A Dose of Fact-Checking
Avishay Braverman, an economics buff passed off as military expert by the IHT
In an Op-Ed Friday in the International Herald Tribune, Margarita Mathiopolous, CEO of EAG European Advisory Group and a professor of U.S. foreign policy at University of Potsdam, makes much ado about “the former senior security officials [she] spoke to” (“A dose of reality”). Just in case you missed the credentials of her interlocutors, she repeats: “many active and former senior security officials,” “many of the senior officers,” “the security establishment,” “the military leaders I spoke with,” “a number of senior military officers,” etc.
Fortunately, Mathiopolous names these security and military officials, who, she says, all agree that Israel should sit down and negotiate with Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and even Iran:
Among the former military and security officials who took this position were the Labor politician Ami Ayalon, a former admiral and former head of the Shin Bet secret service; Avishai Brotherman [sic], president of Ben-Gurion University; Matan Vilnai, a retired general and Labor Party legislator, and even Avi Dichter, a hawkish Kadima member of the Knesset who has served as a minister in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Cabinet.
Avishay Braverman – not Brotherman – is neither a former military nor security official. Nor has he been the president of Ben-Gurion University since Dec. 1, 2005. (The current president is Prof. Rivka Carmi.) Braverman’s background is in economics, not security or military.
If Mathiopoulus cannot be relied on to accurately identify Avishay Braverman by name, title and expertise, how can she be trusted to accurately convey sensitive information concerning international diplomacy allegedly told to her privately?
(CAMERA has communicated with editors concerning these errors. We will keep you posted regarding corrections.)
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