Recordings from former US president's time in office reveal his thoughts on Jews on eve of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir's visit to Washington
Yitzhak Benhorin
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| WASHINGTON - The Nixon Presidential Library on Tuesday released 150 hours of audio recordings from the months of January and February, 1973, and uncovered new details on the former US President Richard Nixon's views. In one of the conversations released in the recordings, Nixon mused about global anti-Semitism.
"This anti-Semitism is stronger than we think, ya know," he said in a conversation to Evangelist Billy Graham shortly after Israel shot down a Libyan passenger plane in Sinai, and on the eve of then-Israeli Prime Minister Gold Meir's visit to Washington.
"It's unfortunate, but this has happened to the Jews, happened in Spain, it happened in Germany, it's happening, and now it's gonna happen in America if these people don't start behaving. |
"It may be they have a death wish, that's been the problem with our Jewish friends for centuries," said Nixon.
Graham replied saying, "Well, they've always been through the Bible at least, God's timepiece. He has judged them from generation to generation and yet used them and they've kept their identity." .
Nixon is known for making quite a few anti-Semitic remarks during his term, but this did not prevent him from sending weapons to Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
