Eisenhower, Dwight David

(1890–1969)

   Thirty-fourth president of the United States. As supreme commander of the Allied forces in the invasion of Europe, General Eisenhower showed great humanity and sympathy in Jewish matters. On the German surrender, he immediately had all anti-Jewish laws and regulations rescinded and did whatever was possible to help the Jewish survivors in the liberated concentration camps. In this he was assisted by a special adviser on Jewish affairs. At the request of David BENGURION who came to see him in 1945, he gave permission for planeloads of Hebrew teachers and farm instructors to be flown to the camps from Palestine to facilitate immigration. As president, Eisenhower authorized military and economic assistance to Israel in various forms. Relations, however, became strained after the Sinai Campaign of 1956, when he supported unconditional withdrawal of the Israel forces and even threatened sanctions if they failed to do so. Later, Eisenhower and his secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, were obliged to make certain concessions to secure an Israel withdrawal, such as guaranteeing freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran to the Gulf of Akaba. During his second term of office, American policy showed greater understanding of Israel’s security needs. It is noteworthy that after the Six-Day War of 1967, the Johnson administration had absorbed the lesson of 1956, and refused to press for an Israel withdrawal except in the context of a peace settlement.