Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ...

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about Jews and Israel, throughout the early days of the Yishuv (pre-state Jewishcommunity in Palestine) to the present, noting the changes in perspective occasioned byWorld War II and the Holocaust. These studies reveal a great variance of opinion on theJewish question. Yet, when compared with Mormon viewpoints, especially those of EzraTaft Benson, the studies also reveal certain similarities between Latter-day Saint andother Christian perceptions of Israel.Michelle Mart, in an article that attempts to explain the changing Christianrelationship with Jews in 1950s America, illustrates some of the complexity within theAmerican-Christian community and how they viewed Israel. She notes how the threat ofCommunism caused many American Christians who had previously distanced themselvesfrom Jews because of their refusal to accept Jesus as the Messiah, now (especially after1967) saw them as an ally in the fight against the spread of “godless Communism.” 84Because of this perceived alliance with the Jewish people, many Americans began to lookmore kindly on a Jewish State in their Biblical homeland. 85Other scholars explain thatfor Americans Israel represented a solution to the Jewish problem of Europe, 86 and formany Christians, fulfillment of ancient prophecy. 87In the days leading up to World WarII, during the Yishuv in Palestine, the Pro-Palestine Federation of America, whichconsisted of pro-Zionist Christian leaders, worked with Zionist groups to acquireassistance for Palestinian Jews. 88Michael Oren describes how after World War II, asJews continued to languish in camps across Europe, American Christians “hound[ed]8485868788Michelle Mart, “Christianization of Israel and Jews in 1950s America,” Religion and American Culture:A Journal of Interpretation 14, no. 1 (2004), 112.Mart, “Christianization of Jews,” 119.Oren, Power Faith and Fantasy, 483.Mart, “Christianization of Jews,” 116-119; see also Oren, Faith, Power and Fantasy, 488.Oren, Power, Faith and Fantasy, 425.32
Truman” for American support of the Jewish State, reminding him that “the title deeds”granting the Jews ownership of Palestine were “still extant in millions of Bibles the worldaround.” 89American Christians were by no means homogeneous in their support for Israel,especially prior to 1967. 90 Yet support for the Jewish State had grown somewhat in the1940s and 50s. Peter Grose reports that in 1944 only one-third of American Christianswere sympathetic to the Jewish State. The number actually dropped by February of 1948,when half of Americans polled claimed “no opinion.” However, by March of 1948, 50percent of Protestants and 44 percent of Catholics said they would support a Jewish state“if Jews independently set up a Jewish state anyhow.” 91Although public opinion was clearly shifting toward support for Israel, lingeringnegative attitudes toward Jews remained somewhat problematic. The Vatican refused toacknowledge the Jewish State for several years after its recognition by the UN. This wasfor various reasons, not the least of which was the conviction that, because the Jews hadrejected Jesus as the Messiah, the Catholic Church had superseded the Jewish people intheir sacred Covenant, and thus Jews lost all claim to the covenantal land. 92Protestantmissionary groups also feared the repercussions of a Jewish state. Both Michael Oren89909192Oren, Power, Faith and Fantasy, 488; see also Peter Grose, Israel in the Mind of America (New York:Alfred A. Knopf, 1983), 215; here both Oren and Grose quote Chicago's Moody Bible Institute.It should be noted that political and economic concerns played a major role in American opinionregarding Israel, contributing greatly to the divergence of attitudes. I have chosen to address this in thenext chapter, looking at Benson's political views in contrast with his contemporaries.I am also aware of the complexities within Christian opinion regarding Israel – particularly relating toProtestant missionary work in Palestine, and Catholic beliefs in supersessionism. These will be brieflyaddressed, but only as they aid in gaining an overall understanding of American sentiment, and as theyrelate to Mormon attitudes.Grose, Israel in the Mind of America, 262.For more on Catholic supersessionism, see Anthony Kenny, Catholics, Jews, and the State of Israel,1993.33
Page 2 and 3: AcknowledgementsI am indebted to Pr
Page 4 and 5: Table of ContentsIntroduction - 1Ch
Page 6 and 7: elationship in any depth.In researc
Page 8 and 9: friendships with various Israeli le
Page 10 and 11: Joseph Smith taught that Latter-day
Page 12 and 13: Gentiles, and it will be again inha
Page 14 and 15: for their long suffering. Yet, he,
Page 16 and 17: focus on both the fulfillment of pr
Page 18 and 19: Smith and Brigham Young, as previou
Page 20 and 21: Smith, the members of the group “
Page 22 and 23: Jews.'” 46Benjamin further descri
Page 24 and 25: Chapter 2: Benson's Religious Leade
Page 26 and 27: audiences. The first, called, “Je
Page 28 and 29: Benson's sense of kinship for the J
Page 30 and 31: eturn of the Jews to the land of Pa
Page 32 and 33: general mention of his efforts at s
Page 34 and 35: Or perhaps it did not aid in his ap
Page 38 and 39: and Peter Grose describe the frustr
Page 40 and 41: Israel's victory in the Six Day War
Page 42 and 43: the Messiah. Indeed, both Benson an
Page 44 and 45: those visits, as opposed to those o
Page 46 and 47: U.S. agricultural products on credi
Page 48 and 49: The American public, though divided
Page 50 and 51: States.” 133Indeed, a Gallup poll
Page 52 and 53: with Britain and France, for their
Page 54 and 55: many Americans that Israel was now,
Page 56 and 57: those experiences to give validity
Page 58 and 59: Benson, “I want you to pray to Go
Page 60 and 61: gathering. Some of those themes inc
Page 62 and 63: Ben Gurion and Levi Eshkol, both of
Page 64 and 65: sending “two Mormon Books,” and
Page 66 and 67: Yet Ben Gurion's next letter, dated
Page 68 and 69: on this occasion with Shimon Peres
Page 70 and 71: cultivate land for crops in the 194
Page 72 and 73: attitude in the Synagogue Light art
Page 74 and 75: United States, his views on Israel
Page 76 and 77: eminded the host that he had not be
Page 78 and 79: Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
Page 80 and 81: "Though Thy servant is now far from
Page 82 and 83: BibliographyAlteras, Isaac. Eisenho
Page 84 and 85: Madsen, Truman G. “Mormon Attitud

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