Terrorism: A Dial-Tested Word to Justify US-Israel Policy of Violence and War
TERRORISM: A Dial-Tested Word to Justify US-Israel Policy of Violence, War, Genocide
“Now is the time to link American success in dealing with terrorism and dictators from a position of strength to Israel’s ongoing efforts to eradicate terrorism on and within its borders.” — “Wexner Analysis: Israeli Communication Priorities 2003”
This exhortation is the premise of the 17-page report prepared for the Wexner Foundation by Luntz Research Companies.
On May 27, 2026 journalist Sam Husseini in a post to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on X wrote: “could have been done years ago. (I mean talking about Wexner, his funding Epstein and ties to Israel at least). x.com/radarresist/st…”
I posted soon after from my X account @jlynnjournalist: “Do you @samhusseini mean like Wexner funding the virulent divisive propaganda, labeling Muslims ‘terrorists’ to enable violence, war, genocide, extermination of millions of men, women, children/toddlers/infants just living their lives in Gaza, WB, West Asia?” I included the front page of the report.
This commentary is a brief perspective on “the material,” as Husseini called it.
Yes, Jeffrey Epstein was a board trustee of the Wexner Foundation from 1992 to 2007. Epstein also had power of attorney over the billion dollar financial and legal affairs of Leslie Wexner beginning in July 1991. Wexner is the founder and former CEO and board chair of the Columbus, Ohio, based LBrands. His retail empire included the lingerie retail outlet Victoria’s Secret, known for its provocative fashion shows.
But the reason the Wexner Analysis matters is its cynical manipulation of mindset and policy. Putting the “priorities” into practice has created consent for the ongoing US-Israel conflagration engulfing West Asia and the rising tide of fascism engulfing America today.
Luntz called the report a “communications manual.” Yes, the Analysis contains tips like “Find yourself a good female spokesperson….and if the woman has children, that’s even better,” but the heart of its malevolence is two-fold: the flagrant use of the word “terrorism” as a label for the deeds of Israel’s neighbors; 2) the presumptive fusion of two white colonial imperial governments to fight Arab nations and people.
Former President Jimmy Carter in 2007, a mere four years after the report, voiced reality: “(the Israeli lobby) has nothing to do with peace. Its only mission is to ensure unconditional American support for everything the Israeli government demands.”
Successes
Twenty-three years after the Analysis was issued, how successful are its communication priorities?
Well, one outlet reported recently, “Over 20% of Gaza’s Population Has Been Wiped Out” by US-Israel since 10/7.
Israel has slaughtered 3, 371 men, women, and children in Lebanon in three months, while US-Israel, and Iran have been “negotiating,’ journalist Courtney Bonneau reported on the ground from the southern Lebanon town of Douweir, May 30.
And, Congress is about to consider bipartisan legislation, introduced by Israeli lobby funded members, to legally fuse the US and Israeli militaries–intelligence sharing, research, and ultimately funding.
One Policy
For those debating whether the US drives Israeli policy or vice versa, the answer is neither of the above. Right there, on the front page of the avowedly “non-policy”paper, the US and Israel are linked as one behemoth.
“Terrorism” appears three times in the short intro (see above) of the Wexner Analysis. The Luntz dial-tested word and the “US and Israel are one” meme set up US-Israel as Team Terrorism Fighters against Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Islamic resisters of US-Israel aggression. The consequences of labeling Muslims and Arabs with the fear-evoking t word are endless wars on Afghans, Iraqis, Lebanese, Yemenis, Syrians, Palestinians, Iranians, and others in West Asia since 9/11.
The laser focus of the Wexner Analysis on “terrorism” piggy backed on G.W. Bush launching the War on Terror, aka the Global War on Terrorism, in the aftermath of 9/11. The wars initiated by Bush and every US president since in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia under the guise of fighting terrorism have led to the deaths of 6 million people, according to the Brown University Costs of War Project 2001-2023 + true Palestinian deaths.
Bush attacked Afghanistan and Iraq; Barack Obama added five countries; Donald Trump 1 intensified the attacks; Joe Biden-Kamala Harris enabled the genocide of likely a million Palestinians; Trump 2 is sealing the genocide under cover of a ceasefire and expanding the Gaza playbook into Lebanon. The five administrations have sent a $100 billion dollars and counting in military aid to Israel for bombs, bullets, and bulldozers Israel uses to kill displaced families sleeping in tents.
Mindset Precedes Behavior
A Jewish educator and administrator at two prominent Jewish institutions said after I bemoaned Israeli forces killing a group of Palestinians youth playing ball, “They just grow up to be terrorists.”
I doubt she ever read the Wexner Analysis, but its “communication” ploys, stirring divisiveness and fear, have spread far and wide. Journalist Bob Fitrakis reports, as early as August 2003, the document was leaked to the media for all to see—and use.
Every day, I think instead of fostering hate and violence and death under the cloak of fighting terrorism, what if Wexner and his huge network of influencers were instead a force for peace and Tikkun Olam, Hebrew for repairing the world, the essence of being Jewish.
Joyce Lynn