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Militant Islam Monitor > Weblog > John Zogby -shyster pollster & James Zogby - head of the American Arab Institute - propagandists for the Saudi -Wahabi lobby

John Zogby -shyster pollster & James Zogby - head of the American Arab Institute - propagandists for the Saudi -Wahabi lobby

October 25, 2004

Photo of James Zogby and John Zogby

James J. Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute and John Zogby, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zogby International at FPC Briefing on "What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs and Concerns"

http://fpc.state.gov/fpc/14220.htm

MIM:James and John Zogby, pro Saudi propagandists whose sound bytes and polling statistics often go unchallenged despite the evidence of their Islamist and pro Saudi bias.

Brothers John and James Zogby, the head of the polling organisation and a the Arab American Institute, are two examples of how slick packaging and public relations are enabling them to push their pro Wahabi and anti American agenda as a and manipulate American public and political opinion .

Pollster John Zogby was a left wing activist who ran for public office and turned his pre election assessment into his present polling career .

In an article entitled "How I did it " Zogby arrogantly boasts that he intends to become the leading authority for opinion studies in the US ,while takeing a swipe at politicians who are among his biggest clients :

"I want to be the Gallup of my generation, the household word, the generic. I have plans to make this a $40 million corporation, partly by pursuing licensing agreements with partners around the world. We're getting ready to poll Swaziland. We've completed Botswana and Malawi. Most of these polls are corporate-sponsored. We want to know the investment climate, the path to reform.

Once I was a very liberal professor activist, and I saw a political career for myself. But I managed to be cured of that disease."

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MIM :The uncritical citing of Zogby statistics by prestigious firms has overshadowed the criticism of his methods by those who challenge his credibilty. He has been assailed by Christian and Jewish groups regarding his polling methods and Islamist bias .

In addition to being a spokesman for the Wahabists, Zogby is regarded as a con man for hire , who manipulates results to suit his clients and further their stated agendas .

Both Jews and Christians have assailed his agenda and his methods. Below are excerpts from Jewish and Christian web pundits decrying the reliability and borderline illegality of Zogby's polling methods.

Kesher Talk - a Jewish weblog on the Middle East stated that :

"... pollster John Zogby is notorious in the polling community for being, well, a shyster. He keeps his methods an absolute secrecy, contrary to the stipulations of the major polling organizations..."

"... The Christian Science Monitor hosted a breakfast with John Zogby (the pollster) and James Zogby (president of the Arab American Institute). Low and behold, the Zogby poll is described as being run by BOTH of them, not just by the pollster, and the discussion of it on TV has involved both of them - John talking about the poll itself, then a quick tag to James who rails against U.S. foreign policy..."

http://www.hfienberg.com/kesher/2002/04/impressions-of-america-poll-zogbys.html

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'Polipundit' opined as to :

'Why Christians et al shouldn't trust Zogby Arab polls'

http://polipundit.com/index.php?p=4176



"...Back in 1996, pollster Zogby hit the bullseye in predicting
the results of the Presidential election. In 2000, they were
close again, though their aggregate error tied them with 5
other national polls. In 2002, Zogby appeared to show a lean
in favor of the Democrats, and he was way off in his mid-term
election predictions. This year, at the end of the spring,
John Zogby actually came out and predicted John Kerry would
win the election, which appeared to indicate his bias had
reached the point of full-blown partisanship against the
President, reflected in a growing number of opinions made out
of personal preference, rather than on the evidence. Zogby's
refusal to show his work, only magnifies the apparent
distortion of his results..."

"...All in all, Zogby's habit of confusing his personal opinion
with data-driven conclusions, his admitted practice of
manipulating the respondent pool and his demographic weights,
by standards not accepted anywhere else, along with mixing
Internet polls with telephone interview results, forces me to
reject his polls as unacceptable; they simply cannot be
verified, and I strongly warn the reader that there is no
established benchmark for the Zogby reports, even using
previous Zogby polls, because he has changed his practices
from his own history..."

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MIM: Chris Mooney of The American Prospect calls Zogby a "leading enabler " stating :

"Zogby's reputation as a pollster buys instant credibility" and that clients who commission a Zogby poll "have essentially purchased an objective fact ."

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John Zogby's Creative Polls

And a closer look at his methods

Chris Mooney

http://www.prospect.org/print-friendly/print/V14/1/mooney-c.html

In a recent New York Times Magazine cover story about animal rights, journalist Michael Pollan reported that 51 percent of Americans believe that "primates are entitled to the same rights as human children." It was a surprising finding, but one that Pollan simply attributed to a "recent Zogby Poll." When Pollan's article came out, you can only imagine the celebration at the Doris Day Animal League, a group dedicated to establishing legal rights for chimpanzees. The league's role in commissioning the survey went entirely unmentioned in the Times story. By hiring the renowned pollster John Zogby, the group had essentially purchased an objective fact, one that entered into the conventional wisdom via the nation's leading Sunday magazine.

Whomever you blame for this small propaganda coup, it's hardly unique. Media coverage of polling results often neglects to mention the self-interestedness of the sponsor, and John Zogby is a leading enabler. Today, Zogby International's polling reputation may be second only to that of the hallowed Gallup Organization, which makes having a Zogby Poll extremely desirable for advocacy groups across the political spectrum. Animal rights is a lefty cause, but one recent Zogby Poll conducted for the libertarian Cato Institute found that "two-thirds of likely voters support personal Social Security accounts" -- i.e., partial privatization. Another, conducted in 1997 for the anti-tort group New Yorkers for Civil Justice Reform, found that Empire State citizens "overwhelmingly believe that the cost of lawsuit awards is too high." And a Newsmax.com/Zogby International Poll, conducted for the right-wing Newsmax Web site, found in late 1999 that two-thirds of Americans wanted Congress to consider a second impeachment proceeding against then-President Clinton. It helped that the poll primed respondents with speculative allegations that the president traded nuclear technology to the Chinese in exchange for campaign cash.

What these polls have in common is that they reveal "findings" that their sponsors wish the public to believe as facts. And Zogby's standing as a reputable pollster buys instant credibility.

There's nothing new about dubious surveys: An infamous Roper Poll released in 1992 came to the wild conclusion that 3.7 million Americans had likely been abducted by aliens. And Zogby International isn't the only firm available for advocacy groups, candidates and corporations in need of creatively framed findings and message testing. But among high-profile pollsters, Zogby is unusual in the extent to which he has blended partisan and interest-group polling with credibility-enhancing contracts for media outlets such as Reuters, NBC News, MSNBC, and numerous newspapers and television stations.

As Zogby himself acknowledges, the repute he derives from media polling helps him sell his services to more self-interested clients. The lucky groups end up with the Zogby brand name attached to findings that advance their agendas. "Media organizations should have people who absolutely aren't polling for interest groups," observes Robert Blendon, who directs Harvard University's Program on Public Opinion and Health and Social Policy. Blendon notes that most major media polling conglomerates, such as the ABC News/Washington Post Poll, maintain firewalls between their work and outside interests...

"...In the last election, however, John Zogby brazenly polled for a Democratic opponent to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), paying out of his own pocket because he wanted to provide a "fresh challenge" to the Republican House whip. Zogby also polled for New York's millionaire independent gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano, declaring in late October, "I'm ready to mortgage my house and predict that Golisano comes in at least second, barring anything unforeseen." Golisano came in third with 14 percent of the vote.

In the past half-decade, meanwhile, numerous Zogby Polls for various special interests have relied on creative phrasing to give the impression of wide public support for the view that the given client is promoting. In response to a question about the wording of the Newsmax.com impeachment survey, Zogby responded, "If we had anything to do with the wording of that question, then I guess I have a problem with it." He telephoned back to add that it was "probably not the best wording, but, I mean, I think it's defensible." Zogby acknowledges that he retains control over question phrasing. Indeed, in the world of interest-group polling, clients often submit proposed questions or concepts, but much of what they are buying is the polling firm's expertise in devising wording that produces results..."

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MIM: An example of polling as propaganda can be found in the Zogby poll asking if Americans believed that thegovernment had foreknowledge of 9/11, which was released on the eve of the Republican convention .

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=855

Released: August 30, 2004

Half of New Yorkers Believe US Leaders Had Foreknowledge of Impending 9-11 Attacks and "Consciously Failed" To Act; 66% Call For New Probe of Unanswered Questions by Congress or New York's Attorney General, New Zogby International Poll Reveals

On the eve of a Republican National Convention invoking 9/11 symbols, sound bytes and imagery, half (49.3%) of New York City residents and 41% of New York citizens overall say that some of our leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act," according to the poll conducted by Zogby International. The poll of New York residents was conducted from Tuesday August 24 through Thursday August 26, 2004. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of +/-3.5.

The poll is the first of its kind conducted in America that surveys attitudes regarding US government complicity in the 9/11 tragedy. Despite the acute legal and political implications of this accusation, nearly 30% of registered Republicans and over 38% of those who described themselves as "very conservative" supported the claim.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=855

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MIM:The political impact of the Zogby polls a and combined efforts of the brothers can be seen by the influence they were able to excerpt at all levels of government to explain Arab hatred of America and manipulate US foreign policy. Political hack Zogby boasts of his and his brothers being asked to lecture on their findings and criticises the Bush administration and the 9/11 Commission claiming that they refuse to discuss US "policy as the problem".

According to James Zogby ,the results of a Zogby International poll revealing negative Arab attitudes towards Americans was a result of "US policy towards the Arabs and Palestinians " ..."found a receptive audience". Both James and John Zogby "addressed the Department of State , testified before Congress, and lectured on the results before distinquished audiences in the US".

http://www.jerusalemites.org/articles/english/aug2004/16.htm

Excerpts from:"It's Still the US Foreign Policy, Stupid"

By James J. Zogby

Two years ago, I wrote an article entitled, "It's the Policy, Stupid." Zogby International had just completed two major polls in several Arab countries. We found that Arabs had very positive attitudes toward American science and technology, freedom and democracy, products, people, education, movies and television. What drove down the overall attitudes towards America, however, was US policy "toward the Arabs" and Palestinians.

The article and the poll found a receptive audience. My brother, John Zogby, and I, addressed the Department of State, testified before Congress, and lectured on the results before distinguished audiences across the US. What we provided was an antidote to the factious claim made by some who had argued that Arab displeasure with the US was based on "cultural differences," or "hatred of American values."

"...What our polling data showed, quite simply, was that Arabs judged America by how they saw America treating them. It was clear that Arabs, in fact, respected American values-but they did not see American policy reflecting those values. This became even clearer when our poll asked our Arab respondents to name the first thought that came to mind when they heard "America." They told us "its unfair policies." And when we asked, "what the should the US do to improve its relationship with the Arab World," responses focused on the need for the US to change its policies to be "more just" and "less biased

In responses given to open-ended questions, the role that anger with US policy plays in this growing Arab disenchantment with America becomes even clearer. When asked to identify the "first thought that comes to mind," the "best and worst things they could say about America," and "what America should do to change its image in the Arab World," the principal responses all focused on policy issues. "Stop supporting Israel," "Change your Middle East policy," and "Stop killing Arabs" were among the most common responses.

It is interesting to note that the only time that values factored into the discussion was when Arab respondents urged America to adopt a more values-driven foreign policy, i.e., "show more respect," "apply justice," or "work harder for peace."

"...What our data demonstrates is what most of the world and a great number of Americans already know: Policy matters. What is disturbing, however, is the degree to which US policy makers refuse to acknowledge the role that policy plays in this widening gap that is separating America from the Arab World. The President and leading lawmakers continue to obfuscate this fact, insisting that the problem lies elsewhere. Commissions have been formed to study the situation, but have been instructed rule out a priori any discussion of "policy as the problem..."


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MIM: The Zogby brothers work together to promote the Wahabi lobby and the interests of the Democratic Party . Zogby International provides the propaganda and the American Arab Institute is the forum through which the Zogby's can promote the interests of their Saudi handlers.

MIM: The Foundation for Defense of Democracies carried an item labelling Zogby " a publicity agent "...for Wahabi extremism".

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=180206&attrib_id=7377

MIM: Stephen Schwartz wrote in Frontpage Magazine about James Zogby's Saudi handlers. Zogby's lovefest with Wahabists begs the question as to what financial and business 'perks' both he and his brother John are enjoying as a result of their dhimmitude .One answer mounts to a gift of $300,000 dollars by Saudi Prince Alaweed ibn Talal to James Zogby's Arab American Institute,which is listed a non profit organisation.

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In 2003... " James Zogby (who is even slicker than al-Jubeir) appeared as representative of his Arab American Institute (AAI), in a joint presentation with Saleh al-Wohaiby, secretary of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY, an official arm of the Saudi government).

They announced that AAI and WAMY will "take up the cases of some 13,000 Arabs and Muslims, some of whom have been targeted by the U.S. government for possible deportation."

What is WAMY? Simply, the Saudi equivalent of the Hitler Youth: a hate-mongering, ultraextremist group preaching, among other niceties, that Shia Muslims are not real Muslims, but products of a Jewish conspiracy. It is under continuing investigation for involvement in al Qaeda funding."

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8466

MIM: In "Stopping the Saudis" Alex Alexiev, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy , revealed that the Arab American Institute was working together with the World Assemby of Muslim Youth, a group which on a US government list of Saudi groups behind terror funding .WAMY was incorporated in the US by Osama Bin Laden's brother, Abdullah.

"...The radicalization of Islam is continuing apace domestically as well, and again the Saudis play a key role. In just one recent example, according to the Arab News (a Saudi government-controlled newspaper), the World Assembly of Muslim Youth -- which was incorporated in the U.S. by Osama bin Laden's brother Abdullah bin Laden -- announced last June that it will "take up the cases" of 13,000 Muslim illegal aliens slated for deportation, together with the Arab American Institute, an American non-profit organization (and the recipient of $300,000 from Saudi prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, again according to the Arab News). It is difficult to interpret this as anything other than a blatant interference in the internal affairs of the U.S. by a state-controlled foreign entity." http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/e016htSaudis_Alexiev.html

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MIM: James Zogby, the director of the American Arab Institute,lamented the bad rap given the Saudis after 9/11 . In an article published in the Saudi government controlled 'Arab News' , he complained that "the majority of Americans have no direct experential knowlege about the Saudis", and that "the public debate on Saudi Arabia has spun out of control". Zogby is the American version of Saudi government spinmeister Al Jubeir .

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=46864&d=16&m=6&y=2004

Excerpts from : Misconceptions about Saudi Arabia in the US

WASHINGTON, 16 June 2004 -

"Continued reports of violence against Westerners in Saudi Arabia has once again thrust the Kingdom back into the news.

Spokesman Adel Al-Jubeir held a widely covered press conference detailing a multi-pronged Saudi offensive against the terrorist threat. But on television and radio talk shows, a less informed political discussion unfolded. Prominently featured on these programs have been "think tank" "experts" and authors of best-selling books on Saudi Arabia — most of whom have never even visited the country.

On one occasion, I appeared in one such debate responding to an Israeli-American woman who was described as a "Middle East expert" at a prominent right-wing think tank. She soberly gave her analysis that "this was the beginning of the end."

"What should the US do?" she was asked. Her response was that we needed to either immediately develop alternative energy supplies or find a way to "secure our oil," presumably by wresting it from the control of the "extremists", whom she predicted, were poised to take power.

This would all be laughable if it were not so dangerous. The public discourse about Saudi Arabia has spun out of control..."

"Because the vast majority of Americans have no direct experiential knowledge about Saudis, when 9/11 occurred and was immediately followed with a barrage of misinformation about the country, they had no ability to filter out and reject false ideas. For too many Americans, the only face they were able to put on Saudi Arabia were the images of the 15 Saudis who were part of the group of 19. And when asked in open-ended questions "what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about Saudi Arabia" — a majority respond with "war," "danger," "terror," or "a bad place". When asked to tell the "first good thing that comes to mind when they hear Saudi Arabia" — almost one half say "nothing". The good news, however, is that those negative views do not hold for those Americans who know Saudis or the country of Saudi Arabia..."

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AAI director James Zogby is also senior analyst with Zogby /international

MIM: Under the Zogby's The Arab American Institute and John Zogby's polling organisation have become extensions of the Wahabi lobby and the democratic party. According to his biography :

Dr.(James) Zogby has also been personally active in U.S. politics for many years. Most recently, Zogby was elected a co-convener of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee (NDECC), an umbrella organization of Democratic Party leaders of European and Mediterranean descent. On September 24, 1999, the NDECC elected Dr. James Zogby as its representative to the DNC's Executive Committee.


Dr. Zogby is also active professionally beyond his involvement with the Arab American community. He currently serves on the Human Rights Watch Middle East Advisory Committee and on the national advisory boards of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Forum, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In January 2001, he was selected by the President to be a member of the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund and serves on its Board of Directors. Additionally, he recently attained a position with polling firm Zogby International as Senior Analyst.

MIM :The combination between running an Arab Institute which may enjoy tax exempt status and working on behalf of special interest groups and private companies constitutes a "conflict of interests " which warrants further scrutiny. Again the James Zogby's close relationship with Saudi groups such as WAMY which have been designated as terror funding entities begs the question as to have much Saudi funding is going to both the Zogby International enterprise and American Islamic Institute .

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MIM:James Zogby's anti semitism is well documented. In 1992 Dr.Daniel Pipes wrote an article called "The Paterson Protocols" demanding that Zogby dissassociate himself from the Arab News,a publication in Paterson,New Jersey which was serializing the notoriously anti semitic hoax "The Protocols of The Elders of Zion". Dr.Pipes began his article with a description of the paper and concluded with a call for James Zogby to dissassociate himself from the publication.

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/499

"...The Arab Voice, an Arabic-language newspaper published weekly since 1993 from Main Street in Paterson, N.J., appears to be just another one of America's many ethnic publications.
Its news pages are replete with items about Palestinian travails and possible war with Iraq. Its featured columnist is James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute..."

"To prevent The Protocols from making further inroads in the United States, advertisers, James Zogby and the newspaper's printer must immediately and completely disassociate themselves from the Arab Voice. In addition, Arab and Muslim groups in the United States must explicitly denounce The Protocols and condemn all those who forward it, whether the Arab Voice or Egyptian television.

Not to do so makes them complicit in the prejudice and villainy of this foul tract."

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MIM: In February 2004 Dr.Pipes wrote about James Zogby's gratuitious comparision of violence in the Torah to violence in Islam and asked the question : "If (according to Zogby ) Jews do "the samething in their Scriptures as Muslims " why don't they do the same thing with their bodies? Like stapping on suicide belts and flying planes into skyscrapers?"

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/182

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James Zogby Opines on the Torah.

"It comes as a surprise when public policy types starts opining on strictly religious issues, as the Muslim Public Affairs Council did in August 2003. Now, belatedly, I learn that James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, has done likewise. In one of islam-online.net's "Live Dialogue" exchanges in February 2002, he replied thus to "Muhammad" who fretted that the Qur'an might contain passages that are "too racist":

I think that not enough has been done to explain Islam in the West and to deal with those passages in the Quran that some in the West find troubling. One easy way to do this, is to invite those who ask the questions to read the entire Quran and read the entire Torah and then see which is the bloodier scripture.

Zogby is being disingenuous. The fire-and-brimstone passages in the Torah, indeed of the Bible as a whole, centuries ago were turned into allegories or otherwise reinterpreted. In contrast, for many Muslims those of the Qur'an remain literal commands and they act on them daily in places like Algeria, the West Bank, and Kashmir. There are no synagogues and churches where congregants are urged to kill infidels. That Zogby chooses to ignore this key difference provides yet more evidence that he is a water-carrier for Islamists.

I wrote a polite note to Zogby, offering him a chance to dispel my unhappiness concerning his remarks. His reply opened with the insults so typical these days of the left ("You are obsessed to the point of being silly. … Get real and get help"). Then he reiterated and extended his point about other holy books sharing a propensity to urge violence: "While some extremist Muslims might use the Qur'an to justify their violent behavior, so too are there extremist Jews who do the same thing. There are, of course, also extremist Christians, Hindus, etc., who do the same with their scriptures."

To Zogby I ask: if Jews and others do "the same thing" with their scriptures as Muslims, why don't they do the same thing with their bodies? Like strapping on suicide belts or flying airliners in skyscrapers? I await Zogby's reply.

Moral of this incident? That political hacks make poor theologians."

(February 24, 2004)

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MIM:Zogby's signing of a declaration calling for the dismantling on Israel was regarded as another indication that Zogby's polling data especially regarding the Middle East was fraudulent and unreliable.

The Zionist organisation of American noted the collaboration between John Zogby who is head of theAmerican Arab Institute, and his brother James, who is also on the executive board of the polling organisation.

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Frequent Zogby collaborator

Pollster John Zogby Signed Newspaper Ad

Calling For "Dismantling" Israel

http://www.zoa.org/pressrel2002/20021204a.htm

NEW YORK - The validity and accuracy of polls carried out by the well-known Republican pollster John Zogby concerning Israel must be questioned, in view of the revelation that Zogby signed a newspaper advertisement calling for the "dismantling" of Israel and his long record of other anti-Israel political activity.

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has revealed that Zogby signed a New York Times advertisement on March 13, 1988, page 28, sponsored by an organization called the "Campaign to End All Aid to Israel and for a Democratic Secular Palestine." The ad was headlined: "The Time Has Come: End All Aid to Apartheid Israel!" The ad declared that "Israel is an apartheid state, found on pillage and predicated on exclusivity," and has "a quintessentially racist character". The ad proposed: "In Israel, no less than in South Africa, minimum justice requires dismantling the apartheid state and replacing it with a democratic secular Palestine." The ad also urged an immediate end to all U.S. aid to Israel.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: "In view of Zogby's record of anti-Israel extremism, one is forced to suspect the accuracy of the polling methodology used by Zogby in polls concerning Israel or the Arabs. A Zogby poll concerning Israel may be no more trustworthy than David Duke taking a poll on attitudes towards blacks in America. In view of his background of anti-Israel extremism, Zogby should disqualify himself from any future polls concerning Israel."

The ZOA notes that Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, has publicly charged that the wording of John Zogby's poll questions about Israel are biased. (Washington Jewish Week, Aug.31, 2000)

John Zogby is the brother of James Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute and formerly executive director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee. The Anti-Defamation League has described some of James Zogby's public statements as "crude anti-Semitism." (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, May 18, 1999)

On October 28, 1983, the New York Times identified John Zogby as the "national field representative" of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). An Anti-Defamation League report at the time described the ADC in these terms:

"The ADC has emerged as perhaps the most vocal and highly active pro-PLO propaganda group in the U.S. ADC's activities and publications reflect a number of goals not included in its stated purpose, ranging from suspension of U.S. aid to Israel to provision of political support to suspected PLO terrorists residing in the U.S. ... Throughout the summer and fall of 1982, ADC conducted several press conferences and issued press releases condemning Israelis as 'Nazis' and referring to the Israeli military action in Lebanon as both a war of 'genocide' and a 'Holocaust' against innocent Palestinians ... ADC participated in the mobilization of a wide-scale campaign in defense of Ziad Abu Eain, a Palestinian Arab who was then awaiting extradition from the U.S. to Israel where he had been charged with terrorism for planting a bomb which killed two persons and wounded 36 others [including a woman from Connecticut, who was permanently crippled]."

John Zogby also joined Noam Chomsky and other anti-Israel extremists in signing a 1978 New York Times ad that called for U.S. recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization. At the time, the PLO openly called for the destruction of Israel and regularly carried out terrorist attacks, such as the March 1978 Tel Aviv Highway massacre in which 37 people were killed, including Gail Rubin, niece of U.S. Senator Abraham Ribicoff.

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MIM: Below is information regarding James Zogby and The Arab American Institute. It should be kept in mind that James Zogby is currently a senior analyst in the polling firm of Zogby International run by his brother, John Zogby. All of the Zogby brother's public and political affiliations appear to constitute a blatant conflict of interests which call any claims of objective research or results into question. Despite his and his brothers acheivement of 'the American Dream' Zogby coauthored a tome portraying Arab Americans as victims of discrimination. More insidious is Zogby's authorship of a "Middle East Peace Proposal whcih was endorsed by the foreign ministers of Tunesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation,"

Besides having close ties to Saudi Wahabists, Zogby hosts a television show which is broadcast in Abu Dubai , In 1990 James Zogby:

"... co-authored "The Politics of Exclusion," a study of discrimination against Arab Americans in U.S. politics. The study formed the basis for a decade-long effort to end such discrimination.

In 1991, Zogby authored a Middle East peace proposal, which was endorsed by the foreign ministers of Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Palestine Liberation Organization..." http://www3.estart.com/arab/news/zogbybio.html

MIM: In 2002 Zogby offered 'Palestinians' this advice on how to fight against Israel. Note that he emphasizes that "a key point here is to enable them ( the' Palestinians') to regain their victim status and strip the Israelis of their mantle of self defense".He called the article "I have a Palestinian Dream".

"...A peaceful march of tens of thousands of unarmed Palestinians converging on the city of Jerusalem from all points in the West Bank, carrying banners that read "Let my people pray" or "Let my people go home" would tie the hands of the Israeli military. If they use violence, they will lose. If they allowed the march, the Palestinians would gain new power and win. A key point here is to empower the Palestinian people and to enable them to regain their victim status and to strip the Israelis of their mantle of self-defense. There are many other such tactics that could be developed into a comprehensive campaign..." http://www.alternet.org/middleeast/12454/

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MIM:According to their website the AAI is :

...a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. Since 1985, Dr. Zogby and AAI have led Arab American efforts to secure political empowerment in the U.S.

...For the past three decades, Dr. Zogby has been involved in a full range of Arab American issues. A co-founder and chairman of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the late 1970s, he later co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In 1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a private non-profit, humanitarian and non-sectarian relief organization which funds health care for Palestinian and Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare projects in Lebanon. In 1985, Zogby founded AAI. http://www.aaiusa.org/zogby/zogby_home.htm

MIM:Despite claiming to be of Lebanese Christian descent, James Zogby has never met an Islamist he didnt like. His founding role in the Arab American Anti Discrimination Committee ( an Islamist spinoff of the ADL belies any pretence he makes of being a moderate . The ADC has come out in support of Hizbollah and it's former communications director, Hussein Ibish, was notorious for his anti semitism and anti Americanism, and support for terrorism. When asked by Geraldo Rivera what he thought about Hizbollah in 1994 Ibish responded :

"... I think that Hizbollah fought a very good war against the Israelis, a
guerrilla war, a popular war that was clearly shown to be a war of liberation and
that had the support of the majority of the south Lebanese people..."

http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=910&wit_id=2574

In a 2004 interview on the Neil Cavuto show about the Council of American Islamic Relation's "Not in the Name of Islam"petition ( a public relations stunt designed to give CAIR -which Dr.Daniel Pipes has labelled "radical to core " a facade of moderation) Ibish stated that : Muslim countries.

"The attacks in Riyadh, in Morocco, in Amman and in Syria are really starting to annoy a lot of people who might have shrugged or might not have cared so much."

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5CNation%5Carchive%5C200405%5CNAT20040514b.html

MIM: Not to be outdone by the ADC communications director Ibish, founder James Zogby's support for terrorism was documented by the ZOA .

NEW YORK- A veteran extremist who has defended Arab terrorists who
have murdered American citizens has been named a senior adviser to the
Gore-Lieberman campaign.

James Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute, has been
appointed "Adviser on Ethnic Affairs" to the Gore-Lieberman campaign. The
Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has sent a letter to the
Gore-Lieberman campaign, urging that the appointment be rescinded.

In his letter, ZOA National President Morton A. Klein wrote: "Those
who praise terrorist killers of Americans, call Shimon Peres a terrorist,
and support boycotting Israel, should be publicly condemned and ostracized
by political leaders, not appointed as their advisers.

* Zogby has praised the Hezbollah terrorist group as "the Lebanese
armed resistance." (Forward, Dec. 12, 1997) Hezbollah is on the official
U.S. government list of terrorist groups; its attacks have included the
1983 bombing of the U.S.Marines barracks in Lebanon, murdering 241
Americans.

Neal Sher, former executive director of AIPAC and former head of
the Justice Department's office for pursuing Nazi war criminals, has
criticized Zogby's "absurd attempt to justify and legitimize
Hezbollah as merely 'the Lebanese armed resistance'." (Washington Jewish
Week, Dec.25, 1997)

...Zogby has repeatedly praised and defended Ziad Abu Eain, an Arab
terrorist who was convicted of a 1979 bombing in Israel inwhich two
children were murdered and 36 other people were wounded, including U.S.
citizens Haim and Irene (Haya) Mark of Connecticut; Mrs. Mark was
permanently crippled by the bombing. (Washington Jewish Week, April 27,
1995) Before his conviction, Eain fled to the U.S. and the Arab-American
Anti-Discrimination Committee, of which Zogby was executive director,
launched a campaign to prevent him from being extradited to Israel to stand
trial--even though one of Eain's arguments in court was that the bombing
was a "political offense." (New York Times, Oct.14, 1981)

* During the 1982 Lebanon war, Zogby called Israel "Nazis" and
denounced Israel's anti-terrorist actions as "a Holocaust."
(Anti-Defamation League Report).

Zogby denounced President Clinton's 1995 executive order banning
donations to terrorist group as comparable to "some of the worst abuses of
the McCarthy era." (Washington Post, March 27, 1995) Zogby has publicly
urged the Arab nations to refrain from normalizing relations with Israel
(Dec. 2, 1999); Zogby said (in 1997) it was time "for the Arab League to
reinvigorate its stand on the boycott" against Israel. (Jordan Times, May
21, 1997); Zogby accused Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres of "state
sponsored terrorism" by striking at Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.
(Forward, Dec. 12, 1997)

For a copy of the ZOA's new report, James Zogby's Record of Extremism,
please call the national ZOA office at 212-481-1500



http://www.zoa.org/pressrel2000/20001004a.htm

----------------------------

MIM: In 1997 Kenneth Timmerman wrote about The Gore Clinton campaign ties to Middle East terrorists and detailed a meeting between the James Zogby and Abdulrahman Alamoudi, the now jailed leader of the American Muslim Council who were both on the Democratic National Steering Committee together with Edward Gabriel, who was a courier of campaign funding from rich businessmen in the Middle East . According to Timmerman , Zogby and Gabriel 'gave' the donations to Arabs in America,who then 'contributed' it to the campaign.

(In 2000, James brother John was appointed as 'Advisor of Ethnic Affairs ' for Gore Lieberman campaign. The ZOA issued a press release detailing John's extremism and urged that the appointment be rescinded.)

(see above)

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:PRPM11nHbysJ:www.freerepublic.com/forum/a39ef55d04ce3.htm+gore+clinton+alamoudi+&hl=en

"...Timmerman reported that Gabriel had sat together with James Zogby and Abdulrahman Alamoudi on the steering committee of the Arab Americans for Clinton/Gore "96. The "Moneyman" article described a "former DNC employee" who alleged that Gabriel served as a conduit for campaign contributions to the DNC from Arab businessmen in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria. The source claimed the funds were solicited by Gabriel and Zogby, and then paid out to Arab Americans, who then legally contributed to the Gore/Clinton campaign in amounts of $1000, $5000, and even $10000. Abdulrahman Alamoudi was executive director of the American Muslim Council (AMC) in April 1996. Abdulrahman met with Clinton's National Security Advisor, Anthony Lake, in the White House on December 8, 1995 to receive a briefing on the Dayton Peace Agreement and to represent the interests of the Muslim Community. Was this access to the White House connected to the donations arranged by Ed Gabriel for Gore and the DNC?"

The suspicion of Gore's connection to the AMC and Gabriel and his receiving campaign contributions from Arab terrorist groups is further heightened by another article published by Timmerman in the April 1997 issue of the American Spectator. Timmerman reported that Anthony Lake helped a company, Occidental Petroleum, closely connected to Gore and his father, obtain an exemption from the 1996 anti-terrorism act in order for Occidental to pursue a lucrative oil deal in Sudan.

Allegedly, Lake was involved in ordering the Treasury Department to write regulations that took the teeth out of the anti-terrorism law and thereby permitted the exemption. Gore and his father had close business dealings and stock holdings in Occidental Petroleum at the time and also had long time relations with the Occidental Chairman, Armand Hammer, who in turn had close ties with the Soviet Union.

William Grigg, writing in the April 14, 1997 issue of the New American Magazine noted that Sudan played a pivotal role in an Islamic terrorist network that Anthony Lake used to create a Iran-Bosnia arms pipeline.

Jack Kelly reported in an October 29, 1999, article of U.S.A. Today, entitled "Saudi Money Aiding Bin Laden," that Capitol Trust Bank of New York and London was being investigated by U.S. and British officials for allegedly transferring millions of dollars to terrorist Osama Bin Laden from five top Saudi Arabian businessmen. It is very disturbing that the banker who heads up Capitol Trust Bank, Mohammed Alamoudi, has legally been represented in Washington D.C., byVernon Jordan, a close confidante of Clinton with ties to Gore.


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