LBJ and Zionism

 Lyndon Baines Johnson was a friend of Jews.  This was clear during World War II, when Johnson personally helped Jews escape from Europe.  As a congressman, he enabled the immigration of Eric Leinsdorf, who became the Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

There was much good in this, and LBJ's anti-racism led to his work in getting the Civil Rights Act of 1965 passed.

But LBJ was also a notorious womanizer, and one of his most famous girlfriends was Alice Glass, who became the wife of the publisher of the Austin-American Statesman, who was a big backer of Johnson.

Johnson had a falling out with Alice after he started sending troops to Vietnam.  But before long, another girlfriend became much more important in his life.  She was Mathilde Krim, an ardent Zionist who had assisted emigration of Jews to Israel from Europe, then briefly lived in Israel herself before marrying the president of United Artists and moving to Los Angeles.

The Krims and especially Mathilde became a private counselor to Johnson on Israeli affairs, and stayed at the White House during much of the 1967 war.