|
|
NEWS
Richard Nixon Was Not Fond of Jews
By R. Hoffner
Documents and recordings recently declassified based on the statute of limitations confirm claims of US Jewish community leaders made in the 1970s that the 37th president was no fan of the Jews.
In recordings at the Nixon Presidential Library, the former president, who shipped vital arms to Israel at the height of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, can be heard making clearly antisemitic and racist remarks. The release of the tapes sparked fierce reactions by various minority groups in the US.
Shortly before a visit to Washington by then prime minister Golda Meir, Nixon told evangelist Billy Graham, who had close ties with several US presidents, "Antisemitism is stronger than we think. You know, it's unfortunate. But this has happened to the Jews. It happened in Spain, it happened in Germany, it's happening — and now it's going to happen in America if these people don't start behaving...[I'll] have to turn back a terrible tide here if they don't get a hold of it themselves. They better understand it quick, because there are elements in this country, [including] a lot of reasonable people, that are getting awfully sick of it...[I]t may be they have a death wish. You know that's been the problem with our Jewish friends for centuries."
|
