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

friendships with various Israeli leaders, citing them often and frequently mentioningpositive statements about the Church by prominent Jews and Israelis. One of hisfavorites was a comment made to him by David Ben Gurion, which Benson used toillustrate what he saw as a special relationship between Mormons and Jews, andparticularly Israelis: “There are no people in the world who understand the Jews like theMormons.”Because of the obvious influence that Benson's religious heritage had on hisviews, his relationship with Jews and the State of Israel can only be understood byplacing his views in that context. In order to do that, we must begin by looking backmore than 100 years, to the roots of his Latter-day Saint heritage and to the earlyAmerican Christian culture that influenced Mormon perspectives on Jews and Palestine.While various Christian sects have viewed the formation of a Jewish State in Palestine asa fulfillment of biblical prophecy, the Mormon relationship with Jews and Israel hasalways been a unique one. Truman G. Madsen, notable Church scholar, calls the Mormonattitude toward Zionism “singular and refreshing.” 1He characterizes that attitude in fouraspects: their declaration of “physical continuity with Israel”; their “benign attitudetoward Jewish dispersion” in contrast to the view, “often abetted by Christians, that it wassolely and irreversibly Divine retribution”; 2 the Mormon assurance of “the continuance ofIsrael up to the end of history”; and finally the Mormon perception of “reliving the life ofIsrael in their own lives.” 3Larry Lefkowitz of The Jerusalem Post concludes that “theattitude of the Mormons, as a religious sect, has been in strong contrast to the official123Truman G. Madsen, Mormon Attitudes toward Zionism, lectures at the University of Haifa, 1980-1981,11. Obtained in the archives of the Church History Library.Contrast noted by Truman G. Madsen, Mormon Attitudes toward Zionism, 11.D.W. Davies, “Israel, the Mormons and the Land,” Reflections on Mormonism, Truman G. Madsen, ed.(Salt Lake City: Publisher's Press, 1978), 82-93.4