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{{Short description|Washington-based pro-
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{{Infobox organization
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| abbreviation = MEMRI
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| status = [[
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| region = Worldwide
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| language = English
| leader_title = President
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| leader_title2 = Vice president
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| employees_year = 2017
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{{Use American English|date=February 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
The '''Middle East Media Research Institute''' ('''MEMRI'''
Critics describe MEMRI as a strongly pro-[[Israel]] advocacy group that,
==History==
The
==Objectives
The organization indirectly gained public prominence as a source of news and analysis about the [[Muslim world]], following the [[September 11 attacks]] and the subsequent [[war on
Concerning this change in their 'mission statement,'
In 2012, ''[[Haaretz]]'' reported that Israeli intelligence agencies have reduced their monitoring the Palestinian media with MEMRI and [[Palestinian Media Watch]] now providing the Israeli government with coverage of "anti-Israel incitement" in social media, blogs and other online sources. The Prime Minister's Bureau has stated that before the government cites information provided by the two sources, the source of the material and its credibility is confirmed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ravid |first=Barak |date=31 January 2022 |title=Officials: Israel Outsources Monitoring of Palestinian Media After IDF Lapse |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2012-01-31/ty-article/officials-israel-outsources-monitoring-of-palestinian-media-after-idf-lapse/0000017f-f6fe-d887-a7ff-fefeb7c00000 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005212454/https://www.haaretz.com/2012-01-31/ty-article/officials-israel-outsources-monitoring-of-palestinian-media-after-idf-lapse/0000017f-f6fe-d887-a7ff-fefeb7c00000 |archive-date=5 October 2022}}</ref>
=== Projects ===
MEMRI's work is organized into projects, each with a specific focus. The main subjects the organization addresses are [[jihad]] and [[terrorism]]; relations between the U.S. and Middle East; pro-democracy and pro-civil rights views; inter-Arab relations; and [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitism]].<ref
The Reform Project, according to MEMRI, focuses on monitoring, translating, and amplifying media from Muslim figures and movements with progressive viewpoints in the Arab and Muslim world.<ref>{{cite news |author=Scarborough |first=Rowan |author-link=Rowan Scarborough |date=12 September 2016 |title=Group exposing the drumbeat of Islamic State's propaganda machine |work=[[The Washington Times]] |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/12/islamic-state-propaganda-machine-exposed-by-memri/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019171532/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/12/islamic-state-propaganda-machine-exposed-by-memri/ |archive-date=19 October 2016 |quote="created its own self-titled "Reform Project" that features videos of Muslims preaching a moderate form of Islam." "'We support and amplify voices of Muslim reformists.'"}}</ref
The MEMRI Lantos Archives on anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial, a joint project with the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice launched in 2009, is a repository of translated [[Arabic]] and [[Farsi]] material on anti-Semitism.<ref>{{cite news |author=Greenberg |first=Richard |date=30 April 2009 |title=Denying the deniers |work=Washington Jewish Week |quote="The translated article was the first document officially released by MEMRI's Lantos Archive on Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial"; "The formal dedication of the renamed archive was held a week ago Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol."; "The archive project brings together MEMRI and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice"; "The archive that now bears the Lantos name is the world's largest repository of translated Arabic and Farsi material on anti-Semitism from the past decade"}}</ref> The project is sponsored by the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]].<ref>{{cite news |title=State Dept. gives $200,000 grants to MEMRI, Centropa |author=Ruth Ellen Gruber |url=http://www.jta.org/2011/08/15/news-opinion/united-states/state-dept-gives-200000-grants-to-memri-centropa |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=15 August 2011 |access-date=25 October 2016 |quote="The U.S. State Department awarded $200,000 grants each to the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, and the Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation, known as Centropa."; "MEMRI, a Washington-based group that translates and researches anti-Semitic trends in the Middle East and South Asia, was awarded the grant to document and translate anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in the Middle East." |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211084344/http://www.jta.org/2011/08/15/news-opinion/united-states/state-dept-gives-200000-grants-to-memri-centropa |archive-date=11 February 2017 }}</ref> Through its translations and research, the project aims to document anti-Semitic trends in the Middle East and South Asia.
Arab and [[Iran]]ian television programming is monitored, translated, and analyzed through the MEMRI TV Monitoring Project. The project's translated video clips are available to the media and general public.<ref>{{cite news |author=Lau |first=Mariam |date=23 April 2005 |title=Ein Fenster zum Nahen Osten |language=de |trans-title=A window on the Middle East |work=Die Welt |url=https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article666834/Ein-Fenster-zum-Nahen-Osten.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075132/https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article666834/Ein-Fenster-zum-Nahen-Osten.html |archive-date=11 February 2017 |quote="Memri also has an 'Arab TV Monitoring Project.' It is accessible - for television journalists even in broadcastable quality - via www.memritv.org, and shows stunning examples of discourse in the Arabic world in the translated sound bites."}}</ref>
Activity by terrorist and violent extremist organizations is tracked through the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM).<ref>{{cite news |author=Kimery |first=Anthony |date=10 September 2014 |title=Apparent New Al Qaeda-Linked Magazine Is Being Published |
The organization's Cyber and Jihad Lab (CJL) tracks [[cyberterrorism]].<ref name="MyraIqbal">{{cite news |author=Iqbal |first=Myra |date=11 June 2015 |title=The Islamic State Casts a Shadow in Pakistan |work=Foreign Policy |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/11/isis-casts-a-shadow-in-pakistan/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513073657/http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/11/isis-casts-a-shadow-in-pakistan/ |archive-date=13 May 2016}}</ref> According to MEMRI, the CJL's goal is to inform and make recommendations to legislators and the business community about the threat of cyberterrorism.<ref name="ArielBenSolomon">{{cite news |author=Solomon |first=Ariel Ben |date=12 December 2014 |title=US Tech Firms urged to help combat cyber jihad |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/New-Tech/US-tech-firms-urged-to-help-combat-cyber-jihad-384294 |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412114251/http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/New-Tech/US-tech-firms-urged-to-help-combat-cyber-jihad-384294 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |quote="'One of the missions of MEMRI's new Cyber Jihad Lab is to explore ways to challenge cyber jihad, including by working and assisting both Western government agencies and the tech community to come up with proper strategies to do this,' he said."}}</ref> Initiatives have included encouraging social media companies to remove terrorist accounts and sought legislation to prevent terrorist entities from using their platforms.<ref name="homelandmag">{{cite news |title=Countering Cyber Jihad: A Look inside the Middle East Media Research Institute's Cyber Jihad Lab |author=Amanda Vincinanzo |work=Homeland Security Today Magazine |date=October 2014 |quote="The Cyber Jihad Lab has worked to advance legislature to hold American social media companies responsible for failing to remove accounts associated with designated terrorist organizations. MEMRI has also issued reports on American companies who host jihadi websites. The Cyber Jihad Lab also offers companies, as well as members of government agencies and the military, the ability to contact MEMRI with questions or for help translating through MEMRI's Assisting America program."}}</ref>
MEMRI's other projects include the Russian Media Studies Project, which translates Russian media and publishes reports analyzing Russian political ideology,<ref>{{cite news |author=Babbin |first=Jed |date=25 August 2016 |title=A New Window Into Russia |work=The American Spectator |url=https://spectator.org/a-new-window-into-russia/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080647/https://spectator.org/a-new-window-into-russia/ |archive-date=11 February 2017 |quote="Now, our friends at MEMRI have opened another window, this time on Vladimir Putin's Russia through MEMRI's 'Russian Media Studies Project.' Like MEMRI's studies of Middle Eastern media, MEMRI-Russia provides a lot more than propaganda published at home to the Russian people. It gives considerable insight into what Russian leaders are arguing to each other and to the Russian oligarchy
==Financial
MEMRI is a [[501(c)(3)]] non-profit organization.<ref name= irseos/> MEMRI has a policy of not accepting money from governments, relying instead on around 250 private donors, including other organizations and foundations.<ref
[[MediaTransparency]], an organization that monitors the financial ties of conservative think tanks to conservative foundations in the United States, reported that for the years 1999 to 2004, MEMRI received $100,000 from [[Bradley Foundation|The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc.]], $100,000 from [[Randolph Foundation|The Randolph Foundation]], and $5,000 from the [[John M. Olin Foundation]].<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.cursor.org/about/ | publisher = Cursor | title = About Us | access-date = Oct 15, 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070818064347/http://cursor.org/about/ | archive-date = August 18, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=2085 | title = MEMRI Media Transparency Profile | access-date = Oct 7, 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070614210510/http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=2085 | archive-date = June 14, 2007 }}</ref>
MEMRI recognized US$6,292,683 of revenue and incurred US$6,247,476 of expenses during the twelve months ended June 30, 2018.<ref name= 990-2018/> [[Charity Navigator]], an organization that evaluates the financial health of America's largest charities, has given MEMRI three stars out of a possible four.
In August 2011, the
==Reception==
The organization's translations are regularly quoted by major international newspapers, and its work has generated strong criticism and praise. Critics have accused MEMRI of producing inaccurate, unreliable translations with undue emphasis and selectivity in translating and disseminating the most extreme views from
MEMRI's work has been criticized on three grounds: that their work is biased; that they choose articles to translate selectively so as to give an unrepresentative view of the media they are reporting on; and that some of their translations are inaccurate.<ref name="Debate">{{cite news |last=Whitaker |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Whitaker |date=January 28, 2003 |title=Email debate: Yigal Carmon and Brian Whitaker |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/28/israel2 |
===Accusations of pro-Israel bias===
[[Brian Whitaker]], then the [[Middle East]] editor for ''[[The Guardian]]'', wrote in a public email debate with Carmon in 2003, that his problem with MEMRI was that it "poses as a research institute when it's basically a propaganda operation".<ref name=Debate/> Earlier, Whitaker had charged that MEMRI's role was to "further the political agenda of Israel." and that MEMRI's website does not mention Carmon's employment for Israeli intelligence, or Meyrav Wurmser's political stance, which he described as an "extreme brand of [[Zionism]]".<ref name=
Carmon responded to this by stating that his employment history is not a secret and was not political, as he served under opposing administrations of the Israeli government and that perhaps the issue was that he was Israeli: "If your complaint is that I am Israeli, then please say so." Carmon also questioned Whitaker's own biases, wondering if Whitaker is biased in favor of [[Arabs]] – as his website on the Middle East is named "Al-Bab" ("The Gateway" in Arabic) – stating: "I wonder how you would judge an editor whose website was called "Ha-Sha-ar" ("The Gateway" in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]])?<ref name="Debate" />
In 2006, MEMRI released an interview with [[Norman Finkelstein]] on Lebanese [[Al Jadeed]] in which he discussed his book ''[[The Holocaust Industry]]'' which made it appear as if Finkelstein was questioning the death toll of the holocaust.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dSZzCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Norman+Finkelstein%22+MEMRI&pg=PA325 Antisemitism in North America: New World, Old Hate], 2016, chapter by Kenneth Lasson, Brill, page 325</ref> Finkelstein said in response that MEMRI edited the television interview he gave in Lebanon in order to falsely impute that he was a Holocaust denier. In an interview with the newspaper ''[[Southern California InFocus|In Focus]]'' in 2007, he said MEMRI uses "the same sort of propaganda techniques as the Nazis" and "take[s] things out of context in order to do personal and political harm to people they don't like".<ref name=Swain>Lawrence Swaim, {{cite web|url=http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/15069/135/ |title=MEMRI is 'propaganda machine' expert says |access-date=2008-11-09 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620163049/http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/15069/135/ |archive-date=June 20, 2007 }}, ''[[Southern California InFocus|InFocus]]'', June 7, 2007</ref>▼
▲In 2006, MEMRI released an interview with [[Norman Finkelstein]] on Lebanese [[Al Jadeed]] in which he discussed his book ''[[The Holocaust Industry]]'' which made it appear as if Finkelstein was questioning the death toll of the
Several critics have accused MEMRI of selectivity. They state that MEMRI consistently picks the most extreme views for translation and dissemination, which portray the Arab and Muslim world in a negative light, while ignoring moderate views that are often found in the same media outlets.<ref name= SelectiveMemri/><ref name="Lalami"/><ref name="Leila Hudson 2005 p. 130"/><ref name="Debate on CNN"/> [[Juan Cole]], a professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of Michigan, argues MEMRI has a tendency to "cleverly cherry-pick the vast Arabic press, which serves 300 million people, for the most extreme and objectionable articles and editorials ... On more than one occasion I have seen, say, a bigoted Arabic article translated by MEMRI and when I went to the source on the web, found that it was on the same op-ed page with other, moderate articles arguing for tolerance. These latter were not translated."<ref name=Osama>{{Citation | url = http://www.juancole.com/2004/11/bin-ladens-audio-threat-to-states.html | title = Bin Laden's Audio: Threat to States? | author-link = Juan Cole | first = Juan | last = Cole | newspaper = Informed Comment | type = blog | date = November 2, 2004 | access-date = 2007-01-08 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061208111006/http://www.juancole.com/2004/11/bin-ladens-audio-threat-to-states.html | archive-date = December 8, 2006 }}.</ref> Former head of the CIA's counterintelligence unit, [[Vincent Cannistraro]], said that MEMRI "are selective and act as propagandists for their political point of view, which is the extreme-right of Likud. They simply don't present the whole picture."<ref name =Perelman20011207>{{cite news|last=Perelman|first=Marc|title=No Longer Obscure, Memri Translates the Arab World|newspaper=The Forward|date=7 December 2001 | url = http://www.forward.com/issues/2001/01.12.07/news7.html | archive-date = December 6, 2001 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20011206222409/http://www.forward.com/issues/2001/01.12.07/news7.html}}</ref>{{Sfn | Curtiss | 2007 | p = 17}} [[Laila Lalami]], writing in ''[[The Nation]]'', states that MEMRI "consistently picks the most violent, hateful rubbish it can find, translates it and distributes it in email newsletters to media and members of Congress in Washington."<ref name= Lalami /> As a result, critics such as UK Labour politician [[Ken Livingstone]] state that MEMRI's analyses are distortion.<ref name=MondeDiplomatique>{{cite news|title=Propaganda that widens the Arab-West divide – Gained in translation|newspaper=Le Monde Diplomatique|date=October 2005|url=http://mondediplo.com/2005/10/15propaganda|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213041939/http://mondediplo.com/2005/10/15propaganda|archive-date=2015-02-13}} See in French (freely available) {{cite news |title=Traduction ou trahison? Désinformation à l'israélienne |trans-title=Translation or betrayal? Desinformation, Israeli way |newspaper=Le Monde Diplomatique |date=October 2005 |url=http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2005/09/EL_OIFI/12796#nb11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316060141/http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2005/09/EL_OIFI/12796#nb11 |archive-date=March 16, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="LivingstonePress">"... when it distorts ..." in{{Citation|title=Qaradawi dossier|url=http://static.london.gov.uk/news/docs/qaradawi_dossier.pdf|type=press release|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816233023/http://static.london.gov.uk/news/docs/qaradawi_dossier.pdf|url-status=dead|publisher=Mayor of London|archive-date=August 16, 2012 }}.</ref>▼
====Selective focus on Islamic extremists====
A report by [[Center for American Progress]], titled "Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the [[Islamophobia]] Network in America" lists MEMRI as promoting [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] propaganda in the USA through supplying selective translations that are relied upon by several organisations "to make the case that Islam is inherently violent and promotes extremism."<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf |title=Fear, Inc. The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111205744/http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf |archive-date=2011-11-11 |publisher=[[Center for American Progress]] |date=August 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=2011-10-01 }}.</ref>▼
▲Several critics have accused MEMRI of selectivity.
Assaf David of the [[The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace|Truman Institute]] wrote that MEMRI distorts the Arab world by publishing the writings of extremists while ignoring moderates.<ref>{{cite news| newspaper=Haaretz | first = Assaf | last = David | date = 3 August 2012 | title = Selective Memri | url = https://www.haaretz.com/2012-08-03/ty-article/assaf-david-selective-memri/0000017f-f583-d47e-a37f-fdbfe9b40000}}</ref>
MEMRI argues that they are quoting the government-controlled press and not obscure or extremist publications, a fact their critics acknowledge, according to Marc Perelman: "When we quote ''[[Al-Ahram]]'' in Egypt, it is as if we were quoting ''[[The New York Times]]''. We know there are people questioning our work, probably those who have difficulties seeing the truth. But no one can show anything wrong about our translations."<ref name=Perelman20011207/>▼
▲A report by [[Center for American Progress]], titled "Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the
In August 2013, the Islamic Da'wah Centre of South Australia questioned the "reliability, independence and veracity" of MEMRI after it posted what the Islamic Da'wah Centre called a "sensational de-contextualised cut-and-paste video clip ... put together in a suggestive manner" of a sermon by the Sheikh Sharif Hussein on an American website. According to the two-minute video, which was a heavily condensed version of the Sheikh's 36-minute speech delivered in [[Adelaide]] on 22 March, Hussein called Australian and American soldiers "crusader pigs" and stated "O Allah, count the Buddhists and the Hindus one by one. O Allah, count them and kill them to the very last one." According to MEMRI's translation, he also described U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] as an "enemy of Allah, you who kiss the shoes and feet of the Jews" and predicted that "The day will come when you are trampled upon by the pure feet of the Muslims."<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/3951.htm | title = Australian Sheik Sharif Hussein to Obama: Oh Enemy of Allah, You Will Be Trampled upon by Pure Muslim Feet | publisher = MEMRI TV | type = clip | number = 3951 | format = transcript | date = July 3, 2013 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131004230052/http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/3951.htm | archive-date = October 4, 2013 }}.</ref> MEMRI's rendition moved leading Liberal senator [[Cory Bernardi]] to write to the Police Commissioner charging that under Australia's [[Anti-terrorism legislation#Australia|anti-terrorism laws]], the video clip was "hate speech", and requesting that action be taken against Hussein. The South Australian Islamic Society and the Australian Buddhist Councils Federation also condemned Hussein's speech. Widespread calls from the public for the deportation of Hussein and his family followed news reports of the video. A police spokeswoman stated "Police will examine the entire content of the sermon to gain the full context and determine whether any crime has been committed." Hussein himself declined any comment on the contents of the video. However, the Da'wah Centre charged that by omitting the context of Hussein's statements, MEMRI had distorted the actual intent of the speech. While admitting that the Sheikh was emotional and used strong words, the Centre stated that the speech was delivered in relation to rape cases in Iraq, the birth defects due to use of [[depleted uranium]], and the [[2002 Gujarat violence#Attacks on Muslims|Burmese Buddhist massacre]]. This, the Centre said, was omitted from the edited MEMRI video.<ref name=Penberthy>{{cite news|last=Penberthy|first=David|title=Adelaide sheikh's words of hate are straight out of al-Qaida central|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/david-penberthy-adelaide-sheikh8217s-words-of-hate-are-straight-out-of-alqaida-central/story-fni6unxq-1226702151347|access-date=29 August 2013|newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]]|date=August 22, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824005907/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/david-penberthy-adelaide-sheikh8217s-words-of-hate-are-straight-out-of-alqaida-central/story-fni6unxq-1226702151347|archive-date=24 August 2013}}</ref><ref name=police>{{cite news|title=SA Police investigating Islamic preacher's call for violence in online video|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-22/islamic-society-condemns-comments-of-adelaide-preacher/4904552|access-date=29 August 2013|newspaper=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=August 23, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831013554/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-22/islamic-society-condemns-comments-of-adelaide-preacher/4904552|archive-date=31 August 2013}}</ref><ref name=Schliebs>{{cite news|last=Schliebs|first=Mark|title=Police examine 'hate speech'|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/police-examine-hate-speech/story-e6frg6nf-1226702443114|access-date=29 August 2013|newspaper=[[The Australian]]|date=August 23, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826193518/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/police-examine-hate-speech/story-e6frg6nf-1226702443114|archive-date=26 August 2013}}</ref><ref name=Cook>{{cite news|last=Cook|first=Craig|title=Islamic preacher Sheikh Sharif Hussein's call to kill all Hindus and Buddhists taken 'out of context'|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/islamic-preacher-sheikh-sharif-hussein8217s-call-to-kill-all-hindus-and-buddhists-taken-8216out-of-context8217/story-fni6uo1m-1226703754802|access-date=29 August 2013|newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]]|date=August 25, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828202911/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/islamic-preacher-sheikh-sharif-hussein8217s-call-to-kill-all-hindus-and-buddhists-taken-8216out-of-context8217/story-fni6uo1m-1226703754802|archive-date=28 August 2013}}</ref><ref name=IDCSA>{{cite news| title= Official Media Response| url= http://idcsa.com.au/| access-date= 29 August 2013| newspaper= Islamic Da'wah Centre of South Australia| date= August 24, 2013| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130831083249/http://idcsa.com.au/| archive-date= 31 August 2013}}</ref>▼
▲MEMRI argues that they are quoting the government-controlled press and not obscure or extremist publications, a fact their critics acknowledge, according to [[Marc Perelman]]: "When we quote ''[[Al-Ahram]]'' in [[Egypt]], it is as if we were quoting ''
▲In August 2013, the Islamic Da'wah Centre of [[South Australia]] questioned the "reliability, independence and veracity" of MEMRI after it posted what the Islamic Da'wah Centre called a "sensational de-contextualised cut-and-paste video clip ... put together in a suggestive manner" of a sermon by the Sheikh Sharif Hussein on an American website. According to the two-minute video, which was a heavily condensed version of the Sheikh's 36-minute speech delivered in [[Adelaide]] on 22 March, Hussein called Australian and American soldiers "
====Translation accuracy and controversy====
{{See also|Tomorrow's Pioneers#Translation controversy}}
MEMRI's translations are considered "usually accurate"<ref name="UnderFire">{{cite news|last= Whitaker|first= Brian|author-link= Brian Whitaker|title= Arabic under fire|work= The Guardian|date= 15 May 2007|url= http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2007/05/arabic_under_fire.html|access-date= 2007-05-16|location= London|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070517124655/http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2007/05/arabic_under_fire.html|archive-date= 17 May 2007}}</ref> though occasionally disputed and highly selective in what it chooses to translate and in which context it puts things,<ref name="UnderFire"/> as in the case of MEMRI's translation of a 2004 [[Osama bin Laden]] video, which MEMRI defended, which it said indicated that any individual [[U.S. state|US state]] that did not vote for President [[George W. Bush]] "guarantees its own security," implying a threat against those states that did vote for him;<ref name=MemriBinLaden>{{cite web|last1=Carmon|first1=Yigal|title=Osama Bin Laden Tape Threatens U.S. States|url=https://www.memri.org/reports/osama-bin-laden-tape-threatens-us-states|website=Middle East Media Research Institute|access-date=21 May 2018|date=31 October 2004| url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071003062849/http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sa&ID=SA1404 | archive-date = 3 October 2007 }}</ref> outside translators, and the original article that the MEMRI alert claimed to correct, indicated that Bin Laden was threatening ''nations'', not individual US states.<ref name=MemriBinLaden/><ref name=Debate/><ref name=LivingstonePress/><ref name = Philly>{{Citation | first = Ramona | last = Smith | title = Did Osama send election threat? | newspaper = Philadelphia Daily News |url=http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/10075425.htm| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20041124010101/http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/10075425.htm| archive-date=24 November 2004| url-status = dead | date = 2 November 2004}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Whitaker | first = Brian | date = Spring 2005 | title = Arabsats Get the MEMRI Treatment | url = https://www.arabmediasociety.com/arabsats-get-the-memri-treatment/ | newspaper = TBS | volume = 13 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151017070139/http://tbsjournal.arabmediasociety.com/Archives/Spring05/whitaker.html | archive-date = 2015-10-17 }}</ref>
Following the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]], [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] invited [[Hani al-Sibai|Hani al-Sebai]], an [[Islamism|Islamist]] living in [[Great Britain|Britain]], to take part in a discussion on the event. Al-Sibai is listed as a Specially Designated National by the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury Department]] because of alleged support for [[Al-Qaeda|al-Qaida]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treasury.gov/ofac/sdnlist.txt|title=Treasury.gov Page Moved|work=treasury.gov|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018122656/http://www.treasury.gov/ofac/sdnlist.txt|archive-date=2015-10-18}}</ref> For one segment of the discussion in regard to the victims, MEMRI provided the following translation of al-Sebai's words:
{{
Al-Sebai subsequently claimed that MEMRI had mistranslated his interview, and that among other errors, he had actually said:
{{
By leaving out the condemnation of the "killing of innocents" entirely, [[Mohammed El Oifi]], writing in ''Le Monde diplomatique'', argued that this translation left the implication that civilians (the innocent) are considered a legitimate target.<ref name=
[[Halim Barakat]] described MEMRI as "a propaganda organization dedicated to representing Arabs and [[Muslims]] as [[Antisemitism in Islam|anti-Semites]]".<ref>{{Citation
In 2007, CNN correspondent Atika Shubert and Arabic translators accused MEMRI of mistranslating portions of a Palestinian children's television program:
{{
[[Naomi Sakr]], a professor of Media Policy at the [[University of Westminster]] has charged that specific MEMRI mistranslations, occurring during times of international tension, have generated hostility towards Arab journalists.<ref>{{cite book| first =Naomi | last = Sadr|title=Arab Television Today|publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]]|year=2007|pages=79–80}}</ref>
In an email debate with Carmon, Whitaker asked about MEMRI's November 2000 translation of an interview given by the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] to [[Al-Ahram]] al-Arabi. One question asked by the interviewer was: "How do you deal with the Jews who are besieging al-Aqsa and are scattered around it?" which was translated as: "How do you feel about the Jews?" MEMRI cut out the first part of the reply and combined it with the answer to the next question, which, Whitaker claimed, made "Arabs look more anti-Semitic than they are". Carmon admitted this was an error in translation but defended combining the two replies, as both questions referred to the same subject. Carmon rejected other claims of distortion by Whitaker, saying: "it is perhaps reassuring that you had to go back so far to find a mistake ... You accused us of distortion by omission but when asked to provide examples of trends and views we have missed, you have failed to answer." Carmon also accused Whitaker of "using insults rather than evidence" in his criticism of MEMRI.<ref name=Debate/>
In 2008, ''The New York Times'' wrote that "no one disputes their translations."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Erlanger |first=Steven |date=April 1, 2008 |title=In Gaza, Hamas's Insults to Jews Complicate Peace |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/world/middleeast/01hamas.html}}</ref>
====Response by MEMRI====
MEMRI responds to criticism by saying that the media had a tendency to whitewash statements of Arab leaders, and regularly defends its translations as being representative of actual ME viewpoints, even when the translations themselves are disputed: "MEMRI has never claimed to 'represent the view of the Arabic media', but rather to reflect, through our translations, general trends which are widespread and topical."<ref name=Debate/>
===
In 2003 [[John Lloyd (journalist)|John Lloyd]] defended MEMRI in the ''[[New Statesman]]'':
{{
In a 2005 piece [[Thomas L. Friedman]], a political opinion columnist for ''[[The New York Times]]'', praised MEMRI, and credited MEMRI with helping to "shine a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears".<ref name=friedman>{{Citation | author-link = Thomas L. Friedman | last = Friedman | first = Thomas L | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/22friedman.html | title = Giving the Hatemongers No Place to Hide | newspaper = The New York Times | date = July 22, 2005 | access-date = March 23, 2009 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090422162049/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/22friedman.html | archive-date = April 22, 2009 }}.</ref> Friedman has written in ''The New York Times'' that "what I respect about Memri is that it translates not only the ugly stuff but the courageous liberal, reformist Arab commentators as well." In addition, he has cited MEMRI's translations in his op-eds.<ref name="NYT mirror">{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/opinion/friedman-look-in-your-mirror.html|title= Look in Your Mirror|newspaper= The New York Times|date= September 18, 2012|access-date= September 20, 2012|last= Friedman|first= Thomas|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120919023118/http://www.nytimes.com//2012/09/19/opinion/friedman-look-in-your-mirror.html|archive-date= September 19, 2012}}</ref>▼
▲In a 2005 piece [[Thomas
In 2002 [[Brit Hume]] of [[Fox News]] said, "These people tell you what's going on in pulpits and in the state-controlled TV. If you have indoctrination, it's important to know about it."<ref name=Columbia>{{cite web|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1178873/Middle-East-lifting-a-veil.htm|title=Middle East: lifting a veil on the Arab press|publisher=EC next|work=[[Columbia Journalism Review]]|date=September 1, 2002|access-date=November 14, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119143950/http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1178873/Middle-East-lifting-a-veil.htm|archive-date=January 19, 2012}}</ref>{{verify source|date=December 2012}}▼
▲In 2002 [[Brit Hume]] of
[[Jay Nordlinger]], the managing editor of ''[[National Review]]'', wrote in 2002:▼
{{
==See also==
Line 142 ⟶ 149:
==Bibliography==
* {{Cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Mona |author-link=Mona Baker |title=Narratives of terrorism and security: 'accurate' translations, suspicious frames |journal=Critical Studies on Terrorism |date=3 December 2010 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=347–364 |doi=10.1080/17539153.2010.521639 |s2cid=144273369 |doi-access=free |url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/narratives-of-terrorism-and-security-accurate-translations-suspicious-frames(a45808d6-73e2-4ce7-a533-0aa08c08dd43).html|issn = 1753-9161 }}
* {{
* {{
* {{Cite journal |first=Leila |last=Hudson |title=The New Ivory Towers: Think Tanks, Strategic Studies and 'Counterrealism |journal=[[Middle East Policy]] |volume=12 |issue=4 |date=Winter 2005 |pages=118–132 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4967.2005.00229.x}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lasson |first=Kenneth |title=Antisemitism in North America: New World, Old Hate |publisher=Brill |year=2016 |isbn=978-90-04-30714-8 |editor-last=Baum |editor-first=Steven K. |pages=301–347 |chapter=Holocaust Denial in North America |doi=10.1163/9789004307148 |editor-last2=Kressel |editor-first2=Neil J. |editor-last3=Cohen |editor-first3=Florette |editor-last4=Jacobs |editor-first4=Steven Leonard |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004307148_014 |doi-access=free}}
==External links==
* {{Official website
* MEMRI's official pages on [https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Middle-East-Media-Research-Institute-MEMRI/14310874716 Facebook], [https://www.youtube.com/user/MEMRITVVideos YouTube], and [https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports Twitter]
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