Title: Looks Like a Joke, But It's Not Source:
YouTube URL Source:[None] Published:Dec 1, 2007 Author:Iranian Policewomen Post Date:2007-12-01 11:46:31 by YertleTurtle Keywords:None Views:134 Comments:3
The Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI for short, is a Middle Eastern press monitoring organization located in Washington, D.C., with branch offices in Jerusalem, Berlin, London, and Tokyo. It provides translations of Arabic and Persian media as well as original analyses of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East.
MEMRI was founded in 1998 by Yigal Carmon along with Dr. Meyrav Wurmser. The organization became more prominent after the September 11, 2001 attacks, due to increased Western public interest in Arab and Iranian affairs. At that time, it expanded its staff considerably, setting up new branches outside the United States in early 2002.
MEMRI is a free source of English language translations of material published in Arabic and Persian. MEMRI publishes its translations, analyses, and in-depth reports on its Web site. MEMRI has been regularly quoted by major international newspapers. The organization has attracted both criticism and support for its work.
Objectives and projects
MEMRI's states its mission as being to "explore(s) the Middle East through the region's media. MEMRI bridges the language gap which exists between the West and the Middle East, providing timely translations of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East."[1]
Staff
When founded in 1998, MEMRI's staff of seven included three who had formerly served in Military Intelligence in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)[3][4].
MEMRI President and founder Yigal Carmon states that MEMRI's current staff includes "people of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths [who] hold a range of political views"[5]
[edit] Prominent staff
* Yigal Carmon — MEMRI's founder and President. Carmon is fluent in Arabic. He served as Colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Intelligence Branch from 1968 to 1988. He was Acting Head of Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and the adviser on Arab Affairs to the Civil Administration from 1977 to 1982. He advised Prime Ministers Shamir and Rabin on Countering Terrorism from 1988 to 1993. In 1991 and 1992 Carmon was a senior member of the Israeli Delegation to peace negotiations with Syria in Madrid and Washington. [6]
* Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli received a Ph.D. in development planning from the University of Michigan. He spent most of his professional career at the World Bank, and has consulted for the International Monetary Fund. Dr. Raphaeli, an Iraqi-born Israeli, joined the Middle Media Research Institute (MEMRI)as a senior analyst in 2001.
* Prof. Menahem Milson (Academic Advisor), is a professor at Hebrew University in Arabic literature, and has served as head of the Department of Arabic Language and Literature and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. He has published extensively on modern Egyptian writers. His book on Egypt's great humanist, Najib Mahfuz - Najib Mahfuz: The Novelist-Philosopher of Cairo appeared in 1998. Between 1976 to 1978, then-Minister of Defense Shimon Peres appointed Milson as an adviser on Arab affairs to the Israeli military where he became the No. 2 adviser. In 1981, then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon returned Milson as head of the Civil Administration of the West Bank and Gaza. Milson served in that position until he resigned in 1982.[7][8][9]
* Meyrav Wurmser (founding Executive Director) left MEMRI in early 2002 to join the Hudson Institute and was replaced by Steven Stalinsky. Wurmser was one of the authors of the 1996 Clean Break document.[10]
The U.S. Constitution is no impediment to our form of government.--PJ O'Rourke