Pro-Israeli McCarthyism: When Character Assassination Replaces Political Dialogue

By Jerry Levin

Challenges to the political domination of the Israel-right-or-wrong-lobby in the United States are being made by a growing number of peace and justice organizations, a spectrum of Christian denominations, a nucleus of Jewish-American groups and the Arab-American community's organizations. But despite the dedication of individuals in these groups, some of whom have been involved for more than a generation, "the lobby" has continued to prevail politically, partly because of its troubling tactic of character assassination.

The Specter of Anti-Semitism

Those who publicly advocate a more balanced policy in the Middle East—one which favors the survival of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian homeland—often find themselves having to contend with shadowy charges of anti-Semitism. And those who come to their defense find themselves tarred with the same brush. It has worked too well for too long, despite the fact that informed people know that being pro-Palestinian means being neither anti-Israel, nor anti-Semitic, nor self-hating. Often just the threat that such untrue charges of prejudice might lose the esteem of neighbors and friends has been enough to drive men and women of good will into the closet. They simply do not want their lives complicated by whispering campaigns or worse.

The innate decency of people who are demonstrably sincere in their concern for both Israeli and Palestinian well-being is exploited by clever practitioners, both Jewish and non-Jewish, of the art of molding public opinion on behalf of an Israel right or wrong. These apologists for an Israel out of control respond to appeals on behalf of Palestinian human rights with invocations of the terrible facts of the Holocaust. Those who make such appeals are characterized as the worst kind of anti-Semites. Since Jews who dissent (and there are thousands of them) cannot be charged with anti-Semitism, they are branded "self-hating."

This kind of negative logic does not permit or recognize equal concern for Israeli and Palestinian. It can discourage dialogue and compromise as subversive, while encouraging an unjust status quo.

The result is that the evils of ignorance, character assassination and fear continue to prevent the dissemination of information and healthful debate that is essential to the hammering out of sound and decent policy in the Middle East. It seems that there is hardly a town in the United States where plans to present the Palestinian or the Israeli peace faction's point of view have not been discouraged or prevented at one time or another by the use of this tactic.

Ironically, human nature being what it is, such attacks can become self-fulfilling. Resentment caused by such slander sows the seeds of dislike, at the least, or anti-Semitism, at the worst, where neither existed before.

Those old enough to remember the McCarthy anti-Communist witch-hunting of the 1950s must have a feeling of deja vu when they see the equating of criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism now, just as criticism of American racist or social injustices was equated with pro-Soviet communism then.

Neo-McCarthyism applied to the agony of the Palestinians, however, need not succeed so long as decent people with decent convictions do not let themselves be cowed into silence about equal justice in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. It will not succeed so long as a growing number of Americans are willing to shrug off untrue charges of hatred and bias and stand up for the security, dignity and human rights of all people living in the Middle East.

Jerry Levin was kidnapped in March 1984 in Beirut, where he was a Cable News Network correspondent, and escaped to a Syrian army outpost after 11-1/2 months chained to a wall in solitary confinement. He and his wife, Sis, whose book was released in late 1989, have worked tirelessly on behalf of the remaining American hostages and for peace and justice in the Middle East. He is a board member of the Council for the National Interest, established by former Congressmen Paul Findley and Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey, P.O. Box 53048, Washington, DC 20009.

This is the first in a series of occasional Washington Report articles on pro-Israeli McCarthyism and Zionist book burning. Readers are invited to submit their own experiences for future issues.