ADC Remembers Paul Findley

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Washington, D.C. | August 9, 2019 | adc.org – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) remembers former congressman Paul Findley, who passed way August 9th, 2019 at the age of 98. During his 11-term tenure in the United States House of Representatives, Congressman Findley stood out from the pack as being a vocal critic of US policy towards Israel. Despite coming under constant fire from the Israel lobby for his principled stances, Congressman Findley was unflappable, and remained one of the few advocates for Palestinian rights in the federal government throughout his time in public life.

But Representative Findley's opposition to militarism and brutality went far beyond just the state of Israel. As a veteran of the Second World War, Congressman Findley knew first-hand the tremendous cost of military conflict. An author of the War Powers Act (1973), he continually fought to limit the power of the executive to unaccountably wage war across the globe. It is precisely this love of peace and diplomacy that gave Congressman Findley the strength to take on the role as a vocal advocate against the tragedy that was the Vietnam War- even when it was not necessarily politically expedient for him to do so.

In addition to his long list of legislative accomplishments, Congressman Findley was also a writer. His seminal work, They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby, helped to shed light on the vastly disproportionate influence the pro-Israel lobby- namely, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)- has on the crafting and shaping of US policy. In the over 400 page exposé, Congressman Findley included testimonials from many politically prominent individuals- such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson, George Ball, and Adlai Stevenson III- confirming the veracity of this problem.

Later in his life, Congressman Paul Findley continued to be a strong ally of the Arab and Muslim communities. Not only did he found the Council for the National Interest (CNI)- a nonprofit, advocacy group pushing for peace, and the protection of human rights, in the Middle East-, but he was also an avid supporter of us here at the ADC. We were even granted the honor of having Congressman Findley speak at a number of our annual conventions. In 2011, he received our "Honorary Arab American Award" for all the great work he had done.

ADC would like to thank Congressman Findley for all of his invaluable contributions. His morals and dedication made him a true exemplar of dignified public service. We are deeply saddened by his loss. Congressman Paul Findley will be dearly missed.

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