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Final Judgment, Chapter 4
by Michael Collins Piper
[From Final Judgment, 6th edition, American Free Press, Washington, D.C., 2004]
No Love Lost: JFK, Meyer Lansky, the Mafia & the Israeli Lobby
There was a long history of bitter enmity between John F. Kennedy and his powerful father Ambassador Joseph Kennedy and organized crime boss Meyer Lansky, stemming from the senior Kennedy's deals with the underworld. This, however, did not stop the Kennedy family from cutting deals with the crime syndicate when it came to winning elections.
The Kennedy family's alleged anti-Semitism didn't do anything to improve JFK's relations with Israel and its American lobby either. Kennedy's intervention in the issue of Algerian independence from France also drew sharp criticism from the Israeli lobby as well. Yet, when John F. Kennedy sought the presidency, he was willing to cut deals with the Israeli lobby -- for a price.
By the end of his presidency, however, Kennedy had reneged on his deals, not only with Israel's Godfather, Meyer Lansky, and his henchmen in the Mafia, but also with the Israeli lobby.
John F. Kennedy was very much a product of his father's upbringing -- much to the dismay, it might be said, of many of even JFK's most devout disciples. They would, frankly, prefer to forget much of the recorded history of the Kennedy family and present JFK as something just short of being a saint.
That President John F. Kennedy was the son of Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy long perceive to be, at the very least, neutral to the ambitions of Nazi Germany -- and, at the worst, an anti-Semite and even an admirer of Adolf Hitler -- has been a lot for Kennedy's admirers to swallow.
Ambassador Kennedy, of course, fought U.S. entry into World War II. Several accounts from the period suggest that Kennedy himself returned from Britain, where he served as American ambassador, with the intent of launching a major campaign against President Roosevelt's war plans.
However, after a meeting at the White House between the ambassador and the president, Kennedy backed off. What happened during that meeting is ripe for speculation.
JFK, HITLER AND THE WAR IN EUROPE
What is interesting to note (and definitely little known) is that at the same time Ambassador Kennedy was fighting against American involvement in what became the Second World War, his sons Joe Jr. and John were also promoting the same agenda.
Joe Jr., as a student at Harvard, served on the Harvard Committee Against Military Intervention in Europe, described as "a reactionary group that petitioned influential government officials and held rallies opposing American entry into European war effort."[37]
More significantly, however, it appears that JFK himself was under steady surveillance by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI because of his anti-war sentiments and blaming Winston Churchill for getting the United States into the war..."It also appears," charged the FBI, "that Kenneedy had prepared for his father at least one of the speeches which his father had made, or was intending to make, in answer to criticism of his alleged appeasement policies... In addition Jack Kennedy stated that in his opinion England was through, and his father's greatest mistake was not talking enough, that he stopped talking too soon."[38]
Young Jack Kennedy, as a Harvard student, was more than neutral toward Hitler, it seems. Having visited Mussolini's Italy, Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany, JFK recorded in his diary, according to Time magazine, that he had come "to the decision that Facism [sic] is the thing for Germany and Italy, Communism for Russia and Democracy for America and England."[39] Youthful musings, but interesting, to say the least.
KENNEDY AND THE 'FASCIST'
After the war was underway, JFK's father, Ambassador Kennedy, actively considered involvement in a scheme to cut the war short -- in opposition to President Roosevelt.
Kennedy's biographer, Richard Whalen, has written of a secret meeting between Kennedy and a prominent critic of the Roosevelt administration, the controversial publicist, Lawrence Dennis. Often described (inaccurately) as "America's leading fascist," Dennis was a former diplomat himself and one of the early leaders in the effort to block American intervention in what evolved into World War II. Consequently, he and Kennedy had much in common.
Kennedy's biographer outlined the circumstances of that secret meeting -- a meeting which says much about Kennedy's line of thinking: "In October 1943, Lawrence Dennis received a telephone call from his friend, Paul Palmer, then a senior editor of The Reader's Digest. Before the war, Dennis had contributed to the Digest, but the author of The Coming American Fascism since had become too controversial for his byline to appear in the nation's largest magazine. Now he received a $500-a-month retainer as an editorial consultant.
"One of his recent efforts had been a memorandum sharply critical of unconditional surrender and the rumored plans to break up Germany. Palmer invited Dennis to lunch in his suite in Manhattan's St. Regis Hotel, saying he would meet someone there who was thinking along similar lines.
"It turned out to be Joe Kennedy. Over lunch, Kennedy said he had been seeing Archbishop Spellman almost daily. He said thet Archbishop had returned from Rome with word that Hitler's generals might attempt to overthrow him if they were offered terms less hopeless than unconditional surrender.
"Kennedy grew emotional and castigated Roosevelt. He talked of his two sons in the service, and declared that the war could be ended within two weeks if the German generals were given encouragement.
"Of course, no Church official could speak out against the folly of Roosevelt's policy, but Kennedy could, and this had been Palmer's purpose in arranging the luncheon. The editor asked whether the former Ambassador would write, or at least sign, an article condemning unconditional surrender. The impact of such an article, given Kennedy's former standing in the administration, could be enormous. But he did not accept the invitation and the war being fought by his sons and so many other young men raged on."[40]
Ambassador Kennedy no doubt remembered this meeting for the rest of his days. He was very bitter about the war and particularly bitter at Franklin D. Roosevelt. Kennedy once allegedly referred to FDR as "that crippled son of a bitch that killed my son Joe."
(Joe Kennedy Jr., of course, being the ambassador's eldest son. It was Joe Jr.'s death that ultimately laid the groundwork for the second son, John, to be groomed for the presidency in his older brother's place.)
A BUSINESS VENTURE
However, the senior Kennedy's views most definitely did not change as time went by. But as the retired ambassador grew older, he became more pragmatic. This was evidenced in a meeting -- in the mid-1950's -- between Kennedy and an associate of Lawrence Dennis -- a New York-based entertainment executive named DeWest Hooker.
In fact, as we shall see, it may have been efforts by Hooker, as a consequence of his meeting with Joe Kennedy, that helped John F. Kennedy win his narrow victory in the 1960 presidential election.
Mr. Hooker hoped to interest Joe Kennedy in a business venture which Hooker believed might be right up the ambassador's alley. Hooker wanted to establish an independent television network, and he felt that Kennedy, himself a veteran movie mogul, might be interested in backing the enterprise. Hooker's memory of that meeting is quite interesting, particularly in light of the thesis presented in these pages. To appreciate just precisely where Hooker was coming from, however, it is appropriate to review Hooker's remarkable background.
UNABASHEDLY ANTI-JEWISH
Born to wealth and privilege and a descendent of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Hooker had a varied career. Not only did he act on the Broadway stage, but he also modeled in cigarette advertisements. Hooker also served for a period as a talent agent with the powerful firm MCA and was, at a time during the 1950's one of the highest-paid talent agents in America. Hooker also dabbled in television production and was equally successful.
However, there was an aspect to Hooker's persona that made him, to say the least, persona non grata in the entertainment industry: Hooker is unabashedly and frankly anti-Jewish. He will be the first to admit it, no questions asked. A powerfully-built man, Hooker is fearless and not afraid to make his position known.
One of Hooker's proteges was George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party. In his memoirs This time the World, Rockwell credits Hooker as being a major influence on his thinking. In fact, Rockwell dedicated the book to Hooker, along with several others including Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy and General Douglas MacArthur. Hooker, Rockwell declared, was the one "who taught me to know the cunning and evil ways of the enemy."[41] According to Rockwell, Hooker was "the nearest thing to a Nazi since the Bund."[42]
The reason for Hooker's interest in establishing an independent network was highly political: Hooker wanted the new network to be totally divorced from Jewish money and influence. In his judgment, the three existing networks were entirely under the control of Jewish interests. Hooker wanted a network that presented what he called "our way of thinking."
JOE KENNEDY SPEAKS FRANKLY
It was in 1956 that Hooker had a private meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, with Kennedy. After a game of golf, Kennedy and Hooker got down to business. Hooker was there to solicit Kennedy's financial, political and personal backing for his proposed network.
(It was during this period that Sen. John F. Kennedy was then actively seeking the Democratic Party's vice presidential nomination. He lost, but his efforts brought him widespread acclaim within party ranks, and set in place the mechanism for his successful bid for the top spot on the party's national ticket in 1960.)
After Hooker made his presentation to the retired ambassador, Kennedy's response was supportive in spirit, but Old Joe made his final position clear during their four-hour conference.
According to Hooker, "Joe admitted that when he was ambassador to England that he had been pro-Hitler. However, in Kennedy's words, 'we' lost the war. By 'we,' he meant the non-Jews. Joe Kennedy believed that it was the Jews who had won World War II.
"Kennedy said, 'I've done everything I can to fight the Jewish power over this country. I tried to stop World War II, but I failed. I've made all the money I need and now I'm passing everything I've learned on to my sons."
"I don't go with the 'loser,'" Kennedy told me. 'I've joined the 'winners.' I'm going to work with the Jews. I'm teaching my boys the whole score and they're going to work with the Jews. I'm going to make Jack the first Irish Catholic President of the United States and if it means working with the Jews, so be it. I'm in sympathy with what you're doing, Hooker,'" Kennedy said, 'but I'm not going to do anything that will ruin Jack's chances to become president.'"[43]
Hooker was, of course, disappointed by Kennedy's response and ultimately his "fourth" network failed to get off the ground. However, Hooker at least had the satisfaction of knowing that he and the Kennedy family were on the same wavelength -- even if they were willing to compromise those views for political gain.
THE NAZIS 'ENDORSE' NIXON
As they parted at the end of their Palm Beach meeting, Hooker asked Kennedy if there was anything he could do to help the Kennedy family.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something you can do," responded Joe Kennedy. "I'd like you to use your contacts in the right-wing. Have them start publishing articles accusing Jack of being controlled by the Jews, of being a Jewish puppet. This will have the effect of neutralizing opposition to Jack (because of me).
"The Jews know my views and naturally they'll assume that Jack is a chip off the old block. If the right wing starts hitting Jack this will give the Jews second thoughts -- at least the ones who do the voting."[44]
Hooker promised Kennedy he would do what he could. And being a man of his word, Hooker did influence his right-wing contacts as Kennedy had asked. Hooker encouraged his friend, Nazi leader Rockwell, and other "right-wingers" to smear John F. Kennedy as JFK's father had suggested. His efforts succeeded.
As one chronicle of the 1960 campaign noted: "The American Nazi Party ehlped too by throwing its support to Richard Nixon -- "Nazis for Nixon, Kikes for Kennedy" was one of its slogans. Another of its placards read, "FDR and JFK mean JEW deal."[45]
This, of course, was inspired by JFK's father and carried out through the good offices of DeWest Hooker and his friend George Lincoln Rockwell, although the historian who penned the description of Rockwell's sloganeering probably had no idea that it was indirectly the work of Joe Kennedy.
"Frankly," Hooker says to this day, "As far as I'm concerned, it was my work that got Johnny Kennedy in the White House."[46] (Hooker's claim is not completely off the mark, inasmuch as American Jewish leaders claimed themselves at the time that it was Jewish support for John F. Kennedy that gave him his narrow victory over Nixon in the 1960 election.)
This interesting -- and revealing -- episode is not likely to be memorialized at the John F. Kennedy Library at Harvard or in any friendly biographies of the Kennedy family. However, there can be little doubt that Israel and its American lobby had a fairly good idea of what was going on behind the scenes.
MICHAEL COLLINS PIPER
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[37] C. David Heymann, A Woman Named Jackie. (New York: New American Library, 1989), p. 151.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Time, October 19, 1992, p. 28.
[40] Richard Whalen. The Founding Father: The Story of Joseph P. Kennedy. (New York: New American Library, 1964), pp. 366-67.
[41] George Lincoln Rockwell. This Time the World. (Liverpool, West Virginia: White Power Publications, 1963), p. v.
[42] Ibid. p. 123.
[43] Interview with DeWest Hooker, January 20, 1992.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Edward Tivnan. The Lobby: Jewish Political Power and American Foreign Policy. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987), p. 54.
[46] Interview with DeWest Hooker.
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