Roger Ailes, Rupert Murdoch and Abraham Foxman |
Bill O’Reilly and Liz Claman |
Harvey Weinstein (left) and Abraham Foxman |
Roger Ailes and Liz Claman |
Robert Sugarman, ADL national chair, with Rupert Murdoch and
Israeli Consul General Ido Aharoni |
Abraham Foxman (center) introduces Bill O’Reilly (left) to
Ido Aharoni |
Bill O’Reilly, Roger Ailes and wife Elizabeth, and Rupert Murdoch |
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
Fox Network Stars Honor
Media Boss Rupert
Murdoch
Story and Photos by Tim Boxer
ARVEY
WEINSTEIN,
who produces thought provoking films, called Rupert
Murdoch a great innovator for taking the
Wall Street Journal, in an age when all newspaper circulation
has been spiraling downward, and making it "the greatest newspaper
in the nation."
When Murdoch visited the
paper the first day, Weinstein said, every employee was polite and
quiet. "Is this a newsroom?" the new boss asked. "Looks more like a
morgue."
"Boy, has he changed that!"
Weinstein said.
Weinstein spoke at an
Anti-Defamation League dinner honoring Murdoch in October at the
Waldorf-Astoria in New York.
The emcee was Liz Claman,
the radiant redheaded anchor at Fox Business Network who looks
Irish. But she said she was born to Jewish parents in a small shtetl
called Beverly Hills. Her late father, Dr. Morris Claman,
emigrated from Russia and became a urologist who served everyone
from the indigent to heads of state, including President Ronald
Reagan and Israeli President Ephraim Katzir.
Claman commented on the
firing of CNN commentator Rick Sanchez after he claimed Jews
control the media. "I was offended. Everybody knows that Roger
Ailes controls the media."
Ailes, who’s been working for
Murdoch for 14 years, currently as chairman of Fox News Channel,
called his boss "the greatest media genius" of the 20th
and 21st centuries.
"Rupert truly believes the
world can’t end today because it’s already tomorrow in Australia."
Ailes noted that all the men
trapped in that mine in Chile have emerged unscathed. Except one.
His wife ran into his girlfriend. "That man is still down there.
Clearly he faces death either way."
In recounting Murdoch’s life,
Ailes recounted an anecdote about Murdoch’s son, James, who
serves as chairman/CEO of the company’s Europe and Asia operations.
As a teenager James got his driver’s license and asked Dad to buy
him a car.
The elder Murdoch made a
deal. "Bring your grades up, stop listening to that music, start
reading the Bible and cut your long hair." James improved his
grades, stopped listening to that music and started reading the
Bible. He asked again for a car.
"You still have long hair,"
Dad said.
"Moses, Samson, Jesus all had
long hair."
"Did you notice they all
walked everywhere?"
Abraham Foxman, ADL
national director for 22 years, presented the global media mogul
with the organization’s International Leadership Award.
"I can’t say I’ve been chosen
by God," Murdoch said. "I can say I am grateful that I have been
chosen by His people for this award."
Murdoch described a world
awash in anti-Semitism. "We live in a world with an ongoing war
against the Jews. Some fire rockets, others pursue nuclear weapons.
Terrorists target Jews in Israel and abroad, especially Europe. At
home anti-Semitism has found a new home in polite society, coming
from the left. They believe Israel is the source of all the world’s
problems. Their aim is to isolate Israel, delegitimize her and make
her a pariah. That’s why we still need the ADL."
He concluded, "The peace we
all want will come when Israel feels secure — not when Washington
says so."
