1967 Middle East War was a Turning Point for Israel
The pro-Israeli groups failed to convince Kennedy to give Israel unconditional support. Kennedy understood Israel’s ambition to dominate the region. He, on the other hand, wanted to strike a balance by keeping a good relationship with the Arab states. He realized, now known from the released archive documents, to help many underdevelopment countries including those of the Middle East was the most effective way confronting Communism. After the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, President Kennedy, realizing the existential threats posed by a nuclear confrontation, wanted to cut down America’s own military spending and start a diplomatic relationship with the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba to end the Cold War soon. All these threatened the military-industrial-complex and its close allies, the pro-Israeli groups, and big businesses. Kennedy was the last US president to refuse to provide Israel with vast military aid it was urging America to provide; after his assassination “the faucet was fully open,” said Ilan Pappe. Oliver Stone had a ground to allude to an Israeli connection to the President’s murder in his film JFK. [note]Ilan Pappe, The Ten Myths about Israel, Verso, London, 2017, p. 54 (Kennedy’s refusal to massive aid to Israel and his assassination link.)[/note]
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