Mudar Zahran the Confidence Man (Judean Rose)

You would think the Mudar Zahran sycophants would crawl under a rock after the revelations of last week's column: Mudar Zahran and the Right Wing Jewish Conspiracy. But no. In spite of overwhelming substantiated evidence that Zahran is running a massive operation to deceive and mislead the Jews, they have doubled down.

This makes me sad. I don't want anyone hurt as I was hurt. I don't want my people to be a laughing stock, or be fingered by the Arab world as conspiring to overthrow the King. This is bad for us, for our people.

But our people read that blog—the links, all the proofs cited there—and looked the other way. They saw how Zahran claims to be a political refugee, but in reality, owed a large debt to a Jordan bank. They saw how his own father disowned him. How he uses photos of dead people and pretends they are his cabinet members. 

Mudar Zahran: His entire archive deleted from Gatestone

They saw how the Arab people take umbrage at Zahran's claims and ridicule him. And they saw how Zahran approached me to slander award-winning journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, because of his obsession with the man, and how Gatestone Institute deleted Zahran's entire archive.

They saw how he threatened ME, one of their own.

Our people read that blog, blinked, blew their noses, and kept on promoting their false god.

They asked me: "Okay, so you think Zahran is bad news. Is that any reason to hurt the conference, or to destroy the Jordan is Palestine option?" 

It's only about Mudar Zahran

To which I must reiterate: this is not about the conference or the Jordan is Palestine option. This is about a scam of major proportions, one that is really hurting our people.

Think about it: if Zahran really wanted regime change in Jordan, no one would say boo. But why appeal only to conservative, mostly Israeli Jews? Where are his Arab supporters (and no, they are not hiding in Arabic on Google as Zahran claims)? Why hold a conference, furthermore, in Jerusalem when Zahran lives in London? Why not lobby the UK, the US, and other western nations for assistance in reaching this goal?

Here is the answer: it's all a scam.

The scam targets the Jews of Israel.

Alone. 

Mudar Zahran and his Zionist conspiracy

This scam is generating resentment toward us in the Arab world and especially in Jordan. It has us rubbing our hands with glee, plotting against King Abdullah with our (likely imagined by the Jordanians) hooked noses and hands dripping with the blood of non-Jews.

Is that really how you want to be seen?

And it is Zahran who is getting you to incriminate yourselves.

Zahran is, moreover, setting Jew against Jew through his mouthpieces. An article entitled King Abdullah of Jordan Needs to Abdicate  appeared in the Times of Israel, Israel National News, and the American Thinker. The author is listed as Ted Belman. The piece (among many ridiculous claims) makes the accusation that Khaled Abu Toameh, Caroline Glick, and I (referred to as "X, Y, and Z") are working as operatives for King Abdullah of Jordan. Why would Ted Belman write such silly and libelous statements about his co-religionists? And the title of this piece, coming from a Jerusalem Jew! Cringe-worthy.

The Times of Israel removed the piece. It still appears on Israel National News and The American Thinker, though the former deleted this libelous excerpt:

The King’s Jerusalem Operatives Are Smearing the Conference. The regime has also undertaken a smear and confusion campaign in Jerusalem through Arab Israeli Journalist Mr X. Several Israeli sources have confirmed to the JOC that Mr. X has been calling his contacts, telling them that “The event is fake” and that “Mudar Zahran is a fraud”. Furthermore, Mr. X utilized two women who are very close to him to spread the same rumors; Ms Y, and Ms Z. Both women have been launching a terrorist type campaign on social media smearing the conference, the speakers and anyone who will be attending. Mr. X has sent several email messages to those involved in the conference telling them that the conference is “a sham” and that “it would hurt their reputation to be associated with Mudar Zahran”.

Another example of lies that Mr X, Ms Y and Ms Z are spreading is that some of the confirmed speakers were not attending at all. A journalistic source close to Jordan’s king’s royal media desk has confirmed that Mr X has been asked to undertake this under-cover operation by the king’s office. The source then added that Mr X “would not be putting all this effort for free or just because he enjoys it”.

I know Ted to be a generally good guy who works hard for Israel. Is it possible he was duped into doing this thing for Mudar Zahran? Did he put his name on Mudar's article in not one, but three publications? Can it be that under the name Ted Belman, this article appeared in three publications accusing me, a fellow Jew, of being an agent of the King of Jordan?

And before all the Arab nations of the world!

It beggars belief. 

Mudar Zahran: Disowned son

But why then, would my fellow Jews refrain from slandering me for this man's sake when they completely ignore what Mudar's own father said about him, continuing their seemingly unconditional support. I linked to Adnan Zahran's denunciation of his son Mudar in my last column. Here is a rough translation for so you can get a feel for it:

"Myself and the entire family and clan distance ourselves from you and your false and unjust statements and interviews. You are far from the truth and the right. Especially after your numerous and recurring promises to stop attacking our Royal Hashemite family."

Mudar's own father is calling him a liar, someone who breaks promises. Mudar's Jewish supporters, meanwhile, think they know Mudar better than Mudar's own father and clan! They support Mudar on the basis of words issued from his mouth and not on the basis of anything he has done or achieved. Because he has done and achieved nothing. 

Which brings us to Michael Ross.

Michael Ross is a real person. Mudar claims him as his chief of staff. Rachel Avraham claims he is the Michael Ben Abraham and Michael Ben Avraham who wrote the slanderous pieces about Khaled Abu Toameh that got her fired.

But why should this "Republican conservative lobbyist" California Jew Michael Ross suddenly take an ardent interest in writing about an Israeli Arab journalist?

And what is his area of interest as a lobbyist?

CORN??

via GIPHY

In last week's piece, I mentioned that Abu Toameh had won the Daniel Pearl Award. He also won the Hudson Award and CAMERA's Emet Award. But more importantly, he won the approval of the Israeli media with the Israel Media Critical Award. I have yet to meet the journalist, or anyone at all who has a bad thing to say about Khaled Abu Toameh.

Except Mudar Zahran, his minions, and his fake accounts. The ones he used to threaten me. The ones he used to threaten Khaled. The one he used of a dead US pilot as stand in for his "Shadow Secretary of Homeland Security."

Three articles by, about, or referencing Mudar appeared in Jerusalem Online during Rachel Avraham's tenure there. There was one by Mudar, one by Avraham interviewing Mudar, and this one by Michael Ross from this same time period, urging Trump to speak to. . . MUDAR ZAHRAN!

Could Rachel be handling Zahran's PR? Could she be serving as Mudar's ghost writer? 

Mudar Zahran cons Jewish women 

Rachel is not a bad person. She is caught up in something and is unable to get loose. It's an old story. I shared my own embarrassing tale of near-ensnarement. Bat Zion Susskind said the same thing happened to her with Mudar. He charmed her with words. Made her think he was the answer to the all the bloodshed, all the war and terror.

At that time, Bat Zion was living in the UK. So enamored of him was she that she even spoke to her contacts at that time, at the Israeli embassy in London, and suggested they have Zahran appear before them to offer an overview of what he can do for the Middle East. He did, eventually, speak to them. Batzi's support for him was total.

Here is a photo of her holding a sign that says, "Jordan is Palestine."

Batzi really believed in Mudar and his plan. That is until she discovered that he is not the man he pretends to be.

Batzi is not the only tale of female Jewish woe in relation to this man. Mudar Zahran told "X" (who is too embarrassed to use her real name here) that his mother was forcibly converted to Islam. According to this tale, Mudar's mom was JEWISH. Which would arguably make Mudar Zahran a Jew! X's heart went out to him.

She was IN.

Until she figured out he was a fraud. That happened sometime around the time he tried to get X to smear Khaled Abu Toameh. 

Mudar Zahran uses flattery 

Mery Nickey's experience mirrored my own and Batzi's. He flattered her, and attempted to cajole her into slandering Khaled Abu Toameh.

Always, always, always, Zahran comes back to a single thought: "How can I hurt Khaled Abu Toameh?"

He can't let it rest. It's an illness. 

Mudar Zahran messed with the wrong woman

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, a Harvard law grad and former writer at the Jewish Press, was approached by Mudar Zahran. He wanted her to interview him for the Press. This, of course, was his way of worming his way into her confidence to get her to smear Khaled Abu Toameh. The minute she saw what he was up to, she ended things, right then and there. Lori described this in an email she sent to the organizer of the conference, Ted Belman:
Prior to that interview I was very interested in Zahran's agenda - there aren't too many lovers of Israel who wouldn't hope that Jordan could be the homeland for the Palestinian Arabs. After about an hour into our Skype interview, Zahran told me about an Israeli Arab journalist who was not what he appeared to be and was on the payroll of the Jordanian king, and he told me that journalist was Khaled. When I pushed back, Zahran insisted this was true. I never published the interview and I've never spoken with Zahran again. And I've been warning people about Zahran since then.

Khaled abu Toameh is one of, if not the single greatest source of truth about the Middle East conflict between the Palestinian Arabs and Israel. By attacking him both publicly and through friends and the use of [pseudonyms], Zahran has done and continues to do a grave disservice to Israel.

This bitter fight was begun by Zahran, not Khaled. And it has nothing to do with the conference, but everything to do with Zahran's reputation which he is solely responsible for destroying. 

Mudar Zahran is dangerous

Now I'd really like to stop here. I'd much rather write up adorable Only In Israel stories. But right now, we are in danger.

I feel I've got no choice at all, but to keep laying those cards out on the table. This is the real Mudar Zahran: everything connected to him is evil.

And bad for our people.

UPDATE: For the sake of transparency, this piece has been amended regarding Mudar Zahran's academic credentials. I am certainly willing to further research this matter.

---

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.