QUILLBLOG

Book critical of pro-Israel lobby incites pre-pub jitters

The New York Times has posted an article about a new book being published in the U.S. by Farrar, Straus & Giroux this September: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt. It seems that early excerpts from the book, which argues that the pro-Israel lobby wields too much influence in U.S. political circles, are setting off accusations of anti-Semitism. That’s not really all that surprising, of course, but what is surprising – or shameful, at any rate – is that several cultural and political institutions are canceling planned events with the authors.

The subject will certainly prompt furious debate, though not at the Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a Jewish cultural center in Washington, and three organizations in Chicago. They have all turned down or canceled events with the authors, mentioning unease with the controversy or the format.

The authors were particularly disturbed by the Chicago council’s decision, since plans for that event were complete and both authors have frequently spoken there before. The two sent a four-page letter to 94 members of the council’s board detailing what happened. “On July 24, Council President Marshall Bouton phoned one of us (Mearsheimer) and informed him that he was canceling the event,” and that his decision “was based on the need ‘to protect the institution.’ He said that he had a serious ‘political problem,’ because there were individuals who would be angry if he gave us a venue to speak, and that this would have serious negative consequences for the council. ‘This one is so hot,’ Marshall maintained.”

In Canada, the default distributor for Farrar, Straus & Giroux is Douglas & McIntyre, but D&M marketing manager Emiko Morita told us that they will not be selling the book here because it has not been made available to them by FSG. As she explained to us, this suggests that FSG is still looking to sell Canadian rights separately.

UPDATE: Q&Q has been informed that Penguin Canada holds Canadian rights and will be publishing the book on Sept. 4.