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| Robert Kennedy in front of the King David Hotel |
In April 1948, Robert F Kennedy
visited Palestine after which he
wrote four articles for the Boston Post on the situation in Palestine. The visit came one month before Israel
declared independence and the Arab-Israeli War broke out. In the articles, Kennedy shared his
experiences among Arabs, Jews, and the British.
He expresses his support of Israel and admits that, “hatred between Jews
and Arabs” increases daily. However, he
goes on to say, “in many cases Jews and Arabs work side by side in the fields
and orange groves outside of Tel Aviv. Perhaps these Jews and Arabs are making
a greater contribution to the future peace in Palestine than are those who
carry guns on both sides.”
In a twist of irony, 20 years later
Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan and later died on June 6, 1968. This happened one year after the 1967
Arab-Israeli War. In a 1989 interview with David Frost, Sirhan claims
that Kennedy was his hero, but the devastation of the Arabs losing the war and
Kennedy’s support for Israel were among the reasons leading to his
assassination of Kennedy.
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