Jonathan Schanzer

Jonathan Schanzer is an American scholar of the Middle East and Director of Policy for the Jewish Policy Center. [ [http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/board.php Board - Jewish Policy Center ] ] Schanzer is a graduate of Lower Merion High School and Emory University. He holds an M.A. in Middle Eastern history from the Hebrew University and studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo. [http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/board/jonathan-schanzer.php Jonathan Schanzer - Biography - Jewish Policy Center ] ] Schanzer is working toward a PhD at Kings College, his thesis will document “the history of the United States Congress and its efforts to combat terrorism.”

Schanzer has worked at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy [ [http://www.shalomdc.org/page.html?ArticleID=46588 Jonathan Schanzer Bio ] ] and a counterterrorism analyst for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. [ Homegrown Pundit Appointed to Think Tank, Jewish Exponent, March 08, 2007, by Bryan Schwartzman http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/12378/]

Schanzer's work has been a source of controversy, particularly his attempts to link the regime of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda through the Kurdish group Ansar al-Islam. [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/768rwsbj.asp ] American intelligence agencies later concluded that there were no links between Hussein and al-Qaeda. An article he co-authored with Middle East analyst Daniel Pipes led to similar embarrassment and a subsequent legal battle. The two wrote that University of Oregon Sociology Professor Douglas Card "called Israel "a terrorist state" and Israelis "baby-killers" and insisted that students agree with his view that Israel "stole land" on the final exam." [http://www.meforum.org/article/pipes/424/] Card denied the latter charges and filed a defamation suit against the two. The issue was later settled out of court but the writers never proved that Card had indeed made such comments. They were also forced to issue a statement declaring they "are now convinced that Card does not condone extremism in the classroom." [http://washingtonnewsforum.blogspot.com/2004_12_04_archive.html]

Schanzer is a frequent media commentator on issures regarding the Middle East. His work mostly appears in conservative media outlets such as The New York Post, Jerusalem Post, Weekly Standard, National Review, Front Page Magazine.com and Fox News.

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