Nixon and the Jews

Joshua Rolnick — June 24, 2009 – 12:23 pm | Israel | Republicans Comments (4) Add a comment

I’ve always been uncomfortable with efforts to resuscitate Richard Nixon’s image.

They’ve been ongoing for some time.

“Mr. Nixon’s speech today seemed to mark a rite of passage in the rehabilitation of the former President,” The New York Times wrote in 1992, at a foreign policy conference, attended by dignitaries of both parties, at the Richard M. Nixon Library and Birthplace. “There was no direct mention of Watergate ... Some of the luminaries and bit players who figured in the pain and successes of the Nixon Administration seemed convinced of his comeback today, and gave him a standing ovation after his speech.”

The story of Nixon’s failings, though, continue to trickle out, and they’re not limited to Watergate.

This morning’s New York Times has a story about newly released tapes and documents from the Nixon library, raising unsettling questions about how the president viewed Jews.

In a February 21, 1973 phone conversation with evangelist Billy Graham, the two discussed Jewish opposition to evangelical outreach efforts. (The Times writes: “Graham complained that Jewish-American leaders were opposing efforts to promote evangelical Christianity, like Campus Crusade.”) According to an excerpt, Nixon told Graham:

“Anti-Semitism 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. ... It may be they have a death wish. You know that’s been the problem with our Jewish friends for centuries.”

Nixon was the first U.S. President to visit Israel, sitting down with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1974, and pledging U.S. support to help Israel build a nuclear power station.

But at the same time, in his private conversations, he readily blamed anti-Semitism on Jews behaving badly, perpetuating dangerous stereotypes. And - shockingly, just 27 years after the Holocaust - he suggested to a leading Christian evangelist that the community had a “death wish.”

History must reflect this side of Nixon’s intellectual legacy, as well.

(Crossposted at www.neuroticdemocrat.com.)

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