MIDEAST DIG real investigative news

Mideast Dig gets results.   Case in point: Shaming Reuters and putting an end to the anti-Israel tweets by the news agency's Jerusalem bureau chief. But we need your help to continue.   We must raise a minimum of $10,000 to sustain our operations until Spring, when we will be in a stronger position to apply for journalism grants.   Every dollar will count toward that goal — and this fundraising campaign will extend just 10 days through December 31st.    (We are an IRS-registered nonprofit, and donations are tax-deductible for donors.)

I'm investigative journalist Richard Behar, and I'm the Founder and Editor of Mideast Dig — a fledgling investigative news organization whose mission you may want to hear about.   We hope you'll want to take the time to read through to the end — to see why I believe that the "Dig" is vital today.

Over the past three decades (mainly on the staffs of Forbes, Time and Fortune magazines), I've received more than 20 major journalism awards.  With a growing team of well-known and like-minded media figures (our bios are here ), I am now applying that experience and expertise to improving the standards of journalism on the Israeli-Palestinian and other Middle East conflicts, and related topics.  Among them are Iran, the financing of global terrorism, Islamic extremism, and the boycott-Israel movement.

Our main and advisory boards include highly-regarded media figures such as Maer Roshan, the acclaimed magazine editor and entrepreneur; Floyd Abrams, the famed First Amendment lawyer; and Gene Foreman — the veteran editor and media ethics authority who helped bring 18 Pulitzer Prizes to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Imagine a global, independent investigative news outfit that gets it right about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Imagine a multimedia and multilingual media enterprise that actually knows how to dig for the facts in the region — and refuses to pull its punches.

Imagine a team of investigative reporters who can take on outlets such as the New York Times, AP, Reuters, CNN and the BBC — as their peers.

We hope you will read about our mission here.  On our website, you can also see a sampling of the work and what you can expect from us in the future.

The subject of "fake" news is making headlines nowadays.   However, when it comes to media coverage of the Middle East region, it's hardly a secret that the truth has often — and for so many years — been consigned to making cameo appearances.  Many large, respected news organizations produce inaccurate or superficial stories for an assortment of unacceptable reasons — outright bias; laziness; fear; peer pressure; incompetence; inexperience; ignorance of the region's history; an absence of investigative reporters in the field; the commission of the omission of vital information; sometimes all of the above.

At Mideast Dig, we firmly believe the only way to combat this problem with real success is with "real" journalism, not advocacy. Indeed, advocacy is often met with skepticism or ennui by the public.  Young people, in particular, don't know what or whom to believe.  We are certain that the only way to reform any industry is from within.

We are proving that already.  Case in point: Our Q&A with Mr. Foreman, a member of our advisory board and one of the most accomplished and respected figures in the newspaper industry.  We exposed the anti-Israel tweets by Luke Baker, the bureau chief for Reuters in Jerusalem. Immediately following publication, a Reuters executive wrote to us:  "Thanks for outpointing." [Outpointing is news-agency jargon for catching and pointing out problems.]

Results?  An examination of Mr. Baker's Twitter feed since our exposé shows that he has ceased his anti-Israel tweets.  Previous complaints about Mr. Baker by pro-Israel activist/advocacy watchdog groups did not lead to such an outcome, proving that our mainstream media colleagues pay close attention to us.  And they should.

The New York Times is another case where vigilance by real journalists is needed.  For example, the Times recently published a lengthy "news story" by correspondent Diaa Hadid (who we exposed in our two-part series ) about the fires that were engulfing Israel. True to form, Ms. Hadid couldn't resist sliding her anti-Israel bias into 'the copy.'  She referred to "Palestinian citizens of Israel," who she maintained "form about one-fifth of the country's population of eight million."

It would be understandable if casual readers of Ms. Hadid's article concluded that all Arab citizens of Israel self-identity as Palestinians.  In fact, the best study on the subject has found that 75% of Israeli-Arab citizens do not identify themselves in that way.  "I can't look at Israelis anymore," she confessed many years ago. "I don't want to be friends with them, I don't want to talk to them.... Did my objectivity get thrown out the window?  Yes."

In short, Ms. Hadid is not reporting, she's campaigning. And her editors at the New York Times are permitting it. (At least for now, that is.  Stay tuned.)

Utilizing the expertise of our team, it is our intention to soon begin publishing in Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Hindi and Mandarin — eventually branching into more languages.  We will also deeply probe (like no media outlet has done before) into sources of terrorism funding, as well as the money flows behind the BDS movement.  We will show our peers the kind of vital investigative reporting they are failing to do.

Given the current state of the journalism business, it has not been easy to raise funds, despite our firm belief that what we are doing is the best way forward.  But to continue to publish and secure results on a regular basis, indeed to sustain our basic operations, we need your help.   Again, our goal:  $10,000 within 10 days (by December 31st).

I can always be reached directly through Mideast Dig's website .   Wishing a joyous holiday season to you and your loved ones — with our gratitude for your time and consideration,

---Richard Behar, Founder-Editor, and the Mideast Dig team

The IRS has granted 501(c)3 status to Mideast Dig, and donations are tax-deductible within the United States.  Our EIN number is 46-4772869.

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