Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ...
Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ... Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ...
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
Chapter 3: <strong>Benson</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Israel</strong> in <strong>the</strong> Political ArenaAs a political figure, <strong>Ezra</strong> <strong>Taft</strong> <strong>Benson</strong> is most frequently cited in <strong>the</strong> pages <strong>of</strong>history for his work as Secretary <strong>of</strong> Agriculture, where he is remembered for his resoluteopposition to Communist <strong>and</strong> Socialist policies in farming, as well as in government ingeneral. His works leave ample fodder for discussion <strong>and</strong> scholarship in that realm. Hisrelationship with <strong>Israel</strong> is less commonly mentioned, <strong>and</strong> outside <strong>of</strong> his legacy amongmembers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Mormon faith, it is virtually forgotten. Yet, within <strong>Benson</strong>'s work inPresident Eisenhower's cabinet, <strong>and</strong> even his more general political views, examples <strong>of</strong><strong>Benson</strong>'s commitment to <strong>the</strong> Jewish <strong>State</strong> are not difficult to find.As noted in Chapter Two, I have necessarily divided his work into religious <strong>and</strong>political sections to facilitate a more clear <strong>and</strong> organized examination <strong>of</strong> his views. Thisis especially important when looking at <strong>Benson</strong> in light <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> political realities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>1940s <strong>and</strong> 50s, <strong>and</strong> beyond. Although <strong>Benson</strong>'s work as Secretary <strong>of</strong> Agriculture kept hisfocus generally on domestic issues, he participated in foreign trips in <strong>the</strong> second half <strong>of</strong>his first term, <strong>and</strong> again in his second term. The purpose <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se trips varied, butfrequently seemed to be to promote Public Law 480, which passed in 1954. This allowedfor “government financing <strong>of</strong> sales <strong>of</strong> U.S. agricultural commodities to developingcountries <strong>and</strong> private entities. . . on concessional credit terms.” 112In o<strong>the</strong>r words,developing countries whose domestic food supplies were insufficient, <strong>and</strong> that lacked <strong>the</strong>financial ability to purchase through “commercial channels,” would be able to purchase112United <strong>State</strong>s Department <strong>of</strong> Agriculture, FAS Online, “Pulic Law 480: A Brief Explanation,”http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/foodaid/pl480/pl480brief.html.41
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