....as Margolis says himself...

....I have been steeped in Mideast affairs since the early 1950's, when my late mother, Nexhmie Zaimi, was one of the first female American journalists to cover the Arab World. She interviewed Egypt's President Nasser and Anwar Sadat, Jordan's King Hussein, and Iraq's strongman, Nuri as-Said. My mother began reporting the plight of 750,000 Palestinian refugees driven from their homes by the newly created state of Israel.

Few Americans then knew of Palestinian suffering. They were told Israel was `a land without people for a people without land.' My mother's newspaper reports and lectures brought her constant death threats and assaults on our home. The newspapers for whom she wrote were pressured by major advertisers to drop her columns. A courageous, outspoken woman, Mrs Zaimi continued public speaking until she was finally silenced by threats to throw acid into my face. ....