifiées provenant d'une enquête du Sénat sur des activités secrètes de "public relations" et du lobbying financées par Israël aux États-Unis ont été publiés par les National Archives and Records Administration ("Office national des archives", NARA) le 23 Juillet 2010. Les documents, faisant l'objet d'une assignation de tribunal, dévoilent les programmes clandestins d'Israël pour "cultiver des rédacteurs [de journaux]", "stimuler [la préparation] et le placement des articles appropriés dans les revues de grande circulation" ainsi que pour [influer sur] le journalisme aux États-Unis portant sur des sujets sensibles tels que l'installation [de fabrication] d'armement nucléaire de Dimona.
Des documents sont maintenant disponibles pour téléchargement à partir de http://IRmep.org/ila/azc : parmi ceux-ci :
[Pour ce qui concerne] Dimona (extrait) : "L'article sur le réacteur nucléaire provoqua des commentaires de nombreuses sources ; éditorialistes, chroniqueurs, journalistes des sciences et caricaturistes. Le gros de la presse semblait enfin accepter la thèse qu'on construisait le réacteur à des fins pacifiques et non pas pour [faire] des bombes." http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
[Pour ce qui concerne le] placement de contenu et la promotion (extrait) : "L'Atlantic Monthly dans sa livraison d'octobre portait l'article remarquable écrit par Martha Gellhorn sur les réfugiés arabes, qui fit impression à travers le pays. Nous en avons organisé la distribution de 10.000 réimpressions aux meneurs d'opinion de toute catégorie... Des amis qui s'y intéressent prennent actuellement leurs dispositions avec l'Atlantic pour une autre réimpression de l'article de Gellhorn, qui sera envoyée à toutes les 53.000 personnes dont le nom figure dans le Who's Who in America... Notre Comité [de rédaction] envisage maintenant des articles pour les magazines féminins, pour les journaux de commerce et d'affaires." http://www.irmep.org/09101961AZC.pdf
[Sur les] campagnes de pression (extrait) : "On peut dire que la presse du pays... a, de manière générale, fait montre de la sympathie et de la compréhension pour la position d'Israël. Il y a, bien sûr, des exceptions, notamment la chaîne [de journaux] Scripps-Howard, où il nous faut encore parvenir à une 'percée', la chaîne Pulliam (où un peu de progrès a été fait) et quelques journaux de propriété locale." http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
[Sur les] réalisations du Comité pour les magazines (extrait) : "Nous ne pouvons pas définir avec précision tout ce qui a déjà été accompli par ce comité, mais nous pouvons dire qu'il a été responsable de la rédaction et du placement des articles sur Israël dans certaines des plus importantes revues d'Amérique..." http://www.IRmep.org/10301962_AZC.pdf ...."
------
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26199.htm
The Israel Lobby Swims The Atlantic
By Grant Smith
August 20, 2010 "Antiwar" -- Jeffrey Goldberg’s current cover story in The Atlantic, “The Point of No Return,” achieved massive distribution across a broad spectrum of old and new media in the United States. Some observers – including Glenn Greenwald in “How Propagandists Function” – noted how well the methodology and message of Goldberg’s piece serves the Israeli government’s efforts to push U.S. military action against Iran. Gareth Porter views it as part of an overarching strategy to keep the U.S. from restoring productive relations with Iran. A huge trove of newly declassified documents subpoenaed during a Senate investigation reveals how Israel’s lobby pitched, promoted, and paid to have content placed in America’s top news magazines with overseas funding. The Atlantic (and others) received hefty rewards for trumpeting Israel’s most vital – but damaging – PR initiatives across America.
Unlike today, back in the 1960s Israel and its lobby were battling mightily to draw American attention away from the entire subject of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. A secret executive report [.pdf] subpoenaed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigation into the American Zionist Council, or AZC (AIPAC’s parent organization), reveals the lobby’s careful tracking of and satisfaction with most mainstream U.S. media coverage about the Dimona nuclear weapons facility
“The nuclear reactor story inspired comment from many sources: editorial writers, columnists, science writers and cartoonists. Most of the press seemed finally to accept the thesis that the reactor was being built for peaceful purposes and not for bombs. Some columnists felt that the U.S. should have awaited more information before ‘ventilating its suspicions’. Drew Pearson’s syndicated column justified Israel’s secrecy; William Laurence in the New York Times stressed Israel’s peaceful intent, in contrast to Arthur Krock who wanted the reactor placed under international safeguards. Arab protagonists in this country – including those in the State Department who raised all the fuss initially – used the occasion to try to cast doubt on Israel’s friendship toward the U.S.”
The observant now know that Israel’s massive, clandestine nuclear arsenal remains a thorn in the side of U.S. nonproliferation efforts. Building it required many unfriendly acts, such as materials theft and covert financing from U.S. donors. The Israeli nuclear arsenal story remains curiously under-reported in America, though not throughout the rest of the world. But have media outlets such as The Atlantic received assistance from Israel and its lobby for publishing helpful – but equally misleading – content?
The unqualified answer is yes.
In the early 1960s the AZC’s Magazine Committee [.pdf] met regularly with writers to prepare articles for top U.S. magazines such as Reader’s Digest, the Saturday Evening Post, and Life. In its program [.pdf] for “cultivation of editors” and “stimulation and placement of suitable articles in the major consumer magazines,” the committee pushed lighter subjects with prepared texts such as the thirteenth anniversary of Israel’s founding while killing investigative pieces at such publications as the Christian Science Monitor. The committee confronted two major news items challenging Israel: fallout from the “Lavon Affair” (a cover-up of failed false-flag Israeli terrorist attacks on U.S. government facilities in Egypt) and American peace proposals calling for the return of some expelled Palestinian refugees to their homes and property in Israel. The Israeli government and its U.S. lobby invested heavily in arguing against the return of Palestinian refugees through The Atlantic, according to yet another secret AZC report [.pdf]:
“The Atlantic Monthly in its October issue carried the outstanding Martha Gellhorn piece on the Arab refugees, which made quite an impact around the country. We arranged for the distribution of 10,000 reprints to public opinion molders in all categories. Acting on information that anti-Israel groups were bombarding the Atlantic with critical letters, we stimulated a letter campaign designed to counteract their impact. …
“Interested friends are making arrangements with the Atlantic for another reprint of the Gellhorn article to be sent to all 53,000 persons whose names appear in Who’s Who in America…
“The November issue of the Atlantic carried a special 64-page Supplement on Israel, with articles by some of Israel’s top names. …
“Our Committee is now planning articles for the women’s magazines for the trade and business publications.”
The Jewish Agency, an Israeli quasi-governmental organization with pre-legislative review powers and access to Israeli government tax revenues, laundered overseas tax-exempt charitable relief funds into U.S. public relations and lobbying through its American section. The AZC was incapable of independently raising its own revenue and received $5 million ($36 million in 2010 dollars) from the Jewish Agency over two years for public relations and lobbying. The Jewish Agency received AZC bi-monthly media action reports. Up to $6,300 ($45,360 today) was budgeted for reprints of “The Arabs of Palestine,” which erroneously concluded that “Palestinian refugees will merge into the Arab nations, because the young will insist on real lives instead of endless waiting.” It is clear from contemporary news reports and the heavily redacted Senate record that the AZC and the Jewish Agency seriously violated IRS regulations and the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The Senate investigation ultimately failed in its efforts to regulate secret foreign media manipulation and lobbying. The AZC transformed into AIPAC, and today The Atlantic is virtually alone among remnants of the battered magazine industry in its return to profitability. Jeffrey Goldberg’s prolific work no doubt helps propel that bottom line. But readers should remember the origin of deceptive waves of content that washed ashore in American magazines.
In case you missed it: The Israel Lobby: Does the United States in fact keep Israel on its feet? And how long will it continue to do so?
En voici la traduction rapide en français :
Des archives déclassifiées provenant d'une enquête du Sénat américain révèlent une campagne clandestine israélienne de "public relations" en Amérique.
Des archives déclassifiées provenant d'une enquête du Sénat sur des activités secrètes de "public relations" et du lobbying financées par Israël aux États-Unis ont été publiés par les National Archives and Records Administration ("Office national des archives", NARA) le 23 Juillet 2010. Les documents, faisant l'objet d'une assignation de tribunal, dévoilent les programmes clandestins d'Israël pour "cultiver des rédacteurs [de journaux]", "stimuler [la préparation] et le placement des articles appropriés dans les revues de grande circulation" ainsi que pour [influer sur] le journalisme aux États-Unis portant sur des sujets sensibles tels que l'installation [de fabrication] d'armement nucléaire de Dimona.
Des documents sont maintenant disponibles pour téléchargement à partir de http://IRmep.org/ila/azc : parmi ceux-ci :
[Pour ce qui concerne] Dimona (extrait) : "L'article sur le réacteur nucléaire provoqua des commentaires de nombreuses sources ; éditorialistes, chroniqueurs, journalistes des sciences et caricaturistes. Le gros de la presse semblait enfin accepter la thèse qu'on construisait le réacteur à des fins pacifiques et non pas pour [faire] des bombes." http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
[Pour ce qui concerne le] placement de contenu et la promotion (extrait) : "L'Atlantic Monthly dans sa livraison d'octobre portait l'article remarquable écrit par Martha Gellhorn sur les réfugiés arabes, qui fit impression à travers le pays. Nous en avons organisé la distribution de 10.000 réimpressions aux meneurs d'opinion de toute catégorie... Des amis qui s'y intéressent prennent actuellement leurs dispositions avec l'Atlantic pour une autre réimpression de l'article de Gellhorn, qui sera envoyée à toutes les 53.000 personnes dont le nom figure dans le Who's Who in America... Notre Comité [de rédaction] envisage maintenant des articles pour les magazines féminins, pour les journaux de commerce et d'affaires." http://www.irmep.org/09101961AZC.pdf
[Sur les] campagnes de pression (extrait) : "On peut dire que la presse du pays... a, de manière générale, fait montre de la sympathie et de la compréhension pour la position d'Israël. Il y a, bien sûr, des exceptions, notamment la chaîne [de journaux] Scripps-Howard, où il nous faut encore parvenir à une 'percée', la chaîne Pulliam (où un peu de progrès a été fait) et quelques journaux de propriété locale." http://www.irmep.org/11-121960AZC.pdf
[Sur les] réalisations du Comité pour les magazines (extrait) : "Nous ne pouvons pas définir avec précision tout ce qui a déjà été accompli par ce comité, mais nous pouvons dire qu'il a été responsable de la rédaction et du placement des articles sur Israël dans certaines des plus importantes revues d'Amérique..." http://www.IRmep.org/10301962_AZC.pdf ...."
------
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26199.htm
The Israel Lobby Swims The Atlantic
By Grant Smith
August 20, 2010 "Antiwar" -- Jeffrey Goldberg’s current cover story in The Atlantic, “The Point of No Return,” achieved massive distribution across a broad spectrum of old and new media in the United States. Some observers – including Glenn Greenwald in “How Propagandists Function” – noted how well the methodology and message of Goldberg’s piece serves the Israeli government’s efforts to push U.S. military action against Iran. Gareth Porter views it as part of an overarching strategy to keep the U.S. from restoring productive relations with Iran. A huge trove of newly declassified documents subpoenaed during a Senate investigation reveals how Israel’s lobby pitched, promoted, and paid to have content placed in America’s top news magazines with overseas funding. The Atlantic (and others) received hefty rewards for trumpeting Israel’s most vital – but damaging – PR initiatives across America.
Unlike today, back in the 1960s Israel and its lobby were battling mightily to draw American attention away from the entire subject of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. A secret executive report [.pdf] subpoenaed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigation into the American Zionist Council, or AZC (AIPAC’s parent organization), reveals the lobby’s careful tracking of and satisfaction with most mainstream U.S. media coverage about the Dimona nuclear weapons facility
“The nuclear reactor story inspired comment from many sources: editorial writers, columnists, science writers and cartoonists. Most of the press seemed finally to accept the thesis that the reactor was being built for peaceful purposes and not for bombs. Some columnists felt that the U.S. should have awaited more information before ‘ventilating its suspicions’. Drew Pearson’s syndicated column justified Israel’s secrecy; William Laurence in the New York Times stressed Israel’s peaceful intent, in contrast to Arthur Krock who wanted the reactor placed under international safeguards. Arab protagonists in this country – including those in the State Department who raised all the fuss initially – used the occasion to try to cast doubt on Israel’s friendship toward the U.S.”
The observant now know that Israel’s massive, clandestine nuclear arsenal remains a thorn in the side of U.S. nonproliferation efforts. Building it required many unfriendly acts, such as materials theft and covert financing from U.S. donors. The Israeli nuclear arsenal story remains curiously under-reported in America, though not throughout the rest of the world. But have media outlets such as The Atlantic received assistance from Israel and its lobby for publishing helpful – but equally misleading – content?
The unqualified answer is yes.
In the early 1960s the AZC’s Magazine Committee [.pdf] met regularly with writers to prepare articles for top U.S. magazines such as Reader’s Digest, the Saturday Evening Post, and Life. In its program [.pdf] for “cultivation of editors” and “stimulation and placement of suitable articles in the major consumer magazines,” the committee pushed lighter subjects with prepared texts such as the thirteenth anniversary of Israel’s founding while killing investigative pieces at such publications as the Christian Science Monitor. The committee confronted two major news items challenging Israel: fallout from the “Lavon Affair” (a cover-up of failed false-flag Israeli terrorist attacks on U.S. government facilities in Egypt) and American peace proposals calling for the return of some expelled Palestinian refugees to their homes and property in Israel. The Israeli government and its U.S. lobby invested heavily in arguing against the return of Palestinian refugees through The Atlantic, according to yet another secret AZC report [.pdf]:
“The Atlantic Monthly in its October issue carried the outstanding Martha Gellhorn piece on the Arab refugees, which made quite an impact around the country. We arranged for the distribution of 10,000 reprints to public opinion molders in all categories. Acting on information that anti-Israel groups were bombarding the Atlantic with critical letters, we stimulated a letter campaign designed to counteract their impact. …
“Interested friends are making arrangements with the Atlantic for another reprint of the Gellhorn article to be sent to all 53,000 persons whose names appear in Who’s Who in America…
“The November issue of the Atlantic carried a special 64-page Supplement on Israel, with articles by some of Israel’s top names. …
“Our Committee is now planning articles for the women’s magazines for the trade and business publications.”
The Jewish Agency, an Israeli quasi-governmental organization with pre-legislative review powers and access to Israeli government tax revenues, laundered overseas tax-exempt charitable relief funds into U.S. public relations and lobbying through its American section. The AZC was incapable of independently raising its own revenue and received $5 million ($36 million in 2010 dollars) from the Jewish Agency over two years for public relations and lobbying. The Jewish Agency received AZC bi-monthly media action reports. Up to $6,300 ($45,360 today) was budgeted for reprints of “The Arabs of Palestine,” which erroneously concluded that “Palestinian refugees will merge into the Arab nations, because the young will insist on real lives instead of endless waiting.” It is clear from contemporary news reports and the heavily redacted Senate record that the AZC and the Jewish Agency seriously violated IRS regulations and the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The Senate investigation ultimately failed in its efforts to regulate secret foreign media manipulation and lobbying. The AZC transformed into AIPAC, and today The Atlantic is virtually alone among remnants of the battered magazine industry in its return to profitability. Jeffrey Goldberg’s prolific work no doubt helps propel that bottom line. But readers should remember the origin of deceptive waves of content that washed ashore in American magazines.
Grant F. Smith is the author of the new book Spy Trade: How Israel's Lobby Undermines America's Economy. He is a frequent contributor to Radio France Internationale and Voice of America's Foro Interamericano. Smith has also appeared on BBC News, CNN, and C-SPAN. He is currently director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C.
In case you missed it: How American News Media Works In Favor Of IsraelIn case you missed it: The Israel Lobby: Does the United States in fact keep Israel on its feet? And how long will it continue to do so?
