Saudi foreign minister describes Jewish letter writing campaign as "intellectual terrorism"

This article was written by Saudi bigwig (member of the Shura Council, and seemingly a member of the royal family) Abdullah Yahya Bukhari and published in Okaz: I found it amusing:

During my PhD studies in one of the famous universities in the United States, when I would go from my home to eat, or lectures, or the library and back, my attention was drawn to large numbers of students and young people entering and leaving a small building on campus at different times of the day and evening. I knew a few of those students who walked in or out of a small building which was built at the end of the nineteenth century, and they were Jews.

One day I decided to sate my curiosity and find out what's going on inside the building at whatever cost. During my walk home on campus after the end of lectures of the school day, I wandered into the small mysterious building, to see inside a large hall surrounding a huge oval-shaped table in the middle, surrounded by a large number of ergonomic office chairs. The hall was filled with students sitting around the table, engrossed in writing and in front of each and every one of them I could see Time magazine, Newsweek, or daily newspapers, or a book.

My curiosity increased as I watched these students engrossed in reading and writing, with complete silence hanging over the area, like a public library. I left after a time and stood in front of the building a bit until I saw someone come out of the building, who was a classmate of mine, and I asked him innocently and very curious, what are you doing in this building, and what are you writing so enthusiastically and with such concentration?

My colleague, who was a student and was also one of the Jews, replied that all of the students inside are doing volunteer work, to respond to each article or news item published in major U.S. magazines or newspapers, such as Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, and others, if any of those articles or news items affects Israel's policy and offends them, or offends the Jewish leadership, or could cause harm in general to Jews in America and the world, and so on!! Then these Jewish students volunteer to respond to these articles, and write to the media, or attack any senator or US official who says or does anything anti-Judaism or against the State of Israel, and write the senator or U.S. official which represents the state where they have the right to vote, expressing discontent, protest, or asking him to intervene immediately to stop such statements or articles or news, otherwise he will lose their vote in the upcoming elections.

This voluntary collective action is influential and effective and orderly, but at the same time can be described as intellectual terrorism and psychological intimidation, with the implicit threat.

A letter writing campaign is "intellectual terrorism"?

The article goes on to complain about a recent organized Saudi complaint campaign , so this idea should not be too surprising for a member of the royal family. Yet it reveals that even after Bukhari lived in the US for years he did not grasp the idea of democracy at all.

By the way, a little research shows that Bukhari attended the University of Pennsylvania and received his PhD in architecture and urban studies in 1978. The Hillel building on campus at the time fits this description.

I spoke to the person who was executive director of all Hillels in Philadelphia at the time and he was not aware of any such initiative (if it was funded, he would know about it.)

But doesn't it sound like a good idea? (Except for writing to senators to pressure newspapers; he probably made that part up even if the rest is true.)