Clarion DVD Now Circulated By Religious Right Group

Remember the Clarion Fund and its DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against The West"? The DVD -- and the fund's murky background -- caused an uproar when Clarion spread 28 million copies of the disk throughout battleground states, all in the name of attracting media attention.

Now the DVD has a new distributor, a California-based publication called The Judeo-Christian View. Where Clarion's roots traced back to Israel, the View connects to significant figures in the conservative Christian political movement. It pulls "Obsession" closer to being precisely what the Clarion Fund has insisted it is not: a political message delivered at the peak of a presidential campaign.

The View says it mailed "Obsession" and other materials, discussing Barack Obama's and John McCain's views on abortion, homosexuality and other issues, to more than 325,000 clergy earlier this month. Its conclusion is that Obama's views are "at odds with the ancient Biblical faiths."

The View's general publisher is O'Neal Dozier, once a linebacker for the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, now pastor of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, FL. The publisher is Gary L. Cass, who's also head of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, where the homepage currently offers "7 Reasons Why Barack Obama Is Not A Christian."

Dozier is active at the crossroads of religion and Republican politics, meeting with President Bush four times in 2005, in delegations of African-American clergy. When Jeb Bush, the president's brother, was governor of Florida, he appointed Dozier to one of several state panels that recommended judicial nominees. But he removed Dozier in 2006, after the pastor called Islam a "cult" during a radio interview and judicial candidates said he asked them inappropriate questions. Republican Charlie Crist, who followed Bush as governor, initially put Dozier on his campaign's Strengthening Florida's Families advisory group, but then dismissed him after the "cult" comment and some other remarks.

Dozier earlier was involved in Freedom Watch, a group set up by Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman (and not to be confused with Freedom's Watch, a well-funded conservative group active in this year's campaigns).

Cass said he, not Dozier, is the proprietor of The Judeo-Christian View. He told us the big mailing was done this month "to take advantage of interest in the political season to launch" the publication.

And to deepen the mystery over how "Obsession" is distributed, Cass was vague as to how his publication acquired DVDs for the mailing. He said they came from Clarion but declined to say if they were purchased or contributed. Referring to Clarion, he said, "Let's just say we have a good working relationship with them."

More after the jump....

Continue reading "Clarion DVD Now Circulated By Religious Right Group" »

9:01 PM ET | 10-28-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Some Answers On Clarion, And Still Some Questions

Some questions were left hanging when we broadcast and blogged last month on the Clarion Fund, the 501(c)(3) charity that distributed its DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's Attack on the West," across 14 battleground states last month. We don't have all the answers now, but we have some new details.

A summary of what we knew then: The obscure Manhattan-based charity had sent out the DVD as inserts in Sunday papers three days after the 9/11 anniversary. NPR got complaints from some listeners about the inflammatory nature of the video. They said it seemed like a partisan message in favor of Republican John McCain, even though "Obsession" was produced long before the presidential campaign began. Clarion acknowledged that it intended to make Islamic radicalism a campaign issue, and said it chose the battleground states to attract media attention. It also did mass mailings of "Obsession."

On Sept. 11 itself, the video was shown at a free screening in Dearborn, MI, a city with a large Arab-American population. The organizer, Joe Wierzbicki, is a Republican campaign consultant whose clients include two anti-Obama groups.

Since then, we've spoken with Weirzbicki, who hadn't responded to our initial requests. We've talked with a PR firm that was hired by Clarion the day our broadcast story aired. And we've obtained Clarion's initial filing for a 501(c)(3) tax exemption.

Wierzbicki said he was recruited to handle the Dearborn event because he's from the Detroit area. He said they hoped to spark a discussion with local Muslims about the threat from radical groups, but turnout was low and there were no protesters.

He said he was hired by Right Reel, a distributor of conservative films, but he expressed doubt that Right Reel was the ultimate funder of the screening. Did the money to pay him come from Clarion? "I don't know if they were involved," he said. "They never contacted me."

Clarion's new PR firm took questions from us and tried to get answers...

Continue reading "Some Answers On Clarion, And Still Some Questions" »

6:20 PM ET | 10- 7-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Clarion Responds, As New Details Emerge About "Radical Islam" DVD

We had a story on the air this morning about the mass distribution of an inflamatory DVD on radical Islam, which critics say is intended to help John McCain's presidential bid. The video documentary was blasted out by the Clarion Fund, an obscure New York-based charity.

Clarion wouldn't return our phone calls before the story aired. But today it hired a PR firm, which quickly issued this statement in response to our story:

The Clarion Fund has one goal: educate the public about the threat of Islamic terrorism. Obsession is the film opponents of free speech don't want you to see. Terrorist attacks don't distinguish between political parties- they kill everyone. America needs to know the truth about the threat without censorship.

Clarion's new voice is Hank Sheinkopf, a long-time Democratic consultant in New York, who worked on President Clinton's re-election campaign. The choice of a Democratic flak is a smart move, since critics have said Clarion is covertly trying to help elect Republican McCain. That kind of active political work would violate its 501(c)(3) charity exemption.

As we reported, one of the promoters of the DVD is Joe Wierzbicki, who is active in two anti-Obama political action committees.

One group, Move America Forward, recently produced an ad we already showcased. The other, Our Country Deserves Better PAC, just put up a Web video contending that Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin has more executive experience than Barack Obama. "All Barack Obama has ever run," it says, "has been his mouth." The video, which runs over 3 minutes, goes into a blooper reel of Obama's gaffes, tongue-tied moments and controversial comments.

More after the jump...

Continue reading "Clarion Responds, As New Details Emerge About "Radical Islam" DVD" »

7:42 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Who Is Behind The "Radical Islam" DVD?

The blogosphere is alive with the sound of buzz -- all about an inflammatory DVD on radical Islam being distributed to millions of households at the peak of election season.

Critics are calling the DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," anti-Muslim hate, or politicking, or both. It doesn't mention or even obliquely allude to the presidential candidates. It couldn't, since it was made in 2006. But as whisper campaigns dog Obama with rumors that he's a secret Muslim, the DVD showed up as an insert in some 70 newspapers, with an emphasis in swing states.

The obvious question: Who is behind it?

And the answer: The DVD is distributed by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit set up by the film's producer, Rabbi Raphael Shore. But not much is known about the group. It's a 501(c)(3) charity, which means it can't engage in partisan politics.
It did apparently have material on its Web site supporting John McCain, but then took it down.

Clarion has connections to Aish HaTorah, a strongly pro-Israel Jewish educational organization promoting Jewish identity and pride. Aish HaTorah has offices in Israel and the U.S.

Clarion's corporate filings in Delaware list the same address as Aish HaTorah New York. Clarion's two directors in 2006 were Shore and Jacob Fetman, who served as Aish's CFO. In 2007, the organization listed its directors as Shore, Henry Harris and Rebecca Kabat. Rabbi Harris is educational director at Aish HaTorah NY and Kabat has also worked for Aish.

Shore himself has worked for Aish HaTora. He told the Washington Times in 1992 that he "went to Israel 10 years ago to try to 'rescue' his twin brother, Ephraim, from Aish HaTorah," because he though it was a "big hoax." Instead, Shore became convinced and joined the organization's management. (Their other brother, David, created Fox's TV show "House.")

Aish's Ephraim Shore has also been president of the organization HonestReporting.com, which, according to Aish's Web site, helped to produce and promote Raphael Shore's film.

But don't ask where the Clarion Fund gets its funding. It's not telling. And with its 501(c)(3) status, it doesn't have to.

-- Will Evans

4:43 PM ET | 09-23-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail