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CAMERA accuses Madison education firm of anti-Israel bias

By Austin Greenberg
of The Chronicle staff

June 19th, 2008

As Dallas, Texas, resident Charles Gelfand, 69, was reading the Dallas Morning News in his home about three months ago, he decided to test his news knowledge by taking a current events quiz he saw in the paper.

“I am the president of the Palestinian National Authority and a leading member of the Fatah political group,” read the first sentence of the “Newsname” section of the quiz under a picture of the smiling Palestinian leader.

Though he was already a lock to earn 15 points for knowing the correct answer (Mahmoud Abbas), Gelfand read on.

“I have often been seen as the Palestinian voice of moderation by Israel and the West. In the past few days, Israeli attacks in Gaza killed more than 110 Palestinians, including 22 children, in the deadliest military assault on Gaza in years.”

Gelfand then became angry when he finished the question and found no mention of the fact that the Israeli action was a response to Palestinian rocket attacks that targeted Israeli civilians.

“I was very upset,” said Gelfand, who immediately called the paper to complain about the quiz.

Gelfand was informed by the paper that the quiz was produced by Madison-based Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. After lodging a complaint with Knowledge Unlimited owner and president Judith Laitman, Gelfand referred the quiz to the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), of which he is a member.

Acting on Gelfand’s tip, CAMERA senior research analyst Myron Kaplan posted a blog (online journal entry) on the CAMERA Web site on March 24 entitled “Kids Newspaper Quiz Fosters Anti-Israel Views.”

The blog contains assertions about (and links to) a number of perceived anti-Israel quizzes produced by Knowledge Unlimited in the last year and a half, as well as descriptions of (and links to) two letters to the editor and one guest commentary by Laitman that appeared in the Madison Capital Times.

“Nearly every reference in “The Quiz” to Palestinians is benign or supportive while nearly every mention of Israel is very negative,” wrote Kaplan in the blog.

“This is a very serious matter since the quiz column is aimed at schoolchildren,” Kaplan told The Chronicle in a telephone interview this week. “These children are usually unable to distinguish between clever propaganda and factual information.”

The claim that the quiz is aimed at schoolchildren is not entirely accurate. The quiz is printed in fewer than 10 newspapers across the country, and is not included in any of the educational materials (posters, videos, books, curricula, etc.) produced by Knowledge Unlimited, Laitman said.

Many newspapers across the country do distribute their papers for free to schools, and some teachers have reported that they use the quiz in their lessons.

Laitman said that the quiz is meant for a general audience.

“This is not intended to take a position in any way,” she explained. “It’s not intended to be a comprehensive reporting of the issue. Everything that we put in there is factual.”

To CAMERA’s criticism of the quiz not including the fact that the Israeli attack was a response to Palestinian rocket attacks aimed at Israeli civilians, Laitman said, “If we go into the rocket attacks, we also have to go into the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and it’s a very complicated subject.

“All we have room to do in this tiny paragraph is give proximate facts. If they want to read more about the whole issue they go into the newspaper.”

Laitman said that she was “stunned” that CAMERA “had such a hysterical response to something that I considered completely innocuous and benign.”

“I care deeply about Israel,” continued Laitman, who is Jewish. “[CAMERA] is trying to suppress any kind of discussion or discourse about this. I not only consider it anti-democratic, I consider it very much opposed to the Jewish tradition of questioning and debate.”

Kaplan said that CAMERA is not trying to suppress discourse or infringe on her right to produce the quizzes.

“CAMERA just wants grown-ups to be aware of the bias against Israel in the quiz columns … so that that hopefully the grown-ups can provide an antidote to the brainwashing inflicted on vulnerable children answering the questions on the quiz,” he said.

Regarding Laitman’s claim of insufficient newspaper space for a comprehensive discussion, said Kaplan, “The problem with this explanation is that sufficient space is always found in her column for benign or supportive references to the Palestinians.”

The bias evident in the quizzes, Kaplan believes, is a direct reflection of Laitman’s personal views.

Laitman is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, a national organization that opposes the Israeli “occupation” of disputed lands and calls for divestment from companies that aid in the “occupation.”

“The case against the claim of fairness and balance by Judith Laitman has been made by her very own public statements,” said Kaplan.

But Laitman said she draws clear lines between her views and her work.“My personal beliefs and private affiliation with any group has nothing to do with my role as a publisher of educational materials for schools. We go to great lengths to respect and present all points of view in our materials,” wrote Laitman in an e-mail to The Chronicle.