Unsealed Archives Reveal Decades of Secret Zionist Rabbi Influence on US Presidents

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the Israeli newspaper ‘Israel Hayom’ has reported that letters and photographs unearthed from US presidential archives, coinciding with the United States’ 250th anniversary, reveal previously unknown aspects of US-Israeli relations. These documents indicate that senior Zionist rabbis maintained direct communication channels with US presidents for approximately seven decades, engaging in a blend of religious and diplomatic activities that influenced critical decisions at the White House.

Among the most prominent documents is a brief letter from 1947 from the office of the then Chief Rabbi, Isaac Halevy Herzog (grandfather of current Israeli President Isaac Herzog), to US President Harry Truman. The letter notes that a ‘telegram of appreciation for the President’s efforts in supporting the Jewish people has been referred to the State Department.’ This correspondence reflects the sensitive period leading up to the establishment of the Israeli regime, following the UN General Assembly vote on November 29, 1947.

The unearthed records also include a handwritten letter from 1941 detailing Rabbi Herzog’s early efforts to gain support from US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, ostensibly to ‘save European Jews during the Holocaust.’ Before meeting the President, Herzog wrote that he would be in the US for a ‘Talmudic mission’ at the end of January and wished to express gratitude on behalf of the Zionist community before returning to Palestine.

Most of these documents were gathered from US presidential libraries in Washington as part of a research project by the ‘Center for Applied Jerusalem Policy.’ This center has accessed a nearly continuous and previously undocumented record of relationships maintained by senior rabbis of the Israeli regime with US presidents between 1924 and 1992.

The exhibition features a rare 1924 photograph of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook during a visit to Philadelphia, displaying both American and Israeli flags. It also includes the 1947 thank-you letter to Truman and exclusive photos from the Oval Office documenting Rabbi Abraham Shapira’s 1992 meeting with George H.W. Bush.

The exhibition opened at the residence of the Israeli president in Jerusalem and is planned to move to other locations in Jerusalem and Washington. Chaim Silberstein, founder of the center, stated that the US bicentennial offers an opportunity to commemorate the centennial of senior Zionist rabbis’ visits to the White House, viewing this tradition as a reflection of strong ties between the two sides.

Silberstein added that his center’s mission is to strengthen the security, sovereignty, and prosperity of occupied Jerusalem for Zionists, as well as to preserve the history of ‘diplomacy based on Talmudic perspectives.’ He described this diplomacy as originating in Jerusalem and contributing to the consolidation of relations between Israel and the United States.

He emphasized that these documents prove the strategic cooperation between the US and Israel is not a recent development but dates back to the early stages of the Zionist movement, with senior Talmudic rabbis playing a significant role in developing relations with US presidents during crucial moments.

David Brownstein, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in the occupied territories, commented that the relationship between the two sides transcends a political alliance, evolving into an ‘exceptional friendship.’