Media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict came under attack by a pro-Palestinian speaker at a University event Wednesday.
Alison Weir, head of If Americans Knew, a non-profit group critical of Israeli policy, decried international media coverage as “only portraying the Israeli suffering, the Israeli side of the issue” at the “Israel-Palestine 101” event hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine.
photo by Simone Popperl
“Palestinian information comes to us much less frequently in the media. If [the Israeli side] weren’t being so well-reported, I would present about that, too,” she said.
Weir discussed the roots of the conflict and the United States’ role. She noted that $10 million a day in U.S. tax dollars goes to the Israeli government, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
“We need to end all U.S. aid to Israel now,” she said. “We give far more than we need to give the 17th wealthiest nation in the globe.”
The Georgetown Israel Alliance objected to Weir’s claim of neutrality.
“On behalf of myself and the Georgetown Israel Alliance, I’d protest that SJP would portray Ms. Weir as someone impartial, calling the event ‘Israel-Palestine 101,’ when it is well known that she is truly biased,” Jessica Rappaport (SFS ’08), co-president of the GIA, said.
Students for Justice in Palestine president Hammad Hammad (SFS ’08) said they invited Weir after being impressed by her research.
“She brings a lot to the discussion, the American point of view we don’t usually see,” Hammad said.
Weir, who worked as editor of the Marin Scope in California and as a freelance journalist, spent a month documenting life in the Palestinian territory in 2001, when the Palestinian intifada began. This experience motivated her to start If Americans Knew, a media watchdog group dedicated to spreading information about the conflict, she said.
Critics of her group say Weir’s group distorts statistics to demonize Israel. Weir claims she does not seek to criticize all Israelis, only the actions of the government.
While she has traveled to many college campuses, she says she has rarely encountered the vocal opposition that often characterizes pro-Palestinian speakers.
