I've been criticized for my 'conspiracism,' even for being a Holocaust denier. Now for the truth.
By BARRY CHAMISHchamish, barry(photo credit: )
As Israel approached the 10th anniversary of the Rabin assassination, Yediot Ahronot published a survey which showed that 35 percent of Israelis did not believe the government's version of the murder. Discounting the Arab sector, which has almost no knowledge of the issue, close to half of all Israeli Jews believe or suspect the government is lying to them about the circumstances of Rabin's demise.
Just previous to the release of the poll, long and, I would say, respectful features about me were printed in a wide variety of Hebrew publications including Anashim (People), ShofarNews and Ma'ariv. In the wake of the poll, I was invited to appear on four television programs in a week, including the very staid and establishment "London & Kirschenbaum" and "Hok Vetzedek" (Law and Justice).
And why not? A good portion of the reason for the poll's result was directly attributable to my book, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin, which has sold over 34,000 copies in six languages.
I have achieved that elusive prize which escapes almost many Anglo writers: widespread recognition by mainstream Hebrewspeaking Israelis. Not a bad achievement for someone who dared to write that Yigal Amir did not murder Yitzhak Rabin.
It is this cultural breakthrough that may have generated some resentment. I've been "accused" of writing about UFOs - a heinous crime if there ever was one.
From 1987-99, Israel saw a barrage of unexplained aerial phenomena, all highly publicized by the Hebrew media. Using ethical journalistic standards, I documented the events and received worldwide recognition for my efforts. Four episodes of the NBC-TV program Sightings were dedicated to my discoveries, and in 1999, Fox-TV devoted a full half hour of prime time to my work. I'm very proud of this period of my career but the phenomena stopped and I haven't written a word on the subject in six years.
The next criticism of me is so slanderous that I have actually sued one obsessive accuser: that is the absurd charge that I am a Holocaust denier.
Type my name into Google and you will find that my work appears on the Internet 71,100 times. A few of those sites are run by the deniers. Talk about guilt by association. I have no control over the Internet and anyone who finds my writing useful can copy and paste it into their sites.
As Yaacov Levi, who moderated a pro-Israel Internet discussion group and looked into the issue noted: "[Chamish] is always identified as pro-Israel and a Holocaust 'believer'. They quote him simply because he raises questions looking for accountability from the Israeli government. What a concept!
"I also checked out other Web sites of the revisionist genera, they ALL cite him as pro-Israel and anti-revisionist. Not a one made any tiny effort to identify him as an ally."
I also wrote to the editors of several of the sites asking them to confirm the obvious. Jeff Rense, who incidentally is not in my view a denier, but nonetheless sure doesn't like Zionism, wrote: "At no time, never once, has Mr. Chamish ever solicited the posting of his work on my site of rense.com."
ONE OF the errors of literally all Israeli writers in English is that they restrict their audiences to like-minded readers. My audience runs the gamut of contemporary thinking and by also entering the homes of the enemy, I have neutralized much anti-Semitism worldwide. I do this indirectly by exposing the crimes of those in power who have brought us "peace," and, I insist, are endangering the existence of our state.
What has also attracted so much reader loyalty is that the "absurd" claims I made back in the Oslo days have came true. And the "absurd" claims of my latest book, Shabtai Tzvi, Labor Zionism And The Holocaust will likewise, all prove to be accurate in time.
Permit me to present a few examples of prescience:
Six years ago, I warned my readers not to vote Ariel Sharon. I insisted he was installed in the Israeli Right to destroy it from within and that he would immediately appoint Shimon Peres as his foreign minister.
In my latest book, I claim that Ofra Haza did not die of AIDS but was poisoned. Three months ago Haza's sister and her attorney Rami Tzuberi appeared on the TV program Mishal Ham with medical documentation alleging Ofra Haza was poisoned. Both demanded her exhumation and a reinvestigation of the circumstances of her demise.
One of the central points of my book Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin, was that Rabin was not shot twice in the back as the government concluded, but was actually shot three times, the deadly wound coming from the front.
On November 3 last year, Channel 2 spent two hours - I would say - unintentionally vindicating me in a documentary. The documentary makers examined Rabin's clothing and said they found the third bullet hole in the front of his clothing.
So sorry for being right.
The writer's Web site is www.barrychamish.com
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