South Dakota’s Rapid City Journal – the state’s second largest daily newspaper in an area of worldwide attention to the Nov. 2 U.S. Senate election – on Oct. 14, 1973, quoted Sen. George McGovern as issuing a plea that the United States “reiterate our commitment to provide Israel with military supplies in the full amount required to deter aggression.”
This came after the very nearly disastrous to Israel Yom Kippur War, and McGovern’s statement, also noted: “The senseless attack against Israel by Egyptian and Syrian forces.”
But McGovern’s fellow Democrat, U.S. Sen. James Abourezk, angrily contended: “I know that Israel drove out several million Arabs that they forcibly ejected from their homes.”
When asked by one of the Journal’s Washington correspondents: “How many million?” Abourezk replied: “Well, 2 or 3 million. And besides, are you aware that the United Nations never formally recognized the partition of Palestine?” (It was approved by the General Assembly in 1947, but not by the Security Council).
Sen. Abourezk went on to say:
I have never heard of any Arab government calling for the annihilation of either the Israelis or their government. Last summer in Lebanon, I had extensive discussions with some of the Al Fatah people. Fatah is very much opposed to terrorism.
When asked how many times there have been incidents of Arab skyjackings, Sen. Abourezk replied: “Several, but Israel should permit the Palestinians to return to their homes.”
When asked about Israel’s reported 350,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries, the senator declined to comment.
As to Israeli proposals for a possible Palestinian buffer state on the West Bank between Jordan and Israel, Abourezk laughed and responded: “In other words, put them on an Indian reservation? No sir! The Palestinians should be given back their own homes and land which was taken from them by force.”
When asked by the Rapid City Journal correspondent if he is prepared to give his Rapid City property back to the Sioux tribes, Abourezk rose and replied with increased annoyance: “I didn’t take it from them!”
When asked if the land had not been forcibly annexed by the troops of the U.S. government, Abourezk angrily countered: “That’s not the question. That’s a different matter.”
When asked whether Congress should have acceded the demands by Tories that their land be returned to them after the American Revolution, Abourezk retorted: “That has nothing to do with this.”
He then concluded the interview by walking out of his office.
Subsequently, Sen. Abourezk wrote a letter to the Journal in which he accused this correspondent of the following:
- “Reporting that is grossly biased and totally inaccurate” (despite the fact that what he said was witnessed and verified by two other reporters.)
- Charged that because the reporter noted that there are thugs in Palestinian refugee camps that the reporter said that all refugees – even babies – are thugs.
- Charged that the reporter is “clearly a master of the pick-a-fight approach to journalism of a totally unprofessional 20-minute argument in my reception room – he proceeded to ask a series of provocative, disjointed questions to which he accepted only single-sentence answers before abruptly cutting in with another question – totally out of context – simple misquoting.” (The senator did not mention why for 20 minutes.)
This obvious attempt to get the new Washington correspondent fired failed to do so – to the great credit of this newspaper and its now retired editor, Jim Kuehn.
It was in 1973 that Sen. Abourezk (who did not run for re-election) retained a new legislative assistant named Tom Daschle – who worked for him for five years.
Since I was the reporter whom Abourezk tried so desperately to defame and get fired, I congratulate the majority of voters of South Dakota for sending this Abourezk associate and Senate minority leader into retirement.
