Final_Judgment

[62] Final Judgment 123
(AIPAC) sent out to top-ranking figures in AIPAC and others in the Israel
lobby in Washington.
Hailing Johnson's "front-rank pro-Israel position" 157 during his Senate
career, the memo was dated November 26, 1963, just one day after John F.
Kennedy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The memo,
incidentally, was formally noted "Not for Publication or Circulation." 158
Clearly, those in the Israeli camp didn't want their seeming delight in
Kennedy's passing—and Johnson's sudden good luck—to be in the public
record.
What is additionally interesting are Kenan's memoirs of his service as
one of the Israeli lobby's top men in Washington. The memoirs contain, as
we have seen, a chapter about John F. Kennedy cryptically—perhaps
critically—entitled—"A Multitude of Promises" along with the intriguing—
and accurate—reference to 1963 as "The Turbulent Year," (for U.S.-Israeli
relations). 159
The very next chapter—about Lyndon Johnson—is warmly entitled
"Israel's Texas Friend." Johnson—who was, in Kenan's words, the "New
Man in the White House"—proved to be a very loyal friend of Israel.
Seymour Hersh points out that one of Johnson's first symbolic acts as
president was to dedicate a synagogue in Austin, Texas—less than six weeks
after assuming the presidency. In fact, Hersh notes, Johnson was the first
American president in history to dedicate a synagogue. It was, we shall see, a
very symbolic act indeed. 160
Lady Bird Johnson, the new president's wife, later tried to explain why
her husband was so fond of Israel and its friends in the American pro-Israel
lobby. "Jews have been woven into the warp and woof of all his [Johnson's]
years," she said. 161
ISRAEL'S INTERESTS FIRST
In Israel, Johnson's presidency was greeted with pleasure. The Israeli
newspaper Yedio Ahoronot said that in a Johnson presidency the issue of
"U.S. interests" would not be as much of a problem in U.S.-Israeli relations
as they had been under Kennedy. 162 In other words, Johnson—unlike
Kennedy—would be willing to set aside American interests in favor of
Israel's. The Israeli journal added, "There is no doubt that, with the
accession of Lyndon Johnson, we shall have more opportunity to approach
the President directly if we should feel that U.S. policy militates against our
vital interests." 163
MOURNING IN ISLAM
In the Arab world, however, the response was far different. According to
former diplomat Richard Curtiss, who spent much time in the region, "The
mourning stretched across the Arab world, where to this day faded
photographs on humble walls depict the young hero." 164