Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ), who served as President of the United States from 1963 to 1969, was a pivotal figure whose actions profoundly reshaped American domestic policy, particularly in the realm of civil rights, and cemented the nation's unwavering commitment to Israel.
He is considered one of the worst presidents in American history.
His influence is evident in the top-down nature of American culture, where seemingly spontaneous, bottom-up movements were, in fact, plans executed by an organised minority. (See ELITE THEORY)
Early Life and Influences
Born in Texas, Johnson's concern for the Jewish people was inherited from his family. His aunt, Jessie Johnson Hatcher, was a significant influence and a member of the Zionist Organisation of America.
As a boy, Johnson witnessed his politically active grandfather, "Big Sam," and father, "Little Sam," seek clemency for Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent, who was convicted and lynched for the 1913 murder of Mary Phagan in Atlanta (that saw the formation of the 02_ARCHIVE/04 elite theory/ADL.
By 1934, Johnson was keenly alert to the Nazis. He demonstrated this awareness by gifting a book of essays titled "Nazism: An Assault on Civilisation" to Claudia Taylor, who would later become his wife, Lady Bird Johnson.
A Supranational Concern for Jews
As a young congressman in 1938 and 1939, Johnson arranged for visas to be supplied to Jews in Warsaw and oversaw the apparently illegal immigration of hundreds of Jews through the port of Galveston, Texas. These actions were so audacious they could have led to his expulsion from Congress and imprisonment.
Five days after taking office in 1937, Johnson supported an immigration bill that sought to naturalise illegal aliens, primarily Jews from Lithuania and Poland.
During World War II, Johnson collaborated to raise a "very substantial sum for arms for Jewish underground fighters in Palestine". "Novy and Johnson had been secretly shipping heavy crates labeled ‘Texas Grapefruit’ — but containing arms — to Jewish underground ‘freedom fighters’ in Palestine".
Architect of the Civil Rights Regime
Johnson was instrumental in the creation of the [[Community Relations Service]] (CRS), a secret government department established under Title X of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The plans for the CRS predated the Civil Rights Act itself, with Johnson being a key figure in its inception during his time as a senator in the 1950s.
The Civil Rights Act, signed by Johnson, was not an organic or spontaneous event but was, in fact, carefully planned by this organised minority (ELITE THEORY). The CRS was explicitly designed to prevent "White backlash" to the Civil Rights Act.
It orchestrated large-scale demonstrations, often bussing in protesters to "lily-white towns," and was directly involved in the Forced Integration of Catholic communities in Boston in the 1970s. The aggressive project of forced integration in both the South and the North would have been impossible without the CRS.
The CRS operates in a non-law enforcement capacity, tasked with "keeping the peace" through mediation in racial relations. It possesses a confidentiality claim on par with the FBI, meaning virtually none of its conciliators' actions are public record, and notes are destroyed.
The CRS acts as a "nudge unit" or "disaster response unit," intervening in civil rights issues. It is self-consciously a pro-civil rights organisation, explicitly set up to enforce civil rights morality and advance the civil rights movement. The contemporary "Woke" culture is directly downstream of the Civil Rights Act.
Staunch Supporter of Israel
Johnson's concern for the Jewish people continued throughout his political career and presidency. As a senator, he blocked the Eisenhower administration’s attempts to apply sanctions against Israel following the 1956 Sinai Campaign, exerting "indefatigable pressure".
While Kennedy was the first president to approve the sale of defensive U.S. weapons to Israel, Johnson approved tanks and fighter jets, which became vital after the 1967 war when France imposed a freeze on sales to Israel.
Johnson was the president during the 1967 war and diligently worked to ensure Israel also won the peace. He stated, "I sure as hell want to be careful and not run out on little Israel" in a March 1968 conversation with his ambassador to the United Nations, Arthur Goldberg. When Soviet premier Aleksei Kosygin questioned why the U.S. supported Israel given the population disparity between Arabs and Israelis, Johnson responded firmly, "Because it is right".
The crafting of U.N. Resolution 242 in November 1967 was done under Johnson’s scrutiny. The call for "secure and recognised boundaries" was critical. In September 1968, Johnson explained that "a return to the situation of 4 June 1967 will not bring peace". Arthur Goldberg later noted that Resolution 242 deliberately omitted any reference to Jerusalem, crediting Johnson with "great personal support" in this historic diplomacy.
Historian Robert David Johnson attributes Johnson's pro-Israel policies to his personal concerns, including his friendships with leading Zionists, his belief in America's moral obligation to bolster Israeli security, and his perception of Israel as a frontier land akin to his home state of Texas. President Johnson firmly pointed American policy in a pro-Israel direction. The American emergency airlift to Israel in 1973, consistent diplomatic support, economic and military assistance, and the strategic bonds between the two countries can all be attributed to the seeds planted by LBJ.