Final_Judgment

98 No Love Lost [37]
Sam Giancana and his allies in organized crime—including Meyer Lansky
and the Israeli lobby—were confident that they had themselves a president.
KENNEDY & BEN-GURION—THE FIRST ENCOUNTER
Shortly after his inauguration as president, Kennedy arranged to meet
with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. At this meeting, Kennedy
said, "I know I was elected because of the votes of American Jews. I owe
them my election. Tell me, is there something that I can do for the Jewish
people?"
According to Seymour Hersh, "Ben-Gurion was surprised by the
frankness and evaded the question by answering, 'You must do what is best
for the free world."' However, Ben-Gurion's real reaction to Kennedy was
somewhat different. “What a politician!" is how the Israeli leader described
the American leader. 73
It was the beginning of a bitter and unpleasant relationship between the
two men that came to its finish in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
(In Chapter 5 we will examine that unfortunate relationship in detail.)
KENNEDY TURNS THE TABLES
It was not much longer afterward that Kennedy's organized crime friends
began to realize that Kennedy was not proving to be the loyal ally that they
had expected he would be. Soon after JFK assumed the presidency, an
unexpected war on organized crime began. Robert Kennedy, who had cut his
teeth prosecuting mobsters as a counsel for the Senate's "rackets
committee," was named attorney general and it was apparent that he was
taking his new job seriously.
According to Sam Giancana, "It's a brilliant move on Joe [Kennedy]'s
part. He'll have Bobby wipe us out to cover their own dirty tracks and it'll
all be done in the name of the Kennedy 'war on organized crime.' Brilliant.
Just fuckin' brilliant." 74
Meyer Lansky's West Coast henchman, Mickey Cohen, reflected in
later years upon the Organized Crime-Kennedy alliance and what it meant,
particularly after Bobby Kennedy launched his campaign against the
underworld.
"I know that certain people in the Chicago organization knew that they
had to get John Kennedy in. There was no thought that they were going to
get the best of it with John Kennedy. See, there may be different guys
running for an office, and none of them may be . . . what's best for a
combination.
"The choice becomes the best of what you've got going. John Kennedy
was the best of the selection. But nobody in my line of work had an idea
that he was going to name Bobby Kennedy attorney general. That was the
last thing anyone thought." 75