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==Stop Islamization of America and Park51==
==Stop Islamization of America and Park51==
{{Main|Park51}}
{{Main|Park51}}
Geller and [[Robert Spencer (author)|Robert Spencer]] co-founded Stop Islamization of America.<ref name="sioaonline1"/> In May 2010, they began a strong campaign against the proposed [[Park51]] Islamic community center and mosque, which Geller has referred to as the "Ground Zero Mega Mosque".<ref name=elliott>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/ground_zero_mosque/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/08/16/ground_zero_mosque_origins |title=How the "ground zero mosque" fear mongering began – Park51, Muslim Community Center in Lower Manhattan |publisher=Salon|date=August 16, 2010 |accessdate=September 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2010/08/untold-story-behind-the-mosque-at-ground-zero.html |title=The Seeker: Untold story behind the so-called 'Ground Zero mosque' |publisher=chicago tribune |date=August 20, 2010 |accessdate=September 14, 2010}}</ref> She claims that Park51 is viewed by Muslims as a "triumphal" monument built on "conquered land". In addition to opposing Park51, Geller has opposed other mosques and argued that the [[Dome of the Rock]] in Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Islam which Geller argues was built on the site of the [[Jewish Temple]], should be removed.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/09/erev-yom-muslim-riot-attack-jews-in-jerusalem-policemen-wounded-in-temple-mt-riots.html | title = Erev Yom: Muslims Riot, Attack Jews in Jerusalem – Policemen wounded in Temple Mt. riots | accessdate = August 22, 2010 | last = Geller | first = Pamela | date = September 27, 2009 | work = Atlas Shrugs}}</ref> She has also appeared on an array of cable news shows speaking out against the proposed Islamic Community Center.<ref name = "QueenHP" />
Geller and [[Robert Spencer (author)|Robert Spencer]] co-founded Stop Islamization of America.<ref name="sioaonline1"/> In May 2010, they began a strong campaign against the proposed [[Park51]] Islamic community center and mosque, which Geller has referred to as the "Ground Zero Mega Mosque".<ref name=elliott>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/ground_zero_mosque/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/08/16/ground_zero_mosque_origins |title=How the "ground zero mosque" fear mongering began – Park51, Muslim Community Center in Lower Manhattan |publisher=Salon|date=August 16, 2010 |accessdate=September 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2010/08/untold-story-behind-the-mosque-at-ground-zero.html |title=The Seeker: Untold story behind the so-called 'Ground Zero mosque' |publisher=chicago tribune |date=August 20, 2010 |accessdate=September 14, 2010}}</ref> She claims that Park51 is viewed by Muslims as a "triumphal" monument built on "conquered land". In addition to opposing Park51, Geller has opposed other mosques and wrote: "The dome has got to go. It is sitting atop the great [[Jewish temple]]. The dome has got to go.".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/09/erev-yom-muslim-riot-attack-jews-in-jerusalem-policemen-wounded-in-temple-mt-riots.html | title = Erev Yom: Muslims Riot, Attack Jews in Jerusalem – Policemen wounded in Temple Mt. riots | accessdate = August 22, 2010 | last = Geller | first = Pamela | date = September 27, 2009 | work = Atlas Shrugs}}</ref> She has also appeared on an array of cable news shows speaking out against the proposed Islamic Community Center.<ref name = "QueenHP" />


Stop Islamization of America has also sponsored ads, which carry messages such as, "Fatwa on Your Head?" and "Leaving Islam?", in several cities including New York City and Miami, pointing readers to a website called RefugefromIslam.com.<ref name = "QueenHP" /><ref name="dailymail1">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1281867/Controversial-adverts-given-green-light-appear-New-York-buses.html?ito=feeds-newsxml</ref> Geller said the ads were meant to provide resources for Muslims who were afraid to leave the religion.<ref name="dailymail1"/>
Stop Islamization of America has also sponsored ads, which carry messages such as, "Fatwa on Your Head?" and "Leaving Islam?", in several cities including New York City and Miami, pointing readers to a website called RefugefromIslam.com.<ref name = "QueenHP" /><ref name="dailymail1">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1281867/Controversial-adverts-given-green-light-appear-New-York-buses.html?ito=feeds-newsxml</ref> Geller said the ads were meant to provide resources for Muslims who were afraid to leave the religion.<ref name="dailymail1"/>

Revision as of 01:11, 24 October 2010

Pamela Geller
Pamela Geller with former IDF chief of staff, Moshe Ya'alon
Born1958 (age 65–66)[1]
Other namesPamela Oshry
Citizenship United States
Alma materHofstra University; left before completing degree[1]
Occupation(s)Blogger, author, political activist, commentator, former newspaper editor
Organizationco–founder of Stop Islamization of America
Known foropposition to Park51 community center and mosque
Notable workThe Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, with Robert Spencer, foreword by (former) Ambassador John R. Bolton, Simon and Schuster, 2010
Board member ofExecutive Director of the Freedom Defense Initiative (FDI) and Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)[3]
SpouseMichael Oshry (divorced)[1]
Children4
Parent(s)Reuben ("Ruby") and
Lillian Geller[1]
WebsiteAtlas Shrugs

Pamela Geller, also known while married as Pamela Oshry, (born in Long Island, New York, in 1958) is an American blogger, author, political activist, and commentator.[1]

She has been cited as one of the most visible opponents of the Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan.[4] Geller and Robert Spencer co-founded Stop Islamization of America,[5] and co-authored the book The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America.

Her weblog, "Atlas Shrugs", is named in homage to Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged.[1] The blog has been criticized by progressive Media Matters for America,[6][7] and called "right-wing" by The Jewish Week[2] and "extreme" by The Guardian.[8]

Early and personal life

Geller, born to Jewish parents Reuben ("Ruby") and Lillian Geller, is the third of four sisters.[9][10][1] Growing up in Hewlett Harbor, Long Island, New York, she assisted in her father's business, where she learned to speak fluent Spanish.[9][1] Two of her sisters became doctors, and the third became a teacher.[1]

Geller attended Lynbrook High School and Hofstra University, though she left before completing her degree.[1] She was married to Michael Oshry from 1990 until the couple divorced in 2007, and is the single mother of four children.[1]

Career

Geller spent most of the 1980s working at the New York Daily News, first as a financial analyst and then in the advertising and marketing areas.[4] She then became the associate publisher and top-ranking business executive of The New York Observer for five years, from 1989 through 1994, when she quit to stay home with her four daughters.[11][12][1][13]

She later co-founded the anti-jihadist Freedom Defense Initiative organization (FDI) with Robert Spencer.[14][15] Spencer is a blogger and author of articles and books relating to Islam and Islamic terrorism, and the founder of Jihad Watch.[1]

She denies accusations of being anti-Muslim, saying that is "a slanderous slur and it's unfair".[8][16][17] She said:

the ground zero mosque ... To me it was an outrage, to me it was deeply offensive, to me it was indicative that interfaith dialogue and mutual respect and mutual understanding is a one-way street with Islamic supremacists, not Muslims. I believe that Muslims are more victimized by Islamic supremacists than even non-Muslims.[18]

Geller has also lent her support to a number of other political causes. She has strongly defended former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević, denied the existence of Serbian concentration camps in the 1990s,[19] said that black South Africans are engaging in a "genocide" against whites,[20] and expressed support for the far right English Defence League.[21][8]

In 2008, Geller co-wrote an editorial for Arutz Sheva expressing her distaste for fellow Jews who are not politically conservative:

It galls me that the Jews I fight for are self-destructive, suicidal even. Here in America (and the world over), Israel's real friends are in the Republican Party and yet over 80% of American Jews are Democrats. I don't get it. The conventional wisdom on the Left is that Israel is an oppressor and her actions are worse than the world's most depraved and dangerous regimes. Chomsky, Finkelstein, Soros–these men are the killers.[22]

She wrote: "Dr. Martin Luther King did not suffer liars that declared that they don’t hate the Jews, just Zionism. Dr. King brilliantly dismantles such rhetoric: 'When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You are talking anti-Semitism.'"[22] She encouraged Israel to "stand loud and proud. Give up nothing. Turn over not a pebble. For every rocket fired, drop a MOAB. Take back Gaza. Secure Judea and Samaria. Stop buying Haaretz. Throw leftists bums out."[22]

She has won several awards for her blog, and was an official blogger at the Republican National Convention of 2008.[23]

She co-authored a book with Spencer, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America (Simon and Schuster), with a foreword by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John R. Bolton, which was published in July 2010. The book criticizes the Obama administration's treatment of the free-market system, freedom of speech, and foreign policy.[24]

Stop Islamization of America and Park51

Geller and Robert Spencer co-founded Stop Islamization of America.[5] In May 2010, they began a strong campaign against the proposed Park51 Islamic community center and mosque, which Geller has referred to as the "Ground Zero Mega Mosque".[25][26] She claims that Park51 is viewed by Muslims as a "triumphal" monument built on "conquered land". In addition to opposing Park51, Geller has opposed other mosques and wrote: "The dome has got to go. It is sitting atop the great Jewish temple. The dome has got to go.".[27] She has also appeared on an array of cable news shows speaking out against the proposed Islamic Community Center.[4]

Stop Islamization of America has also sponsored ads, which carry messages such as, "Fatwa on Your Head?" and "Leaving Islam?", in several cities including New York City and Miami, pointing readers to a website called RefugefromIslam.com.[4][28] Geller said the ads were meant to provide resources for Muslims who were afraid to leave the religion.[28]

Geller first blogged in "Atlas Shrugs" about the proposed New York mosque in reaction to coverage in The New York Times on December 8, 2009.[29][30] On December 21, she again blogged on the subject, referring to it as "Mosque at Ground Zero" and calling it "a stab in the eye".[31] Geller next blogged about the building on May 24, 2010, when she reported on a self-selected reader poll connected with a report in the New York Daily News, urging her readers to vote in it. This is when she first used the phrase "Mega Mosque at Ground Zero".[32][33]

Commenting on the controversy, Geller said,

I'm not leading the charge against the Islamic center near Ground Zero. The majority of Americans – 70% – find this deeply insulting, offensive. To call it anti-Muslim is a gross misrepresentation and to say that I'm responsible for all this emotion, again a gross misrepresentation.[8]

When asked in an August 17, 2010, interview on CNN whether she agreed "that the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 were practicing a perverted form of Islam, and that is not what is going to be practiced at this mosque", she responded "I will say that the Muslim terrorists were practicing pure Islam, original Islam."[34]

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized Geller, stating:

People say don't give her too much credit, she's a fringe character, but she is a fringe character who every day is on CNN, Fox, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. She is the driving force behind the Islamic center campaign. I would say that she is the queen of the Muslim bashers, I see her rise and the rise of these anti-Islam hate groups going hand in hand.[4]

Eric Boehlert, a senior fellow at liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America, concurred with Hooper, remarking that "she's been instrumental, she has whipped up hatred in the right-wing blogosphere and now that's spilled out into the wider community."[4] Media Matters further suggested that "Geller's history of outrageous, inflammatory and false claims, particularly when it comes to issues related to Islam, demonstrate that she cannot be expected to make accurate statements and should not be rewarded with a platform on national television."[6]

Atlas Shrugs blog

The name of Geller's website and blog, "Atlas Shrugs", is a reference to novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged.[8][1] Geller calls Rand "the greatest philosopher in human history". She says her blog and its purpose are "clearly defined by Rand's philosophy."[35] The blog concentrates on what Geller perceives to be a violent threat to the United States by Islamist extremists and liberal politicians.[36]

As of October 2010, the blog was receiving one million unique visitors a month.[1]

In 2006, when Muslims rioted over cartoons of Muhammad printed in a Danish newspaper, Atlas Shrugs posted the cartoons (unlike much of the news media), and its hits increased dramatically to tens of thousands.[1]

In 2008, for Atlas Shrugs she combed through lists of donations given to Barack Obama's campaign. Others then did the same, including The New York Times and The Washington Post.[37] Donors with names such as "Es Ech" and "Doodad Pro" turned up, and a conservative activist said he contributed to Obama under the name Osama bin Laden.[38]

In November 2008, she captured a conversation by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) on video, and posted it on YouTube. In it, after prefacing his remarks by saying he had "no personal knowledge" of the matter and his statement was merely his "guess", he went on to say that Obama "didn’t have the political courage to want to make the statement of walking out" of Trinity United Church of Christ when he realized that Rev. Jeremiah Wright was "a nut" and "lunatic," because "you don’t walk out of a church with 8,000 members in your district."[39] After Geller released the video, Nadler said: "I made a thoughtless comment yesterday which does not reflect the way I feel about Barack Obama".[39]

The blog was among the first on November 5, 2009, to declare the belief that the Fort Hood shooting was a "Muslim terror attack."[36] Geller later noted that the recent Pentagon report into the Fort Hood shooting did not mention possible religious motivations behind the attack, and argued that self-imposed censorship is hurting U.S. understanding of the wars it is engaged in.[40] She said: "When nowhere in that document was Islam or Jihad mentioned, then Houston, we have a problem. People need to understand what is the motivation."[40]

Controversial postings on "Atlas Shrugs" have included a number of false claims,[41][42] including that Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan (who is Jewish) supports Nazi ideology (accompanied by a fake picture of her in a Nazi uniform),[43] a video suggesting that Muslims have sex with goats, a doctored photo showing President Obama urinating on an American flag[4] and false claims that Obama's mother was involved in pornography and that Obama "was involved with a crack whore in his youth".[44][45] Geller has also posted accusations against President Obama of anti-Semitism and doing the bidding of "Islamic overlords," while her site posted a posting by another writer who, inter alia, suggested without any evidence that the President is the "love child" of Malcolm X (Geller herself says she does not believe that Obama is Malcolm X's love child, and never did).[4][46] During an RT Television News interview, reporter Lauren Lister repeatedly questioned Geller's claim that she is not anti-Muslim, at one point calling attention to Geller's having posted a drawing of Muhammad on her blog with the face of a pig superimposed over his own. Geller responded by saying "I don't know where it is in America that you can't make jokes or make fun."[47]

Other views

Geller has said: "I share the EDL's goals. We need to encourage rational, reasonable groups that oppose the Islamisation of the west."[48]

She was also described by The Observer as the "darling of the Tea Party's growing anti-Islamic wing", and has advocated an alliance being formed between the Tea Party Movement and the English Defense League.[48] In October 2010, Geller defended the EDL's actions.[48]

American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who frequently writes about topics relating to Israel and the Middle East, has described Geller as a "bigoted blogger" and noted her support of South African white supremacist Eugene Terre'Blanche. [49]

Works

Books

Articles

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/nyregion/10geller.html?pagewanted=all
  2. ^ a b Doug Chandler (September 1, 2010). "The Passions (And Perils) Of Pamela Geller". The Jewish Week. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  3. ^ "Pamela Geller". Atlas Shrugs. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Pamela Geller, 'Queen Of Muslim Bashers,' At Center Of N.Y. 'Mosque' Debate". Huffington post. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Contact | Stop Islamization of America". Sioaonline.com. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Memo to media: Pamela Geller does not belong on national television". July 14, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  7. ^ "Attention TV networks: Pam Geller is lying to your viewers". August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e McGreal, Chris (August 20, 2010). "The US blogger on a mission to halt 'Islamic takeover'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  9. ^ a b ["Papa". Atlas Shrugs. June 21, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  10. ^ "Shout Out to the Moms!". Atlas Shrugs. May 10, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  11. ^ "The Woman Behind The Anti-Ground Zero Mosque Bus Ads". The New York Observer. August 11, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  12. ^ "New Editor Named for Observer". The New York Times. May 10, 1994. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  13. ^ "New Editor Named for Observer". The New York Times. May 10, 1994. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  14. ^ "Freedom Defense Initiative". Freedom Defense Initiative. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  15. ^ "Muslim American News Briefs". Al Jazeerah. June 28, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  16. ^ "Prime Islam-Basher Pam Geller Outdone by Colleague | Hatewatch". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  17. ^ "White Supremacists Find Common Cause with Pam Geller's Anti-Islam Campaign | Hatewatch". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  18. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/nyregion/10gellerb.html
  19. ^ Geller on Serbian "fabrications", Atlas Shrugs, August 11, 2010
  20. ^ Genocide in South Africa Geller, The American Thinker, April 16, 2010
  21. ^ Geller's article on the English Defence League Geller, The American Thinker, May 5, 2010
  22. ^ a b c "Indomitable Israel – Op-Eds". Israel National News. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  23. ^ "Keeping it real yeah baby". Atlas Shrugs. July 4, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  24. ^ "The Post-American Presidency | Book by Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, John Bolton – Simon & Schuster". Books.simonandschuster.com. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  25. ^ "How the "ground zero mosque" fear mongering began – Park51, Muslim Community Center in Lower Manhattan". Salon. August 16, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  26. ^ "The Seeker: Untold story behind the so-called 'Ground Zero mosque'". chicago tribune. August 20, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  27. ^ Geller, Pamela (September 27, 2009). "Erev Yom: Muslims Riot, Attack Jews in Jerusalem – Policemen wounded in Temple Mt. riots". Atlas Shrugs. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  28. ^ a b http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1281867/Controversial-adverts-given-green-light-appear-New-York-buses.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
  29. ^ "Giving Thanks". Atlas Shrugs. December 8, 20092. Retrieved 010-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Muslim Prayers and Renewal Near Ground Zero". The New York Times. December 9, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  31. ^ "Mosque at Ground Zero: Adding Insult to Agony". Atlas Shrugs. December 21, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  32. ^ "Vote On Mega Mosque At Ground Zero". Atlas Shrugs. May 24, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  33. ^ "Lower Manhattan board mixed on planned mosque and Islamic center at Ground Zero WTC site". NY Daily News. May 24, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  34. ^ Kaye, Randi (August 17, 2010). "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees: Firestorm Grows Over Islamic Center Near Ground Zero". CNN. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  35. ^ McCain, Robert Stacy (October 5, 2007). ""'Atlas,' at last, on map; Rand's novel set for 50th fete, film adaptation"". Washington Times. p. A.2.
  36. ^ a b "Muslim Terror Attack: 'Twelve shot dead' 12 30 Wounded, Mass Shooting at Fort Hood, US Army Base". Atlas Shrugs. November 5, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  37. ^ "Illegal Campaign Donations Spur Calls For Change". NPR. October 31, 2008. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  38. ^ "Illegal Campaign Donations Spur Calls For Change". NPR. October 31, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  39. ^ a b November 3, 2008 (November 3, 2008). "RJC robo-call highlights Nadler's Obama statement". JTA. Retrieved October 12, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ a b Berger, Judson (April 7, 2010). "CPAC Session on Jihad, Free Speech Attracts Complaints". Fox News. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  41. ^ Dimiero, Ben (July 2, 2010). "Geller illustrates ridiculous attack on Kagan with image of Kagan in a Nazi uniform". Media Matters. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  42. ^ "Attention TV networks: Pam Geller is lying to your viewers". Media Matters. August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  43. ^ Geller, Pamela (July 2, 2010). "Shocking: Kagan's Princeton Thesis Cited German Socialist Who Endorsed Nazis". Atlas Shrugs. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  44. ^ Geller, Pamela (August 1, 2009). "CNN Tells, Sells More Lies About Palin – it's Time to Expose the truth about Obama". Atlas Shrugs. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  45. ^ "Ann Dunham Soetoro". snopes.com. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  46. ^ "How could Stanley Ann Dunham have delivered Barack Hussein Obama Jr. in August of 1961 in Honolulu, when official University of Washington Records show her 2680 miles away in Seattle attending classes that same month?". Atlas Shrugs2000. October 24, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  47. ^ Lauren Lister, guest host and interviewer (August 3, 2010). "The Alyona Show". 26:10 minutes in. RT Television News. RT News: Why would you have a picture of the prophet Mohammad, which I have right here, with his face replaced with that of a pig, on your blog if you don't have a problem with Islam? Geller: First of all, I don't know where it is in America that you can't make jokes or make fun. I mean you had Robert Mapplethorpe put a cross in a glass of a, a .. RT News: So you think it's funny to have the prophet Mohammad as a pig? Geller: Who cares?! What difference does it make? I mean, this is America! {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help) The Geller interview segment of the hour-long Alyona Show is also available on youtube, where the exchange occurs at 5:48 into the video.
  48. ^ a b c English Defence League forges links with America's Tea Party by Mark Townsend, The Observer, October 10, 2010
  49. ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (October 18, 2010). "Pamela Geller Supports English Pogromists, South African Fascists". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 28, 2010.

External links