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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18204/full/18204/web-sites-newsgroups-fan-flames-of-mideast-crisis/ <br /><br /> <b>Web sites, newsgroups fan flames of Mideast crisis</b> <br /> Friday, August 2, 2002 | by <p>Mark Mietkiewicz </p> <br /><br /><p>Today, we continue our look at how sympathizers of Israel and the Palestinians are using the Internet to sway world opinion about the Mideast conflict.<br /><br /> Some of the most heated battles on the Internet take place at sites that permit online voting. These votes do not have the scientific validity of professional polling, which uses random sampling of the population. Nevertheless, when large Web sites such as Netscape or CNN hold online polls about the Mideast, advocates on both sides of the conflict fire off e-mails to sympathizers around the world in an attempt to skew the results.<br /><br /> The most famous example occurred last year when MSNBC.com held a photo-of-the-year contest. One of the entries was the well-known picture of a Palestinian boy moments before his death. MSNBC.com eventually decided to pull the contest because of what it called "electronic ballot stuffing…It became clear that individuals, through technical means, were voting for the same image hundreds, if not thousands of times." The story is at the Online Journalism Review, <a href="http://ojr.usc.edu/">http://ojr.usc.edu/</a> content/ejc.cfm?request=671<br /><br /> You can also read an Egyptian take at the Al-Ahram Web site, http:// <a href="http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/527/re4.htm">http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/527/re4.htm</a><br /><br /> Despite MSNBC's experience, online polls are still very popular. A current poll at Netscape—<a href="http://wp.netscape.com/ex/shak/international/packages/mideast">http://wp.netscape.com/ex/shak/international/packages/mideast</a>—asks whether international monitors should be sent to Israel and the territories. But as the Web site itself admits, "Netscape polls reflect the views of those who choose to respond and are not scientifically valid surveys."<br /><br /> Another heated online battle is being fought by people who run online petitions. Several Internet sites have sprung up where people can marshal sympathizers in an attempt to influence public opinion. At the PetitionSite, slightly more than 1,000 people have signed a petition to "Support our Israeli Allies and Stop Terrorism Against Israel." You'll find it at <a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/809794269">http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/809794269</a> Alternatively, there is also a petition to "End alliance with Israel," which had 1,709 names last week, at <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/kr50k">http://www.petitiononline.com/kr50k</a><br /><br /> But the petition that has been making headlines lately was started by European academics. In order to protest the treatment of the Palestinians, they advocate a boycott of academics affiliated with Israeli universities. According to the Web site—<a href="http://www.pjpo.org">http://www.pjpo.org</a>—about 700 European professors (and a handful from Israel) have signed a declaration that includes "I will attend no scientific conferences in Israel, and I will not participate as referee in hiring or promotion (sic) decisions by Israeli universities."<br /><br /> As a result, the Academics Against Boycott Web site was established and has received the support of approximately 1,500 individuals from around the world who oppose the boycott. The Web site—<a href="http://www.aaisc.net">http://www.aaisc.net</a>—explains that "If anything, academic contacts deserve to be cultivated as they are a proven path both to better science and to better understanding between nations…If one allows the flames of extremism to consume good judgment, the fire may become even harder to put out."<br /><br /> Of course boycotts against Israel are not a new phenomenon. The Internet has several sites that advocate boycotting Israeli labels such as Carmel, Elite and Jaffa and international brands like IBM, Starbucks and AOL Time Warner. One of them is <a href="http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.html">http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.html</a><br /><br /> Aside from lending your name to an online petition, there are many opportunities on the Internet to engage in direct debate. Chat rooms and newsgroups allow advocates from both sides to face-off in front of a world audience. Before joining in, I recommend that you lurk (read other people's messages) for a while through Google's newsgroups at news:soc.culture.israel and news:soc.culture.palestine To get there, you need to call up the Google search engine, click on Groups and then type in the above addresses.<br /><br /> But be warned: These are not places for the faint of heart. A mix of passion and anonymity combine to create an almost unlimited supply of anger and vitriol.</p> <p> </p>

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