Ronald Reagan Defends his Support of Israel and the Jewish People

“The day of the Sinai return, while I was on the phone to Prime Minister Begin and he was telling me I was the best friends Israel ever had, a group of Jewish demonstrators were out in front of the White House protesting my anti-Israel attitude. I know they were sincere – they just were uninformed”

 

A search of public records discloses no other letters of Reagan on his support of Israel having reached the market

 

Acquired from the family of the recipient and never before offered for sale

 

He blasts perceived media bias: “NBC…apparently didn’t want any answer unless ‘proved the President was wrong.'”

The Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula lasted 15 years. It commenced after Israel’s seizure of the region from Egypt during the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. Israeli provisional control over the Sinai Peninsula ended in 1982 following the implementation of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, which saw Israel return the region to Egypt in exchange for the latter’s recognition of Israel as a legitimate sovereign state.

On April 25 (reported in papers on the 26th), President Reagan would say, “The successful completion of Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai and the courage shown on this occasion by Prime Minister Begin and President Mubarak in living up to their agreements convinced me the time had come for a new American policy to try to bridge the remaining differences between Egypt and Israel on the autonomy process.”

Typed letter signed, as President, on White House letterhead, Washington, April 26, 1982, to Douglas Morrow, a screenwriter and film producer who earned an Academy Award for his script for 1949’s “The Stratton Story”. Reagan, who catapulted to fame as an actor, became friends with Morrow when Morrow sought to cast him in that part. They remained close friends throughout the Hollywood days and kept in contact through most of his presidency.

“Thanks for your letter and your concern and offer of help. Believe me, we are not unaware of the perceptions and the image building that have gone on. I have to say that it can’t be entirely laid to inattention on our part. You’d have to live here to appreciate the extent of our frustration. Having determined the perception of me they want to create, the media by and large will not accept anything that does not add to it. Let me give you a couple of ‘for instances.’ Some time ago, a press conference was followed by stories having to do with supposed errors on my part. The bulk of them had six items and all in the same order. My own staff researched for themselves (wouldn’t take my word for it) and found I was correct on five and half correct on the sixth (a technicality).

“On checking one, they called some county officials in Arizona who were part of one of my answers. The officials confirmed my answer and then added that NBC had already been out to see them, but apparently didn’t want any answer unless ‘proved the President was wrong.’

“More recently – yesterday in fact – on the day of the Sinai return, while I was on the phone to Prime Minister Begin and he was telling me I was the best friend Israel ever had, a group of Jewish demonstrators were out in front of the White House protesting my anti-Israel attitude. I know they were sincere – they just were uninformed. On that same day, Prime Minister Begin was on ‘Meet the Press’ from Tel Aviv. He said in answer to a question what he said to me on the phone. That evening, virtually every newscast on TV showed excerpts of the Prime Minister on that program. Not one used his lines about the United States.

“It goes without saying that Bill Moyers on the CBS special presented a totally dishonest report on poverty. We can refute every heart-rendering experience he portrayed as being the result of our economic program – they weren’t.

“Doug, I’ll show your letter to Mike Deaver, but I hate to think of you coming all the way here for a short meeting. I appreciate your willingness to do that, but the conservative in me rebels. Anyway, I’ll see what Mike comes up with since he’s the timer on my activities.”

A search of public records discloses no other letters of Reagan on his support of Israel having reached the public sale market. Acquired from the family of the recipient and never before offered for sale.