Thread by @lennybendavid

Since the Robert Kennedy visit to Palestine in April 1948 was raised on Twitter, here's the story.
Right out of Harvard, RFK went to cover the fighting in Palestine for the Boston Post. His columns appeared in June 1948. The paper went bankrupt & his columns were lost until ...

I found yellowed newspaper clippings of RFK columns in files of dead members of Congress on the way to the trash! I published them online & in a booklet in 1998. At the time, columns weren't available at JFK Library or Library of Congress.
His family gave me the pics in thanks.

RFK was very supportive of the Jews, critical of the British & the Arabs. No wonder his anti-Semitic father was opposed to trip. His girlfriend, as well, & she broke up. (Ethel & their kids were very thankful to Israel.)
Read columns jcpa.org/article/robert… Pic RFK w "slingshot."

Bobby Kennedy wrote his column in April 1948 in the MIDST of the war, one month before Israel was proclaimed. That's why he referred to "Jews," b/c the name "Israel" wasn't chosen yet.
How much was he in the midst of the war? RFK rode in the armored convoys to Jerusalem.

In his book "Robert Kennedy & His Times," historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. reported that during his visit to Palestine, RFK wrote to his parents that the Jews he met “are different from any Jews I have ever known or seen.” As for the Arabs, "I just wish they didnt have that oil.”