Revision as of 02:41, 31 January 2012 view source68.83.233.82 (talk) →Critical reception: Deleted "however," as it is not necessary, given the preceding information.← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 23:03, 25 November 2024 view source Onceinawhile (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers49,716 edits This needs to be discussed on talk before being removed. It has been in the article since at least 2022. The sources are clearly WP:RSTags: Undo nowiki added | ||
(257 intermediate revisions by 99 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Online encyclopedia}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2013}} | |||
{{Infobox website | {{Infobox website | ||
| |
| name = Jewish Virtual Library | ||
|logo |
| logo = Jewish Virtual Library.gif | ||
| |
| logo_size = | ||
|screenshot |
| screenshot = Jewish Virtual Library website screenshot.png | ||
⚫ | | url = {{URL|https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/}} | ||
|collapsible = | |||
| |
| commercial = No | ||
| |
| type = ] ] | ||
⚫ | | language = English | ||
⚫ | |url |
||
⚫ | | owner = ] (via the "American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise") | ||
|slogan = | |||
| launch_date = {{start date and age|1997}} | |||
|commercial = | |||
| current_status = Online | |||
|type = ] ] | |||
|registration = | |||
⚫ | | |
||
|content license = | |||
⚫ | |owner |
||
|author = | |||
|launch date = 1993 | |||
|alexa = {{increase}} 41,113 ({{as of|2012|1|2|alt=January 2012}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/jewishvirtuallibrary.org |title= Jewishvirtuallibrary.org Site Info | publisher= ] |accessdate= 2012-01-02 }}</ref><!--Updated monthly by OKBot.--> | |||
|revenue = | |||
|current status = Online | |||
|footnotes = Israel, the ], and ] | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Jewish Virtual Library''' (JVL) is an online ] published by the ] (the AICE). Established in 1993, it is a comprehensive website covering Israel, the ], and ].<ref name=americanlibraryassociation/> | |||
The '''Jewish Virtual Library''' ('''JVL''', formerly known as '''JSOURCE''')<ref name="DashefskySheskin2016">{{cite book|author1=Arnold Dashefsky|author2=Ira M. Sheskin|title=American Jewish Year Book 2015: The Annual Record of the North American Jewish Communities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaqFCwAAQBAJ|date=3 February 2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-24505-8|page=831}}</ref> is an ] published by the American foreign policy analyst ]'s non-profit organization American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE).<ref name="MERLOT">{{cite web |title=Jewish Virtual Library |website=] |url=https://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=342986 |access-date=January 17, 2018}}</ref> It is a website covering topics about ], ], ], the ], ] and ].<ref name="auis">{{cite web|title=Library Index|url=https://auis.edu.krd/AUISLibraryIndex|publisher=]|access-date=17 January 2018|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802141455/https://auis.edu.krd/AUISLibraryIndex|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
==History== | |||
The AICE is a non-profit ], "non-partisan" organization established "to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship by emphasizing the fundamentals of the alliance." It is a member of the ]. Its Executive Director is foreign policy analyst ], a former editor of the ''Near East Report'', a weekly newsletter published by the ], and author of ''The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Middle East Conflict''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelcc.org/resources/mitchbard.htm |title=Speaker: Mitchell G. Bard, Ph.D |publisher=Israelcc.org |date=July 11, 2007 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bard |first=Mitchell |url=http://www.jewishchronicle.org/article.php?article_id=364 |title=Empty slogans don’t help Israel - The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle |publisher=Jewishchronicle.org |date=June 15, 2001 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> | |||
The website includes the book ''Myths and Facts''. The book was originally written by Leonard Davis and published in 1964. Later editions were written by Bard who describes it as "the pro-Israel activist's 'bible{{'"}}.<ref name=AICE990/> | |||
The website was originally created in the late 1990s under the name The Jewish Student Online Research Center (JSOURCE).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/7615/jews-create-research-site-on-the-web/ |title=Jews create research site on the Web | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California |publisher=Jweekly.com |date=February 13, 1998 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> According to the website, the Library covers material that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, such as information about joint U.S.-Israel projects, and the treatment of Americans during the ]. It explains that it received permission to use materials from the ], from the ], the ], the ], the ], and ], ] ] (author of ''Jewish Literacy''), and dozens of other sources.<ref name="about">{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/about/index.shtml |title=About the Israeli-American Cooperative Enterprise |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |date= |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> | |||
The JVL also includes the website <nowiki>stopbds.com</nowiki> which aims to combat the ] movement.<ref name=AICE990>{{cite web |title=Form 990 for the period ending December 2017 |website=PRoPublica |access-date=July 6, 2022 |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/521865861/10_2018_prefixes_52-54%2F521865861_201712_990_2018100215758818 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605091048/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/521865861/10_2018_prefixes_52-54%2F521865861_201712_990_2018100215758818 |archive-date=June 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/52-1865861 |title=Aice Inc |website=GuideStar |date=1994 |quote=The jvl also incorporates our publication, myths and facts: a guide to the arab-israeli conflict, an essential resource for anyone interested in understanding the dispute known as the pro-israel activist's 'bible.' The jvl also includes material from our stopbds.com site that provides vital information to understand, respond and combat the campaign to boycott and delegitimize israel. |access-date=July 6, 2022}}</ref> | |||
It includes more than 13,000 articles and 6,000 photographs and maps related to ], Israel, U.S.-Israel relations, the Holocaust, ], and ].<ref>Text from the website of the Jewish Virtual Library, reproduced at the </ref> The website includes the complete text of the ].<ref name="NEIT">{{cite web|url=http://library.neit.edu/religion7.29.04.htm |title=New England Institute of Technology Library |publisher=Library.neit.edu |date=August 28, 2009 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> The Jewish Virtual Library also contains the Israel advocacy text "Myths and Facts", edited by Mitchell Bard, in several languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lookstein.org/resources/israel_online.htm |title=The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education |publisher=Lookstein.org |date= |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> | |||
==Overview== | |||
== Critical reception== | |||
===Sources=== | |||
The Jewish Virtual Library relies on history books, scientific studies, various encyclopedias, archives, polls, maps, and material from museums for its bibliography, as well as Misplaced Pages articles. According to the JVL, it received permission to use materials from the ], the ], the ], the ], the Israeli ] and ], Rabbi ] and other resources. Mitchell G. Bard is the founder and Executive Director.<ref name="AVI CHAI 2013">{{cite web |title=Jewish Virtual Library Website |website=AVI CHAI |date=June 3, 2013 |url=http://avichai.org/program-listings/jewish-virtual-library-website/ |access-date=January 17, 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Sections, topics=== | |||
]'s website describes JVL as "a comprehensive online Jewish encyclopedia, covering everything from anti-Semitism to Zionism. More than 13,000 articles and 6,000 photographs and maps have been integrated into the site. Their Vital Statistics section has an exhaustive list of current statistics and comparative data."<ref>, at PBS</ref> | |||
The Library has 13 sections: Anti-Semitism, History, Myths and Facts, Women, The Holocaust, Travel, Maps, Politics, Biography, Israel, Israel Education, Religion, Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress, and Vital Statistics and Reference.<ref name="AVI CHAI 2013"/> | |||
The JVL hosts more than 60,000 articles and nearly 10,000 photographs and maps related to Jewish history, Israel, Israel–United States relations, the Holocaust, antisemitism and Judaism, as well as various statistics, information about politics, biographies, travel guides, and a section on ] throughout history. The website includes the complete text of the ] and most of the ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile – Jewish Virtual Library (JVL)|url=http://lippmankanferprize.org/profile/?profile=jewish-virtual-library-jvl&entryid=827|website=Lippman Kanfer Prize for Applied Jewish Wisdom|access-date=19 January 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160819173435/http://lippmankanferprize.org/profile/?profile=jewish-virtual-library-jvl&entryid=827| archive-date=19 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/resources/index.html |title=For Statistics and Analysis About Jews in America Today |publisher=] |access-date=April 2, 2012}} Provided as a resource on the web page is the ] film, '']''.</ref> | |||
The Jewish Virtual Library has been cited by ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/10/31/israel.gov/ |title=CNN.com - Sources: Sharon taps new defense minister - Oct. 31, 2002 |publisher=Archives.cnn.com |date=October 31, 2002 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> ],<ref></ref> ],<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/altogether/compton/religious2.shtml</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|last=Montopoli |first=Brian |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-5967024-503544.html |title=White House Hanukkah Party Spawns Anger - Political Hotsheet |publisher=CBS News |date=December 11, 2009 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myfoxchattanooga.com/dpps/news/dpgo-what-is-the-tefillin-fc-20100121_5687984 |title=What is a Tefillin? | Phylacteries |publisher=Google.com |date=January 21, 2010 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myfoxchattanooga.com/dpps/news/dpgo-what-is-the-tefillin-fc-20100121_5687984 |title=What is a Tefillin? | Phylacteries |publisher=Myfoxchattanooga.com |date=January 21, 2010 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> '']'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/442510171.html?dids=442510171:442510171&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+09%2C+2003&author=Bruce+I.+Konviser&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Commentary%3B+Wiesenthal+Appeal+for+Funds+Descends+Into+Exaggeration+and+Divisiveness&pqatl=google |title=Commentary; Wiesenthal Appeal for Funds Descends Into Exaggeration and Divisiveness |publisher=Google.com |date=November 9, 2003 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> '']'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/83809894.html?dids=83809894:83809894&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+10%2C+2001&author=Edward+C.+Baig&pub=USA+TODAY&desc='Britannica'+makes+search+a+rich+trip&pqatl=google |title='Britannica' makes search a rich trip |publisher=Google.com |date=October 10, 2001 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> '']'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-14/egypt-scraps-synagogue-ceremony-after-dancing-and-drinking.html |title=Egypt Scraps Synagogue Ceremony After Dancing and Drinking |publisher=BusinessWeek |date=March 14, 2010 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-23/hungary-approves-law-making-holocaust-denial-a-criminal-offense.html |title=Hungary Approves Law Making Holocaust Denial a Criminal Offense |publisher=BusinessWeek |date=February 23, 2010 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> and ], among others. It is listed as reference by academic libraries at ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/harrisburg/asc/hgc/hjstudies.html |title=Holocaust and Jewish Studies |publisher=Libraries.psu.edu |date= |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://er.lib.msu.edu/item.cfm?item=050152 |title=Connect to "Jewish Virtual Library" |publisher=Er.lib.msu.edu |date= |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/history/tm/mideast.html |title=Middle East History Web Sites, University of Washington Libraries |publisher=Lib.washington.edu |date=January 13, 2010 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://metalib.kcl.ac.uk/V/Q531CQUB4VH8FLHKRD1AJ2UQSVEXHL7PCPQ9SJI231QLAVX7DA-57533?func=find-db-1-title&mode=titles&scan_start=j?&search_type=exact&restricted=all |title=Database List, King's College London |publisher=Metalib.kcl.ac.uk |date=August 20, 1996 |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref><!--Commenting this out as the link doesn't work. If someone can find it well and good. and the ''Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Peace Studies'' at the ]<ref>Center Links, University of Nevada at Reno</ref>,,--> and the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/jew/internet.htm |title=Internet Resources for Jewish Studies |publisher=.lib.udel.edu |date= |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> | |||
It contains information about Israel education in America, including information about ].<ref name="European Association Of Israel Studies 2017">{{cite web |title='Israel Studies: An Anthropology' and the Jewish Virtual Library |website=European Association Of Israel Studies |date=April 20, 2017 |url=http://www.israelstudies.eu/israel-studies-anthropology-jewish-virtual-library/ |access-date=January 17, 2018 |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117193618/http://www.israelstudies.eu/israel-studies-anthropology-jewish-virtual-library/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The website aims to document the relationship between Israel and each of the ], and publish declassified documents from sources such as the ], ] and ] that reveal insights into those organizations' attitudes toward Jews and Israel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Will Jews Lose Their Online Library? |website=eJewish Philanthropy |date=October 30, 2017 |url=http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/will-jews-lose-their-online-library/ |access-date=2018-01-19}}</ref> | |||
JVL claims to have received awards from ] ''Internet Guide Selection'', '']'' ''Hot Site'', and the ''Best of the Jewish Web'' from the ], the'' Academic Excellence Award'' from Study Web and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/awards.html |title=Awards page at Jewish Virtual Library |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |date= |accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref> | |||
== Praise and criticism == | |||
The JVL has at least one notable detractor. Richard Silverstein, writing in ], has accused the Jewish Virtual Library and its editor of being, respectively, "pro-Israel propagand" and "a pure partisan."<ref>http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2007/11/30/is-schusterman-foundation-funding-zionist-propaganda-on-campus/</ref> | |||
The website has been praised for its accessible interface and balanced information. Librarian John Jaeger, in a 2002 article published by the ], wrote:<ref>{{cite web|last=Jaeger |first=John |title=Association of College and Research Libraries "World religions on the Web: A guide to some of the most helpful sites" |url=http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2002/june/worldreligions.htm |work=C&RL News June 2002 Vol. 63 No. 6 |publisher=(archived) |access-date=25 January 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130903023241/https://web.archive.org/web/20040203143353/http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2002/june/worldreligions.htm |archive-date=September 3, 2013 }}</ref> | |||
==See also== | |||
{{blockquote|text=This library, once it is entered, is more like a living encyclopedia than it is anything else. One has options to click on, such as history, women, biography, politics, Israel, maps, and Judaic Treasures at the Library of Congress, with each launching a person into a different realm. The site is extremely well put together.}} | |||
*] | |||
Also in 2002, Karen Evans of ] praised the online library for its "easily accessible, balanced information".<ref name=americanlibraryassociation>{{cite web |author=Karen Evans |title=Jewish Virtual Library at the Internet Reviews Archive, College and Research Libraries News, a division of the American Library Association at Bowdoin College |date=October 2002 |url=http://www.bowdoin.edu/~samato/IRA/reviews/issues/oct02/jewish.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021112031117/http://www.bowdoin.edu/~samato/IRA/reviews/issues/oct02/jewish.html |archive-date=2002-11-12}}</ref> J. Douglas Smith and Richard Jensen in their book ''World War II on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites with free CD-ROM'' published in 2002 also heaped praise on the website:<ref name = "smith-jensen">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanhistoryprojects.com/downloads/wwii.pdf|title=World War II on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites with free CD-ROM}}</ref> | |||
*] | |||
{{blockquote|text=Part of a comprehensive site devoted to all periods in Jewish history, The Holocaust from the Jewish Virtual Library provides excellent information on the Holocaust. From the library's main page, The Holocaust section leads to an alphabetized list of topics.}} | |||
*] | |||
The website and its book ''Myths and Facts'' have also been criticised for pro-Israel bias. In 1987, Clifford A. Wright, author of Facts and Fables: The Real Story Behind the Arab-Israeli Conflict, dismissed ''Myths and Facts 1985'' (published 1984) in a Spring 1987 '']'' review entitled ''Partisan "Facts"'' as Zionist propaganda:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Clifford A. |date=1987 |title=Partisan "Facts" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2536803 |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=165–167 |doi=10.2307/2536803 |jstor=2536803 |issn=0377-919X}}</ref> | |||
⚫ | == |
||
{{blockquote|text=Simply put, Davis' work is that of a compiler who has gathered virtually every piece of Zionist propaganda produced since the mid-1940s. The reason this book is undocumented is because one cannot document lies. ... The only people who will swallow Davis' myths and facts are the true believers, the naive, or those seeking funds for their electoral campaigns.}} | |||
⚫ | * |
||
American journalist ] in his Summer 2002 '']'' review entitled ''Rewriting History'' of the 2001 edition was equally critical:<ref name="neff2002">{{cite journal |last=Neff |first=Donald |year=2002 |title=Rewriting History |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=130–131 (the review itself is on p.131) |doi=10.1525/jps.2002.31.4.122 |jstor=10.1525/jps.2002.31.4.122}}</ref> | |||
{{blockquote|text=The Arab-Israeli conflict is littered with propaganda masquerading as information. Both sides are active in this black art, where distorting the facts to one side's favor is considered success. In general, Israel and its supporters have been more adept in this poisonous pursuit, mainly because of their wide media access in the United States. The latest edition of Myths and Facts, however, is not one of the better efforts by the pro-Israel side, mainly because it is less adroit than usual at twisting the facts to the benefit of Israel ... . The original Myths and Facts was published as a byproduct of the Near East Report, a pro-Israel newsletter begun in the 1950s by Si Kenen, a tireless propagandist for Israel. Out of Kenen's propaganda work grew the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), today the most powerful Israeli lobby ... . The current version of Myths and Facts is curiously without specific mention of its debt to AIPAC, although it acknowledges the pioneering role of the Near East Report. This is hardly encouraging since the latter is a reliable source of myths but hardly of facts. Author Mitchell G. Bard is a former editor of the Near East Report and a coauthor of the 1992 edition of Myths and Facts. ... Bard is now executive director of yet another pro-Israel group, the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), founded in 1993. Among its seven board members are Bard, Arthur Bard, and Eli E. Hertz. Hertz left the Israel Defense Forces as a captain after seven years and moved to New York to found a technology company. He is listed as sponsor of the latest Myths and Facts and chairman of the board of AICE.}} | |||
In 2021, the ] reached a consensus to prohibit the use of the JVL as a source for most situations, citing concerns about its accuracy and pro-Israel bias.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elia-Shalev |first=Asaf |date=June 18, 2024 |title=ADL Faces Misplaced Pages Ban Over Reliability Concerns on Israel, Antisemitism |url=https://www.jta.org/2024/06/18/united-states/adl-faces-wikipedia-ban-over-reliability-concerns-on-israel-antisemitism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619082259/https://www.jta.org/2024/06/18/united-states/adl-faces-wikipedia-ban-over-reliability-concerns-on-israel-antisemitism |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |access-date=June 20, 2024 |agency=]}}</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{ |
{{reflist|2}} | ||
⚫ | ==External links== | ||
⚫ | * {{Official website|http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}} | ||
* on ] | |||
{{Jews and Judaism|state=expanded}} | |||
{{Organized Jewish Life in the United States}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 23:03, 25 November 2024
Online encyclopedia
Type of site | Reference work encyclopedia |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Owner | Mitchell Bard (via the "American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise") |
URL | www |
Commercial | No |
Launched | 1997; 27 years ago (1997) |
Current status | Online |
The Jewish Virtual Library (JVL, formerly known as JSOURCE) is an online encyclopedia published by the American foreign policy analyst Mitchell Bard's non-profit organization American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). It is a website covering topics about Israel–United States relations, Jewish history, Israel, the Holocaust, antisemitism and Judaism.
The website includes the book Myths and Facts. The book was originally written by Leonard Davis and published in 1964. Later editions were written by Bard who describes it as "the pro-Israel activist's 'bible'".
The JVL also includes the website stopbds.com which aims to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Overview
Sources
The Jewish Virtual Library relies on history books, scientific studies, various encyclopedias, archives, polls, maps, and material from museums for its bibliography, as well as Misplaced Pages articles. According to the JVL, it received permission to use materials from the Library of Congress, the American Jewish Historical Society, the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister's Office, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and other resources. Mitchell G. Bard is the founder and Executive Director.
Sections, topics
The Library has 13 sections: Anti-Semitism, History, Myths and Facts, Women, The Holocaust, Travel, Maps, Politics, Biography, Israel, Israel Education, Religion, Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress, and Vital Statistics and Reference.
The JVL hosts more than 60,000 articles and nearly 10,000 photographs and maps related to Jewish history, Israel, Israel–United States relations, the Holocaust, antisemitism and Judaism, as well as various statistics, information about politics, biographies, travel guides, and a section on Jewish women throughout history. The website includes the complete text of the Tanakh and most of the Babylonian Talmud.
It contains information about Israel education in America, including information about Israel Studies. The website aims to document the relationship between Israel and each of the 50 states, and publish declassified documents from sources such as the CIA, State Department and British Foreign Service that reveal insights into those organizations' attitudes toward Jews and Israel.
Praise and criticism
The website has been praised for its accessible interface and balanced information. Librarian John Jaeger, in a 2002 article published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, wrote:
This library, once it is entered, is more like a living encyclopedia than it is anything else. One has options to click on, such as history, women, biography, politics, Israel, maps, and Judaic Treasures at the Library of Congress, with each launching a person into a different realm. The site is extremely well put together.
Also in 2002, Karen Evans of Indiana State University praised the online library for its "easily accessible, balanced information". J. Douglas Smith and Richard Jensen in their book World War II on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites with free CD-ROM published in 2002 also heaped praise on the website:
Part of a comprehensive site devoted to all periods in Jewish history, The Holocaust from the Jewish Virtual Library provides excellent information on the Holocaust. From the library's main page, The Holocaust section leads to an alphabetized list of topics.
The website and its book Myths and Facts have also been criticised for pro-Israel bias. In 1987, Clifford A. Wright, author of Facts and Fables: The Real Story Behind the Arab-Israeli Conflict, dismissed Myths and Facts 1985 (published 1984) in a Spring 1987 Journal of Palestine Studies review entitled Partisan "Facts" as Zionist propaganda:
Simply put, Davis' work is that of a compiler who has gathered virtually every piece of Zionist propaganda produced since the mid-1940s. The reason this book is undocumented is because one cannot document lies. ... The only people who will swallow Davis' myths and facts are the true believers, the naive, or those seeking funds for their electoral campaigns.
American journalist Donald Neff in his Summer 2002 Journal of Palestine Studies review entitled Rewriting History of the 2001 edition was equally critical:
The Arab-Israeli conflict is littered with propaganda masquerading as information. Both sides are active in this black art, where distorting the facts to one side's favor is considered success. In general, Israel and its supporters have been more adept in this poisonous pursuit, mainly because of their wide media access in the United States. The latest edition of Myths and Facts, however, is not one of the better efforts by the pro-Israel side, mainly because it is less adroit than usual at twisting the facts to the benefit of Israel ... . The original Myths and Facts was published as a byproduct of the Near East Report, a pro-Israel newsletter begun in the 1950s by Si Kenen, a tireless propagandist for Israel. Out of Kenen's propaganda work grew the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), today the most powerful Israeli lobby ... . The current version of Myths and Facts is curiously without specific mention of its debt to AIPAC, although it acknowledges the pioneering role of the Near East Report. This is hardly encouraging since the latter is a reliable source of myths but hardly of facts. Author Mitchell G. Bard is a former editor of the Near East Report and a coauthor of the 1992 edition of Myths and Facts. ... Bard is now executive director of yet another pro-Israel group, the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), founded in 1993. Among its seven board members are Bard, Arthur Bard, and Eli E. Hertz. Hertz left the Israel Defense Forces as a captain after seven years and moved to New York to found a technology company. He is listed as sponsor of the latest Myths and Facts and chairman of the board of AICE.
In 2021, the Misplaced Pages community reached a consensus to prohibit the use of the JVL as a source for most situations, citing concerns about its accuracy and pro-Israel bias.
References
- Arnold Dashefsky; Ira M. Sheskin (February 3, 2016). American Jewish Year Book 2015: The Annual Record of the North American Jewish Communities. Springer. p. 831. ISBN 978-3-319-24505-8.
- "Jewish Virtual Library". MERLOT. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "Library Index". The American University of Iraq Sulaimani. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ "Form 990 for the period ending December 2017". PRoPublica. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- "Aice Inc". GuideStar. 1994. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
The jvl also incorporates our publication, myths and facts: a guide to the arab-israeli conflict, an essential resource for anyone interested in understanding the dispute known as the pro-israel activist's 'bible.' The jvl also includes material from our stopbds.com site that provides vital information to understand, respond and combat the campaign to boycott and delegitimize israel.
- ^ "Jewish Virtual Library Website". AVI CHAI. June 3, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "Profile – Jewish Virtual Library (JVL)". Lippman Kanfer Prize for Applied Jewish Wisdom. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- "For Statistics and Analysis About Jews in America Today". PBS. Retrieved April 2, 2012. Provided as a resource on the web page is the PBS film, The Jewish Americans.
- "'Israel Studies: An Anthropology' and the Jewish Virtual Library". European Association Of Israel Studies. April 20, 2017. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- "Will Jews Lose Their Online Library?". eJewish Philanthropy. October 30, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- Jaeger, John. "Association of College and Research Libraries "World religions on the Web: A guide to some of the most helpful sites"". C&RL News June 2002 Vol. 63 No. 6. (archived). Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Karen Evans (October 2002). "Jewish Virtual Library at the Internet Reviews Archive, College and Research Libraries News, a division of the American Library Association at Bowdoin College". Archived from the original on November 12, 2002.
- "World War II on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites with free CD-ROM" (PDF).
- Wright, Clifford A. (1987). "Partisan "Facts"". Journal of Palestine Studies. 16 (3): 165–167. doi:10.2307/2536803. ISSN 0377-919X. JSTOR 2536803.
- Neff, Donald (2002). "Rewriting History". Journal of Palestine Studies. 31 (4): 130–131 (the review itself is on p.131). doi:10.1525/jps.2002.31.4.122. JSTOR 10.1525/jps.2002.31.4.122.
- Elia-Shalev, Asaf (June 18, 2024). "ADL Faces Misplaced Pages Ban Over Reliability Concerns on Israel, Antisemitism". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
External links
Jews and Judaism in the United States | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Major communal organizations | |||||||||||
Major advocacy organizations (not exclusively Israel-focused) |
| ||||||||||
Major humanitarian organizations | |||||||||||
Major Israel-focused organizations |
| ||||||||||
Major domestic and neighborhood assistance organizations | |||||||||||
Major religious movement organizations (and associated rabbinical membership and policy body; seminary) |
| ||||||||||
List of synagogues (by movements) | |||||||||||
Youth organizations | |||||||||||
Education | |||||||||||
Major university groups |
| ||||||||||
Media |
| ||||||||||
Dating | |||||||||||
Major communal activities | |||||||||||