There was something unusual about my interview with two nationally known and controversial authors in Portland in late October. It was exclusively mine. No other reporter, not even one from the Oregonian, attended when John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt of Harvard University held a news conference prior to their talk for the World Affairs Council of Oregon at the Portland Hilton. The explanation may be in the title of their best-selling new book: “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.”
This unheard-of news media boycott of a brief visit from two distinguished Americans likely was related to – and evidence of – a major premise of their book: That the Israel lobby has sought to halt dissent by speakers who discuss the intimidating role of the lobby. They previously felt the lobby’s muscle when it convinced the Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs to withdraw its invitation for them to speak last month. They are not alone as lobby targets.
Elsewhere, the lobby succeeded in withdrawing an invitation for Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak in Minnesota. Its complaints resulted in the denial of tenure for DePaul (Chicago) University professor Norman Finkelstein, a Jewish-American who wrote “The Holocaust Industry.” Comments from my Mearsheimer-Walt interview suggest what is at issue:
“The Israeli lobby has boasted – and it’s true – that it defeated for re-election candidates who raised any kind of question about Israel. They include prominent Illinois Senators Charles Percy and Adlai Stevenson, Jr., Illinois Rep. Paul Findley (writer of “They Dare to Speak Out”) and California Rep. Pete McCloskey. That struck terror into the hearts of senators who were reconsidering their Middle East votes on behalf of Israel.
“In the case of Stevenson, a Democrat, his party committee members wilted under pressure. His Jewish friends and supporters were reviled by fellow Jews. He was narrowly defeated, and the Israel lobby made the difference several times over. Said one-time AIPAC Executive Director Tom Dine: “American politicians got the message.”
Oregon got a vivid look at the lobby’s tactics in U.S. elections when former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to Oregon to stump on behalf of Sen. Gordon Smith when he made his successful run for the Senate. Smith did not need Israeli money. But the visit was a clear message about the importance of his votes for Israel. Interest in the Weber talk grew because of efforts of Israeli activists to discourage it. Fifty attended despite – or perhaps because of – a published statement by UO Professor Matthew Dennis: “I recommend boycotting the lecture.”
George Beres
Former sports information director for the athletic department