VIETNAM, JEWS AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Transcription

1 VIETNAM, JEWS AND THE MIDDLE EAST

2 Also by Judith A. Klinghoffer ISRAEL AND THE SOVIET UNION: Alienation or Reconciliation (co-author) THE CITIZEN PLANNER THE FEDERAL COLLECTION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS

3 Vietnam, Jews and the Middle East Unintended Consequences Judith A. Klinghoffer

4 Judith A. Klinghoffer 1999 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1999 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 1999 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources I Published in the United States of America by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y ISBN

5 To Joella and Arthur

6 Contents Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations The Buried Story PART I THE STAGE IS SET 1 American Foreign Policy Realigned 2 The Vietnam War's Effect on Israel 3 On the Front Line of the Peace Movement PART II THE COLLISION 4 Washington as a One Crisis Town 5 Israel Veers Towards Neutralism 6 Jewish Leaders Clash with Lyndon Johnson PART III BLOW UP 7 America Rejects a Second Front 8 Israel Survives 9 Jewry Transformed PART IV THE DIE IS CAST 10 Vietnam and/or the Middle East 11 Jewish Sparta 12 Organizing the Homefront Linkages Index viii X vii

7 Acknowledgments I owe many thanks: Yaakov Talman taught me to look for global connections, Bela Vago to read diplomatic cables, and Lloyd C. Gardner to follow my instincts and to "hang in there" whenever the going got tough. He, along with Warren Kimball, Michael Shafer and Ziva Gallili, were kind enough to read and comment on an earlier lengthier version. Miriam Eshkol gave me access to her husband's archive as well as to her own invaluable insights. Richard Parker provided me with his working translation of pertinent sections of Mohammed Heikal's book Al lnjijar, as well as with useful advice and comment. Paul Nitze let me read his classified oral history; Denis Healey and Robert Komer replied to specific queries; and Meir Amit, Lucius Battle, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Myer Feldman, Nicholas Katzenbach, Robert McNamara, Benjamin Read, Eugene Rostow, Walter Rostow and Joseph Sisco spent varying amounts of time graciously and patiently answering my often impertinent questions. Max Kampelman also provided me access both to his papers and to his memories. Alas, he along with Dean Rusk, John Roche, Aharon Yariv and Avraham Harman are no longer with us. It was an honor to have known them. No place could have been more supportive than the Lyndon B. Johnson Library staff in Austin. Not only did the library help underwrite my research with a Moody grant but it also did yeoman job assisting me with the declassification of an enormous amount of documents, and even invited me to present some of my findings at a conference on international perspectives of the Vietnam War. I owe special thanks to David Humphrey, John Wilson and Ted Gittinger. This study has also benefited from the help of numerous archivists and librarians working at Rutgers University, the Minnesota State Archives, YIVO (the Institute of Jewish Research), the Jacob Blaustein Memorial Library, Haifa University, the Dayan Center for Strategic Studies, Israel State Archives, and Yad Eshkol. I am most grateful for the insights of friends and colleagues from Rutgers University, the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, and Aarhus University, as well as for V111

8 Acknowledgments ix the unwavering support of my American and Israeli friends and family. Finally, no one could have done as well the endless job of listening as my daughter Joella or the tedious job of editing and reediting as my husband Arthur. I am forever in their debt.

9 List of Abbreviations AID ACJ AJC AIPAC AJCL ARAMCO CCAR DCSS GAHAL ISA JCS JTA JWV LBJL LBJ-OH MAP AM MOSSAD MSA NCNA NCNP NCRAC NEA NLF NSC NSF NYT PLA PLO RAFI SCA UAHC UAR UNEF UNRWA Agency for International Development American Council for Judaism American Jewish Committee American Israel Public Affairs Committee The Blaustein Library of the American Jewish Committee Arabian American Oil Company Central Conference of American Rabbis Dayan Center for Strategic Studies Gush Herut Liberalim (Israeli National Liberal Party) Israel State Archives Joint Chiefs of Staff Jewish Telegraphic Agency Jewish War Veterans of America Lyndon Baines Johnson Library LBJL's Collection of Oral Histories Mifleget Poalim Meuchedet (Israeli Marxist Labor Party) Israeli Intelligence Service Minnesota State Archives New China News Agency National Conference of New Politics National Community Relations Advisory Council Near East Agency National Liberation Front National Security Council National Security File New York Times Palestine Liberation Army Palestinian Liberation Organization Reshimat Poalei Yisrael (Israeli Labor Party) Synagogue Council of America Union of American Hebrew Congregations United Arab Republic United Nations Emergency Force United Nations Relief and Works Agency X

10 List of Abbreviations xi WHCF WJC YIVO ZOA White House Central Files World Jewish Congress Institute for Jewish Research Zionist Organization of America