John Kennedy On U.S.-Israel Relations
(1959-1960)
“Let us make it clear that we will never turn our backs on our steadfast friends in Israel, whose adherence to the democratic way must be admired by all friends of freedom.” (Speech at Eastern Oregon College of Education, November 9, 1959)
“It is worth remembering...that the cause of Israel stands beyond Jewish life...it has not been merely a Jewish cause, any more than Irish independence was the cause merely of those of Irish descent, because wherever freedom exists, there we are all committed. And wherever it is endangered, there we are all endangered.
The ideals of Zionism have, in the last half century, been endorsed by both parties, and Americans of all ranks and in all sections. Friendship for Israel is not a partisan matter. It is a national commitment.” (Speech August 25, 1960)
Source: Robert Silverberg, If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem: American Jews and the State of Israel. NY: William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1970, pp. 550, 552.
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