As promised in our previous post, here are more of the messages composing our tribute to Alison Weir in honor of her birthday. We were waiting to post some of the birthday messages until we could deliver them the old-fashioned way, in person. We’d like to share these now, along with her heartfelt thanks for all the messages and support of peace and justice!
For over a decade, I have been consistently impressed with the depth and professionalism with which If Americans Knew has sought to educate the public about the conflict in Palestine and the role our government plays in perpetuating injustice and war.
Refusing to shy away from difficult issues, I have seen Alison Weir and If Americans Knew work closely with the Arab-American and Muslim-American community to challenge racism, imperialism, Zionism, the pro-war and pro-Israel Lobby. The If Americans Knew team has confronted, head-on, the efforts to silence debate about the role of the United States in one of the longest running campaigns of present-day military occupation and dispossession.
Unlike other initiatives that shied away from working with the Muslim community, that refused to endorse the powerful campaign to boycott, divest, and sanction Israel for its human rights abuses, that privileged the voices of the Jewish community ahead of Palestinian voices, and that refused to discuss the history of Zionism, If Americans Knew has been sounding the alarm for more than a decade.
Pamphlets, flyers, and booklets that the IAK team distribute include those that lend humanity to dispossessed Palestinian refugees; that deconstruct Israeli war propaganda; that explain the long and painful history of dispossession to new audiences; that discuss the role of Islamophobia in perpetuating injustice; that document evident bias against Palestinians in our media; and that connect the dots between America’s wars overseas and its support for Israeli occupation in Palestine.
While her message has not always been appreciated by those who continue to compromise Palestinian rights to maintain “respectability,” she has galvanized a significant segment of the public to be more cognizant of Palestinian rights and inequality generally. She has worked closely with organic Palestinian- and Muslim-American initiatives, such as the Al Awda Palestine: Right to Return Coalition and the Al Quds Day annual commemoration for Palestine. As a result, she has gained the support of the most prominent thinkers, activists, and human rights advocates for Palestinian rights in the United States, Palestine, Iran, and elsewhere. I encourage the If Americans Knew Team, including Alison Weir and Amjad Doumani, to keep up their efforts to ensure that the American public has the opportunity to be informed about inequality and injustice carried out with our tax dollars.
– Amith Gupta
I honor Alison Weir for the courage and dignity she consistently displays in the face of vicious attacks, but most of all for what provokes those attacks: her determination to confront questions few others dare to about the real roots of Zionism’s grip on the US government.
Regards,
Henry Norr
“SUCCESS (as I prefer defining it) is devoting and utilizing one’s career, talents and abilities helping others and oneself achieve much-needed positive change for a better future, nation and world!”
— Nicholas Dibs
May 5, 2017
Dear Alison,
May God grant you “many more years” of good health so you can continue devoting — as you have unselfishly done for many years, — your God-given talents and precious time for the most-worthy cause of peace “… with liberty and justice for all”! — especially regarding those suffering in and from Palestine and throughout the Near and Middle East! And may God bless you with seeing, experiencing, and realizing many much-needed positive changes as result of all your very-good works and endeavors!
In countless ways — and words are not sufficient, — you have helped many others and me “speak truth to power”! You have set an excellent example for others and me to follow to help achieve much-needed positive change!
May God continue to bless and empower you and the staff, volunteers, and very important endeavors and efforts of IF AMERICANS KNEW and CNI ! You are a true peacemaker and someone who — by example — lives the above definition of “success!”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”! (Matthew 5:9 KJV)
With Best Regards Always,
Nicholas (Nick) Dibs
Teacher and Church President/CEO
Member of CNI’s First Political Peace Pilgrimage (18 days, June 1994)
Dear Alison,
Happy 70th Birthday! I think back to the days when you started If Americans Knew, how much the Palestine solidarity movement has grown and the role that you have played in it. We have relied on your research and reporting to give us clear, indisputable facts. But more than that, you gave us an example of how to talk about Palestine with a fact-based, dispassionate voice. Besides all you have done over the years, it’s been my pleasure to meet you and get to know you on your trips to San Diego. So, thank you for everything, and happy 70th!
Larry Christian
On this occasion, dear Alison Weir
I’d just like to say it’s great to have you here
Here, that is, on this floating rock in space
Among the rest of us, this troubled human race
I’d like to thank you, on behalf of many women and men
For trying to make the Earth great again
Thanks for your efforts to make a light shine
On the brutal occupation of Palestine
By being an advocate, as you’ve done so well
There are a lot of people who’d like you to go to hell
This is surely a sign of a job well done
Despite the struggle being far from won
One thing’s for sure, without folks like you
Without organizations like If Americans Knew
The world’s condition would be even more gray
I wish I could be at your party today
But in my absence I’d just like to say
Alison, happy 70th birthday
Happy birthday dear Alison. I guess the first thing is to thank you for your dedication and tireless jihad on behalf of truth, justice for the Palestinian people. With the founding of If Americans Knew you hit the target in terms of focus on the dire need for educating the public on the history of how Palestinians were robbed of their land and the role the USA in enabling this tragic theft. Your consistency and unabated drive towards this goal makes you a shining example to me, worthy of respect and admiration. I am happy and honored to be working alongside you and the IAK crew in this endeavor.
On your birthday this year I wish you many more years of happiness, accomplishments and success.
Lovingly and respectfully,
Amjad Doumani
My Dear Alison,
Another milestone in your powerful, dynamic career has passed – and I missed it. Your intelligence, courage, wisdom, tenacity and humanity have made a mark, in the face of ignorance and rejection, that serves the best interests of everyone, even if there are those who do not, will not understand, and they are both numerous and powerful.
I am proud to have known and worked with you over the years. You are an inspiring, tireless leader, as well as a warm and considerate human being. Stay with it, Alison, you are the best.
With warmest regards and best wishes,
Ed
Dearest Alison: I have known you, now, for over 15 years, and we have shared remarkable memories, too many to list.
Remember the time in the summer of 2007 you, Mary, Hedy and I were sitting in my garden in France? And I said I’d turn in miles to get to Jordan, so we could all try to get into the occupied West Bank. Off we went, the four of us and decided to go through the Hussein crossing into Israel instead of trying for the Allenby bridge. We were sure they would stop one of the four of us, and they never did.
We hopped into a cab to go to Nazareth and all four of us looked at each other and simultaneously said to the cab driver, “Take us to Ramallah.” After an afternoon heading toward Ramallah, the cab driver pulled up in front of the ‘wall of death’ that surrounds Qalandia and told us he couldn’t go any farther. No problems. We got out and started to walk. What does Alison do? She starts to take photos of the sniper tower. No stopped her that time, but once we were pulled over because Alison was taking photos. They hauled her off to some kind of interrogation center, and Hedy, Mary and I followed, placing ourselves at convenient locations down the streets so we could see each other and see where Alison was being taken. I’m not sure how long it was before she came out, but we were convinced she was being tortured and her camera taken away.
A week later, we all headed to Hebron to scope out what was happening, Alison with her camera and her camcorder. We got into Shuhada street and stayed at the ISM apartment for a couple of nights, one of the worst places I have ever stayed because activists don’t know how to keep anything clean. I’ve decided it’s because they are all anarchists and cleaning up their space is something they are NEVER going to do. Alison hired a woman to come in and clean the bathroom, and the rest of us did our best to clean the two sleeping rooms, although, at night, we were never quite sure what ran over us as we slept.
So many other memories, Alison; walking through Deir Yassin together, taking Hedy to find the last place her mother was before being sent to Auschwitz, missing your daughter’s wedding because Mary and I couldn’t figure out what the GPS was taking us into one of the canals around Nice, defending each other over smears of being anti-Semitic.
I don’t get to see you often, and when we do see each other, we have little time to talk, so this long memory will have to suffice to let you know what a pleasure it has been to know you and be part of your life.
Your sister in crime.
Greta
I remember reading Alison Weir’s first dispatches from Palestine and being so impressed with her observations and descriptions. She got it right away!
Over the years I have come to admire even more Alison’s commitment to justice for the Palestinians, for the survivors of Israel’s 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, for the young American activist Rachel Corrie, and many other victims of Israeli violence. She never flinches from the truth, which she is determined to unearth—and does! Her calm demeanor belies the ferocity of her dedication to her principles and her strength in the face of attacks on her work and character. Although she had been called an “anti-Semite” before, attacks on her escalated upon the publication of her book Against Our Better Judgment, in which she wrote of a secret Zionist society called the Parushim, the leader of which was the revered Justice Louis Brandeis. It didn’t matter that Alison’s carefully documented source for this information was a Jewish Israeli professor! But despite being blacklisted by such groups as Jewish Voice for Peace and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (now the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights), Alison continues to dare to speak out, particularly to Americans who may be unaware of the Israel lobby and its history in this country.
Alison had told me more than once how much she admires the work of Donald Neff, the late journalist and author of five books on Israel and the Middle East. I was able to arrange for her to visit him at his home in York, Pennsylvania, where she interviewed him while her daughter Sara filmed the proceedings. We had a few misadventures trying to find a quiet place to film—including a talkative cockatiel, a buzzing model plane overhead and a parade of honking Canada geese—but ultimately succeeded. When Alison and Sara left the next day, Don told me that he had never been so thoroughly interviewed in his life. In fact, he compared Alison to Police Inspector Javert, the tenacious pursuer of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables!
But Alison’s tenacity is on behalf of a just cause—and Palestinians and Americans alike are well served by her principled and uncompromising friendship.
Happy Birthday, Alison!
Janet McMahon
Managing Editor
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Alison’s work has had a tremendous influence on the cause of Palestinian rights, from the analysis of press coverage that revealed US media bias, to the research articles uncovering the connections between the US arms industry and the Israeli government.
For me personally, her support for the cause and for me as a person has been incredibly important, when others abandoned the important media work that I have been doing for the last thirteen years, Alison stepped up and provided the needed support.
As a Palestinian, who was injured by the Israeli army, and paralyzed for life, IK have face many struggles and Alison is one of the people who stood by me, and supported me.
I wish you, Alison, the most joyous and wonderful 70th birthday, and maybe you should take a day off for once 🙂
Saed Bannoura
Feliz cumpleaños Alison!
ou are such a role model to me! Despite threats and badmouthing you continue to come through for Palestina and for that I love you and wish you the best cumpleaños!
Orale Alison.
From Nuevo Mexico con mucho respeto.
Yoly
Welcome to the septuagenarian club, Alison! It’s great to have you! We needed a lot more class in the membership, and you certainly provide it.
For years now I’ve admired your courage and forthrightness, standing strong on principle even in the face of some of the most vicious personal attacks anyone can imagine. I feel like we are spiritual siblings, given our common pasts (Peace Corps, civil and human , particularly Palestinian, rights, etc) with a like-minded worldview.
You’ve been an inspiration to me and I hope our association will continue for many years to come – until we can celebrate our future with the nonagenarians!
Happy Birthday, Alison!
Gene
I have known Alison for a number of years. I have also been living in America for over a decade and one of the things that puzzle me is, where does Alison get all that strength from?! She addresses a topic the vast majority of Americans would not even want to be in the same room while that subject is being discussed!! They are afraid they will be falsely accused of being Antisemitic. Well, I am a TRUE Semites and say that Alison is a truth teller. It takes a person with a spine of steel to do what she does.
Dr. Ibrahim Soudy
Just in the last few years since becoming familiar with Alison’s work and then meeting her and her supportive staff I have been able to open my eyes to the fact that not only is our media controlled but also our highest elected officials. I had been misinformed my entire adult life, but the way Alison presents her work it is not difficult to see the unconditional support of Israel that has been our foreign policy for decades.
Alison, we appreciate your courage and continued dedication for Justice in Palestine, we stand beside you.
Wishing you the very best as you begin your new decade
Happy Birthday,
Nelisse and Ted Muga
I’m happy that Alison is still young enough to keep working on her passion to preserve Palestine and Palestinians. May God give her the strength to continue her hard work that has done so much to advance the cause on which she has worked so hard and faithfully.
Bless you, Alison.
Jim Abourezk
Many people are working to bring peace and justice to Palestine, but certain ones stand out for consistently telling the unvarnished truth with clarity and conviction: Ilan Pappé (Israeli), Omar Barghouti (Palestinian) and Alison Weir (USA) immediately come to mind. Each has their style, but the essence of their message is always about the facts of the 65+ year brutal Israeli colonial occupation of Palestine and the displacement of Palestinians from their native land.
As a journalist in the USA, Alison Weir was an unlikely advocate for Palestinian rights, but her high ethics and moral standards have not allow her to stand idly by as the injustice in Palestine evolves – she committed herself heart, soul and economic wellbeing to the issue. Her unwavering support for justice in the Holy Land is evident in the clarity of her writings, the heartfelt sincerity of her talks, and the wonderful material developed by IFAmericanKnew.org: all are superb for their factual integrity and clarity. Alison’s book (Against Our Better Judgement: How the US was used to create Israel ) is carefully documented and written in a manner that only the most obtuse Hasbra trained pro-Israel supporter would dare challenge and raise the old canard of anti-semitism so frequently used to silence critics of the sins of political colonial Zionism. Alison Weir is a courageous woman who deserves our deepest respect and admiration. Best wishes Alison and warmest regards on your 70th birthday.
Andrew Paul Gutierrez
Professor Emeritus
I GREATLY APPRECIATE THE INSPIRING & COURAGEOUS WORK THAT ALISON HAS DONE FOR SO MANY YEARS–MARV COHEN–CO-FOUNDER OF VOICES FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE IN WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA
Alison, have a wonderful birthday and best wishes for many many more, as you are one of the most important voices today, in this movement to achieve justice in Palestine! You already know that however, because our opponents have made you such a target. But slander has never stopped you from telling the truth. Hedy Epstein told me that herself before she died. She continues to stand behind you. Brava Alison. We salute you. Best, Marjorie Wright Producer of Voices From Inside, Israelis Speak & Director of Jews Step Forward
Dear Alison,
May God bless you and your amazing work for justice in Palestine ~
May you continue with energy and passion in the struggle !
Sending our fondest wishes, as we recall your visit in Toledo, drinking coffee in our matching robes !
You left an imprint here, and we look forward to your return some day.
Have a wonderful birthday, dear Alison ! 🦋
️
Thomas and Anne Marie Abowd (friends of Amjad Doumani)
Toledo, Ohio
We first met Alison Weir when she spoke at a conference in February (Peter says March) 2002 in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Council for the National Interest. We were very impressed with her words, her story, her delivery.
We were convinced she had a message that would reach Americans of varied backgrounds and political persuasions, and one they needed to hear. We invited her to CT, and arranged for her to speak at our local library.
We repeated this numerous times over the next ten years, expanding the speaking venues, introducing her to other area activists, enjoying her as a houseguest many times, while we would stay up late into the night discussing wide ranging topics and ideas.
We became her cameramen and videotaping crew, interviewing her in a studio in Groton for a cable TV program, taping her speech at Harvard (poor sound quality, regretfully), taping her multiple interviews with Stephen Green in VT, meeting her in D.C., finding ourselves at unusual meetings, conferences, brainstorming, sharing space at Dacor House, so generously provided by Gene Bird.
We visited her in Berkeley, and enjoyed a rare respite from overt activism to spend a few days relaxing, albeit always brainstorming, through the Sonoma Valley vineyards and Muir Woods.
I am honored to serve on the board of If Americans Knew, and my husband serves with her on the board of the Council for the National Interest, where she is currently President.
It has been an amazing journey. We have always been awed by Alison’s energy, tenacity, sharp intellect, and deep understanding of this issue. She has probably studied it more thoroughly than anyone else. Her voracious appetite for reading anything and everything even tangentially related, and making the connections that others may have missed, is truly impressive. Her book is a tour de force, and may be the most effective tool out there in bringing more and more people to understand the issues involved.
Happy Birthday, Alison, from two of your biggest fans.
Liz and Peter Viering
My /our wishes for a most wonderful day…a truly happy birthday and many many more!
I will never forget the first time meeting you in 2002 and how you changed hearts during that “Wheels for Justice” journey.
Deep respect, admiration and love for Alison and the superb/diligent work she has put into each and every project and writings…all thoroughly researched and documented.
Her books, essays, lectures, presentations, creativity and determination to educate, arouse and make essential and desperately needed changes concerning the savage,
brutal and tragic apartheid/and occupation of the land of Palestine by blind deaf and bigoted zealots. There are no people who havent suffered in some way because of others…
ignorance, bigotry and down right stupidity…that was true for Neanderthals ages ago, just as it is true because of today’s ‘neanderthals’..those with unbridled power and privilege against those with neither.
Thank you Alison Weir for all you have done and continue to do…
Thank you con carino!
Miriam /NM
Alison —
Please know that you are in part responsible for nudging me into activism opposing Zionism and the Jewish State after 65 years of inactivism. As a activist insisting on the unvarnished truth come what may, you are in the good company of other American activists who historically have really made a difference. I admire what you have accomplished and think your place in the history of American participation in the “conflict” is secure.
I am delighted to know you as a fellow activist and friend.
Happy Birthday!!
David Deutsch
San Diego 2017
Thank you Alison for all your great work and for the research and education you have provided over the years to so many. Wishing you a very special birthday and many blessings.
Best,
Dr. Manal Fakhoury
Dear Alison,
Happy Birthday Alison! You have done amazing things in your 70 years and they have mattered. I cannot tell you the number of times I have passed out the charts If Americans Knew created that show home demolitions, Palestinian deaths vs. Israeli deaths, etc. These have changed the views of so many people. We could not have done our work anywhere near as effectively without your work. Thank you so very much. Have a great birthday. You deserve it!
Peace,
Rev. Catherine Alder
UCC Palestine Israel Network
I am in total admiration of you, Alison, your courage, and your ability to “tell it like it is”. Some people have vilified you, but you’ve been able to withstand this with equanimity and steadfastness. Thank you so very much for ALL what you do for the Palestinians. I, for one, am in awe of you, your heart and your strength. With my deep, deep appreciation of who you are – a very happy birthday to you. Huda Giddens.
We were very fortunate to have Alison live in Sacramento for a few years. She spoke at colleges and events and participated in local meetings with elected officials. She is very thorough and dedicated. She has always been helpful and responsive whenever I have asked her for information or assistance. If Americans Knew is a great resource. I wish her a happy birthday and expect her great work to continue for decades! (And I don’t believe she is 70.)
Happy birthday Alison, with love and thanks for all you’re doing for Palestine! We admire your quiet courage.
Ziyad and Kathy, Rockford IL
It’s been a privilege to work for you and see everything IAK continues to accomplish. I’m inspired by the fact that when so many people are presented with necessary information and a personal perspective on a complex situation, they are able to see the issue with clarity and will want to help make changes to better support human rights. Especially considering how influential the opposition can be, it’s all the more important to see those who stand up for a population who have been marginalized and ignored by much of the world. Thank you for your leadership and teaching!
Ryan
Dear Alison
I wanted to wish you a Happy 70th birthday… I still remember how moved I was the first time I heard you at UCI about your first trip to Gaza and the transformation you had. So proud of you to see how far you have come with “If Americans Knew” today! Congrats!!!
You are an amazing Human being who is always searching for the truth. I have allot of respect for your courage to stand up to all those haters. You will always have a special place in my heart because you helped us make “Occupation 101” what it is today and this film has had a life of its own. I have met people from all over the world who have been touched by it. Thank you! KEEP GOING …. 70 today is the NEW 50 So your just getting warmed up!
And finally know that you have made this world a better place, You have done more good for the Palestinians more then all of the ARAB countries combined….you have been blessed by GOD to be given an huge responsibility to give a voice to a people who have no voice… Voltaire once said: “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize” thank you for standing up to Goliath!
GOD is with you and HE is bigger then all of them!
I am honored to have known you all those years and forgive me for being out of touch for so long.
Take care and again I wish you a Happy and blessed birthday!
Abdallah S. Omeish
Surprise , Dear Alison, As a member of The Arab-American Discrimination committed and read your articles and years later My good friends & I started a Jewish Voice for peace / San Diego. My two groups friends and I share your opinions and your articles . You are our voice for Dignity for justice for love hood and peace , for that reason I sat beside on your table on April 30th. At Ed’s the 80’s.
I wish more people can serve the world’s justice as much as you.
You are as a culture somatic person who carry the Arab countries world on her shoulder & who is telling the truth about the straggle of the Palestine’s people.
I’m lucky to have you in my life.
Happy birthday and many more full of health and joy.
Amal Atieh Jubran
Dearest Alison,
As you add another year to make it 70, the USS Liberty Veteran Association wants you to understand how much we deeply appreciate your efforts. As you are intimately aware, the USS Liberty true story is so vitally important to the future of the United States. For all most 50 years, America has been on the wrong side of justice and fairness. You have endured embarrassment and harassment in supporting the truth of the deliberate and viscous Israeli attack on the USS Liberty killing 34 (31 sailors, 2 marines, and a NSA civilian) and wounding 174 as well as the attempted murder of 294 Americans. You have also excelled speaking for and supporting Palestinian civil rights. It our prayer that the repressive Zionist grip on our American society is someday removed and folks like yourself may be honored. Not forgetting the values our fathers fought for in WWII, America must return someday return in supporting people of all religions and traditions as we were once the Liberator nations. In closing, the USS Liberty Veterans Association wishes you a very happy birthday and all the very very best. God bless.
Ernest A. Gallo, President USS Liberty Veterans Association
Dear Alison!
Happy 70th birthday to you!
May you have a wonderful day with your loved ones. Thank you for all that you do for the Palestinian cause! May we meet in a peaceful Palestine where basic human rights are available to all.
Peace
Dina
AZPFAF
Alison, I’ve always been amazed by your hard work and your persistence. Many kudos for that, and congratulations on reaching this august landmark! Keep on keeping on. Many good wishes, Kathy Christison
Alison, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with, and for you, and this organization. I’m extremely grateful to be a part of a team that works towards creating a more peaceful and just planet by championing a people with almost no voice in our political spectrum. Let’s keep up the good fight! Happy birthday!!!
-David C.
Happy 70th Birthday Alison!!!
Celebrate your special day as we celebrate you for all you’ve done to educate American’s about the oppression & occupation of Palestinian’s.
Thanks for all you’ve done to make the world a better place!
Best wishes for a happy day & another great year!
Sandy Tarrant
Happiest birthday wishes to you Alison!
All of Peace Fresno and everyone in the Central Valley wish you a very happy birthday.
We hope that you can enjoy many days celebrating just you! We were so honored to have you speak in Fresno in 2015, you are an inspiration and your work is so important. We all are humbled by your enduring dedication to share truth with the world, especially America, about the situation in Palestine. Your perseverance to share accurate information is invaluable and we thank you.
Now, celebrate another year knowing that you have touched so many!
With love and peace,
Peace Fresno and Teresa Castillo
Alison is a candle in the darkness of (generally speaking) the ignorance of Americans of the truth of history as it relates to the making and sustaining of the conflict in and over Palestine that became the Zionist not Jewish state of Israel. Long may this courageous lady continue to burn and shed light. President Trump would be well advised to listen to her if he has any real interest in peace and preventing a final Zionist ethnic cleansing which, if it happens, could provoke another great turning against Jews everywhere.
ALAN HART former British broadcaster and author of Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews (published in three volumes in America by Clarity Press).
Alison is amazing! She deserves to have a wonderful 70th birthday with the knowledge that she has contributed tons of powerful information calling for justice for Palestine and Palestinians.
Happy Birthday Alison!
Ethel and I wish you years more of the good fight. We thank you for attending and speaking at my 80th (who could believe?).
But much more importantly we thank you for your intelligent persistence in the battle for clarity and truth. You are very admired here in San Diego and we hope to see you again soon in our area.
That you are a coffee lover doen’t hurt, either.
Love to you,
Ed and Ethel
To Alison Weir
On her 70th birthday
“If Only Americans Knew” wondered Alison Weir
A brilliant quest for a full time career
Educating, writing and speaking
Her book is a treasure for those who’re seeking
Historical facts and unknown information
That would help educate the whole nation
It is sad when people challenge the truth
Thank heavens for the energy of the youth
As well as those who believe in her campaign
And from supporting her would never abstain
On this day I send Alison a special greeting
From Palestine, from the land that has been bleeding
Blessings Alison and many happy returns of the day
In good health and energy for another book we pray.
With love,
Samia Khoury
Dear Alison,
On this, the occasion of your 70th birthday I would like to wish you happiness and the very best that life can give.
You have used your life to do something that makes a difference, a big difference, for people who have suffered under occupation for far too long. Thank you for your commitment to the quest for justice. Please know that your work has and does make a difference. I hope that you will continue write and speak in defense of Palestinians.
It has been my privilege to spend time with you. I’ve enjoyed our shared work and getting to know you. I have fond memories of the nights in my living room visiting about so many things. I also have fond memories of our adventures and misadventures in Minnesota. Hopefully we will be able to have more adventures in the future.
Have a very happy birthday!
Peace, Kathy Adam
Alison, I have gratefully turned to If Americans Knew many times, always benefiting from its clarity, striking graphics, and wealth of relevant, sourced information. I know that your work has informed and enlightened an untold number of citizens throughout the world, helping dispel the myths and deliberate distortions propagated by our politicians and corporate media about Israel and Palestine. There is no way to calculate the value of this impressive achievement. And now I wish you a splendid 70th birthday and a well-earned celebration! Many thanks for your commitment, hard work and persistence!
Wishing you a wonderful birthday, an occasion also to celebrate your courageous steadfastness in alerting the American people to the realities of the US/Israel relationship and in working for a just outcome to the long Palestinian struggle for peace with justice. I know that you will never stop fighting for what is right. Thanks for this birthday present to us all. Warm greetings, Richard Falk
Alison Weir is a figure of great courage and integrity, acutely concerned for the heinous suffering of Palestine and its people, and for US responsibility. She is an inspiration for those working for justice in Palestine and everywhere. Happy birthday Alison, and many more to come.
Dear Alison,
Happy Birthday and Thank you for all of your hard work, courage and commitment to making the world a better place. Your selfless service to people less fortunate than you is a blessing to humanity. Warmly, Rich Forer
We just want to say Alison is one of the most dedicated, capable, and courageous people we have ever met. It’s a rare thing to find someone who puts herself “in the line of fire” on a controversial issue and sticks to it no matter what the cost to herself not only in terms of time, energy and expense, but also personal security and reputation. Thank you Alison, and many happy returns!
Greg and Nancy DeSylva
Alison,
Happy 70th Birthday! May you have many more years of good health so that you can carry on your excellent work.
I am in awe of you. I don’t know how you accomplish so much with such a small staff. You know just what needs to be done, and somehow you do it—well.
I am also in awe of your courage. You will not be cowed.
I am happy to have known you from your earliest days, when you spoke in my church and later shared tastefully printed handouts that were stored in someone else’s San Rafael office.
I can’t think of a single individual who has succeeded as well as you in letting Americans know what they need to know about Israel and Palestine. Thank you for using your talents on behalf of truth and justice.
In solidarity with your goals and with every best wish for you as you enter a new decade,
Esther R.
In the struggle for Palestinian human rights, which is but one facet of the struggle against Jewish supremacism, there is nobody for whom I have more respect than Alison Weir. With no academic backing and no heritage of “chosenness” she has persistently spoken truth to power. Ignored by the media, unsupported by the Palestinian diaspora, reviled by Israel-first politicians, and slimed by “liberal” left-of-center Jews who have co-opted the BDS and the peace movements, Alison steadfastly repeats a mantra of facts that have been flushed down the memory hole so they will not embarrass the racist, apartheid state of Israel. Like Alfred Lillenthal, Noam Chomsky, and Norm Finkelstein, Alison Weir is a one-person shock troupe whose selfless dedication should be an inspiration to us all.
Daniel McGowan
deiryassin.org
RighteousJews.org
Dear Alison: I have known you for almost two decades as we struggled together to expose the truth. You have good intentions and a determination to do what is right. Acting on your conscience as a determined journalist you achieved remarkable success. Kudus. Happy birthday from your friends in Palestine. May the force be always with you 🙂
Mazin Qumsiyeh
Professor and Director
Palestine Museum of Natural History
Bethlehem University
Happy Birthday Alison. Your work with “If Americans Knew” has contributed tremendously to raising awareness to the plight of Palestinians and the conspiracies that lead to their displacement and the current state of affairs in Palestine. I recall the first time I saw Alison’s presentation in San Diego many years ago, I was shocked by the data and impressed by the wealth of knowledge that you displayed and had offered in the presentation. This is only the beginning, there is a great deal of work ahead of us until we see the freedom and justice prevail in Palestine. For now, enjoy your birthday! Miko
Alison – A lovely birthday to you, amazing woman! Your tireless work has been a beacon for us in the movement, and so VERY valuable in our support for freedom for Palestine.
The quality and availability of your materials and the loving, determined heart that goes into developing them, acquiring them, and making them available at affordable prices has made a tremendous difference in our ability to do the work in our communities.
More importantly, your courage and graciousness in the face of constant opposition and ugliness helps us all to stand up when it comes at us. You are one hell of a woman, Alison. We love you and we’re privileged to know you!
Marianne and Michael
Spokane WA
Alison is one of the most dedicated, brave and scholarly persons that I know. I am a late comer to the Palestinian tragedy. For many years, I believed the Zionist propaganda that dominates our mainstream media. When I came across Alison’s book, “Against our Better Judgement”, I gained a whole new perspective on American-Israeli relations.
Alison’s organization, “If Americans Knew”, and I collaborated on a billboard that pointed out the outrageous amounts of money our politicians give to Israel every day. Alison followed this up by a talk at the local library which drew a standing room only audience. As expected, the local pro-Israel partisans showed up and tried to interrupt the talk using the tried and true Zionist bullying tactics. Alison remained steadfast and finished her talk as the local police handcuffed one of the violent rabble-rousers and hauled her off to jail.
Alison is a remarkable one-woman army. He perserverance has stood the test of time against a well-funded, well-organized Zionist political machine. While many of our politicians have sold their souls and acquiesced to this machine, Alison has stood resolute in seeking Justice for the Palestinians.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALISON, and may you have many more of them !!!—–the world is in dire need of more heroes like you.
Forrest
I want to congratulate Alison Weir on her seventieth birthday, but somehow measuring what she has accomplished in terms of years trivializes what she represents. I first met Alison seven years ago. To be sure, as a critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East and elsewhere, I had been aware of her splendid organization If Americans Knew, but most of my own pounding on issues took place in the conservative media that I wrote for based on Israel’s damage to the United States and people on the political left of center were largely an undifferentiated blur in my mind. But when Alison and I began working together for the Council for the National Interest, I quickly realized that she had enormous compassion for the victims of the conflict and also was extremely open to alternative points of view. In particular, her grasp of detail relating to the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians was something quite special. She could relate events to policies and policies back to the interaction of lobbyists and politicians in Washington effortlessly, and her ability to consider developments in context was extraordinary. Her profound understanding of the Zionist agenda over the past hundred years led her to write Against Our Better Judgment, where all of her accumulated knowledge came together. It is one of the three or four books on the Middle East that is essential reading for every American who seeks to understand how we have been bamboozled into supporting a series of wars in which we have had no interests whatsoever at stake, all engineered by a brutal occupying regime and its chorus of traitors in Washington. And the truly remarkable thing about Against Our Better Judgment is that Alison managed to write it while engaged in an extremely heavy schedule, simultaneously writing for and speaking regularly in front of diverse audiences all over the United States and even overseas. One has to hope that she has yet another book in her just waiting to be written! At significant birthdays, my Italian family offers a toast by saying “Cent’anni,” may you live to be 100 years. Cent’anni Alison!
Phil Giraldi, Executive Director, Council for the National Interest
There are very few persons in the United States who work very hard every day of their lives to tell the American people the truth. As far as I am concerned, Alison is at the top of the list. I was fortunate to meet Alison almost 20 years ago when she was in Washington to help us honor our fallen shipmates and show us tremendous respect by doing what she does to support the USS Liberty veterans. Alison printed up thousands of pieces of literature for her and I to hand out at the American Legion convention in Minneapolis in 2011 and those lousy leaders had the audacity to remove her from the convention hall. Alison never seemed to waver as she strove to continue the fight and tell the American people the truth of what happened to the Liberty on June 8, 1967. Alison continued to tell the truth, even having billboards placed in many places in the country talking about the Liberty. I know all of my shipmates would like to personally thank Alison for all she has done and I know we love Alison for making the effort to tell the truth and seek justice for the Liberty. May you have many, many more birthdays Alison and keep up the good fight.
Respectfully,
Glenn Oliphant
Vice-President of the Liberty Veterans Association
Alison,
I have recently bought my second batch of 10 of your books and I sell them or give them away to people who cannot afford to buy them.
To put it quite simply…
You have been an inspiration to me and your work is so important in making this world a better place!
In gratitude for your work,
Blessing on your birthday,
Sandra
I doubt if this needs much explanation, other then to say that I am a USS Liberty survivor. Alison’s work has known no bounds as far as I am concerned. Work in this area is, “Cutting Edge”, to say the least I have known this kind of work for almost fifty years, and those that follow this path are individuals that I don’t think the dictionary has any explanation for. Alison has been in the public eye, and taken a lot of blows over the years, and still she bounces back. I know how this all started, and believe me I am amazed at the people who have taken the reins, and never looked back.
Happy Birthday from one who not only admires, but who has survived because of what you do.
Ron Kukal
POIC in Charge of Body Recovery and Identification
USS Liberty
Sheridan, Wyoming 82801
Happy birthday to Alison, one of the most fearless and courageous human rights activists for Palestine that I know. Thank you Alison for persevering, no matter how many death threats or false accusations of anti semitism you receive! Your meticulous hard work of educating us all with the truth is invaluable to this world, and your dedication to both the Civil Rights movement for African Americans and the solidarity movement for Palestinians will help bring justice for all, and through justice, world peace.
Love and admiration,
Jane Jewell,
14 Friends of Palestine.
Dear If Americans Knew,
I met Alison about 20 years ago when she came to Portland, Ore. to speak. One evening after she spoke we became concerned
about her safety after speaking, so I gave her a ride to the place she was staying.
She is a real hero to me. I will never forget her and her compassion to the Palestinian cause. Also for her courage in speaking out
publicly when courage was necessary. What an unforgettable woman. Doug Willbanks, Beaverton, Ore.
Dear Alison, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy Birthday, and may you have many more.
We are both the same age I see, but I knew virtually nothing of Israeli/Palestinian politics until I stumbled on to your web site in 2008. Having to work at my 60 hour a week job up to that time, gave me little time for internet research on Israel. I remained ignorant on the subject until I retired and had the time available to actually read and research your wonderful web site If Americans Knew, the USS Liberty incident really opened my eyes. Your efforts completely changed my outlook and attitude toward Israel. I hate injustice anywhere, but when I see how the Palestinian people are being murdered and mistreated daily on the part of Israel, all without accountability, it makes me ashamed of my government knowing we are supporting this apartheid regime. Thanks to you I have been able to spread the message loud and clear on social media. I have noticed the awareness on social media towards Israeli behavior is today much more noticable compared to 2007/2008. We have the BDS campaign which is hugely successful.
Alison, I wish to thank you for your efforts which are hugely successful. It is amazing the difference one person can make. You are no longer fighting this battle alone, but have many allies. I support If Americans Knew as well as “Council For The National Interest” financially whenever I can. Keep up the good work Alison you are my hero! Your book, Against Our Better Judgement was spectacular and an education in itself. I highly recommend it to my friends.
Alison again I wish to thank you for all you do and hope to meet you personally one day. Best wishes going forward, fight the good fight you are not alone.
Respectfully, in your corner,
Leo O’Brien SFC USA Ret.
Dear Alison,
You have used your seventy years to defend the fair treatment of Palestinians and to expose the biased history of their dispossession by Israel. You were an average American journalist that when exposed to the truth set about making it understandable and attention grabbing for all of us. You spoke at our home many years ago and my friends and I never forgot it. Your energy and eloquence are so admirable! Recently, as part of Christian Jewish Allies for Peace and Justice in Palestine I organized a group of us to go to a meeting with Senator Casey’s staff in Philadelphia and left them a lot of information including your concise synopsis of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict with the maps and graphics. It was just the sort of short and visually compelling fact sheet we needed.
Thank you so much for all the work you do and Happy Birthday – you deserve it!
Joan and Eddy Hazbun
Dear Alison Weir,
I love you for the sake of Allah.
May he give you a long life full of health,
Happiness to fill fill your mission.
There are very few people in this world who are as courageous as you who search for the truth & dare to speak out.
God bless you & your family.
Ali Azam from Binghamton Ny
If I were the Pope, I would canonize her. If I were a bio geneticist, I would clone her. Alison is our own Joan of Arc leading the fight against the lies, skulduggery, and evil manipulations of the Ziocon tribe.
Happy Birthday
Dorsey R. Gardner
I was with Alison 15 or so years ago when I first learned how very challenging this issue was going to be. We were in the D.C. office of the California senator known as Feinstein.
We had an appointment with her and had been seated at the large board room like table in her glassed-in meeting room.
At the scheduled time for our meeting the door to the senator’s office opened. Senator Feinstein took one step toward us, looked at us for a second or two and spun around, back in to her office, and closed her door.
A few minutes later we were told an unavoidable conflict had come up and our meeting would have to be cancelled.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that glass wall is now made of some other material that doesn’t allow a full view of the entrance to the Senator’s office.
In solidarity,
john newton hickox
Happy 70th birthday, Alison! Your courage and persistence inspire me each day. I remember that it was your video “Off The Charts” exposing media bias in Israeli and Palestinian children’s deaths that impacted me deeply on this issue and pushed me to get involved. I had read Mazin Qumsiyeh’s book to understand how this horrible injustice had transpired, but I didn’t quite understand the U.S. connection, the extreme media bias going on, or that there were people working for Palestinian rights in the US. It has been an honor to work with you to educate the American public. You have changed so many hearts and minds with your calm, principled, facts-based approach, and when Palestine is finally free, it will be in no small part because of your efforts. We celebrate you today and always!
Happy birthday, and many more,
Katy
Happy Birthday Alison! I met you at USF in Florida before my first trip to Palestine: you gave me this wise advice, go as a pilgrim to the Holy Land, wear a cross and carry a bible – do not go as a peacemaker or journalist.
In peace, Doris
Happy birthday Alison
hope we can host U soon in Atlanta, GA
as Palestinian American & a Presbyterian minister, i want to thank Alison for:
telling her story as a typical American journalist that she did not know much about Palestine & how she began to learn the real story of Palestine under occupation.
Alison represent to me the best of America
& the best of scholarly journalism that can do the research & help us learn.
Please remember that their is no way for Israel to continue the 50 years of the brutal Israeli military occupation over the lives of 5 million Palestinian in the West Bank, East Jerusalem & Gaza, without our USA tax dollars.
imagine if U are born in 1967 that means today U are a 50 year old Palestinian woman or man that knows nothing but the brutal Israeli military occupation over your daily life.
Alison helps to humanize the Palestinian narrative by telling our story to the American people.
How can the US citizen know about the Palestinian people when the US media is not willing to educate us about the 50 years of brutal Israeli military occupation.
that means if i am living in Bethlehem 7 miles south of Jerusalem i am not able to visit Jerusalem without the Israeli military giving me a permit to visit?
That means if i am born in Jerusalem & came to the USA to study & became a US citizen & after 1993 i went back to live in Bethlehem & i have a Palestinian ID card.
Israel will deny me my visit without a permit. that means my US passport have zero respect in Israel even though we give Israel a gift of 4 Billion dollars a year as a gift.
that means as a Palestinian i am not able to go to college without a permit
that means as a Palestinian i am not able to go to the hospital without a permit
that means as a Palestinian i am not able to go to my own land without a permit
that means almost every Palestinian family @ least one person have been in the Israeli prison without trail?
Alison a million thanks for your gift as a journalist & your gift as a writer
& a million thanks for educating us about Palestine.
Please continue your great work for Justice & Peace in Palestine & Israel.
& u are always welcome to the holy city of Atlanta, GA
salaam
fahed
As the secretary of the Cascadia Chapter of the Pacific Green Party, serving as the secretary of the Eastside Democratic Club in Portland, Oregon, I sponsored an address to the Eastside Democratic Club by Alison Weir in 2014.
I applaud Ms Weir’s decades of dedicated service to uncovering and propagating the truth about the conflict in Israel and Palestine and the false pretenses under which U.S. support for Israel has been extended for fifty years now.
Long life and success to this battler for the truth and justice.
Michael Meo
Portland, Oregon
Happy Birthday Alison, you look marvelous! About 75% of the literature I distribute at my “Truth” table at the farmers market in Sacramento California comes from If Americans Knew. I have been distributing your literature for about 13 years and not one person has ever come back to prove any information wrong. Zionist or none. I feel that your material has informed many people as to the atrocities committed by the Zionists in the Middle East. And your ability to keep the cost of the literature low enough so an independent truth teller like myself can afford it. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!! I wish you a Happy Birthday again, with many many more to come.
The week that Alison spent with us in Columbus, Ohio was truly a wonderful experience. I had used If Americans Knew materials for decades, but being with Alison in person was truly delightful. She is so hard working and diligent, but also so kind and gentle! Love and best wishes for many, many more birthdays.
Happy Birthday, Alison !
Keep up the good work !
Michael Rabb
Video attached from some of Alison’s friends in Kansas City, wishing her a very happy birthday, with appreciation and thanks for her tireless work on behalf of Palestinian rights over many years. Two years ago Alison visited to help us put on an event that drew over two hundred people. Many of us still have vivid memories of Alison’s talk that evening.
If Americans Knew produces, year after year, material we trust and use to continue reaching out to people in Missouri and Kansas. Next month we’ll once again be relying on IAK publications to help us honor and remember veterans of the attack on the USS Liberty in a public event at a VFW hall, featuring Liberty survivor Bryce Lockwood.
Happy birthday, Alison, from your many friends here,
Citizens for Justice in the Middle East
HAPPY HAPPY 70th Birthday Dear Alison!
Thank You! For ALL that you are, that you do, that you say and believe!
Rarely, does a freedom fighter and peace activist have the sustaining courage and fortitude to work for truth, justice, and humanity, and never ever give up. You ARE that rare human being!
Your creation of IAK and your tireless work across the country and the globe has been so appreciated, so valued, and so deemed vital!
I will join you in turning 70 at the end of this year, and I can only say what an inspiration you have been to me — a woman, a mother, an educator, and an activist for the same causes and struggles.
I am grateful for the amazing (and audacious) stand you have taken— which defends (and honors) the resilient, suffering Palestinian people. May your voice continue to be heard, loud and clear.
I am humbled by your interminable vigor and your humane, sound, articulate, and amazing work, documenting what is really happening in Israel, Palestine, and on the U.S. media landscape.
We, the World, Washington, and the Media, MUST never ever underestimate the power of your passion, your purpose, and your promise to work, to believe, and to do what is right in the name of freedom, justice, peace, self-determination, and equal rights for every man, woman, and child in Palestine, and in Israel
Dear Sister Alison, may your 70th Birthday be a CELEBRATION of Hope, Humanity, and Humble Tribute to all those who fought and continue to fight for the showing, sharing, and knowing of truth… and the TRUTH shall set us free… If Americans Only Knew.
With Fond Salamaats and Alf Shukkrrans,
Wisam
Palestinian American
Who was born in Palestine, our precious Holy Land.
Alison Weir is what true American patriotism looks like…people who are willing to risk their credibility, security, and so much of what they hold dear, for the ideals and principles that they know are more important than any one of us individually. I am so inspired and so very grateful to know that people of such immense character and courage continue to fight for truth, justice, and our democracy, undaunted by the deafening silence of the masses who are so shamefully self-absorbed, willfully ignorant, and completely unmoved by the gross injustices their tax dollars continue to fund. God bless those who still make America a country worth fighting for. God bless Alison Weir.
Happy birthday, Alison, and may you have many more, telling truth. Your work is an inspiration to me and a source of materials for educating the American public
Molly Hogan
Happy birthday Alison!
I appreciate your invaluable research on the untold facts of Occupied Palestine.
I noticed you first in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. You researched the published reports on the way NYT headlined Israeli fatalities and how under reported the Palestinian were
I downloaded all of your papers, charts, etc. and your seminal work provided a strong foundation for understanding the conflict.
You continued your impact with the campaign on the massive amount of tax payer dollars fund Israel’s occupation & billboards.
You have educated many with Bethlehem cards, concise factual info
You have quite a legacy and I wish you the most happy of birthdays!
Kate Bates
I would like to express my great appreciation of the work of Alison. As a person who had no vested interest in either side in the conflict over Palestine she has shown remarkable courage in making addressing the imbalance in the way in which issues are presented. She has shown great fortitude in the face of accusations which unfortunately have been used to try to shout her down. I have used her material in many ways to try to spread her word.
In Peace,
Ken Johnson
(Member of the Quaker Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Middle East Concerns Group)
Please keep up the good work, Alison.
Many Happy Returns!
To me Alison Weir is an example of honesty and courage. She didn’t step back in front of the most difficult and dangerous challenge to be faced in our times, that is, the one represented by zionism. She wrote a wonderful, interesting and important book (Against our Best Judgment), a book that in my opinión should be translated into all languages (or at least into the most important ones). I’ve been lucky enough to watch her (on YouTube) on videos, in lectures or congresses, and I’m glad to say that I’ve always agreed to what she had to say. I do wish her a very happy birthday, for she does deserve that and much more. All the best!
One of her many Friends in the world
Alejandro Tomasini Bassols
(Mexico)
Alison Weir, you are our hero ..
As a Palestinian who is concerned about the Status of oppression and injustice in Palestine, the land of hope and despair, I value the role you play through “If Americans Knew” in revealing facts and realities that can lead to greater understanding of the facts.
Alison Weir and If Americans Knew, you are addressing an essential task: when you advocate, when you lobby, when you speak out on issues that matter to the Americans who need to see the hidden truth revealed. It is essential to those who care deeply about what is happening in and to the Occupied Palestine and the people there who struggle for a better future and hope be able to live with peace and security.
Alison Weir, for all your time, effort, hard work, for the enlightening and stimulating presentations, and your thoughtful speeches, please accept the deep gratitude and appreciation of every Palestinian.
God Bless You. Happy Birthday
Salah S Sakka
From Gaza
Happy Birthday !!! I always find your efforts worthwhile and instructive… Edward
Alison is fair and truthful. We need more balance with our foreign policy, especially in the Middle East.
Alison
I am not sure if you have an idea about what you have done for so so many of us non-Palestinians – in terms of standing for Justice (not just for palestine but anywhere).
you have given us that hope that despite all opposition, one must not bow down to tyraany and falsehood. stand tall and face it with all what you got.
I have to tell you how much dua (supplication) I make for you, your well being, you being other there for us as a role model. we all have short comings but we do not let them get in the way of our work for truth and justice.
I know very very few people like you, Alison.
Thanks for dedicating your life to this cause which has this world at the edge
Happy Birthday to you, Alison! Love from Katharina Harlow in Monterey.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALISON. YOU’VE HELPED TO EXPAND THE KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION POOL OF MANY, MANY PEOPLE–INCLUDING ME. I ADMIRE YOUR COURAGE. PEACE, LOVE AND BLESSINGS ALWAYS, SHIRLEY ELIZABETH BARNES
Alison Weir, you are our hero .. As a Palestinian who is concerned about the Status of oppression and injustice in Palestine, the land of hope and despair, I value the role you play through “If Americans Knew” in revealing facts and realities that can lead to greater understanding of the facts. Alison Weir and If Americans Knew, you are addressing an essential task: when you advocate, when you lobby, when you speak out on issues that matter to the Americans who need to see the hidden truth revealed. It is essential to those who care deeply about what is happening in and to the Occupied Palestine and the people there who struggle for a better future and hope be able to live with peace and security. Alison Weir, for all your time, effort, hard work, for the enlightening and stimulating presentations, and your thoughtful speeches, please accept the deep gratitude and appreciation of every Palestinian. God Bless You. Happy Birthday Salah S Sakka From Gaza
Alison’s the beauty of the world. I remember what a huge sense of relief I felt when I found If Americans Knew back around 2003. Until then the vacuum of real information about Israel was almost palpable, even eerie, especially in the normal media, but even on the web. Alison not only provided information, but also suggested activities, and I spent many hours between 2004 and 2010 printing and distributing leaflets, posters, and booklets, based on materials on the If Americans Knew site, in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. It was so satisfying! Seeing new places, giving people information about something I KNEW was important, and was pretty sure they weren’t aware of. I always felt so clean when I was finished, and the contretemps (being stopped by the police, being stopped once by a mailman, being called a Nazi by people who were usually well hidden, etc.) made me feel even cleaner. Since then, I’ve been working on my own projects, especially a website about Israel and its history that I hope will eventually serve as a kind of protective flank for If Americans Knew. Over time, I’ve internalized so much of what Alison’s written and done, that it would be hard for me to say where my insight, knowledge, courage etc. begin and Alison’s ends. Especially her courage. Happy Birthday Alison! )))) Doug Greene
Thank you, Alison, for your Against Our Better Judgment. At long last, we have a work uncovering the history of Zionism on this side of the Atlantic.
Ranald
From me Orabi M. Orabi & my family best wishes for Alison , god bless you .
Dear Alison, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for tirelessly advocating for the Palestinians. As someone born from a Jewish family, the Palestinian’s cause is particularly important to me. What my family experienced in France, I feel so sad to see that it is now experienced by Palestinians, and that the victims became abusers, and have passed this pattern to the new generations in the Holy Land and throughout the world. Your work in the face of diffamation by JVP is an inspiration (I unsubscribed from their mails). Many blessings to you on your 70th birthday. As a present to you and myself, I am going to order your book. Régine Bohar, Toronto (Canada)
Thank you Alison, You enlighted my whole life, Your dedication to peace ,justice and eternal values of virtue allover the world has inspired me and so many others to better understand the root causes of many of our days turmoils and conflicts , Thanks again from my deepest heart and long live Alison.
Alison Weir is what true American patriotism looks like…people who are willing to risk their credibility, security, and so much of what they hold dear, for the ideals and principles that they know are more important than any one of us individually. I am so inspired and so very grateful to know that people of such immense character and courage continue to fight for truth, justice, and our democracy, undaunted by the deafening silence of the masses who are so shamefully self-absorbed, willfully ignorant, and completely unmoved by the gross injustices their tax dollars continue to fund. God bless those who still make America a country worth fighting for. God bless Alison Weir.
Dear Ms. Alison Weir, Happy Birthday. As a Persian saying goes, may a hundred years be added to your life. Thank you for your research and outspokenness, on the Palestine issue and suffering of the people. Your heartfelt work has contributed greatly to the cause, doing what many of us wish we could have done. And, thanks to your in-depth research and your book, I am more aware as to how Zionism came to overtake America. It is important to know who we are facing, in opposition to the cause of justice and freedom for the Palestinian people. God Bless and with best wishes, Faramak Zahraie
Happy Birthday to Alison. We wish her very good health and many happy returns!
Amin Shafie
As someone who only relatively recently began comtemplating, then writing about, the Big Issues, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Alison. Although I’d read much about the history of Israel and its relationship with the US, her book Against our Better Judgment helped chrystalise for me possibly better than any other book before, the historical, geopolitical and moral significance of what we’re dealing with today in such matters.
[In]what I’ve written that I can genuinely say was inspired by Ms Weir’s insight and her courage to speak out….Greg Maybury Editor / Publisher Perth, Australia.
I met Alison in Portland ten years ago. She’s the most active and consistent campaigner for Palestinian rights in America. She’s also a campaigner for the rights of Americans – the vast majority of whom, of all classes, have no interest in supporting Israel at all. This led her to write “Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel”, published in 2014. This book deals with the Lobby. Following this, some of her former collaborators turned against her. They criticized her for being interviewed by someone they claimed is a “white supremacist”. But she has also given interviews to Jewish supremacists. They didn’t object to this, revealing their true colors.
If you think you support Palestinian rights, but don’t recognize the importance of the Israel Lobby, and Jewish power in general, in Western countries, particularly the USA, you are wasting your time.
Happy birthday, Alison. Keep up the good work, and many happy returns!
Happy Birthday in advance, Alison!
I admire and appreciate more than I can tell you the work you do to bring the plight of the Palestinian people to the world’s conscience. My late father was from Palestine so it’s natural that I keep close tabs on what is happening to my people….displacement, subjugation, torture, unwarranted deaths and what has been called “slow genocide”. None of my family members have remained there for the most obvious reasons. They are scattered to the four corners of the globe: Great Britain, the U.S., Canada, Australia and other nations.
Due to the immense bias of the American media in favor of Israel, I realize how vital your work is to inform the American people that the Palestinians are not the “bad guys”, in fact the opposite is true. Thank you with all my heart for bringing your message to the people in spite of the Israeli lobby’s attempts to vilify you. WE know who stands up for the truth!
All my best,
Beth Roberts
Gaines, MI
Happy Birth Day dear Alison, We all wish you all the best, and many, many more BD’s to come. Brave, smart,courageous, and daring people like you are giving this World and humanity more hopes for the future. With more people like you, out World can be a better place, indeed. Humanity needs more people like you.You’re a real patriot, one brave woman with big heart, seeking justice for all, and at most for the innocent mothers and children in the occupied Palestine today. Occupied, oppressed and imprison in their own land and homes by the artificial terrorist Zionist Israel. Of course we can’t be silent, witnessing this terror andinjustice in the last more than half century. Keep the good, but not easy easy at all work, for justice, and I have nothing but admiration’s for you and other real heroes like you. Thank you for everything you do, to make our World to be a better and more justplace. And again, with best wishes and best regards, Mike
Michael Mitev
Mitev Insurance Agency| Owner
I admire the courage of Alison, her devotion to the cause, her commitment, her relentless effort. She is a real inspiration.
Long may she be at the helm and may
As a British citizen with an extensive involvement and interest in the ongoing foreign policy of the United States in the Middle East I want to take this opportunity to send a birthday tribute to Alison Weir on behalf of all people who follow your work internationally.
Your organisation remains the only successful group I know of in the US which gives voice to a common sense campaign aimed at exposing the corruption and lies propagated by the pro-Israel lobby in America as well as the deplorable tactics of the Israeli state in pushing a fraudulent agenda onto the American people.
Alison’s razor-sharp intellect and dedication to plain facts have been a vital element in this journey and I firmly believe that her contribution to the debate will prove to be a turning point in the ongoing tragedy. Her particular gift for highlighting the empty rhetoric of the state of Israel and the gross hypocrisy of the pro-Israel lobby in America is a blessing to all who believe that truth will always triumph over ignorance and injustice.
The issue of US governmental blanket support for the state of Israel remains one of the most bizarre obsessions in western politics, and to those born outside the US it strikes us as a deliberate campaign of lies which, thanks to heavy funding by minority interests, has succeeded for over fifty years in concocting a fraud in which Americans are told that their safety lies in protecting Israel. Thanks to Alison, the absolute foolishness of this mythology has been extensively eroded to the point where her work has changed countless tens of thousands of Americans’ attitudes toward the plight of the Palestinian people. Alison’s courage, perseverance, and integrity are of the highest value to a Palestinian populace which has faced endless slaughter, theft and abuse across the entire history of the creation of the state of Israel.
As a long-term advocate of Palestinian freedom, I must also take a moment to highlight the often huge personal price paid by those such as Alison who stand up to the pro-Israel movement. Having the courage to take these people on publicly and expose their deception often entails extreme personal abuse, a campaign of deliberate deception aimed at wrecking the individual’s reputation, as well as extending to the receiving of death threats. It’s a campaign which requires tenacity, exceptional bravery, and a refusal to be be frightened away. Most of this goes completely unseen by the general public. In light of this, Alison deserves the highest praise possible for her refusal to back down and fall silent.
Justice is the work of God, and when we seek to protect the weak, to shelter the oppressed, and to save the victims of violence we do God’s work. This being the case, people such as Alison remain witnesses to the sacred dignity of all men, women, and children who live under impossible conditions of violence and who daily struggle to be free. I pray that the American people continue to recall their own former struggle for Liberty against a foreign power and that they, like Alison, will have the moral courage to seek an end to the mindless support of an Israeli state which continues to destabilise the entire world.
Sincerest best wishes to Alison on her birthday and may you all continue to be strengthened in your campaign to educate the good people of America. Truth is on your side!
Best wishes,
David M, London.
What I most respect about Alison is her strong commitment to discover and share the truth, and the steadfast courage with which she does so. But what most makes me love her is the love that I see in her heart, the love that set her on her voyage of discovery in the first place and that has, without fail, kept her on it.
Bill Tamblyn
Medford, NJ
Happy birthday Alison! I appreciate your invaluable research on the untold facts of Occupied Palestine. I noticed you first in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. You researched the published reports on the way NYT headlined Israeli fatalities and how under reported the Palestinian were I downloaded all of your papers, charts, etc. and your seminal work provided a strong foundation for understanding the conflict. You continued your impact with the campaign on the massive amount of tax payer dollars fund Israel’s occupation & billboards. You have educated many with Bethlehem cards, concise factual info
You have quite a legacy and I wish you the most happy of birthdays!
Kate Bates
I am grateful to Alison Weir for opening my eyes.
With a remarkable combination of skills and single-mindedness, Alison Weir has revealed to a widening circle of Americans the dangers of political Zionism, which has undermined American progressive values and our national interests in the Middle East.
I hope that Alison Weir’s selfless dedication to the cause of objective journalism and the writing of history, has engendered for her a sense of accomplishment.
That is my hope. What I see, is that Alison’s work has caused her to suffer neglect if not outright ostracism from her own profession of journalism.
I would like to add, as Alison reaches that mortal threshold of 70, to come on through, without misgiving. Like many of us, already beyond that threshold, you will find yourself looking backward in time more than forward but as an historian as well as an activist, you will find a rich, nuanced perspective that arrives with advancing years.
Alison, thank you!
I ‘discovered’ Alison a few years ago and was immediately impressed with her sincerity and passion for the cause of Palestine and Palestinians. Her ostracisation by both pro zionist and some supposedly anti zionist groups only increases my admiration and commitment to her brave efforts. Bravo Alison … and thank you …. David
I simply wish to say thank you for your hard work and courage and many happy returns.
Dr Jones
Happy Birthday, Alison…the woman who gave a loud voice to my unheard voice.
Happy birthday.
You and people like you have promoted awareness of the 20th centuries longest running crime. Well done. I have bought your books and regularly advise others to do so if they wish to obtain a structured overview of what has happened in Palestine.
Be very proud.
Michael Holmes
Happy Birthday, Alison. Please take heart and be reassured: You are not alone. Thousands of persons all over the world, seeking to comprhend the unending conflict in the Middle East, have shared your journey of discovery into the root causes. Thank you for your contribution. Dan Good Luxembourg
Happy Birthday my friend. I see that you are in the 70’s club now, Welcome to the club, I am 71 got ya beat. You’re still as attractive as ever. I have followed your work for years. Bought your book, actually several copies that I have given to people who I thought deserved it. You have sufferedmany things for the cause, professional attacks, and attacks on your character that I believe is beyond reproach. You dear friend have Inspired me in more ways than a few. So again I wish you a Happy Birthday, no one is more deserving. …Frank Andrea Pennestri BDS New York
ps. we met again at the restaurant following the Press Club,,,you signed another book for me. Thanx.
Dear Alison:
I would like to thank you for your years of service to the fight for justice. Growing up I believed that super heroes were men in capes who could fly higher than planes, deflect bullets and see through walls. Now I know that true heroes are ordinary people who stand up for justice. That being said, Alison you are a true hero. I thank God for people like you every day. Ever since I heard you speak about Palestine, I have made it my life’s journey to awaken as many people as I can, about the true nature of Israel’s treatment of the people of Palestine. As well as, America’s unconditional support for Israel.
God speed
Wahida Ramadan
Alison you are brave and God almighty ALLAH bless you for spreading the truth and guide you to Islam
Happy Birthday, Alison!
Americans will someday know that the
Lies
Israel
Spreads are
Only
Nonsense, and they
Will owe all their
Enlightenment to the
Incredible
Remarkable you.
Not very good, but probably something different.
All the best,
Kent
Alison, a vibrant crusader for human rights, is a heroic seeker and promoter of freedom and liberty for those that are powerless to pursue on their own. I salute her courage to address these agendas for the betterment of mankind. God bless her!
Alison, Bless you for writing the best book on Israel in print. I know the cost to you has been enormous, and the courage it has taken to withstand the backlash. Thank you is hardly enough to express my admiration and appreciation. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
Lynn Faulkner
Hello…I’m Dr. JohnC. Mason and I met her in Victoria several years ago…like me, she has a large bee in her bonnet ref. Israel and also had difficulty getting her book published due to Israeli interference. Happy birthday, and you have many years ahead to continue your courageous work. I’m now 85 and would like to live long enough to see justice in Palestine. Keep up the good work!
Happy Birthday and total support for your views on Palestine….Mac Halliday.
Alison Weir was one of the first people with a significant media platform (after the Washington Report, I suppose) to address non-Jewish people in the US about the Palestine situation.
The attacks on her by the essentially all-Jewish ‘solidarity’ network (JVP, MECA, IJAN, etc.) are motivated solely by that racist and supremacist ethos, not any of their putative and casuistic ‘cover’ fables those acronyms have invented to cover their real agenda.
All zionists, however ‘liberal’ they might want to appear, hate and fear any non-Jewish people getting involved in media or organizations against US imperial policy. And, not only in regard to Palestine.. But of course, the MECA, JVP, etc. ‘activists’ get most ‘activated’ when someone non-Jewish speaks out on that issue. I note the zionists have only been, roughly, halfway successful in silencing her, and I hope she will continue to expand her audience. Mark Richey
You are doing great work Alison. I saw your presentation in a couple of months ago and who would have thought you were approaching 70! 🙂 Happy birthday All the best—Richard
“Happy Birthday” Alison! Hope you have many, many more years to continue the good fight. I know the sacrifices you’ve made, but please know you have helped so many people with your writings and reporting. I, along with many others owe you and the staff at”If Americans Knew” so much for keeping us informed with your honest reporting and analysis. Your continued work is very important, so please know we’re counting on you! Blessing John Scalise
dear Alison,
I want to wish you the happiest birthday. You are truly one of kind human being and many thanks for your tireless efforts on behalf of the Palestinian people.
Best wishes,
Sincerely
Mahmoud Haleem
I really appreciate the work that Alison does, and wish more and more Americans become as informed and enlightened as Alison is. This is the only hope for any resemblance of justice to the Palestinians .when a majority of Americans know what’s being done with their dollars and in their name, to support the injustice perpetrated by Israel . Happy birthday Alison, and keep up the good work.
GOD BLESS HER AND KEEP HER ,(((( HAPPY BIRTHDAY )))) AND WISH YOU MANY MORE YEARS !!!!!!!! OUR BELOVED AMERICA IS WELL SERVED BY HER (( IF AMERICAS KNEW )) SHE HAS TRIED HER BEST TO KEEP US INFORMED,OUR COUNTRY IS IN GRAVE DANGER!!!!!!
I am very grateful for Alison’s courage, perseverance and dedication to a just cause. She has been undeterred by those who attacked her. Her book “Against Our Better Judgment” is a real eye opener. I shared it with others and used it in discussions to inform others I wish many more people would read it. Thank you Alison.
Alison: I admire people who fight for what is right, even if the odds are against them. Those are the people who make the world a better place. You are one of them. Happy Birthday! Aamer Khan
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