NAAJA urges community to help InFocus Newspaper

The Anaheim-based mainstream American Arab-Muslim newspaper InFocus is facing severe financial challenges and is on the verge of shutting down. We urge community members to do what they can to help support this newspaper which reflects the highest journalism values and professional journalism.

Here is the open appeal that was published by InFocus to explain their difficulties. Although the newspaper is in California, American Arabs and Muslims throughout the country should be concerned.

Ray Hanania
National coordinator NAAJA
www.NAAJA-US.com

Their web site is (CLICK HERE)  ... and their Facebook Page is (CLICK HERE)

Assalaamu Alaikum!

We, as community leaders, are proud to write to you about the role InFocus News plays in our community.

Recent news – such as learning the FBI used paid informants to monitor activity at mosques – made it clear to us that our most important challenge as Muslim Americans is informing the public and shaping public opinion to counter the heavy load of misinformation being spread about Islam and Muslims. Those who have access to a more balanced perspective through IFN are more supportive of our community and more vocal in advocating for justice and tolerance.

IFN is distributed free of charge to more than 70 mosques, 350 Muslim businesses, and 35 public libraries, and at major Muslim events across California, Nevada, Arizona and Oklahoma. Making a profit is not the objective of IFN. In fact, IFN is a non-profit organization. With your support, IFN plans to soon become a national newspaper; a newspaper that will also reach elected officials, interfaith leaders, media professionals, and other fellow Americans.

We are contacting you to join us in supporting IFN's work. We have been big fans of their success and professionalism and have volunteered our help to build on their efforts.

We invite you to support the unique educational efforts of the newspaper. About 70% of IFN’s operating costs are supported by advertisers. The rest comes from those in our community who value having an American Muslim outlet telling our story to the general public. There are a number of ways to get involved in supporting this project.

• Sponsor subscriptions to at least five (5) people of influence or to public libraries or prisons
• Become a Friend of IFN by automatically giving $100, $50, $20 or even $10 every month
• Make a one-time generous donation to help IFN’s operating expenses.

We finally have a great opportunity to establish our own strong media outlet that will reach the public at large. We hope we can count on your generous support to realize this goal. Please use the attached envelope to make your donation today. Every amount will help.

Wasalaam,

NAAJA Condemns Atlanta Jewish Times for calling for "hit" on President Obama

The National American Arab Journalists Association today denounced the Atlanta Jewish Times which published a column by its publisher, David Adler, calling for the Mossad to "hit" President Barack Obama. Click here to read London Guardian Story on the controversy which many American media are trying to ignore.

Anyone who speaks English knows the meaning of that phrase, that to place a "hit" on someone is to call for their murder.

Mr. Adler's newspaper has promoted all kinds of anti-Arab and racist propaganda over the years. But because he is American Jewish, his ignorance is tolerated. In fact, many of the mainstream American news media have ignored the story and are trying to play it down.

Adler quickly took the column down when foreign media began to criticize the hypocrisy and the call to violence. But thanks to Gawker, it was been preserved, Click here to read the column (PDF) that Adler later removed.

Here's a section from the column that has been preserved:

Three, give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States' policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.

Yes, you read "three" correctly. 

Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don't you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel's most inner circles?

Another way of putting "three" in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives...Jews, Christians and Arabs alike?

You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.

Adler even speculates that Israeli leaders have thought about killing the president, in a manner that suggests he is okay with it. (He doesn't even protest the idea after writing it.)

Ironically, in the same newspaper, there was a story published about an Atlanta woman who sent an anti-Semitic package who was then killed by police in Atlanta.

Wow. The hypocrisy is outrageous here.

David Adler of the Atlanta Jewish Times writes that the Israeli Mossad should take out a "hit" against President Obama, and no one screams at all, except maybe some members of the foreign press. That's okay. But it's just routine news when an American expresses anti-Semitism, an act of ugliness and hatred, and then is killed by Police.

Mr. Adler, shame on you. But worse, shame on the American mainstream news media for ignoring Adler's venom. He should be fired from the newspaper or the newspaper should be shut down. That we tolerate some forms of vicious hatred only exposes the hypocrisy of American journalism.

Mr. Adler took down the column, as he should. But that is not enough. He should be punished and the Society of "Professional" Journalists should stop playing politics with Middle East and Arab-Jewish issues, and stand up for what's right. Of course, when was the last time the biased SPJ did that?

NAAJA Urges the SPJ and all Journalism groups to condemn Adler's call to violence and we urge officials in Atlanta to shut down the Atlanta Jewish Times for promoting violence against the President of the United States.

-- Ray Hanania