Paul Findley
June 23, 1921 — June 26, 2019 — Jacksonville, Illinois
Paul Findley was a Republican U.S. Representative from Illinois who served 11 terms (1961–1983) and became one of the most controversial figures in American politics for his advocacy of direct dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization and his criticism of U.S.-Israel relations — views that helped galvanize opposition to his reelection and eventually ended his congressional career.
Illinois Congressman and Early Career
Born on June 23, 1921, in Jacksonville, Illinois, Findley served in the U.S. Navy during World War II before entering newspaper publishing and politics in central Illinois. He was first elected to Congress in 1960 as a Republican from Illinois' 20th congressional district, representing a largely rural area. During his first decade in Congress he was a relatively conventional Republican legislator — fiscally conservative, foreign policy-oriented, and generally supportive of U.S. Cold War positions. His views on Middle East policy, however, began to diverge significantly from those of his party and his colleagues during the 1970s.
PLO Dialogue and Congressional Controversy
Findley became one of the very few American elected officials willing to meet with and advocate for dialogue with PLO chairman Yasser Arafat during the 1970s and early 1980s, at a time when the PLO was considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government and when such meetings were politically taboo. He argued that peace in the Middle East required engaging all parties and that U.S. support for Israel was unconditional to a degree that harmed American interests. These positions earned him fierce opposition from pro-Israel political organizations, which targeted his reelection. In 1982 he was defeated by Democratic challenger Dick Durbin — who later became a long-serving U.S. Senator from Illinois.
Did You Know?
After his congressional defeat, Paul Findley wrote a book titled They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby (1985), which became a controversial bestseller arguing that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) exercised undue influence over U.S. foreign policy and political campaigns. The book was influential in certain political circles and sparked significant debate about the limits of criticism of U.S.-Israel policy — a debate that has continued in American politics for decades since. Findley consistently identified himself as a friend of both the American Jewish community and the Palestinian people.
Author, Advocate, and Long Life
After leaving Congress, Findley became a prolific author and public speaker on Middle East policy, writing several books and founding the Council for the National Interest, an advocacy organization he described as promoting a more balanced U.S. approach to Israel-Palestine issues. He remained intellectually active and publicly engaged well into his nineties, an unusual longevity in political life. He died on June 26, 2019, just three days after his 98th birthday, in Jacksonville, Illinois. Regardless of one's view of his positions, Findley represented a strain of independent-minded Midwestern Republican that has largely disappeared from American political life.