Tribal Hatreds.

• Author: Rothchild, Matthew
• Position: Includes: attempts at fundraising from Newt Gingrich's office, and a defense for Jews against the Israeli bombing of Lebanese civilians - A response to a Letter to the Editor in this issue - Editorial

Newt Gingrich's office called a while back. When I arrived at the office after my noontime basketball game, I found one of those pink phone-message slips on my desk, with a note that someone named Marisha Cox from the Speaker's office had tried to reach me. She left a 1-800 number.

Flattering myself that one of my darts had finally hit home, I called the number, expecting to hear how I'd misquoted or misrepresented or somehow dishonored the honorable Speaker.

I asked for Marisha Cox. She wasn't available. I asked if this was the Speaker's office. It wasn't. I was forwarded to a guy named Bill Hallam, who said he was from the Congressional Committee.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not from the Congressional Committee itself. I'm calling on behalf of the Congressional Committee," Hallam told me, anxious to get on with his pitch.

Seems they weren't calling to chew me out. They were calling me for a donation!

"We feel that you and your business will suffer if the Democrats regain control of the Congress this November," Hallam told me. "You may not know that the liberal unions will be spending $35 million to unseat the Republicans, and Newt is trying to rally support from Republican business-people like you."

I didn't straighten him out. I was curious to hear how much they wanted me to fork over.

"We'd like you to contribute $250 or $300," he told me. And he held out an irresistible sweetener for me. "If you contribute, Newt would like to send you a replica of his Speaker's gavel."

Now, much as I'd like such a priceless adornment, I turned down the gracious offer. But I'm sure glad to know that Newt is making the most of his office.

We on the staff here usually restrain ourselves from responding in print to the Letters to the Editor. We feel that the readers should, by and large, get the last say, since we've already weighed in with our views.

But when our freelance writers are assailed, we give them the opportunity to respond, and Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, as well as Eyal Press, avail themselves of that opportunity this month.

I'm going to make an exception this month for myself, however, and respond right here to the letter on Page 8 from Martin Haydon because of its personally vitriolic nature. Haydon accuses Norman Solomon, Noam Chomsky, and me of displaying "Jewish self-hate" for criticizing the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon.

Now Noam Chomsky and Norm Solomon are perfectly capable of responding for themselves in the...