Aaron Klein

Aaron Klein is an American author, a Middle East correspondent, head of the Jerusalem bureau for WorldNetDaily (WND),^[1] and a columnist for The Jewish Press. His WND articles have been republished on Ynetnews and in The New York Sun.^[2] Klein appears regularly on John Batchelor's radio talk-show as well as other radio programs. Klein has written two books.

Student career

At Yeshiva University in New York City, Klein edited the undergraduate bimonthly student newspaper, The Commentator. Articles published in The Commentator regarding events such as use of an eight million dollar gift to the school and the removal of a secretary, written while Klein was a co-editor in chief, allegedly caused the school administration to remove some issues from circulation.^[3] This prompted the paper's editorial board to threaten to sue the University. Yeshiva University later signed a contract in which it agreed to discontinue the practice and reimburse The Commentator for the confiscated issues.^[4]

Van Jones resignation

Klein was one of the first conservative writers to target Van Jones, President Obama's former green jobs czar.^[5][6] On October 16, 2009, the National Journal reported Klein was also advocating against other Obama officials, including Cass Sunstein, who is the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.^[7]

Interviews

Schmoozing With Terrorists

Klein's book, Schmoozing With Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans - to a Jew!, was released in September 2007. ^[8]

The book is based on interviews with people Klein refers to as terrorists. Topics include Klein's meetings with a recruited Palestinian suicide bomber; interviews with Muhammed Abdel-El, the head of a Popular Resistance Committee, and Hamas leader Sheikh Yasser Hamad, and confrontations with the Muslim desecrators of Jewish and Christian holy sites. There is also a section in which terror leaders are petitioned to describe what life in the U.S. would be like under the rule of Islam; a chapter on Christian persecution in the Middle East, and a chapter claiming the U.S. funds terrorism.^[9][10]

Other interviews

In April 2008, Klein appeared on the John Batchelor radio show where both interviewed Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. During that interview, Yousef revealed that Hamas endorsed Barack Obama for president.^[11] Obama's chief political strategist, David Axelrod, said he was "flattered" by the Hamas comparison of Obama to President John F. Kennedy.^[12] Yousef's comments garnered media attention and were used as a campaign fundraising tool by Obama's opponent, Republican presidential candidate John McCain.^[13][14][15] The interview was also noted by Pennsylvania media just before a presidential primary in that state between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton in which Clinton was victorious. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote an editorial titled, "Hamas & Obama: Terrorist Flatter" questioning Axelrod's response to Hamas' endorsement.^[16] Ultimately, McCain and Obama themselves addressed Yousef's comments; McCain quoted Yousef's comments dozens of times during media interviews.^[17]

George Galloway incident

During a June 2007 interview, after an argument over whether Hamas is a terrorist organization, British politician George Galloway evicted Klein and Rusty Humphries from his office and turned them over to Parliament police, claiming the two had breached security by falsely presenting themselves as reporters.^[18]

Brüno film

In April 2008, Klein reported that Ayman Abu Aita, who had been interviewed by Sasha Baron Cohen as part of the "Brüno" film, told Klein that he was mislabeled by the movie's star who allegedly conducted the interview under false pretenses.^[19] Ayman Abu Aita, who is labeled in the movie as a "terrorist group leader," stated he was shocked when he learned the film depicted him as a terrorist. Aita threatened legal action against Baron Cohen and the movie's producers. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades released a statement through Klein saying: "We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man."^[20] "The movie was part of a conspiracy against the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades."^[21]

Article criticizing Wikipedia

A March 2009 article by Klein criticized Wikipedia for what he described as preferential treatment of Barack Obama coverage. Klein said that Wikipedia editors had scrubbed the article of material critical of the president and that an editor had been suspended for attempting to add "missing" details about Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers and allegations that Obama was not born in the United States. Klein said similar negative content was found in the article of George W. Bush.^[22][23][24]

The story was picked up by the The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, Drudge Report and Fox News. A spokesperson for Wikipedia stated that the Obama article had not received any preferential treatment^[22] and another spokesperson noted the site's content is monitored and edited entirely by users. "Editors are really, really trying to do this as neutral as possible".^[25]

Klein removed the name of the editor (Jerusalem21) from the article after reports arose on blogs and Wired News that he might himself be the suspended editor described in the story. In an email sent in response to the Wired News article, Klein wrote that the editor "works with me and does research for me."^[23][26]

Works

• The Late Great State of Israel: How Enemies Within and Without Threaten the Jewish Nation's Survival (2009) (Discussed with Klein on the John Batchelor Show, 19 Apr 2009, 2nd Hour.) ISBN 1935071084 ISBN 978-1935071082
• Schmoozing With Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal Their Global Plans— to a Jew! (2007) ISBN 0979045126 ISBN 978-0979045127

References