November 1989, Page 39, 45

Behind the Podium

Dr. Alfred M. Lilienthal

By Janet McMahon

Alfred M. Lilienthal has been an outspoken critic of Zionism since before the state of Israel was created. Indeed, he likes to describe himself as "the only person alive who was at Lake Success in 1947 when Israel was created by the United Nations; in New York when Arafat addressed the UN in 1974; and. . . at both Algiers in November 1988 when the PLO declared the state of Palestine and at Geneva the following month to hear the PLO chieftain renounce terrorism and accept Israel's existence." Clearly, he knows whereof he speaks.

And speak he does-to university audiences, women's clubs and international conferences. (One of his goals is to have lectured in every state of the union: Vermont, Alabama, New Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii remain to be conquered.)

Along with Rabbi Elmer Berger of the American Council for Judaism, Dr. Lilienthal was years, if not decades, ahead of his time in recognizing and speaking out on the issues of Zionism and Palestinian rights. His "initial indoctrination" took place during World War II, when he served in the Middle East and got to know Palestine and its people, as well as the Jewish refugees who were flooding in from Europe.

An "intuitive feeling against chauvinism and nationalism" led him to reject the idea of a Jewish state. At the end of the war, Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah Hospital and an ardent Zionist, asked him, "When are you coming back to help us build our state?" Lilienthal, troubled by the lack of concern for the fate of the Palestinians, replied, "I am not coming back." In fact, he has returned to the Middle East 26 times, but not for the reason Szold suggested.

In 1949 the Reader's Digest published Lilienthal's article "Israel's Flag is Not Mine," in which he first raised his four decades in public life, Lilienthal observes that his initial concern was what he as an American Jew owed to himself and to his country-a concern that led him to undertake an in-depth analysis of US foreign policy and its effect on America and the world. The real question for Americans, he maintains, is how Israeli policies, and US support of those policies, affect American interests.

A frequent quoter of the Old Testament ("My house shall be a house for all people"), Lilienthal considers himself an "outstanding Judaist," who is entranced with Jewish history "as part of world history." He prefers the term "Judaist" because it is free of the political and religious connotations of the word "Jew." These connotations, which developed as a result of persecution of the Jews, were not dangerous in and of themselves, but became so with the creation of the state of Israel. Ironically, in Lilienthal's view, anti-Semitism is on the rise precisely because of the actions of the Jewish state.

The core of Lilienthal's argument is his refusal to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. He calls the use of the anti-Semitic label the "number one atomic weapon of Zionists." While he describes the Holocaust as "one of the worst scourages in history," he refuses to allow the events of 1938-45 to serve as a justification for the events of 1947 to the present.

When asked about the price he has had to pay for his public stance, Lilienthal refers briefly to years of harassment and "the uncomfortable feeling that I always have to defend myself, even though I've been proven right." Aside from citing the Biblical observation that "a prophet is without honor in his own house," Lilienthal prefers to dwell on the many expressions of appreciation and support he has received over the years, from three American presidents, numerous world leaders and ordinary citizens.

He has donated this correspondence, along with photographs, press coverage, over 325 radio and television tapes, and files of Middle East Perspective, the newsletter he produced for many years, to the archives of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Lilienthal pays twice yearly visits to the West Coast to work on his papers, which constitute the largest collection on the Middle East at the prestigious institution.

Cornell University, Lilienthal's alma mater, has not been so appreciative. Under unprecedented Zionist pressure, Cornell cancelled the acceptance of a bequest which would have established the Lilienthal Lecture Series, in which the common heritage of Islam, Christianity and non-Zionist Judaism would be emphasized.

When Alfred Lilienthal tells this story, he speaks of how much he loved Cornell and what a proud and enthusiastic alumnus he had been. Clearly, he feels deeply hurt and betrayed. Yet at no time does he contemplate abandoning the fight; for him that possibility simply does not exist. Future generations of students and Americans, as well as those whose support he has already earned, have not heard the last from Dr. Lilienthal.

Around the Circuit

The American Educational Trust's Speakers Bureau is co-sponsoring a nationwide speaking tour by Bernard Mills, who resigned last November as director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip to concentrate on Palestinian human rights issues and help further the peace process. On his US tour, he will be discussing his experiences with the Israeli military authorities and the Palestinian refugees for whom UNRWA provides essential services in the occupied territories.

The latter half of his visit will find Mr. Mills iin San Francisco on Nov. 1; Los Angeles, Nov. 2-3; Houston, Nov. 4-6; Montgomery, AL, Nov. 7; Colombia, SC, Nov. 8; and in Washington, DC, Nov. 9-14. Other national sponsors include the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, National Association of Arab Americans, National Council on US-Arab Relations and the Pax World Foundation. Local organizations will be arranging speaking engagement in their respective communities.

Former US Ambassador to Iran William Sullivan will be a featured speaker at a symposium sponsored by the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles on Nov. 5. Ambassador Sullivan will discuss the changing perception of US interests in the Middle East as a result of the lessening of cold war tensions. A dinner honoring Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, former chairman of OPEC, will conclude the day's activities. For ticket information contact MPAC at 3010 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 217, Los Angeles, CA 90010; (213) 383-3443.

Publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and former Ambassador to QatarAndrew I. Killgore was invited to speak to the Woman's Club of Roland Park (4500 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210) on Oct. 26. The title of his talk was "Our American Heritage: From Shakespeare's England to the Middle East."

Richard Curtiss, editor of the Washington Report, was principal speaker at a Sept. 23 dinner meeting of the Pittsburgh, PA chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The talk was arranged by chapter treasurer Eugene Khorey.

Mr. Curtiss also spoke, under the auspices of Ohioans for Middle East Peace (P.O. Box 1455, Akron, OH 44309, (216) 773-0436) to three audiences in Cleveland on Sept. 25 and again in Akron on Sept. 26 on "Getting On With Peace in the Middle East." The Ohio talks were arranged in cooperation with local ministerial councils by, among others, OMEP coordinator Rick McDowell, George Parmalee, the Rev. Bert Frey and the Rev. Donald Powers.

Janet McMahon directs the AET Speakers Bureau, which arranged all of the above appearances. She or Uzra Zeya will be happy to assist organizations seeking speakers and can be reached at the AET office.