Dear Ms. Johnston ,
I am glad that you
requested documentation that collaborates Shoebat's story. I am also glad to
see that you intend to do proper due-diligence in this matter as well. As you
know we believe that such due-diligence was absent in articles that intended to
smear Mr. Shoebat in the past and would hope that your efforts will add to ours
in order to provide evidence that the public deserves.
I am currently
awaiting a report from Mr. Shoebat which he will provide to you upon his return
next week since he is overseas. I have three desk top computers and the one
that has the address book with the contact information of some of our advisory
members is at the Geek squad at local Best Buy being serviced. I will have the
computer back in a couple of days and can provide the information then. This
also applyies for the other names and numbers you requested.
The question regarding
Rauol Wallenberg. I called the office and and spoke to the receptionist I never
took her name. The number I called was 212-737-3275. The only reason to call
was to check if the name was copyright protected, because the work we do to
save Christians in Pakistan is of a similar nature what Raoul Wallenberg did to
save Jews in Hungary in WW2, being Jewish myself and a great admirer of his
courage I thought this a great way to honor him by trying to emulate his
example. The person we work with in Pakistan does the actual work in helping
Christians we just raise the money to provide him the ability to do it as well
as the advice and expertise to be as effective as possible. The man doing the
work is not a diplomat like Raoul Wallenberg so he has no protection so as much
as I would like to give you his name and contact information, if his name were
made public would be a death sentence.
In the meanwhile, and
while we wait, I would like to add to his report your findings as of late. I am
sure that you are aware that you have stated on camera to Walid that you spoke
to Bank Leumi in which you stated that they cannot confirm a bombing took
place. This cannot be the case since Walid is certain that a bombing did indeed
take place in Manger Square atop the Bank building. We would like the phone
number, name of the official, and date you called, as to give us a chance to
call that person so we can perhaps direct them to the correct incident since it
is likely that you missed certain details and Walid knows best the operation he
carried out.
Please write back to
me with this information so we might proceed to rectify this problem.
Sincerely,
Keith Davies
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Keith Davies <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 12:29 AM
Subject: Shoebat investigation
Dear Ms. Johnston,
Thanks for your reply.
I apologize but I was not aware that your verbal requests in
South Dakota needed our immediate reply. Walid stated that he asked you to jot
him an email and he will respond. I had been awaiting your email, which I
finally got just before yesterday. Why did you hesitate for an entire week to
send it?
I am also glad to refer to your verbal requests, which I
recall quite well. We shall address then—and since you insist—both (your
verbal) and your written questions, to the best of Walid’s and my recollection
of the facts:
1—Mr. Griffin asked on Camera to give the amount that was
being paid for Mr. Shoebat's services to speak at the South Dakota DHS
conference, which you stated that you have checked your “trusted sources”
and confirmed “for certain” that we “got paid $13,000”.
Unfortunately, the source you used was CAIR which was
circulated by them in their internet slurs and attacks on Mr. Shoebat was
wrong. The accurate amount is $5000 plus $1000 for travel expenses for both of
us, not sucha huge sum and tiny drop in the bucket of DHS budget. I would
like to urge CNN to be careful of shoddy journalism and gossip that circulates
on the Internet, which we proved here that you, did. Since Council for American
Islam Relations (CAIR) provides very inaccurate information, as they
regard Mr. Shoebat as their enemy; you should be very careful in relying on any
of their claims as they were the only source you could have got the erroneous
figure of $13,000.
This is why we are so glad you contacted us directly. I am
sure that CNN does not want to repeat the past mistakes, in which false
information was circulated and used. Dan Rather lost his credibility as a
result of not checking. We also have Deir Yassin alleged massacres and the
infamous Al-Dura case which were proven to have had extreme exaggerations.
2—Mr. Griffin verbally asked on camera: “What are the names
of the Christian individuals you are currently helping in Pakistan?”
Answer: Since CNN is quite interested about the persecution
of Pakistani Christians which is validated by many very credible institutions
and our government, we will be glad to have our trusted rep in Pakistan
accompany your investigative crew in Pakistan to meet and examine the veracity
of the victims stories and claims. Our Rep. will give you a guided tour first
hand, with the opportunity to interview the individuals and newspaper articles
that calls for their killing as well as the case histories of imprisonment for
blasphemy. I am sure that you will be glad to have your viewers get a first
hand account on what happens in Pakistan to the Christian community. We
will also be glad to disclose to you in private the financial aid that we have
done so far with direct aid to the families. Please let us know when you intend
to embark on such a noble endeavor and may the Lord richly bless you for your
interest.
3—Regarding your search at Bank Leumi, we requested your
contact name, or phone number or the date you contacted Bank Leumi. Mr. Griffin
stated verbally “I called Bank Leumi”. He never stated that he
“contacted a source in Bank Leumi”. Can you please clarify these
seemingly contradictory statements? Also, and since you stated that you cannot
give out your source, can you at least provide a date and time you called? I am
sure as journalists you keep a notebook. Don’t you? Fact finding prior to any
case mandates an exchange of information, which you refuse to do.
So here is the question we all should consider seriously.
The story of Walid Shoebat, as many claim, rests upon supposed evidence
obtained by CNN regarding records that were checked in Bank Leumi, and CNN
cannot collaborate this claim to the public? I hope you understand that we will
diligently pursue the truth of this matter, here’s why:
A—It is impossible for any logical person to believe that
such contacts were confidential since there are no records in Bank Leumi that
keep details on bombing activities during 1976-1977. This whole claim is
fictitious. Neither can CNN provide a date and a time when such records were
checked.
B—Further, Bank Leumi branch in Bethlehem Manger Square has
been long gone after the transfer of power between Israel and the P.A. How
could such records be checked from that branch?
C—Since your source on the “$13,000 paycheck” was wrong and
the Bank Leumi source you contacted was also wrong; how can the public trust
your report?
May we direct you to the proper facility to inquire on such
records, which you can obtain from records that were at the Bethlehem Police
station including names of arrested individuals, they questioned one of which
was Muhammad Mari Al-Atrash Shoebat arrested on the spot after the explosion.
D—Such records have been transferred to Israel after the
transfer to the P.A. CNN is simply using shoddy journalism done by Chris Hedges, former Middle East Bureau Chief for the New York
Times portraying our story as “fraudulent”. Hedges checked no records. Indeed,
we urge you to contact Mr. Hedges and ask him of any sources he checked. This
will confirm that beyond any doubt that Mr. Hedges used his bias and nothing
more.
E—We also like to ask you to contact Mr. Jorg
Luyken of the Jerusalem Post, whom CNN is using as a source claiming
that Shoebat's story was “rejected by members of his family who still live in
the area” Hedges and Luyken and now CNN is using inaccurate reports to push a
false narrative without doing proper due diligence. We would like to prevent
CNN of doing the same shoddy research, since like you, neither provided names
of any official from Bank Leumi. Yet, Luyken provided names and contacts when
he called to check on our 501c3. Why would he provide one public source,
yet ignore another?
F— It is impossible for someone to miss such an explosion.
Manger Square is a tiny parking lot with only one Israeli facility—Bank Leumi.
Detractors always attempt to poke holes and even point that there was no
Israeli bank in Manger Square. No serious individual can deny that 'decades'
ago, Bank Leumi sat there in front of the Mosque, which housed the Sharia court
in Manger Square in fact part of Dr. Dave Klein who was governor of the Bank of
Israel 2000 -2204 earlier in his carrier was a manager of the Bethlehem branch
of Bank Leumi which proves that the Branch existed as Mr Shoebat stated. Luyken
refused to examine the testimony of witnesses we provided to him for the story he
did in Jerusalem article which was used not to produce facts but a smear. There
is a journalist currently working to evaluate Mr. shoebat's story. He has
interviewed two eyewitnesses. One is Mr. Al-Yateem, a native of Bethlehem,
also former IDF officer under Moshe Ya'alon (prior to becoming chief of staff). Both corroborated Mr. Shoebat's account
regarding the near lynching of an Israeli officer. Mr. Al Yateem can also
confirm the Bank Leumi in Bethlehem's Manger Square bomb explosion. Please let
us know if you would like to contact this journalist.
4—In reference to your question in South Dakota, you stated
that Walid bills himself as an x-terrorist on the basis of a bombing activity
of Bank Leumi.
Answer: We rarely bill Mr. Shoebat as an x-terrorist on the
basis of bombing Bank Leumi. Mr. Shoebat’s story is billed on the basis of
several proven accounts:
A—He was recruited into the PLO by prison cellmate Mahmoud
Al-Mughrabi – which led to the former's involvement in a bomb plot
that targeted Bank Leumi branches (which Hedges and Luyken said was manufactured).
B—Close family ties to high as well as low-ranking
terrorists, which can be reasonably proven (see #6).
C—Walid’s violent acts included street violence and
hand-to-hand confrontations with Israeli forces. On one occasion Walid nearly
lynched an Israeli soldier, which also can be confirmed by accessing Israeli
news archives on March 18th as well
as March 30th 1976. The news broadcaster was
Karam Zarour who broadcast the news item on 8 PM news on the Arabic station on
Israeli TV. You could access the archives and collaborate the story.
D—Walid’s experience in Chicago being active with the PLO as
well as the Muslim Brotherhood prior to the inception of the I.A.P (Islamic
Association of Palestine) which later gave birth to CAIR (Council of American
Islamic Relations).
We are not sure why CNN is following CAIR’s complaints? I am
sure that it helps the public to understand the root causes of terrorism. I am
sure you understand that police use X-Drug addicts to expose the mindset of
drug addicts. It is why we started our quest to expose the truth in order to
help troubled Muslims, as well as train Americans what to watch for.
5—You asked how we could collaborate billing Walid as an
x-terrorist?
Answer: First, I must remind you not to repeat the same
mistakes made by Hedges and Jerusalem Post’s Jorge Luyken’s inadequate research
in which Walid’s whole history was portrayed as fraudulent. Additionally, a
records search that Luyken and Hedges failed to check yielded evidence in
Shoebat’s favor that contradict such claims:
A—Walid’s partner in crime and prison cell mate Mahmoud
Al-Mughrabi was notorious, very real and quite dangerous. He was a secret
correspondent for the British Sunday Times – hired to report alleged tortures
in the Russian Compound (Jerusalem Central Prison) that were published
by the United Nations while privately conducting terror plots.
Al-Mughrabi was finally assassinated
on October 1, 1985 in the secret Israeli operation – 'Wooden leg' – that
targeted PLO Yasser Arafat's Tunisian headquarters. Keep in mind, that you can research
interviews by another research done by a blogger Eileen Flemming in which
she stated that my family confirmed I was in prison in 1976, when Mr Shoebat
first went public with his story the very same people denied Walid even
existed. Mr. Shoebat's story remains consistent for 8 years since he went
public and well documented in his book "Why I Left Jihad."
B—It is important that when we examine evidence to avoid
character assassinations due to political affiliation. Luyken at the Jerusalem
Post had an liberal agenda
and we are conservative in our affiliation. Let us put our affiliations aside
and pursue the facts. Will CNN be willing to pursue the facts or is there an
agenda in line with CAIR's?
6—Walid was well connected to several terrorist members of
his own family whom the Jerusalem Post's freelance Journalist Luyken ostensibly
interviewed—preferring to use these—to collaborate a false claim. Yet such
connections only add to his credibility:
A—His cousin was - Areen Ahmad Shoebat – the renowned mastermind of the dual Operation
Reshon Letzion in which Issa Bdeir detonated a bomb, killing him
along with innocent Jewish civilians. Areen survived, hesitating to kill
children, a similar account to that of Walid’s, who published his story years
prior to Areen’s activity.
B—Walid fled to the United States and was mentored under Jamal Said an
associate of Abdullah Azzam, the godfather of Al-Qaeda.
C—Then we have another cousin, exiled terrorist Jawad Younis
who became Abu Zubaydah’s lawyer in absentia. Abu Zubaydah ended up in
U.S. custody to later testify against 911 ‘mastermind’ Khalid Sheik Muhammad.
Jawad is still an Islamist troublemaker in Jordan and an ardent supporter of Hezbollah:
“To His Excellency Mr. Nasrallah
Secretary General of Hezbullah the Victorious by the will of Allah …We grip our
hands with you, and all the Jihadists for the cause of Allah…as you lunge with
your souls for the battle of the [Islamic] nation, to fight the demonic forces
of America and Zionism, the sons of the great Satan.” Signed as #4 of this
delegation Jawad Younis. (Letter of support to Nassrallah, dated 7/19/2006,
published July 27th, 2006)
D—Another cousin is Raed Khalil
Awadallah Shoebat, killed while attempting to plant a bomb at Ben Yehuda
Street.
E—Another cousin is Mahmoud Khalil
Awadallah Shoebat who was imprisoned for years for his terror activity to later
be released in a plea bargain.
F—Another cousin Eiad Shoebat, has
an arrest warrant by the FBI wanted to major financial fraud suspected to be
terror related. This involved contra band, passport fraud and major financial
embezzlements intended to aid and abet terrorism. You can call the FBI to
confirm.
We hope in this that we have
satisfied your request to prove Walid's credentials. We are always doing
research on Mr. Shoebat's story so we can provide as much of a back ground as
possible, within next few months we are following more lines of inquiry that
will have more eye witnesses as well as media records that corroborates the
events that Walid describes in his story.
Yours,
Keith Davies
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "Johnston, Kathleen" <[email protected]>
Cc: "Johnston, Kathleen" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thu, May 26, 2011 1:05:30 PM
Subject: cnn request
Mr. Davies: Thank you for your response. We are certainly
happy to review anything Mr. Shoebat wants to send us but we would need that
information soon. We have deadlines to meet and as you know have already waited
while other publications have reported on the conference.
We have asked for the documentation since meeting you in
Rapid City May 18 and are still waiting for it.
In addition, we look forward to receiving as soon as
possible the names of the board members. If their full details are a problem in
the absence of your computer, please let me have their names and states of
residence and we will endeavor to find them.
As for the names of officials at Bank Leumi, we suggest you
contact the bank itself at its head office in Tel Aviv. Like most media organizations,
we do not reveal the names of our contacts in the course of newsgathering. If
Mr. Shoebat feels the Bank is misinformed, he should contact the bank directly
to make his case. The names of their officials are easily obtainable through
the bank’s website.
Thanks for your assistance and your understanding that time
is of the essence in getting us the information you want us to have before we
go to air.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Keith Davies <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2011 7:58 PM
Subject: Formal Complaint
Dear Mr Whitaker:
I
am filing a formal complaint against two of your "investigative
journalists" Drew Griffin and Kathy Johnston for lying to us when they
were questioning Mr. Shoebat (my client) in Rapid City SD at a Department of
Homeland Security event. Drew Griffin one of your journalists stated to
Mr. Shoebat that he received information from a "trusted source" that
Mr. Shoebat was paid $13,000 for his speech/lecture for the DHS in Rapid City
(This was recorded on Camera ). This "trusted source" we
believe was CAIR - Council for American Islamic Relations, which has shown many
times in the past a biased hatred against Mr. Shoebat and they have made many
false accusations against him in tghe past.
The
second lie is more serious in which Drew Griffin as well Kathy Johnston would
be undermining the integrity of CNN. In an email from Kathy Johnston she confirmed
Drew Griffin's statement that "CNN contacted Bank Leumi branch which Walid
stated he had bombed in Bethlehem in 1976, stating that there was no record of
any bombing." CNN or your investigation team never called the bank
but relied on a fraudulent article written by a freelance journalist Jorg
Luyken, in his article stated he contacted THE BANK LEUMI, which was the bank
Shoebat had bombed. This freelance journalist had an anti Shoebat agenda and
his article was published only in the op ed column of the Jerusalem Post in
which the Newspaper later printed a rebuttal. Further we hired our own
investigator and the bank branch in question was closed in 1996 according to
Bank Leumi. The article written by Jorg Luyken in the Jerusalem Post was written
in 2008, 12 years later, so he could have never called the bank branch in
question, he lied. Our investigator, also contacted Bank Leumi headquarters in
Israel who stated they would never release information like this unless one was
a customer of the bank, my investigator happens to live in Israel and is a
customer of the Bank.
We
would appreciate if you can ask these journalists their "trusted
sources" internally so that you can determine whether you wish to expose
facts to your audience or lies, egged on by the propaganda of CAIR whom seems
that these journalists have an alliance or maybe CAIR itself has infiltrated
CNN, which should be of great concern to you as an independent media
organization.
We
asked Kathy Johnston by email the source of the person at Bank Leumi but she
was unwilling to provide based on "protecting sources." I bcc'd you
the email with this information. I can always send you another copy of that
email. We fail to see how the so called source at the Bank Leumi could be in
any danger or hurt for revealing a simple fact, unless Drew Griffin and Kathy
Johnston are lying. If CNN is serious about the integrity of its news
gathering, some questions need to be asked concerning the agenda regarding this
story as well as verifying for yourself as leaders of CNN News, the integrity
of these journalists. If they lie about us then how can they be trusted with
other important stories.
I
look forward to hearing your comments and findings? please indicate when I
should receive a complete response?
Yours
Keith
Davies
Executive
Director Walid Shoebat Foundation
From: "Lister, Tim" <[email protected]>
To: Keith Davies <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 6:58 PM
Subject: RE: Walid Shoebat story
Dear Mr Davies
Thank-you for your reply. It is my role at CNN
to check all reporting for attribution and balance; and to follow up leads that
would ensure the most complete coverage of any story.
As regards the incident in Bethlehem in 1978,
I note that in 3 – F of your original e-mail, you offer contact details for a
journalist who has interviewed eyewitnesses. We would be very grateful for
those details so as to be able to make every check possible.
Sincerely
Tim Lister
From: Keith Davies [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 4:26 PM
To: Lister, Tim
Subject: Walid Shoebat story
Dear Mr. Lister,
Thanks for your inquiry regarding
the vetting process of Mr. Shoebat. I did not see your email of last Wedneaday
till now. Thanks for following up.
When we were first
contacted by CNN asking for evidence that corroborates Mr. Shoebat’s life
account, we were glad, since we felt that you were serious in doing a joint
effort in investigating the story and provided you with our initial detailed
report. We also contacted our own sources in Israel to do some checking on what
Mr. Drew Griffin erroneously claimed that he “personally contacted Bank Leumi”
regarding the bombing which we had our contacts in Israel check to only find out
that Mr. Griffin’s account was certainly false and that we believe Mr. Griffin
had plagiarized his record.
We did not reflect this
on the entire CNN team, so in our effort to iron this issue out we filed a
complaint in which we referred to evidence as to why we believe that Mr.
Griffin was being dishonest (see below). We summarized in our emailed letter
that: “your investigators never called the bank but relied on a fraudulent
article”.
We obtained a
disappointing reply from Mr. Feder dated June 13, 2011, which stated that: “We
stand by the reporting upon which Ms. Johnston and Mr. Griffin based their
questioning. Your assumptions as to their sources have no basis in fact,
and your allegations of lying are false and without basis”.
Although the response had
no details to corroborate Mr. Griffin’s account, we concluded that you stand by
your investigation and chose to provide your viewers with this false
information since CNN was not able to corroborate Mr. Griffin’s claim.
The reason that we are
at a loss is that after reading Mr. Feder’s response, which states that Mr.
Griffin is being truthful, then Mr. Shoebat’s account must be according to you
false.
And now we obtain an
email that has valid inquiries from you, which if one reads can conclude that
CNN is not fully convinced of Mr. Griffin’s account.
If you believe Mr.
Griffin’s account, then why even continue this investigation? Why not simply
make your story as it stands?
We are at a loss here
since we still would like to presume our corroborated effort in obtaining the
facts to provide your viewers.
Sincerely
Keith Davies,
The Shoebat Foundation
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 7:10 PM
Subject: Your e-mail
Dear Mr. Davies,
Your May 29 email to Christa
Robinson and Mark Whitaker has been
forwarded to me for a reply. We will take your concerns under
advisement.
We stand by the reporting upon which
Ms. Johnston and Mr. Griffin based their questioning. Your assumptions as
to their sources have no basis in fact, and your allegations of lying are false
and without basis. Your email has been forwarded to CNN’s
attorneys.
Dear Mr Whitaker:
I am filing a formal complaint
against two of your "investigative journalists" Drew Griffen and
Kathy Johnston for lying to us when they were questioning Mr. Shoebat (my
client) in Rapid City SD. Drew Griffin
one of your journalists stated that he received information from a
"trusted source" that Mr Shoebat was paid $13,000 for his
speech/lecture for the DHS in Rapid City
(This is on Camera )This "trusted source" was CAIR - Council for
American Islamic Relations" which has shown many times in the past a
biased hatred for Mr. Shoebat and have made many false accusations against him.
Even CAIR in their latest release against Mr. Shoebat stated the correct
amount which came day or two after the event in which somebody at the DHS told
them the actual figure, which was $5000.
The second lie is more serious in
which Drew Griffen as well Kathy Johnston in an email confirmed that "CNN contacted Bank
Leumi branch which Walid stated he had bombed in Bethlehem in
1976." CNN or your investigators never called the bank but relied on
a fraudulent article written by a freelance journalist, in his article stated
he contacted THE BANK LEUMI, which was the bank Shoebat had bombed. This
freelance journalist had an anti Shoebat agenda and his article was published
only in the Op Ed column of the Jeruslalem Post which the Newspaper later
printed a rebuttal. Further we hired an investigator ourselves and the bank
branch in question was closed in 1996. The article written by Jorge Luyken in
the Jerusalem Post was written in 2008, 12 years later so he could have never
called the bank branch in question. Our investigator also contacted Bank Leumi headquarters in Israel who stated they
would never release information like this unless one was a customer of the
bank.
We would appreciate if you can ask
these journalists their "trusted sources" internally so that you can
determine whether you wish to expose facts to your audiences or slanted bias,
egged on by the propaganda of CAIR whom seems to have an alliance which should
not be tolerated by any independent media.
We asked Kathy Johnston by email the
source of the person at Bank Leumi but she
was unwilling to provide based on "protecting sources." We fail to
see how the so called source at the Bank Leumi could be in any danger or hurt
for revealing a simple fact. If CNN is serious about the integrity of its
news gathering some questions need to be asked concerning the agenda regarding
this story as well as verifying for yourself as leaders of CNN News, the integrity of these journalists. If
they lie about us then how can they be trusted with other important stories.
I look forward to hearing your
comments and findings? please indicate when I should receive a complete
response?
From: "Lister, Tim"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 11:25 AM
Subject: Walid Shoebat story
Dear Mr Davies
Checking that you
received this e-mail. Very much hope that you can help with the questions
below.
Sincerely
Tim Lister
From: Lister, Tim
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 12:35 PM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: Walid Shoebat story
Dear Mr Davies
I am involved in the vetting process
for a story concerning Mr Walid Shoebat that has been shot by Drew Griffin. His
producer Kathleen Johnston passed on to me your long and detailed e-mail of May
27th.
Thank-you for the information you
have provided. We are still trying to find the answers to several questions.
Can I ask you to provide further
details as follows?
We are having very little luck
tracking down any of the Board members of the Forum for Middle East
Understanding. If you have any contact information for board members, I would
be very grateful for it. I note from IRS Form 990 from 2009 that Lance Silver
is listed. Is he still a board member and are there any others?
As regards the incident in Bethlehem
in 1978, I note that in 3 – F, you offer contact details for a journalist who
has interviewed eyewitnesses. We would be very grateful for those details.
Do you have any contact details for
James al-Yateem, who is referenced in your e-mail and Mr Shoebat’s blog posting
of May 18th this year?
Similarly, in 4 – C, we have had no
luck in accessing Israeli TV archives (which are very incomplete for that time)
or in tracking down anyone by the name of Karam Zarour. Could that name be
spelt differently?
Are you able to furnish us with any
documentary evidence of Mr Shoebat’s convictions in Israeli court?
Can you tell us when Mr Shoebat
entered the US ? Were US immigration authorities aware of his record of
violence on behalf of the PLO?
Thank-you for your time - and for
helping us pin down as many details as possible about Mr Shoebat’s experiences
and background.
Sincerely
Tim Lister
Executive Editor, CNN