American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee

ADC and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) are very concerned that CBS Television is preparing two high-profile programs in which Muslim Arabs will yet again be depicted as terrorist villains. One is a TV movie, “The President's Men: Ground Zero,” starring Chuck Norris, while the other is the debut episode of a new series based on the CIA called “The Agency.” Given that CBS and Chuck Norris' history is replete with Arab-bashing, as outlined below, it becomes imperative to start a constructive dialogue on this issue. ADC and MPAC are reaching out to a broad coalition to oppose CBS' planned Arab-bashing spree. The steering committee for dealing with the problem includes ADC President Hala Maksoud, MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati, Professor Jack Shaheen, Rev. Ed Bacon, and Rabbi Steve Jacobs.

ACTION REQUESTED: Please contact Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS-TV, and insist that CBS-TV stop vilifying and defaming Arabs and Muslims, and promoting ugly anti-Arab stereotypes. Please take note of the pattern and history of Arab-bashing racism by CBS-TV and Chuck Norris, as explained below. Please explain how media images shape public perceptions, especially of ethnic and religious minority groups. Such vilification creates an atmosphere of hostility and fear, which leads to discrimination and even hate crimes against Arab and Muslim Americans. Especially vulnerable are children, who have few defenses against negative stereotypes and who face harassment and worse at schools based on widespread prejudices which the media promote. Please tell Mr. Moonves and CBS-TV that media institutions such as CBS have a responsibility commensurate with their influence on popular culture and public perceptions, and that bigoted depictions of Arabs and Muslims are completely irresponsible and unacceptable.

Please contact: Leslie Moonves CEO, CBS-TV 7800 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 Fax: 323-653-8276 You can leave a comment for CBS-TV online at < http://www.cbs.com/Common/customerservice/feedback/fb_pt_form.shtml> Please mark these messages “attention Leslie Moonves, CEO, CBS-TV”

BACKGROUND:

The planned Chuck Norris TV movie, “The President's Men: Ground Zero,”is about a plot by Arabs to conduct a major bombing in Los Angeles. After consultations by MPAC and a multi-faith group with CBS-TV, the name of the film was changed from “The President's Men: Holy War” to “The President's Men: Ground Zero,” and CBS promised to include an Arab-American prosecutor as a character to provide greater balance. However, ADC and MPAC strongly feel that these changes are insufficient and that CBS is preparing to make a deeply hostile anti-Arab, anti-Muslim film. To make matters worse, CBS is also planning to use Arab terrorist villains in the debut episode of its new series, “The Agency.”

This constitutes a disturbing pattern on the part of CBS and Chuck Norris, as documented by Prof. Jack Shaheen.

Since 1985, Norris has consistently vilified Arabs and Muslims in his films, including “Invasion USA” (1985), “Firewalker” (1986), “Delta Force” (1986), “Delta Force 2" (1990), and “The Hitman” (1991). These films were produced by the notorious Canon Films run by the Israeli producers Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus, who pioneered the stereotype of the Arab terrorist villain in action films.

Hollywood has a long history of producing films which show Arabs committing acts of brutal terrorism against Americans, including “Black Sunday” (1977), “Invasion USA” (1985), “To Live and Die in LA” (1986), “Wanted: Dead or Alive” (1986), “Terror in Beverly Hills” (1986), “Terror Squad” (1987), “True Lies” (1994), “Executive Decision” (1996), “Path to Paradise” (1997) and “The Siege” (1998).

In 1988, CBS broadcast one of TV's most racist anti-Arab movies, “Terrorist on Trial: The United States Vs. Salim Ajami.” Since 1998, CBS-TV, more than any other network, has promoted the ugliest stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims through episodes of series such as “Family Law,” Judging Amy,” and several episodes of “JAG.” One episode of “JAG” shows Palestinian killers rampaging through a Washington, DC hospital. Given CBS-TV's history of continuous Arab-bashing, ADC cited “JAG” as the TV show which did most to escalate intolerance during the 1999 season.

	25 May, 2001
	CBS Preparing Two Arab-Bashing Programs

	ADC and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) are very concerned that CBS Television is preparing two high-profile programs in which Muslim Arabs will yet again be depicted as terrorist villains. One is a TV movie, “The President's Men: Ground Zero,” starring Chuck Norris, while the other is the debut episode of a new series based on the CIA called “The Agency.” Given that CBS and Chuck Norris' history is replete with Arab-bashing, as outlined below, it becomes imperative to start a constructive dialogue on this issue. ADC and MPAC are reaching out to a broad coalition to oppose CBS' planned Arab-bashing spree. The steering committee for dealing with the problem includes ADC President Hala Maksoud, MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati, Professor Jack Shaheen, Rev. Ed Bacon, and Rabbi Steve Jacobs. ACTION REQUESTED: Please contact Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS-TV, and insist that CBS-TV stop vilifying and defaming Arabs and Muslims, and promoting ugly anti-Arab stereotypes. Please take note of the pattern and history of Arab-bashing racism by CBS-TV and Chuck Norris, as explained below. Please explain how media images shape public perceptions, especially of ethnic and religious minority groups. Such vilification creates an atmosphere of hostility and fear, which leads to discrimination and even hate crimes against Arab and Muslim Americans. Especially vulnerable are children, who have few defenses against negative stereotypes and who face harassment and worse at schools based on widespread prejudices which the media promote. Please tell Mr. Moonves and CBS-TV that media institutions such as CBS have a responsibility commensurate with their influence on popular culture and public perceptions, and that bigoted depictions of Arabs and Muslims are completely irresponsible and unacceptable. Please contact: Leslie Moonves CEO, CBS-TV 7800 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 Fax: 323-653-8276 You can leave a comment for CBS-TV online at < http://www.cbs.com/Common/customerservice/feedback/fb_pt_form.shtml> Please mark these messages “attention Leslie Moonves, CEO, CBS-TV” BACKGROUND: The planned Chuck Norris TV movie, “The President's Men: Ground Zero,”is about a plot by Arabs to conduct a major bombing in Los Angeles. After consultations by MPAC and a multi-faith group with CBS-TV, the name of the film was changed from “The President's Men: Holy War” to “The President's Men: Ground Zero,” and CBS promised to include an Arab-American prosecutor as a character to provide greater balance. However, ADC and MPAC strongly feel that these changes are insufficient and that CBS is preparing to make a deeply hostile anti-Arab, anti-Muslim film. To make matters worse, CBS is also planning to use Arab terrorist villains in the debut episode of its new series, “The Agency.” This constitutes a disturbing pattern on the part of CBS and Chuck Norris, as documented by Prof. Jack Shaheen. Since 1985, Norris has consistently vilified Arabs and Muslims in his films, including “Invasion USA” (1985), “Firewalker” (1986), “Delta Force” (1986), “Delta Force 2" (1990), and “The Hitman” (1991). These films were produced by the notorious Canon Films run by the Israeli producers Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus, who pioneered the stereotype of the Arab terrorist villain in action films. Hollywood has a long history of producing films which show Arabs committing acts of brutal terrorism against Americans, including “Black Sunday” (1977), “Invasion USA” (1985), “To Live and Die in LA” (1986), “Wanted: Dead or Alive” (1986), “Terror in Beverly Hills” (1986), “Terror Squad” (1987), “True Lies” (1994), “Executive Decision” (1996), “Path to Paradise” (1997) and “The Siege” (1998). In 1988, CBS broadcast one of TV's most racist anti-Arab movies, “Terrorist on Trial: The United States Vs. Salim Ajami.” Since 1998, CBS-TV, more than any other network, has promoted the ugliest stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims through episodes of series such as “Family Law,” Judging Amy,” and several episodes of “JAG.” One episode of “JAG” shows Palestinian killers rampaging through a Washington, DC hospital. Given CBS-TV's history of continuous Arab-bashing, ADC cited “JAG” as the TV show which did most to escalate intolerance during the 1999 season.