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

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the least of which was the conviction that, because the Jews hadrejected Jesus as the Messiah, the Catholic Church had superseded the Jewish people intheir sacred Covenant, and thus Jews lost all claim to the covenantal land. 92Protestantmissionary groups also feared the repercussions of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