Share
Author Alison Weir remembers supporting Israel as a young person growing up in a military family.
“I was sympathetic to Israel,” she said. “I had seen (the movie) ‘Exodus’ with Paul Newman and was aware of the Nazi atrocities.”
Founded Research Institute
It was a realization that would motivate her work as a researcher and writer. In 2001, she traveled to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where she said she found conditions that differed from what was being reported by U.S. media. The trip led to her founding a non-profit research institute focused on the Middle East conflict.
Her organization — If Americans Knew — was created “to provide information that is to a large degree missing from American press coverage of this critical region,” according to the institute’s website.
Weir recently delivered a keynote presentation to members and guests of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence. She described significant under-reporting by U.S. media outlets of Palestinian casualties at the hands of Israeli forces.
“Children were being shot, in many cases,” Weir told the group. “And yet, the news media — NPR, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle — was sort of obscuring that fact.”
“After a while, I came to realize that this was the biggest cover-up I had ever seen,” she said.
Weir is the author of “Against Our Better Judgement: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel.” The book was published in 2014.
Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis
2 hours ago
Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players
2 hours ago
What the Republican Party Might Look Like if Trump Loses
3 hours ago
Vikings QB McCarthy Needs Surgery on Meniscus Tear in Right Knee
4 hours ago
Japan’s Prime Minister Prepares to Step Down. Why, and What’s Next?
4 hours ago
Michigan’s Sherrone Moore Looks Forward to Release of Text Messages in Sign-Stealing Investigation
4 hours ago
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14125622/Apartments-damaged-by-falling-missile-debris-injury-several-people-in-Kursk-Russia-on-Tuesday-Aug.-13-2024.-Ukraine-pressed-ahead-with-its-assault-inside-Russian-territory-on-Tuesday-a-week-1024x538.jpg)
Ukraine’s Surprise Attack Has Forced Russia to Change Plans
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14092611/020924_FAST_FOOD_UNION_JAH_CM_00739.jpg-1024x576.jpg)
Californians Will Vote on $18 Minimum Wage. Workers Want $25 and More.
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14101619/041024-Ricardo-Lara-TS-CM-18.jpg-1024x576.jpg)
Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/13163938/shutterstock_31288807-1024x576.jpg)
Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14103434/Former-President-Donald-Trump-raises-his-fists-at-a-campaign-rally-in-Harrisburg-Pa.-on-July-31-2024.-It-is-rare-in-American-political-history-for-a-single-figure-to-dominate-a-party-as-thoroug-1024x538.jpg)