Henry Siegman

Infobox Writer
name = Henry Siegman

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birthdate = 1930
birthplace = Frankfurt, Germany
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occupation = Writer and journalist
nationality = American
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website = http://www.cfr.org/bios/bio.html?id=122
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Henry Siegman is a German-born American nonfiction writer and a journalist specializing in the Middle East policy towards Israel, and a visiting professor at the University of London. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/09/opinion/edsieg.php Brief biography] at "The International Herald Tribune" website.] He is a former Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. [ [http://www.cfr.org/bios/122/henry_siegman.html Henry Siegman's biography] , on the Council on Foreign Relations website.] Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress (1978-1994). He frequently appeared on "Charlie Rose" to comment on Israel related topics and contributed to the "International Herald Tribune", the "Financial Times", the "Los Angeles Times", "The New York Review of Books", "The New York Times" and other publications.

Early life and education

Siegman was born in 1930 in Frankfurt, Germany [ [http://www.eurotopics.net/en/presseschau/autorenindex/autor-siegman-henry/ Brief biography] at the "Euro|topics magazine".] which he fled with his family in 1933 to Antwerp, Belgium, and then to the United States. In America, he studied to be a rabbi and then served as a chaplain in the Korean War, where he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E4DA173CF930A25755C0A9649C8B63 Separating Spiritual and Political, He Pays a Price] , by Chris Hedges, "The New York Times", June 13, 2002.]

iegman's opinions

Siegman is a frequent critic of the Israeli policies in the West Bank. [ [http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3683/new_jewish_lobby_counters_neocons/ New Jewish Lobby Counters Neocons] , by Ralph Seliger.] Former Israel ambassador to the United States Itamar Rabinovich identified his views as similar to that of Meretz's left wing. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/917817.html What will happen after Bush?] by Itamar Rabinovich, "Haaretz", October 29, 2007.] Siegman supports the two-state solution and the moral equivalence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. [ [http://www.cfr.org/publication/10923/is_moral_equivalency_really_so_wrong.html Is 'moral equivalency' really so wrong?] by Henry Siegman, "Los Angeles Times", June 18, 2006 (from CFR website)] He advocates engagement with Hamas [ [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18939 Hamas: The Last Chance for Peace?] by Henry Siegman, "The New York Review of Books", April 27, 2006.] [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/27/opinion/edsiegman.php The Hamas factor] by Robert Malley and Henry Siegman, "The International Herald Tribune", December 27, 2006.] and recently visited Khaled Mashal, Hamas leader exiled in Syria. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/world/middleeast/15gaza.html Hamas and Gaza Emerge Reshaped After Takeover] by Ethan Bronner, June 15, 2008.] He says that Yasser Arafat made a "disastrous mistake" in rejecting the peace offer, but claims that "based on my 14 years of dealings with Arafat, I reject the notion that he was bent on Israel's destruction." [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/international/middleeast/arafatobit.html Yasir Arafat, Father and Leader of Palestinian Nationalism, Dies at 75] by Judith Miller, "The New York Times", November 11, 2004.] Siegman is sharply critical of Ariel Sharon, about whom he wrote: "The war Sharon is waging is not aimed at the defeat of Palestinian terrorism but at the defeat of the Palestinian people and their aspirations for national self-determination." [ [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16831 Sharon's Phony War] by Henry Siegman, "The New York Review of Books", December 18, 2003.] He strongly defended former president Jimmy Carter's book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." [ [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070122/siegman Hurricane Carter] by Henry Siegman, "The Nation, January 4, 2007.] He also sharply criticized the ongoing peace efforts by Ehud Olmert and George W. Bush. [ [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n16/sieg01_.html The Great Middle East Peace Process Scam] by Henry Siegman, The London Review of Books, 16 August 2007.] Siegman has described the process as a “scam” because of a “consensus reached long ago by Israel’s decision-making elites that Israel will never allow the emergence of a Palestinian state”. [ [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n16/sieg01_.html The Great Middle East Peace Process Scam] Henry Siegman, London Review of Books, 16 August 2007] Writing in the London Review of Books, Siegman states:

Siegman's works and opinions received a widespread recognition in the media. Radio Free Europe calls him "a leading U.S. expert on the Middle East." [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2004/03/mil-040323-rferl01.htm Middle East: Will Israel's Killing Of Hamas Leader Affect U.S. Policy?] by Jeffrey Donovan, Radio Free Europe, March 23, 2004.] Jewish daily "The Forward" credits him for publicizing the "Saudi plan". [ [http://www.forward.com/articles/saudis-push-bush-team-on-peace-plan/ Saudis Push Bush Team On Peace Plan] by Nathan Guttman, "The Forward", January 19, 2007.] Journalist David Rieff calls him "the most perceptive American observer-participant in the last two decades of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E7DE143AF936A15757C0A9629C8B63 Arafat Among the Ruins] by David Rieff, "The New York Times", April 25, 2004.]

Criticism

Sigman's views and writings were strongly criticized by CAMERA. [ [http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=8&x_nameinnews=164&x_article=1197 Henry Siegman’s Expertise: Bashing Israel at Every Turn] , by CAMERA.] , the Middle East Quarterly [ [http://www.meforum.org/article/751 The Council on Foreign Relations Does the Middle East] , by Daniel Mandel and Asaf Romirowsky] and other publications. [ [http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?mode=a&sectionid=60&contentid=19535 The View From Henry Siegman's Knees] by Jason Maoz, "The Jewish Press", September 27, 2006.] The New York Sun in its editorial writes that "his writings over the past few years are hard to distinguish from the hard-line propaganda of the Arab tyrannies." [ [http://www.nysun.com/editorials/mystery-solved/19031/ Mystery Solved] , Editorial of "The New York Sun", August 23, 2005.] According to "The Jewish Press",

:"An examination of his body of work [..] reveals it to be little more than thinly veiled propaganda promoting the Palestinian perspective on the conflict with Israel. Siegman's commentary echoes the most extreme themes of the Palestinian narrative, with the writer heaping shrill criticism on Israel while excusing Palestinian rejectionism – even when this requires repeatedly ignoring, fabricating and misrepresenting facts and routinely contradicting earlier assertions." [ [http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?mode=a&sectionid=61&contentid=19532&contentName=Henry%20Siegman,%20Pro-Palestinian%20Propagandist Henry Siegman, Pro-Palestinian Propagandist] , by Gilead Ini in "The Jewish Press", September 27, 2006]

In his book "Chutzpah", Alan Dershowitz criticized Siegman for meeting with Cardinal Józef Glemp who previously expressed anti-semitic sentiments. Dershowitz called Siegman "sycophantic" and referred to the meeting as "toadying up to an anti-Semite." [ [http://www.newsweek.com/id/128373/output/print A Role Model In His Own Mind] by David A. Kaplan and Bob Cohn, "Newsweek", July 29, 1991.]

References

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NAME = Henry Siegman
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DATE OF BIRTH = 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH = Frankfurt, Germany
DATE OF DEATH =
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