Listen to Brandon Martinez interview me on this topic on VT Radio
By Kevin Barrett, VT Editor
The Anti-Defamation League has attacked the new book We Are NOT Charlie Hebdo! Free Thinkers Question the French 9/11. This comes in the wake of French President Hollande’s attacking me and calling for a ban on my “conspiracy theories.”
While We Are NOT Charlie Hebdo features twenty-one highly-accomplished contributors from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, the ADL is attacking the book by smearing its editor, yours truly. Their strictly ad hominem approach reveals that they have no coherent substantive arguments. And their article is full of inaccuracies.
Here is the ADL’s attack in its entirety:
Kevin Barrett Promotes New Book Claiming Israel Behind Paris Attacks
Anti-Defamation League, April 24, 2015
Kevin Barrett, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist and frequent Press TV contributor, is on a speaking tour of the Midwest from April 19–30 to promote his new anti-Semitic and conspiratorial book, We Are Not Charlie Hebdo! Free Thinkers Question the French 9/11.
According to Barrett, his book tour includes stops at public libraries in Iowa, the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City, the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, as well as stops in Peoria, Illinois and Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin.
A photo posted on Facebook shows approximately 15 people in attendance for his talk in Fairfield, Iowa.
Barrett’s We Are Not Charlie Hebdo! Free Thinkers Question the French 9/11 features essays by Barrett as well as from twenty-one others, most of which claim that the shootings at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters and at a kosher market in Paris were a “false flag operation” perpetrated by any number of culprits including the Israeli government, the United States government, and/or the French government.
The majority of the interviews and essays featured in the anthology allege that Israel, with or without help from the United States, orchestrated the attacks. Barrett claims that these attacks were just one in a long history of events – such as the 9/11 attacks and the 2001 anthrax poisonings – perpetrated by Israel in order to “incite hatred of Muslims and solidarity with Israel.”
Such conspiracy theories are nothing new for Barrett, who recently appeared on Iran’s English-language propaganda network, Press TV, where he claimed that Jews and/or Israel were behind the creation of ISIS, the 2011 attacks in Norway that left 77 people dead, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In his new book, Barrett invokes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about supposed Jewish manipulation of world events, claiming that the West does not comprehend Israel’s duplicity because of “the extent of clandestine Zionist power; and the fact that the Holocaust story has become the most sacred narrative of the West, despite the questionable factual basis of some of its most important details.”
This theme is echoed by anti-Semitic columnist Paul Craig Roberts, who writes that Israel committed the Paris attacks to nefariously influence the French government’s policies on the Middle East. The attacks, he alleges, “served Israel’s destruction of Palestinians and stifled rising European opposition to Israel’s theft of the West Bank and military assaults on Gaza.”
9/11 conspiracy theorist Barbara Honegger posited other motivations for Israel to have committed the Paris attacks. Honegger writes, “Israel was a secret hand behind the attacks designed to fan the fear of violent anti-Semitism toward the goal of mitigating its growing demographic crisis by increasing Jewish emigration to Israel.”
Ashahed Muhammad, assistant Editor of the Nation of Islam’s Final Call newspaper and author of Synagogue of Satan, does not state explicitly that Israel is to blame for the Charlie Hebdo shooting, but does maintain that “in media, politics, academia, or social activism, the world is bullied into compulsory obedience by the muscular Israel first lobby,” raising anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about supposed Jewish control of a number of sectors of society.
One notable exception to the “false flag” narrative promoted by Barrett’s book is an essay by Rabbi Michael Lerner. Lerner reportedly was “absolutely misled” by Barrett when Barrett asked the rabbi’s permission to include his writing in the book.
Let’s break down the ADL propaganda paragraph by paragraph.
Kevin Barrett, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist, and frequent Press TV contributor, is on a speaking tour of the Midwest from April 19–30 to promote his new anti-Semitic and conspiratorial book, We Are Not Charlie Hebdo! Free Thinkers Question the French 9/11.
Wow! Two “anti-Semitic conspiracy” smears in one sentence! Any Freshman Composition instructor would downgrade a student for such clumsy repetition (and for “loaded language”). But the ADL isn’t interested in good writing or clear thinking. Their only concern is to defame. So they endlessly repeat the magic buzz-words that are supposed to make their target a social pariah.
According to Barrett, his book tour includes stops at public libraries in Iowa, the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City, the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, as well as stops in Peoria, Illinois and Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. A photo posted on Facebook shows approximately 15 people in attendance for his talk in Fairfield, Iowa.
Apparently, they are keeping close track of my whereabouts. And they are deeply concerned about how many people show up for my talks.
Barrett’s We Are Not Charlie Hebdo! Free Thinkers Question the French 9/11 features essays by Barrett as well as from twenty-one others, most of which claim that the shootings at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters and at a kosher market in Paris were a “false flag operation” perpetrated by any number of culprits including the Israeli government, the United States government, and/or the French government.
That is an overstatement. By my count, fewer than half of the twenty-one contributors seriously explore the evidence that the January Paris shootings were a false flag. Five contributors essentially take the official story for granted. The rest are somewhere in-between.
The ADL’s exaggerated depiction ignores the book’s exploration of the historical and cultural/religious background, including my own essay – the longest in the book – on the thousand-year history of symbolic attacks on the Prophet of Islam. That essay does not deal with the false flag issue at all.
The ADL also ignores the positive benefit of bringing together a diversity of voices – Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, secularists, even a communist atheist – with a wide variety of critical perspectives on the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
The majority of the interviews and essays featured in the anthology allege that Israel, with or without help from the United States, orchestrated the attacks. Barrett claims that these attacks were just one in a long history of events – such as the 9/11 attacks and the 2001 anthrax poisonings – perpetrated by Israel in order to “incite hatred of Muslims and solidarity with Israel.”
At least 11 of the 21 contributors do not even mention evidence of Israeli involvement in the Paris shootings, much less “allege that Israel orchestrated the attacks.” So the statement that “the majority” alleges Israeli involvement is a lie.
Interestingly, the ADL mentions “the 9/11 attacks and the 2001 anthrax poisonings” in one breath – implicitly admitting, as Graeme MacQueen meticulously proves in his book The 2001 Anthrax Deception, that they were two parts of the same false flag operation. Anyone who doesn’t understand that 9/11-anthrax was designed to “incite hatred of Muslims and solidarity with Israel” should remember the US government’s admission that the anthrax letters came from non-Muslims working in a US bio-war facility – and scrawled on the anthrax envelopes was:
DEATH TO AMERICA. DEATH TO ISRAEL. ALLAH IS GREAT. The ADL makes no attempt to refute the obvious implication of these facts.
Such conspiracy theories are nothing new for Barrett, who recently appeared on Iran’s English-language propaganda network, Press TV, where he claimed that Jews and/or Israel were behind the creation of ISIS, the 2011 attacks in Norway that left 77 people dead, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
When, specifically, did I say “Jews were behind” any of these events? Never. This claim is libelous. If you know any lawyers who could take on a pro bono case against the ADL, please have them contact me through my website, TruthJihad.com.
In his new book, Barrett invokes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about supposed Jewish manipulation of world events, claiming that the West does not comprehend Israel’s duplicity because of “the extent of clandestine Zionist power; and the fact that the Holocaust story has become the most sacred narrative of the West, despite the questionable factual basis of some of its most important details.”
The ADL apparently has no evidence to refute my claims that extensive clandestine Zionist power is protected by the sacred holocaust narrative. So they once again fall victim to the ad hominem fallacy, imagining that calling me names somehow refutes my arguments.
This theme is echoed by anti-Semitic columnist Paul Craig Roberts, who writes that Israel committed the Paris attacks to nefariously influence the French government’s policies on the Middle East. The attacks, he alleges, “served Israel’s destruction of Palestinians and stifled rising European opposition to Israel’s theft of the West Bank and military assaults on Gaza.”
Yet another ad hominem attack using loaded language, this time on Paul Craig Roberts. The ADL wildly distorts what Roberts actually wrote. In fact, Roberts points the finger more at NATO than Israel. The ADL “protests too much” when it answers Roberts’ argument that NATO did it by screaming “Why are you saying Israel did it, you anti-Semite?!” Here the ADL offers a textbook example of a “guilty demeanor.”
9/11 conspiracy theorist Barbara Honegger posited other motivations for Israel to have committed the Paris attacks. Honegger writes, “Israel was a secret hand behind the attacks designed to fan the fear of violent anti-Semitism toward the goal of mitigating its growing demographic crisis by increasing Jewish emigration to Israel.”
It seems odd that the ADL would smear Roberts, who de-emphasizes Israel’s role in 9/11-anthrax and Charlie Hebdo, as an “anti-Semite” while insulting former White House Policy Analyst Barbara Honegger as a mere “conspiracy theorist.” In her essay, Honegger forcefully underlines Israel’s role in 9/11-anthrax and Charlie Hebdo.
Interestingly, the ADL does NOT cite best-selling Israeli investigative journalist Barry Chamish, whose essay in We Are NOT Charlie Hebdo supports Honneger’s statement that Israeli leaders orchestrated Charlie Hebdo to try to mitigate Israel’s demographic crisis. I guess it’s hard to call Chamish, a right-wing Zionist Jew, either “anti-Semitic” or “self-hating.” So the ADL just ignores him.
Ashahed Muhammad, assistant Editor of the Nation of Islam’s Final Call newspaper and author of The Synagogue of Satan, does not state explicitly that Israel is to blame for the Charlie Hebdo shooting, but does maintain that “in media, politics, academia, or social activism, the world is bullied into compulsory obedience by the muscular Israel first lobby,” raising anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about supposed Jewish control of a number of sectors of society.
The ADL cannot argue that Ashahed Muhammad’s claim about the power of the Israel lobby is untrue. After all, the ADL is part of the Lobby and is well acquainted with its power. So instead of refuting Muhammad, they brandish the ad hominem label “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.”
One notable exception to the “false flag” narrative promoted by Barrett’s book is an essay by Rabbi Michael Lerner. Lerner reportedly was “absolutely misled” by Barrett when Barrett asked the rabbi’s permission to include his writing in the book.
Lerner is just one of several contributors who do not highlight the “false flag narrative.” Others include Yvonne Ridley, Lawrence Davidson, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Thaddeus Kozinski, John Andrew Morrow, Ashahed Muhammad, Ibrahim Soudy, and André Vltcheck.
The claim that I “absolutely misled” Lerner is specious and libelous. I have ironclad evidence to prove this, and have contacted Lerner and demanded a public retraction (or clarification that he never said those words) and expect that it will be forthcoming.
Bottom line: The ADL hit piece fails to find anything wrong with We Are NOT Charlie Hebdo: Free Thinkers Question the French 9/11. But since the book is such a clear and present threat to the power of the Israel lobby, they have chosen to launch a baseless smear campaign, using empty ad hominems and occasional lies, to try to scare people away.
If you would like to help fight back, please purchase the book from Amazon. Better yet, buy five copies from me directly at wholesale ($60 including shipping in the USA) through the paypal button at TruthJihad.com, emailing me through the same website with your shipping address. Or – best of all – contact me to help organize a speaking event where I can publicly show the evidence the ADL doesn’t want you to see.
Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror.
He is the host of TRUTH JIHAD RADIO; a hard driving weekly radio show funded by listener donations at Patreon.com and FALSE FLAG WEEKLY NEWS (FFWN); an audio-video show produced by Tony Hall, Allan Reese, and Kevin himself. FFWN is funded through FundRazr.
He also has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS, and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications.
Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin; where he ran for Congress in 2008. He currently works as a nonprofit organizer, author, and talk radio host.
ATTENTION READERS
We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.
About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy