The leftwing group Gush Shalom hosted Walt and Mearsheimer in Israel. Here's its coverage of the 48-hour trip. W&M saw the wall, are now in Dubai.
Another worry that proved groundless was that the visit would be
killed by silence, as happened to the visit of former President Jimmy
Carter. On the contrary, they were overwhelmed with requests from the
media, both Israeli and foreign, for interviews. Since the visit lasted
for less than 48 hours, it was impossible to grant all the requests.
During the entire visit, there was not a single negative incident. The professors expressed their satisfaction with the fact that the
Israeli public was ready to listen and discuss, while such a debate is
impossible in the United States….
They were seen to be warm, open and modest, eager for debate and without
a trace of fanaticism or hostility, extremely well informed about
Israeli affairs.
Three cheers for the Israelis. Some elements of their democracy are beautiful. And compare it to the U.S. Can you think of a Jewish venue to which Walt and Mearsheimer have been invited since their book came out 9 months ago? I can't think of one. Has the Forward deigned to interview them? I know they were disinvited by at least one place because of out of what was surely deference to the Jewish community–the Chicago Global Affairs Council–and of course they were slagged at Yivo, without a chance to respond. When is the American Jewish community going to see Israel as even Israel sometimes sees Israel?
There's nothing better than open discussion!
