Israel website guide:
Resources for busy advocates
by Andrew White - last updated 12 March 2012

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The purpose of this guide…. and how it is organised
Many people wish to speak up for Israel.  This guide to websites is designed to support advocacy which is coherent, well-informed, humane, pro-active and balanced. The guide is divided into the following categories (and there is some overlap between them):

• News, analysis and the Israeli government
• Gaza, Israel and Hamas – specific resources
• Thinktanks
• International law, Israel and the Middle East
• Advocacy tools, resources and techniques
• Israeli society
• Israel’s medical and humanitarian contributions around the world
• Jewish-Arab coexistence projects in Israel
• Media monitoring projects on Israel
• Monitoring media in the Arab and Muslim world
• NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations)

How have the websites been chosen? 
There are many websites on Israel.  Obviously, this guide is very selective. I highlight resources which focus on education and information.  I do not cover the (often excellent) websites of Zionist federations, lobbying or communal organisations or party political groups, because their sites normally have a different emphasis.  I have chosen to provide a diverse range of sites, which reflects the diversity of opinion in Israel itself.  All listed websites are in English. Many offer multiple languages.  See each site for details.

The Daily Alert www.dailyalert.org
This service is a ‘must’ for busy people who need to be efficient about every minute devoted to Israel advocacy.  It’s a daily email service which links to articles and thinktank analysis published daily about Israel across the world.  The Daily Alert team select persuasive English language content on the Internet - from the USA, Israel, European countries, Arab countries, Australia and elsewhere - and bring it to your screen, together with short summaries of each article. An enormous time-saver. Fascinating, relevant content.  The project is under the auspices of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organisations.   

The Jerusalem Post www.jpost.com
The most-read English language news source in Israel.  Widely followed by diplomats and journalists.  Core reading includes insightful Arab affairs journalist Khaled abu Toameh.  High profile attorney, writer and academic Alan Dershowitz writes a Jerusalem Post blog called Double Standard Watch. The Post includes diverse opinions from the right (eg Caroline Glick) and left Uri Savir.  Diverse.  

The Times of Israel www.timesofisrael.com
New online news site launched in January 2012 by the influential David Horovitz, former editor of the Jerusalem Post.  Its aim is to document developments in Israel, the Middle East and around the Jewish world, and claims no political affiliation, offering a "wide range" of analysis and opinion.  The staff include several leading English-language journalists.    

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mfa.gov.il
Rich body of content, from diplomaty and peace process to Israeli missions to Africa, and domestic developments.  Provides the text of keynote speeches by Israeli politicians and diplomats, communiqués, press releases and video footage (eg of the Gaza flotilla incident). Extensive resources on international law, including borders, settlements, and the Goldstone Report.  The site was recently refreshed with a new format and more user-friendly features.            
Also see http://www.mfa.gov.il/GazaFacts on Goldstone and Israel’s own investigations.

Sderot Media www.sderotmedia.com
Grass-roots view of life in Sderot in the face of rocket fire and threats. Led by the remarkable Noam Bedein. Contains powerful YouTube clips and personal accounts of living through rocket attacks.  Sderot Media recently provided CNN with footage of a rocket attack on a Sderot child therapy centre. Rich resources for both journalists and Israel advocates.        

Soldiers Speak Out www.soldiersspeakout.com
YouTube video testimonies by Israeli soldiers giving the ‘other side of the story’ during the Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza in 2008-9.  They describe how they helped and supported Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire, often at personal risk to themselves.  Untold stories of compassion and humanity which refute images of a cruel Israeli army. Expanding.

Humanitarian support from Israel into Gaza
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see above) publishes regular email updates on humanitarian supplies via the crossing points from Israel into Gaza. Hundreds of trucks enter most weeks, carrying foodstuffs, household supplies, medicine etc.  The MFA updates also highlight the many Gaza Palestinians entering Israel for medical treatment each week.  Go to the MFA website (www.mfa.gov.il) and click on ‘Humanitarian Aid’.

Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (‘BESA’) http://www.biu.ac.il/besa
Thinktank connected with the political science department of Bar-Ilan University.  The venue for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s milestone June 2009 speech embracing a two-state solution.  Notable leading figures include Ephraim Inbar, Hillel Frisch and Eytan Gilboa – each of whom appear regularly in the international media.  BESA hosts debate about alternatives to the two-state solution for self-determination, with experts like Giora Eiland.       

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs www.jcpa.org
Prominent thinktank with timely and quick-to-publish analysis covering Iran, Gaza, the peace process, European public opinion etc.  Led by Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the UN.  Regarded as close to the thinking of Prime Minister Netanyahu.  The JCPA took a pro-active role in critiquing the Goldstone Report, notably via analyst Jonathan Halevi and others.  Their research papers are short and very helpful for advocates constructing a case.    

Washington Institute for Near East Policy www.washingtoninstitute.org
Leading Washington-based thinktank on Middle Eastern strategic issues, broadly pro-Israel but not uncritically supportive. Led by Robert Satloff. Among its leading analysts are Patrick Clawson on Iran; David Makovsky on the peace process; Martin Kramer on the Arab world and Middle Eastern strategic matters; and Tal Becker on international law.     

The Gloria Center at the IDC www.gloria-center.org
Gloria – Global Research Center on International Affairs - is home to Barry Rubin and colleague Jonathan Spyer, who each produce a prodigious flow of e-bulletins on topical issues, and punchy commentary on media misconceptions. Rubin has particular expertise in Turkey and Syria; Spyer on Lebanon.  They’re favourable to a two-state solution, but critical of Western diplomatic illusions about the Palestinians and the Arab world.  The Gloria Center is part of the Interdisplinary Center (the IDC) in Herzliya, Israel.

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
www.terrorism-info.org.il
Specialist thinktank focusing on terrorism and extremism in the Arab world.  Close to the Israeli intelligence community, it is known as ‘MALAM’ in Hebrew (an acronym for its full name) and produces timely reports on Palestinian terrorist groups, abuse of Palestinian children for terrorist purposes, anti-Zionism and anti-semitism in Europe, and other topics.    
 
Bitter Lemons www.bitterlemons.org
A radical and doveish online forum on peace issues, created and moderated by Palestinian scholar and former politician Ghassan Khatib, and Israeli analyst and former head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies Yossi Alpher.  Claims to have received two million hits a year.  Takes ‘hot topics’ and provides Palestinian and Israeli commentary and views. Tends to see Israeli policies as the primary obstacle to peace; open to criticism for being one-sided     

For extensive resources on key issues and international law see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and JCPA websites (above).  Below are websites dedicated to legal topics and debate:

The Global Law Forum www.globallawforum.org
Content-rich site covering Israel and international law, including legal status of settlements, Israel’s alleged ‘occupation’ of Gaza, the flotilla, border issues with Lebanon, human rights  and incitement to genocide by Iran.  Valuable online questions and answers on key topics.  Contributors include international lawyers Robert Sabel, Ruth Lapidoth, Abraham Bell, Irit Kohn, Alan Baker, Meir Rosenne and Justus Reid Weiner.  The Forum operates under the auspices of the JCPA (www.jcpa.org - above).  Canada’s Irwin Cotler is one of the directors.   

The Israeli Supreme Court http://elyon1.court.gov.il
Website of the Israeli Supreme Court, including full decisions on legal challenges to Israel’s anti-terrorism policies.  Many say that the Supreme Court is bolder in its decisions on the balance between security and civil rights than the courts of any other democracy.  Its very existence is important for advocacy. Judgments on the limitation of fuel to Gaza, the conditions of detention of Palestinian prisoners, the security fence, targeted killings etc. 

American Society of international law (ASIL) www.asil.org
In-depth and scholarly resources on international law and contemporary issues including international security, international institutions, war crimes, counter-terrorism, weapons proliferation and the environment.  Coverage of Israel and the Middle East accounts for only  a small part of the site’s content.  

The Israel Project (‘TIP’) www.theisraelproject.org
Leading advocacy project based in Jerusalem and in Washington DC, which supplies face-to-face and videoconference briefings to thousands of journalists and politicians worldwide, as well as providing lists of expert contacts in Israel. TIP’s bulletins on its website are timely, punchy and highly professional. There’s excellent, informative content on Iran.  TIP take visiting politicians and journalists on a helicopter tour of Israel, and they’re now reaching out to Arab language media including al-Jazeera and London-based Saudi newspapers.        

Stand With Us www.standwithus.com
US-Israeli project which is now active in many countries, and which aims to help people “to tell Israel’s side of the story” and galvanise grass-roots advocacy and activism.  Its website is packed with practical tools and resources, as well as a wide range of educational content.  The site describes advocacy ‘success stories’ like effective online pro-Israel campaigns, and how delegations of StandWithUs activists travel the world explaining Israel’s case.            

Israel Myths and Facts Online, by Mitchell Bard
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mftoc.html
Online tool with the breadth of an encyclopedia which has been created by Dr Mitchell Bard. It contains refutations of commonplace myths and misconceptions about Israel, and is very regularly updated.  Myths and Facts deals covers myths about Israel’s major wars, the peace process, Israeli and Palestinian history, Jerusalem, the security fence, the UN and many other topics. Excellently footnoted with valuable statistical data, maps and diagrams. 

Beyond Images www.beyondimages.info
Content-rich information website, written by London-based lawyer Andrew White, which  contains a database of bulletpoint briefings on Israel’s rights, obstacles to a two-state solution, Goldstone, Gaza, Hamas, Jerusalem, Arab rights in Israel etc.  The site includes ‘a balanced case for Israel’, advocacy guidelines, a website guide (this document!), bulletpoint responses to tough accusations, and resources on Israel’s medical and humanitarian contributions around the world.  The site design needs modernisation and a visual ‘refresh’.

BICOM www.bicom.org.uk
A well-resourced London-based advocacy organisation which aims "to foster understanding of Israel in the UK".  Its analysis papers take a "progressive" pro-Israel stance, while its main activity is to take journalists on trips to Israel (and to Ramallah to speak to the Palestinian Authority and others).  Professor Alan Johnson writes perceptive commentary on the site, but BICOM do not cover Israel's positive achievements in science, medicine, agriculture, the creative arts, the environment or disaster relief; they are silent on Palestinian incitement against Israel, and don't focus on BBC or other media coverage of Israel, or publish  explicit rebuttals.   
    
The Friends of Israel Initiative www.friendsofisraelinitiative.org
Initiative launched in Europe in June 2010 by a group of non-Jewish politicians and scholars to ‘restore moral clarity’ in liberal societies on Israel and demonstrate ‘real support’ for the Jewish state. Leading figures include former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and historian Andrew Roberts. They have already published some forthright Op-Eds in the press, which are available on the Friends of Israel website.           

Zionism-Israel www.zionism-israel.com
Vast array of essays, historic texts, polemics and briefing sheets on Zionism and the dangers of anti-Zionism and boycott campaigns.  Led by Internet Israel advocate Andre Oboler.  Links to hundreds of published articles by journalists and commentators.  Grass-roots focus.
 
The Electronic Intifada (‘EI’) www.electronicintifada.net
Palestinian campaigning website, with news, analysis and activist information from a Palestinian perspective.  EI allege “anti-Palestinian bias” in the news media.  EI demonises Israel and is built on a completely one-sided narrative. But it’s important for pro-Israel advocates to read what Israel’s detractors are saying to politicians and opinion-formers 

One Family www.onefamilyfund.org
Describes the human tragedies of Israel’s victims of terror and the strength of Israeli society, as families and communities rebuild.  An inspiring and humbling grass-roots oriented site.   Its moving profiles of fallen soldiers, and of Israeli victims of Palestinian attacks, give powerful human context to the conflict, and serve as strong advocacy and educational tools.    

Israel21c www.israel21c.org
Visionary website, started in California and now operating from Israel, which covers Israeli life and contributions beyond the conflict: in medicine, life sciences, third world aid, the green revolution, theatre, music, sport, womens’ rights, and Jewish-Arab coexistence projects. Israel21 highlights the creative energy, innovative power and dynamism of modern Israel, and features many great stories of Israeli idealism. Sign up to the weekly Israel21c email bulletin which provides a strong antidote to media negativity about Israel.   

Israel Up Close www.israelupclose.org
A refreshing site providing news from Israel 'beyond the headlines', most of it in video format.  The range includes: education, arts and entertainment, ecology and environment, immigrants, technology, Jewish-Arab cooperation, volunteering and charities, and Israel humanitarian initiatives.  The site 'humanises' Israel with meaningful and non-partisan human interest stories.  

Keren Malki www.kerenmalki.org
Israeli charity enabling quality home-care for disabled children in Israel. Keren Malki supports over 10,000 Jewish and Arab families.  Its unique feature is that it was founded in memory of Malki Roth, 15 year old Israeli victim of a Palestinian terror attack in 2001.  Malka Roth’s parents Arnold and Frimet Roth have become prominent Israel advocates, challenging double-speak about terror, and explaining the core issues with passion.  Their work is profiled on the site, as well as Keren Malki’s charitable work.  A remarkable story.   

Creative Community for Peacewww.creativecommunityforpeace.com
A site which seeks to combat boycott campaigns against Israel in the world of music, film, TV and the performing arts. It promotes building bridges with Israel, and exposes double-standards in the creative communities. Great human interest stories. Register and get involved.  

Save A Child’s Heart (‘SACH’) www.saveachildsheart.org
Humanitarian organisation based south of Tel-Aviv which provides free heart treatment and operations to children from the Arab world (including over 1000 Palestinian children from the West Bank and Gaza), and from over 40 developing countries like Zanzibar and Vietnam.  Independent, privately funded project, encouraged by the Israeli government.  SACH train Palestinian doctors and nurses on heart disease detection.  YouTube clips show uplifting stories of how childrens’ lives have been saved.  SACH refutes stereotypes of a callous Israel.      

MASHAV http://mashav.mfa.gov.il
The international cooperation division of Israel’s Foreign Ministry.  MASHAV has recently received a large increase in government funding, to implement further foreign assistance programmes in Asia, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere. Many remarkable, untold stories. 

IsraAid www.israaid.co.il
Website which brings together information on Israeli humanitarian aid organisations, notably those focusing on disaster relief. The IsraAid website provides many untold stories of Israeli self-sacrifice, social support and idealism in far-flung parts of the world. Extensive  coverage of the aftermath of the Haiti and Chilean earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

Yad Sarah www.yadsarah.org
Israeli volunteer organisation providing support to the sick, disabled and housebound across Israeli society.  Over 100 branches round Israel, with over 6000 volunteers.  Yad Sarah’s approach is in international demand, which is one reason why it is relevant to advocates seeking to highlight the ‘other side of Israel’.  Yad Sarah delegations have flown out to countries like El Salvador, Belarus and Senegal to train local health teams and government planners on setting up equivalent organisations (for details see the IsraAid site, above).  

Israel’s universities (various sites)
The websites of Israel’s major universities each contain a wealth of information on basic research, and technological breakthroughs which make the world a better place. Simply google to find the sites of the Hebrew University, Beer Sheva University, University of Haifa, The Technion, The Weizmann Institute, Tel-Aviv University, and others…..

Camera www.camera.org
US-based media monitoring group, with punchy and excellently composed analysis of ‘biased coverage’ of Israel.  Its research focuses on US titles like the New York Times, Los Angeles Time, and Washington Post, but Camera analysis has becoming increasingly international. Op-Eds by Camera founder Andrea Levin and its senior researchers appear regularly in major newspapers.  Its critics say it is too strident at times. But its reports are unquestionably highly useful tools for advocacy and provide valuable ”counter-narrative” to prevailing narratives and misperceptions in the media.
 
Honest Reporting www.honestreporting.com
Energetic, grassroots-based media monitoring project active in the US, UK, Israel, and increasingly elsewhere. Its quick-fire communiqués provide very strong counter-narrative.  Honest Reporting provide case studies of successful challenges to media coverage (eg against the BBC over the Muhammed al-Dura affair, or on Jerusalem).  A wealth of educational resources and video material on the site, of use to mainstream advocates. 

Just Journalism www.justjournalism.com
UK-based project which focuses on coverage of Israel by the BBC, the Guardian and other major UK-based media.  Led by Michael Weiss. Just Journalism take hot news topics (eg direct negotiations, and Iran) and publish reports which usually reveal distortions in their reporting in the UK.  JJ’s conclusion is that Israel is almost always being depicted in British media as the main obstacle to peace.  Valuable analysis and methodogies on their website.        

CIF Watch - www.cifwatch.com
'Comment is Free' is the Guardian newspaper's online forum for discussion about the news and contemporary issues.  It is one of the most popular blogs on the Internet.  CIF Watch monitors 'Comment is Free' for anti-semitism and assaults on Israel's legitimacy.  CIF Watch is grassroots, unaffiliated, energetic and coherent, and fulfils a vital role highlighting double-standards towards Israel in Guardian-hosted debates, as well as sheer hatred towards Israel.  Free of a paranoid tone, and filled with valuable insight.

BBC Watch www.bbcwatch.com
Long-term monitoring project headed by Jerusalem-based English lawyer Trevor Asserson, containing in-depth analysis of BBC coverage of Israel and the Middle East.  BBC Watch reports aim to substantiate the claim of persistent, in-built anti-Israel bias in most parts of the BBC, and show how the BBC fails to meet legal obligations of impartiality in its Charter.   

Tom Gross www.tomgrossmedia.com
Writer / journalist Tom Gross provides incisive critiques of BBC, New York Times and CNN coverage, and highlights news stories which do not make it into the mainstream media.  His email despatches have a no-nonsense, robust tone, getting straight to essentials.   

The Second Draft www.seconddraft.org
Project which highlights incidents where factual events have been falsified by Palestinians, Hizbollah and others, and how such falsehoods are often repeated to global audiences at face value by a gullible international media.  Strong on the Muhammed al-Dura incident of September 2000.  The website, run by Richard Landes, provides startling visual evidence of such falsification and the so-called ‘Pallywood’ phenomenon.

MEMRI www.memri.org
Remarkable project which monitors, translates and analyses print media and TV in Arab states and the wider Muslim world, including Iran.  MEMRI exposes rampant anti-Israel and anti-Western fanaticism among extremists and moderates alike, and anti-semitism (pretty depressing), but also signs of democratic change and reform (cause for optimism).  Its reports are published in English, German, French, Spanish and other languages.  Unique.  

Palestinian Media Watch (‘PMW’)  www.palwatch.org
Project which specifically monitor the Arabic-language Palestinian media. PMW produce hard-hitting, and sometimes depressing exposes of hatred and incitement against Israel.  Critics say that PMW hinders peace, and even feeds rejectionist attitudes in Israel.  But PMW’s founder Itamar Marcus rejects this, arguing that reporting the truth about Palestinian incitement is a precondition for two-state coexistence and Palestinian statehood.  PMW’s impact appears to be steadily increasing, including among US policy-makers. 

The Abraham Fund Initiatives www.abrahamfund.org
Leading project promoting Jewish-Arab coexistence, cultural bridge-building, and equality of the Israeli Arab community in Israel.  Led by Muhammed Dawarshe, who is well-known internationally, the Abraham Fund supports pioneering educational projects in schools, language teaching, advocacy schemes, and much else.            

The Peres Center for Peace www.peres-center.org
Centre devoted to building interaction and dialogue among Israelis and Palestinian Arabs.  Promotes coexistence through culture, healthcare and, notably, sport. Led by former diplomats and academics who were involved in the ‘Oslo process’ of the 1990s.  The Center obviously benefits from the personal and diplomatic network and reputation of Shimon Peres. The website highlights case studies of coexistence and bridge-building. Positive tone.     

Quranet, at Haifa University www.quranet.haifa.ac.il
Website built by Haifa University-based Israeli academic Ofer Grosbard and his Bedouin students to guide Muslim medical and counselling students in locating sources in the Koran on humanitarian and charitable themes.  There is probably no other project in Western countries which provides such a positive perspective on the Koran. Quranet was highlighted by the Israeli Government in its ‘Israel at 60’ celebrations, and its existence confounds critics of the country, and shatters stereotypes.  Quranet is frequently vilified in the Arab world as a Zionist conspiracy. An eye-opening project.  (The University of Haifa was attacked by a Palestinian suicide bomber in March 2003, killing 17 people including many students).           

UN Watch www.unwatch.org
Geneva-based NGO established to monitor compliance by the United Nations with the principles of the UN Charter.  UN Watch exposes “double-standards” concerning Israel and “hypocrisy” among UN institutions, including the Human Rights Council, over human rights.  You can view videos of UN Watch Chief Executive Hillel Neuer boldly challenging Israel-hatred in largely hostile UN forums.   

NGO Monitor www.ngo-monitor.org
Privately-funded group which monitors anti-Israel bias and politicisation of the international NGO community, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The website contains exposes of NGO funding and critiques of NGO output. Its content is valuable for advocates seeking to challenge the aura of neutrality and respectability around NGO work on Israel/the Palestinians.  NGO Monitor is led by political science professor Gerald Steinberg. To its supporter, NGO Monitor is driving greater accountability and transparency among influential NGOs. But some claim that NGO Monitor is engaged in a “witchhunt” and in reality trying to stifle criticism of Israel.  The controversies are bitter.  

New Israel Fund (‘NIF’)  www.nif.org
NIF is a leading Israeli-based group campaigning for “democratic change” and “equality” in Israel.  NIF funds many grassroots groups in fields like womens’ rights, legal due process and minority rights.  Its website provides a window on the activities of these groups.  Supporters of NIF see it as expressing “the conscience of Israel”, and as a key building block for progressive advocacy. But critics (for instance, NGO Monitor above) claim that NIF support some groups which go beyond legitimate criticism of Israel and believe in the end of Israel as a Jewish state. NIF denies this. Again, the controversies can be bitter.