Spring 2003

Weimann Receives USIP Grant to Study Terror on the Internet

Prof. Gabriel Weimann, Chairman of the Dept. of Communication, has been named a United States Institute for Peace Senior Fellow for 2003/2004 and has received a sizeable grant to spend the next academic year, beginning October 2003, in Washington , D.C. , to complete a singular research project.  Weimann will study terror on the Internet, which he calls “a new and worrisome phenomenon that has many aspects.”

        Weimann is one of only ten candidates chosen of the hundreds worldwide who applied to receive the grant this year.  The fund establishing USIP was set up by former President Bill Clinton in 1996.  Candidates have to go through a long, multi-stage process before being notified if they have won this prestigious Fellowship, which finances a year’s research while based in Washington on various manifestations of international conflicts.

        Subtitling his study, “The New Arena, the New Challenges,” Weimann points to the use of the Internet by terrorist groups.  He cites “terror attacks on computer networks, counter-responses by the authorities, and the cost of all this in terms of limiting freedom of expression, invading privacy, and damaging the open, liberal character of the Internet.”  He hopes to finish a book on the subject by the end of the next academic year.  A previous book of his dealt with The Theater of Terror.

        In taking a year’s leave, the sociologist and communication expert, who is often called on by the Israeli media for commentary on events, will also have to give up his membership on the board of directors of Israel ’s Second Channel Authority (TV 2) and of the Haifa Theater, in addition to various University posts.