I can even see the logic behind that understanding of HRW’s responses, except that I think it’s evasion motivated by a desire not to give ammunition to one’s detractors rather than–as Goldberg seems to imply–some secret anti-Israel agenda.

Also, nothing in what Roth said limited his attack to “right-wing pro-Israel groups,” as opposed to anyone who questions HRW’s reporting.

Did you even read the whole conversation (as posted, no clue if it’s complete)?

As for whether we have battles with pro-Israel pressure groups: all the time. There’s a cottage industry out there devoted to criticizing anyone who criticizes Israel. You must have seen that. Every time we publish something on Israel they target us.

The Saudis obviously are aware of the systematic attacks on us by various reflexive defenders of Israel. Everyone is. That comes up quite often in discussions about our work, including I presume in SA.

We report on Israel. Its supporters fight back with lies and deception. It wasn’t a pitch against the Israel lobby per se.

In every bit of that correspondance, including the note dishonestly paraphrased by Goldberg, it’s obvious that Roth’s talking about anyone who questions HRW’s reporting regardless of its merit and not anyone who questions their reporting — only those who fight back with lies and deception absent a reasoned argument.

I guess you’re right that Roth or Goldberg never specified that these groups are “right-wing” in so many words? Are you denying that they are?

Since Goldberg doesn’t allow comments, I’ll just point out here that it’s somewhat ridiculous to bait someone into writing a thousand words or so and then take one sentence out of context to claim that HRW thinks it’s fighting a war against all of Israel’s supporters. In every other e-mail in the conversation it’s abundantly obvious that Roth is talking about “reflexive defenders of Israel,” or those involved in the “cottage industry out there devoted to criticizing anyone who criticizes Israel.” Not every defender of Israel, but the subset of them that defends Israel against every attack regardless of its merit. Goldberg’s rank dishonesty in his quest for a quote to inaccurately paraphrase doesn’t do much to prove that HRW isn’t up against sometimes deceptive defenders of Israel, does it?

In that sense, Goldberg is literally corrupt. His effort here is dishonest and juvenile and really embarrassing to even be in the Atlantic let alone approvingly cited by Ambinder and unchallenged by anyone else.

On the second point, I think what Duss was driving at was the elephant in the room — right-wing organizations that exist to pressure HRW through stories like this in order to stop it from reporting on Israeli human rights violations. The issue in the fundraising pseudo-scandal isn’t actually anything that HRW has reported, and yet that reporting is the reason that elements on the right have been pushing this story out.

Also, nothing in what Roth said limited his attack to “right-wing pro-Israel groups,” as opposed to anyone who questions HRW’s reporting.