Israel Matzav

Dhimmitude in Oregon

One of the reasons supporters of Israel have such a hard time making their case abroad is that lots of people in the West don't recognize the threat that radical Islam poses to them and to their way of life. Take Portland, Oregon.

The local newspaper, the Oregonian, is scheduled to distribute free copies of the DVD Obsession in Sunday's editions. Several local businessmen, along with a former mayoral candidate, are afraid that this will lead to imaginary 'Muslim bashing' and 'Islamophobia' and are trying to convince the Oregonian not to distribute the DVD. Let's go to the videotape.



But there's an even more interesting story about the Clarion Fund on KATU's web site.

A U.S. Muslim advocacy group last week asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether the Clarion Fund is a "front" for an Israel-based group with a stealth goal of helping Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Another organization, the Endowment for Middle East Truth, is a partner with the Clarion Fund in "The Obsession Project," which will also include research publications and issue forums.

Ari Morgenstern, a spokesman for that group, said targeting swing states was designed to attract media attention, but is not meant to influence the election result. He said the film "makes a very clear and upfront distinction between the majority of peaceful followers of Islam and those people who subscribe to a radical Islamic ideology."

Under federal election law and the tax code, nonprofit groups are restricted from getting involved in candidate races and foreign nationals may not contribute to American campaigns. The DVD's distributors say their efforts are issue-based and don't break election laws.

"We are not telling people who to vote for," said Gregory Ross, spokesman for the Clarion Fund. "We're just saying no matter who gets in office, the American people should know radical Islam is a real threat to America. We don't feel radical Islam is getting its fair share of press."

So once again, an organization dedicated to combating radical Islam is being threatened. When will Americans wake up to the threat?

By the way, Obsession is scheduled to be distributed to some 28 million households via paid advertisements in 70 newspapers (mostly in 'battleground states') in the US on Sunday. If you receive it, I urge you to watch it. If you do not receive it in your local newspaper and would like to obtain a copy, please go here.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:26 AM