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

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those visits, as opposed to those of other countries. For Benson, Israel held a specialplace in his work as Secretary of Agriculture.40
Chapter 3: Benson and Israel in the Political ArenaAs a political figure, Ezra Taft Benson is most frequently cited in the pages ofhistory for his work as Secretary of Agriculture, where he is remembered for his resoluteopposition to Communist and Socialist policies in farming, as well as in government ingeneral. His works leave ample fodder for discussion and scholarship in that realm. Hisrelationship with Israel is less commonly mentioned, and outside of his legacy amongmembers of the Mormon faith, it is virtually forgotten. Yet, within Benson's work inPresident Eisenhower's cabinet, and even his more general political views, examples ofBenson's commitment to the Jewish State are not difficult to find.As noted in Chapter Two, I have necessarily divided his work into religious andpolitical sections to facilitate a more clear and organized examination of his views. Thisis especially important when looking at Benson in light of the political realities of the1940s and 50s, and beyond. Although Benson's work as Secretary of Agriculture kept hisfocus generally on domestic issues, he participated in foreign trips in the second half ofhis first term, and again in his second term. The purpose of these trips varied, butfrequently seemed to be to promote Public Law 480, which passed in 1954. This allowedfor “government financing of sales of U.S. agricultural commodities to developingcountries and private entities. . . on concessional credit terms.” 112In other words,developing countries whose domestic food supplies were insufficient, and that lacked thefinancial ability to purchase through “commercial channels,” would be able to purchase112United States Department of Agriculture, FAS Online, “Pulic Law 480: A Brief Explanation,”http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/foodaid/pl480/pl480brief.html.41
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 36 and 37: about Jews and Israel, throughout t
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 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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