When the far rightwing Menachem Begin first became prime minister of Israel, Abourezk questioned him when he met with a group of senators, saying at one point that the PLO, which the US government refused to recognize in 1977, was “at least as legitimate as the Irgun was back when you were running it.” Abourezk would later recount “Bedlam followed. My God, I had committed a grave social error by insulting the prime minister of Israel. Senator Alan Cranston of California, who was chairing the meeting, abruptly adjourned the proceedings before I could make more trouble.” More

The post The Radical Senate: James Abourezk of South Dakota appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This post was originally published on CounterPunch.org.