After 11 years at Israel Policy Forum, I am moving over to the Media Matters Actions Network to serve as Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy -- with special emphasis on Israel, Iran, etc.

My move is part of a general trend toward making Middle East policy not a boutique issue but a mainstay of liberal politics and journalism. I have long believed that it is impossible to be a liberal (or progressive) and yet support Middle East policies that perpetuate the deadly status quo. With Media Matters joining this fight, we can help progressives of all stripes understand that supporting occupation and settlements (or wars with various regional players) is antithetical to a progressive world view and, most important, is bad for America.

I look forward to my move. I am also grateful to IPF which was my home for 11 years and enabled me to "make a name for myself" on this issue. And, I'm deeply grateful to Josh Marshall who made me a blogger. If Amb. Joe Wilson had not decided that Josh and I should meet over lunch, this move would not have happened.

By the way, I will still blog here (I can't abandon my friends or my uh, non-friends). Plus, being associated with Josh Marshall is a privilege. Josh is an incredible guy, a real mensch. He is a guy who is almost anachronistic in his (almost intimidating) integrity. Emerson would have loved him.

MM press release follow and here is ATTACKERMAN (Spencer Ackerman's) brilliant tweet on my move. "MJ Rosenberg, father of Hot97's Peter and scourge of AIPAC, leaves Israel Policy Forum for Media Matters."

Media Matters Action Network Announces M.J. Rosenberg As Senior Fellow

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Media Matters Action Network announced that M.J. Rosenberg will serve as a Senior Fellow. Focusing on foreign policy and Middle Eastern affairs, Rosenberg will give the organization an increased capacity to correct misinformation surrounding complex foreign policy issues.

Washington has dozens of organizations championing a conservative approach to Israel, the Middle East and broader foreign policy issues. Media Matters Action Network will combat their wrongheaded assessments in order to facilitate a lasting peace throughout the region and the world.

"This is a real turning point for us. Adding M.J. to our team will allow us to venture into multifaceted international issues in a way we haven't thus far," said Media Matters Action Network Managing Director Ari Rabin-Havt. "His experience and knowledge on these issues will allow Media Matters Action Network to engage in policy debates with decision makers over various issues surrounding Afghanistan, Israel, Iran and the entire Middle East."

"I've been fortunate to spend my career surrounded by people I admire while working on issues I care deeply about," said Rosenberg. "As a Senior Fellow at Media Matters Action Network, I look forward to contributing to, and commenting on, the intense policy debates surrounding Israel and the entire Middle East."

Rosenberg joins Media Matters Action Network as policy battles loom over the United States' role in Iran, Israel and Afghanistan.

Brief biography:

M.J. Rosenberg served as the Director of Policy Analysis for Israel Policy Forum (IPF), a position he held since the spring of 1998.

Previously, M.J. spent eighteen years within the United States government, fourteen on Capitol Hill as an aide to Representatives Jonathan Bingham (D-New York), Edward Feighan (D-Ohio), Nita Lowey (D-New York) and Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan). Immediately prior to joining IPF, he served as Chief of Staff to the head of the Eastern Europe/NIS Bureau of USAID.

From 1982 to 1986, M.J. was editor of Near East Report, the American Israel Public Affair Committee's (AIPAC's) biweekly publication on Middle East Policy.

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Media Matters Action Network is a Web-based, not-for-profit, progressive action and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation.