The Middle East Interest

img: Frazer Hudson

by Alex Beam

What if they decided to pursue the Arab-Israeli conflict by other means? Inevitably, it would take place on the Internet. And inevitably Wikipedia would be involved.

In what was probably not a very smart idea, Gilead Ini, a senior research analyst for Camera, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, put out an e-mail call for 10 volunteers “to help us keep Israel-related entries on Wikipedia from becoming tainted by anti-Israel editors.” (Basically, anyone with a Web browser can edit articles on Wikipedia, which wreaks havoc with the site’s treatment of controversial topics like evolution, Bill Clinton, or the Middle East.) More than 50 sympathizers answered the call, and Ini put his campaign into motion. [read on]