Herbert Druks - The Uncertain Friendship: The U.S. and Israel from Roosevelt to Kennedy (Contributions to the Study of World History)

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The Uncertain Friendship

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The U.S. and Israel from Roosevelt to Kennedy

HERBERT DRUKS

Contributions to the Study of World History, Number 80

GREENWOOD PRESS

Westport, Connecticut London

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Druks, Herbert.

The uncertain friendship : the U.S. and Israel from Roosevelt to Kennedy / by Herbert Druks.

p. cm.(Contributions to the study of world history, ISSN 08859159 ; no. 80)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0313314233 (alk. paper)

1. United StatesForeign relationsIsrael. 2. IsraelForeign relationsUnited States. 3. United StatesForeign relations19331945. 4. United StatesForeign relations19451953. 5. United StatesForeign relations19531961. I. Title. II. Series.

E183.8.17 D78 2001

327.7305694dc21 00034141

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.

Copyright 2001 by Herbert Druks

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00034141

ISBN: 0313314233

ISSN: 08859159

First published in 2001

Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881

An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

www.greenwood.com

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.481984).

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The years from Franklin D. Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy, 1933 to 1963, represent thirty crucial years in American and world history. For the Jewish people and Israel they were thirty years of a struggle for survival. Seldom in history did a people lose so much and later, despite it all, achieve so much. This is a history of the relations between that people and the United States from 1933 to the present. This book will examine that history from the Franklin D. Roosevelt years in the White House to the first two years of Kennedys presidency.

The United States and Israel shared many things in common, not the least of which was a heritage of civilization and a mutual interest and love for the principles of democracy. In the course of the past fifty years, the United States was a friend of Israel and Israel was one of Americas most reliable friends and allies. But that friendship had its limitations, for the United States likewise maintained good relations with various Arab states and peoples. And the United States had always to consider that which was in its best interest from a domestic as well as a global perspective.

Roosevelt voiced his support for Zionism and the Zionist ideal of establishing a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, but he never went out of his way to help the Jews establish that state. He even failed to help the Jews find refuge in Palestine or any where else. Ultimately, his concern was with geopolitical factors rather than humanity. On reading the history of his relations with the founders of the Jewish state and with Arab leaders and British officials, one can see contradictory remarks and statements. While on the one hand Roosevelt would promise support for the establishment of a Jewish state, on the other hand he would inform the monarchs of Syria and Saudi Arabia that nothing would be done without consulting them. He was always considerate of the imperial interests of