The most interesting part of Benador's past is the Middle East Forum. In her Benador Associates bio, Ms. Benador says that "[m]ore recently, she has been ... the associate director and director in New York City of a Philadelphia think tank." The unnamed think tank is the Middle East Forum, where Benador was a "media contact" as recently as June 2000. Numerous articles (see here, for example) mention the number of Middle East Forum talking heads who are represented by Benador Associates without mentioning that Benador is a former employee; however, Bill Berkowitz spotted the connection here.
So how does one go from a p.r. flack for a small think tank to the head of a "a high-powered media relations and international Speakers bureau" with a roster of Middle East hawks and "offices in New York City, Paris, London, Madrid, and Geneva" in two years? Many on the roster had established reputations -- and presumably were represented by other p.r. agents -- long before Benador set up shop. With all due respect to Ms. Benador's impressive credentials, one can't help but wonder whether she had some significant assistance in the creation of her agency.
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