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July 11, 2017 Special Announcements No. 551

Please Support Our Summer 2017 Campaign

July 11, 2017
Special Announcements No. 551

We want to provide you, our valued reader, with an update about 2017 as follows. So far in 2017, MEMRI has sent 500 emails and published over 27 Inquiry and Analysis papers, 270 Special Dispatch reports, 29 Special Announcements, 39 Daily Briefs, 598 Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) reports, and 150 Cyber Jihad Lab reports. We recently passed the milestone of our 6000th translated MEMRI TV clip, and as of this writing we have released 6,104 MEMRI TV clips.

We are able to do this only because of the generosity of our donors. MEMRI's unique and timely research is a critical part of the discussion about the Middle East in governments, legislatures, media, militaries, academia, and the general public. MEMRI is a resource for international law enforcement and intelligence agencies; it is the only organization worldwide that constantly monitors, translates, analyzes, and makes available to Western audiences content from hundreds of Arabic, Farsi, Dari, Hindi, Urdu, Pashtu, Turkish, and Russian newspapers, magazines, television broadcasts, and online outlets, including social media.

Media Worldwide Use MEMRI Research

In the past year alone, MEMRI research has appeared in hundreds of print and broadcast media publications worldwide, and aids U.S. and Western counterterrorism efforts on a daily basis.

Subjects

Following are the subjects on which MEMRI is presently focusing:

  • Jihadi Threats to the West and Beyond – As the recent terror attacks in Manchester, London, Paris, Stockholm, and Berlin demonstrate– and with Iraq's recent announcement that it has retaken Mosul – ISIS and other jihadi groups continue to recruit and inspire "lone wolf" operatives in the West via social media, and pro-ISIS online outlets continue to disseminate instructions for carrying out such attacks. At the same time, jihadis in Somalia, Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand, and elsewhere are pledging allegiance to ISIS and stepping up recruitment efforts. Through its JTTM project, MEMRI continues to monitor and analyze jihadis' and jihadi groups' online activity.

  • Iran's Ongoing Regional Expansion – Iran continues to expand its military involvement and its footholds in Syria and Iraq, including via local Shi'ite militias, as the power struggle between Iran/the resistance axis and Saudi Arabia/the Gulf Sunni bloc intensifies.

  • Arab and Muslim reform – MEMRI continues to monitor and provide a platform for the growing number of outspoken voices in the region condemning terrorism, questioning Islamism, and urging better relations with the West, as well as promoting equal rights for women, religious minorities, and the LGBT community.
  • Antisemitism, anti-U.S., and anti-West incitement – Antisemitic, anti-U.S., and anti-West content, including Holocaust denial, blood libels, and conspiracy theories, continues to proliferate in Arab and Iranian media and in sermons in the Middle East and, increasingly, in Europe – and MEMRI continues to monitor it all.

  • Russia's growing role in the region – In Syria and elsewhere in the region, Russia continues to vie with the U.S. for influence and challenge Western interests.

THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS NEED FUNDING THIS YEAR

  • MEMRI TV – Monitoring and translating from nearly 100 Arab and Iranian channels around the clock, this project is a major resource for researchers from government, academia, legislatures, and media, providing a much deeper understanding of complex situations than can be obtained from other sources. MEMRI TV clips have had over 250 million views to date.

  • The Tom Lantos Archives on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial – The Archives focus on antisemitism and Holocaust denial across the Arab and Muslim world, culminating in an annual event on Capitol Hill event marking the release of its annual report. Last year's speakers included Sen. John McCain, French reformist Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, and Charlie Hebdo contributor Caroline Fourest.

  • Iran Studies Project – Monitoring Iran's growing expansion and might in the region, its continuing missile program, and its responses and interactions with the new U.S. administration.

  • Jihad & Terrorism Studies – Monitoring jihadi organizations and individuals: their recruitment, indoctrination, and fundraising efforts; their expansion in regions outside the Middle East and their attacks in the West, including lone-wolf attacks; their media organizations and their constant stream of output; their cyber warfare; and more.

  • Cyber Jihad Lab – Researching and translating cyber jihad content originating in the Middle East, Iran, South Asia, and Africa.

  • Reform Project – Providing a platform for voices that represent the increasing trends towards reform, democracy, equality, and human rights in the region.

  • Russian Media Studies Project – Assisting Western authorities in understanding Russia's political discourse, vision, aims, and political scene, as well as the implications of its increased involvement in the Middle East.

  • South Asia Studies Project – Monitoring the region as ISIS and other jihadi groups expand their reach in South Asia.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS NOW

It is because of your generosity that MEMRI can continue to assist the U.S. and other Western countries in the day-to-day fight against extremism, benefitting troops in the battlefield and law enforcement and policymakers at home. Your support for MEMRI allows us, on a daily basis, to assist:

  • U.S. Armed Forces – The highest echelons of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force.

  • U.S. Congress – MEMRI briefs both sides of the political aisle in Congress, including Majority and Minority staff of numerous influential committees in the Senate and House of Representatives.

  • Federal bodies – The White House, the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the TSA, and more.

  • State and local law enforcement authorities – in all 50 states.

  • Western government agencies – which use MEMRI research on a daily basis.

  • Academia – over 500 universities, colleges, and other institutes of higher education worldwide.

  • Top print and television media outlets – including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN, and others; every day, MEMRI receives numerous requests for research.

To continue to meet the growing demand for our research, WE NEED YOUR HELP.

MEMRI IS A 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION – YOUR DONATION IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE UNDER U.S. LAW.

Please consider making a recurring monthly donation, which helps us contain costs and plan for the future.

Donating online keeps our administrative costs down. You can also mail a check to MEMRI at P.O. Box 27837, Washington, D.C., 20038-7837.

In gratitude for your consideration,

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