So misread
Sir: Richard Bolchover, in his letter criticising my review of The Israel Lobby (13 October), makes a common mistake: he conflates the authors' views with mine. I did not attack Israel's expulsion of Arabs in 1948. What I said was this: 'In fact, they [the authors] contend that by doing little more than expressing mild regret at Israel's expulsion of most of its Palestinian population and obstructing thereafter the establishment of a Palestinian state, the US has provoked the anger of even those Middle Eastern states, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which are normally its friends.'
Mr Bolchover compounds this error by saying that I blame the Israel lobby for the second invasion of Iraq. I don't and indeed I criticised the authors for stating this: 'The authors' chapter on how the lobby and its sympathisers inside the defence department and in the White House propelled the US to attack Iraq the second time is powerful but fails to consider that the US, during the last 50 years, has intervened all over the world for many reasons. After 9/11 in particular, revenge was a big justification for going after Saddam, although he had nothing to do with the assault on the Trade Towers. As Thomas Ricks shows in Fiasco, Saddam was regarded as a pushover whose quick defeat would demonstrate American resolve.'
I suspect that, like many critics of this book, which has its faults, Mr Bolchover hasn't read it and, additionally, he has misread me.
Jonathan Mirsky London W11
Previous page
