Paul Findley | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1972 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's20th district | |
| In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Edna O. Simpson |
| Succeeded by | Dick Durbin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Augustus Findley (1921-06-23)June 23, 1921 Jacksonville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 2019(2019-08-09) (aged 98) Jacksonville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingCraig (son) |
| Education | Illinois College (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Paul Augustus Findley (June 23, 1921 – August 9, 2019)[1] was an American writer and politician. He served asUnited States Representative fromIllinois, representing its20th District. ARepublican, he was first elected in 1960. A moderate Republican for most of his long political career, Findley was a supporter of civil rights and an early opponent of the U.S. war in Vietnam. He co-authored theWar Powers Act in 1973, which aims to limit the ability of the president to go to war without congressional authorization.[2] Findley lost his seat in 1982 to currentUnited States SenatorDick Durbin who benefited from significant financial support from Israeli-aligned PACs, particularlyAIPAC, which helped fuel his defeat.[3][4][5] Findley was a cofounder of theCouncil for the National Interest, aWashington, D.C. advocacy group, and was a vocal critic ofAmerican policy towards Israel.[6]
Findley was born inJacksonville, Illinois, the son of Florence Mary (Nichols) and Joseph S. Findley.[7] He attended the Jacksonville public schools. He received his bachelor's degree fromIllinois College, which is currently home toThe Paul Findley Congressional Office Museum. The collection contains manuscripts and artifacts related to the life and political career of Paul Findley. It is one of the few congressional office museums in the United States. Findley served in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II and was commissioned a lieutenant (junior grade).[8]
Findley served 11 terms in Congress, finally losing toDick Durbin, in his bid for reelection in 1982.[9] He was known in Congress as an advocate for the farmers of his district, as an early opponent of the U.S. war in Vietnam, and as a strong proponent of thePalestinians and of opening up communication with thePalestine Liberation Organization[9] since they were the strongest and most organized representatives of Palestinian people at the time.
Findley famously helped Springfield, Illinois teenager Frank Mitchell get appointed as the first African-American page in the U.S. House of Representatives since Reconstruction in 1965 after consulting with then-House GOP leaderGerald Ford to get more African-American people involved in the Republican Party. Ford used one of his page appointments to name Mitchell. At the time of Mitchell's death, Findley's sonCraig stated that Mitchell and the Congressman had remained friends until Findley's death in 2019 and that the appointment was one of his proudest accomplishments.[10]
An early critic of U.S. military involvement in South East Asia, Findley and his staff pioneered what became a signature tactic of the peace movement: in 1969 Rep. Findley got the Congressional Record to publish the names of all Americans who had died in the Vietnam War, which then numbered over 31,000. Soon after, Quaker peace groups and other anti-war activists began reading those names aloud on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and at protests and vigils across the country.[11]
Findley also co-authored the War Powers Act of 1973 which was passed by the House and Senate over President Nixon's veto. The measure was intended to prevent a president from committing the United States to war without the consent of Congress.[2]
According toThe New York Times, in 1982 Findley narrowly lost his bid for re-election for a number of reasons: "a competent opponent, redistricting, theeconomic recession, and pro-Israel groups support to his challenger," which allowed Findley's challenger to match him in spending.[9] During the campaign, "a former AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] president called him 'a dangerous enemy of Israel.'"[12] Findley confirmed that his 1982 campaign raised "almost exactly the same sum" as that of his opponent.[13] Following his defeat, he served on theBoard for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) from 1983 to 1994.
In 1989 Findley, with former representativePete McCloskey (R-CA), formed theCouncil for the National Interest.[14] It is a 501(c)4 non-profit, non-partisan organization in theUnited States that works for "Middle East policies that serve the American national interest."[15] Its first executive director was ten-term congressmanJohn B. Anderson (R-IL), who ran as an Independent candidate in the1980 U.S. presidential election.[16]
A year after theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, Findley published an article saying that this attack would never have occurred were it not for the United States' uncritical support of Israel.[17] Findley claimed that the2003 invasion of Iraq was launched primarily to benefit Israel, at the behest of theIsrael lobby in the United States.[18]
Findley was a frequent critic of U.S. foreign policy regardingIsrael. Findley was the author ofThey Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby in which he stated that thepro-Israel lobby, notably AIPAC, has undue influence over theUnited States Congress. He referred to the lobby as "the 700-pound gorilla in Washington".[19]
A review of the book inThe Washington Post stated: "Stripped of all the maudlin martyrdom, former congressman Paul Findley's message is straightforward and valid: Israeli influence in the United States, including in the inner sanctums of government, is very strong."[20]The New York Times review byAdam Clymer described the book as "an angry, one-sided book that seems often to be little more than a stringing together of stray incidents ... [it] does not really accept the idea that people of any political point of view are entitled to organize, support their friends and try to defeat the people they think are their enemies".[9] The review describes the book as "the typical reaction of a Congressman who is offended at being challenged seriously forhis seat, especially if the upstart should go so far as to beat him."[9]
Findley listed the Israeli lobby as one of the factors contributing to his defeat in 1982, alongside the national recession of 1982 and the change of his district's boundaries after the 1980 census. "In seeking gains for Israel, they rigorously stifled dissent and intimidated the entire Congress. They still do. They defeat legislators who criticize Israel. SenatorsAdlai Stevenson III andCharles H. Percy, and RepresentativesPete McCloskey,Cynthia McKinney,Earl F. Hilliard, and myself were defeated at the polls by candidates heavily financed by pro-Israel forces. McKinney alone was able to regain her seat in Congress."[21]
On the 24th anniversary of the 1967USSLiberty incident (in 1991), he and fellow former CongressmanPete McCloskey set up a meeting at theWhite House that was attended by approximately 50Liberty survivors.[22] He has also authored several articles in support ofLiberty survivors.[23][24][25]
On the publication ofMearsheimer andWalt's 2006 working paper,The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, he wrote: "You can't imagine how pleased I was [...] I think I can pose as a foremost expert on the lobby for Israel, because I was the target the last three years I was in Congress."[26]
Findley supported the efforts of theCouncil on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) to improve the image ofMuslims in America.[27] In a conference inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, Findley said that "the cancer of anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiments was spreading in American society and requires corrective measures to stamp out this malaise."[27] In May 2006 Findley led a CAIR delegation to theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE), resulting in a UAE proposal to build a property in the United States to serve as an endowment for CAIR. This proposal amounted to tens of millions of dollars in UAE donations.[28] He was a board member ofIf Americans Knew and the Streit Council.[29][30]
Findley endorsed the proposal for theUnited Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA), one of only six persons who served in the United States Congress ever to do so.[31]
TheAnti-Defamation League (ADL) has criticized theCouncil for the National Interest (CNI), of which Findley was a founder, as an "anti-Israel organization" that "disseminates demonizing propaganda about Israel to academics, politicians, and other audiences."[32] The ADL alleges that the CNI has disseminated cartoons with anti-Semitic based themes byKhalil Bendib. Additionally, it expressed concern about a 2003 article by Findley blamed U.S. support of Israel for theSeptember 11 attacks: "Nine-eleven would not have occurred if the U.S. government had refused to help Israel humiliate and destroy Palestinian society."[32][33] Findley continued in the same article that: "America suffered 9/11 and its aftermath and may soon be at war withIraq, mainly because U.S. policy in the Middle East is made in Israel, not in Washington."[34]
Findley died from heart failure on August 9, 2019, at Passavant Area Hospital inJacksonville, Illinois, at the age of 98.[2][35] He was buried inArlington National Cemetery in June 2022.[36]
His sonCraig J. Findley served in theIllinois General Assembly.[37]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 20th congressional district 1961–1983 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
