Michael Adams and Christopher Mayhew Against Maariv: The Trial that Defined the New Antisemitism

Abstract

This article examines a mostly forgotten libel suit that examined the boundaries of the term antisemitism. Public rhetorical attacks against the Jewish people as a whole were less frequent in the West after World War II, but Israel and Zionism became the target of fierce propaganda beginning in the 1970s. In 1975, British MP Christopher Mayhew and former Guardian reporter Michael Adams co-authored a book criticizing Western media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict titled Publish It Not: The Middle East Cover-Up. A review of the book, published in the Israeli newspaper Maariv the following year, called them out as antisemites. Mayhew and Adams sued the paper and its book reviewer for libel. In the trial, held in Jerusalem, both sides argued over whether their fierce anti-Zionism and harsh criticism of Israel was politically legitimate or antisemitic. In August 1979, District Court Judge Jacob Bazak's verdict absolved Maariv of the charge of libel, characterizing the book review as "justified and accurate," and drew a fine line between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism. This dispute between opposing high-profile scholars, former generals, and politicians contributed to a wider discussion of antisemitism and has relevance for these same debates today.