Paul Findley, longtime advocate for Palestinian human rights, dies at 98
The Republican Congressman from Illinois worked for human rights
for Palestinians for almost half a century, penning the first exposé on
the Israel lobby. A documentary about his life is below…
By Alison Weir of IF AMERICANS KNEW
Former Congressman Paul Findley, a longtime advocate for Palestinian
human rights, has passed away at the age of 98. Findley was a forefather
of the movement for justice in Palestine, speaking and writing on the
issue for almost half a century.
Findley was a Republican Congressman from Illinois when he began
speaking out about Palestine in the 1970s. Before long, the Israel lobby
targeted him, and after serving 22 years in Congress, he was pushed out
in 1982.
Findley then wrote a groundbreaking book:
They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel’s Lobby.
He described in riveting detail how Israel partisans had similarly
worked to push out other Americans who had spoken out about Palestine,
from positions in Congress, the media, academia, and elsewhere. (A PDF
is available
here.)
In the introduction to
They Dare to Speak Out, Findley wrote:
“Much of the information provided here is
volunteered by career government officials who want the public to be
aware of how the lobby functions but insist that their own names be
withheld. These requirements tell a lot about the sensitivity of the
subject matter.”
Findley revealed that It had been extremely difficult to get the book published:
“Declining to represent me, New York
literary agent Alexander Wylie forecast with prophetic vision that no
major U.S. publisher would accept my book. He wrote, ‘It’s a sad state
of affairs.’ Bruce Lee of William Morrow and Company called my
manuscript ‘outstanding,’ but his company concluded that publishing it
‘would cause trouble in the house and outside’ and decided against
‘taking the heat.’ Robert Loomis of Random House called it an ‘important
book’ but reported that the firm’s leadership decided the theme was
‘too sensitive.’ Twenty other publishers also said no.”
Eventually, a small company published the book, and for a brief time it was a
Washington Post
bestseller. Soon, however, the explosive book was largely buried.
Today, even many Palestine activists haven’t heard of Paul Findley or
his book – a testament to the degree to which information about the
Israel lobby continues to be obscured from Americans’ knowledge....
READ MORE or WATCH SOME VIDEOS
https://israelpalestinenews.org/paul-findley-longtime-advocate-for-palestinian-human-rights-dies-at-98/?fbclid=IwAR38MtxiU9f-Wup_iUlfinddbAE4OheeE_yrBMhRzqs3gaucO54_biluK2E
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