Pro-Israeli groups incubated organized Islamophobia to police campuses

Evidence

As journalist Max Blumenthal argued, the Ground Zero Mosque controversy was “the fruit of an organized, long-term campaign by a tight confederation of right-wing activists and operatives who first focused on Islamophobia soon after the September 11th attacks, but only attained critical mass during the Obama era.” He explains that their efforts began in the early 2000s when a coalition of pro-Israeli groups ranging from the ADL and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) to American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) came together to address what they saw as a sudden increase in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 677 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The Becker and Berrie foundations are explicitly committed to promoting what they see as the interests of the Jewish community (specifically Zionism), and a third, the Fairbrook Foundation, is even more extreme in its Zionist orientation. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 698 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

However, the Islamic basis of the development, including prayer facilities, and its proximity to the Twin Towers site led to Park 51 being dubbed by protesters the “Ground Zero Mosque.” Anti-Islamic agitators grouped together to oppose the development of what they saw as, in effect, a celebration of the attacks and a bridgehead for an Islamic takeover of America. Nathan Lean traces the orchestration of the protests back to “a tight-knit and interconnected confederation of fear merchants[,] … [b]igoted bloggers, racist politicians, fundamentalist religious leaders, Fox news pundits and religious Zionists,” making up what he calls “the Islamophobia industry.” — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 274 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Pro-Israeli groups incubated organized Islamophobia years before Obama. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 665; The Islamophobia campaign began as a campus-police project against pro-Palestinian scholars; Pro-Israel groups seeded the Islamophobia network to suppress campus Palestine activism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 677 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Pro-Israel groups seeded the Islamophobia network to suppress campus Palestine activism #corroborates (0.95) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 677
• The Islamophobia campaign began as a campus-police project against pro-Palestinian scholars #corroborates (0.85)
• Zionist foundations explicitly funded the Islamophobia network #corroborates (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 698
• The Ground Zero Mosque backlash was orchestrated by organized Islamophobia networks #corroborates (0.85) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 274
• A coordinated Islamophobia industry orchestrated the Ground Zero Mosque protests #corroborates (0.82)
• The Ground Zero mosque controversy grew from an organized pro-Israel campus campaign. #corroborates (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 526
• Israeli-organized conferences shaped the racialized terrorism narrative #corroborates (0.78)
• Zionist-oriented foundations fund violent Israeli settlers and Islamophobic warriors alike #expands (0.78) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 550
• Public anti-Islamophobia stances can function as a cover for pro-Israel politics #expands (0.75) — Evelyn Alsultany, Antisemitism and Islamophobia The…, 35
• The Islamophobia network spans neocons, Zionists, Christian Right, and ex-Muslims #expands (0.72)
• Islamophobia is partly a product of state attempts to police Muslims. #contradicts (0.72)