Final_Judgment

619 Questions & Answers [523]
for Philosophy and Culture. Unfortunately, because of restrictions against
travel to Libya (imposed upon Americans by the pressure of the Israeli
lobby), I was unable to attend. However, the organizers asked me to submit
a written statement which was read aloud to the participants who had come
from all corners of the globe. In the aftermath I received wonderful letters
from people as far away as Malta, Ghana, Guyana and New Zealand who
were, it seems, profoundly surprised to learn there are a few Americans
unafraid to raise questions about the U.S. relationship with Israel. I am
grateful to those people from the so-called "Third World" who took the time
to write and am thankful that there are a few places where freedom of
speech (when it comes to the subject of Israeli intrigue) still exists.
I might mention, additionally, that when my publisher attempted to
purchase a full-page advertisement for Final Judgment in the pages of an
"Arabist" publication, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, the
editors rejected the advertisement. Not because the advertisement was
"controversial," but because the editors were afraid that the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith would use the publication of the
advertisement to suggest that they were tied in some way to my thenemployer,
Liberty Lobby, which the ADL claimed was "anti-Semitic." (The
Washington Report did, however, publish a letter to the editor from me—a
minor concession, I suppose). Yet the influence of the ADL is felt even
among those who are inclined to the "Arabist" point of view.
As recently as the Oct/Nov 1999 issue of The Washington Report, a
letter writer, Tim Hanley, commented that "There is considerable evidence
linking the Israelis to the assassination of JFK. It's too hot a subject to touch
in the [Washington Report], but nevertheless there is evidence . . . How
come I doubt that that subject will ever come under public scrutiny?"
To Mr. Hanley's letter, the editor responded: " . . . Let us add that while
we know that lots of people in the Middle East associate JFK's
assassination with the possibility that he was on the verge of re-orienting
U.S. Middle East policy toward a more even-handed approach, there is no
hard evidence linking that to his death."
Clearly the editors at The Washington Report are not going to lend
themselves to publicizing Final Judgment, despite the fact that many of
their readers have obviously read Final Judgment or otherwise heard about
the book. I question their judgment, but the decision is theirs to make.
In March of 2003 I did have the unique opportunity to lecture at a
leading Arab think tank in the Middle East, the Zayed International Centre
for Coordination and Follow-Up—much to the dismay of the Anti-
Defamation League, which raised a major ruckus about my appearance there—
but the subject of Final Judgment was only mentioned in passing in the
course of my lecture about U.S. media bias in favor of Israel.
Has there been any reaction in Israel to your book?
At this juncture, the reaction in Israel has been limited. The first was a
rather interesting Internet review of Final Judgment written by Barry