A Progress Report: How The IHR is Making a Difference

Institute for Historical Review
February 2009

The IHR doesn’t just “preach to the choir.” Consider, for example, the global impact of just one IHR item, “A Straight Look at the Jewish Lobby.”

When it was first issued seven years ago — in both leaflet and electronic form — people immediately took notice. In London, Jewish journalist David Aaronovitch quoted it at length in a column in The Guardian,one of the world’s most influential newspapers.

Citing it as effective but dangerous, he wrote: “The [Jewish] lobby explanation [for US support for Israel] has been outlined with great clarity by Mark Weber, who is director of the American Institute for Historical Review. In a long article, Weber brought together the comments and analyses of various Jewish academics.”

This IHR item — which is regularly revised and updated — has been reprinted in newspapers in the US and overseas. It’s been posted on many websites around the world. Many tens of thousands of copies have been distributed as leaflets.

Just a few weeks ago (Jan. 30), a journalist in South Africa for the Mail & Guardian newspaper praised it in an article headed “Jews Do Wield Immense Power and Influence.“

He wrote: “In 2002 Mark Weber, a director of the Institute for Historical Review, wrote an article about the powerful Jewish Lobby in the United States. What Weber articulates in his article is very relevant to the current brouhaha about the alleged comments made by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs … In his article Weber beautifully outlines how Jewish money influences and controls the US Congress.”

No comparable institution matches the IHR’s track record. No similar group – certainly none with a comparably modest budget and staff – rivals the IHR’s level of outreach and distribution.

Month after month, year after year, large quantities of books, DVDs, CDs, leaflets, and other items are mailed out from the IHR office — a record unmatched by any similar center or association.

Viewership of the IHR’s main website — www.ihr.org — remains impressively strong, reaching many more people than the sites of much larger and better funded organizations. During the past three months, traffic on the site has jumped 65 percent.

Through the internet, IHR essays, reviews and other writings are routinely distributed — not only by the IHR, but by many others as well — to countless thousands around the world, or are posted on other websites, including in translation in other languages — reaching decision-makers, journalists, activists and educators across the US and around the world.

The IHR website’s home page is regularly updated with selected news and comment items, and periodic reports on the Institute’s work and impact. It’s also a gateway to an immense library and archive, which serves as an important global learning center.

The Institute’s “IHR News and Comment” service — a free public e-mail service — continues to attract ever more subscribers.

Sales of IHR books through Amazon.com have also been rising, and are now greater than ever.

Customer orders are now being handled promptly and more professionally than ever, due to important staff changes a few months ago.

Through its media work, including many radio interviews, the IHR routinely reaches many thousands of listeners and viewers in the US and overseas.

In spite of financial difficulties and a worsening economy, 2008 was a productive year for the IHR — with important meetings, numerous radio appearances, growing website traffic, large-scale distribution of flyers, and robust sales of books, discs and other items.

Moreover, changes made in recent months have markedly improved productivity, and should mean a more effective Institute in this new year.

This includes the launching of a new IHR Store website — an up-to-date “shopping cart” site that makes online ordering of books, discs and flyers much easier and more convenient. Sales through this new site have been rising steadily.

Factually and forthrightly, the IHR informs the public about the corrosive impact of Holocaust propaganda, myths about the Israel-Palestine conflict, World War II lies, the Jewish-Zionist grip on America’s cultural and political life, and much more. The IHR is the only research and publishing center in America that clearly and conscientiously identifies the enemies of freedom and peace, educating the thoughtful public with solidly referenced books, articles, and video and audio recordings.