COMMENTARY: New book examines the tumultuous Reagan era

c. 1998 Religion News Service (Rabbi Rudin is the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee.) UNDATED _ The recently published”Reagan: The Man and His Presidency: The Oral History of an Era”by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober (Houghton Mifflin) is an important work. It is important, first of all, because it […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

(Rabbi Rudin is the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee.)

UNDATED _ The recently published”Reagan: The Man and His Presidency: The Oral History of an Era”by Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald S. Strober (Houghton Mifflin) is an important work.


It is important, first of all, because it carefully analyzes the tumultuous years of the Reagan era (1981-89) with inside looks at the Iran-Contra scandal, the attempted assassination, and the administration’s controversial domestic agenda, including its extensive support of the Christian right. The book shatters some myths and provides valuable insight into how Reagan and his White House operated.

Most of all, however, the book strongly rebuts the belief that irreversible and immutable forces decisively shape history.

The Strobers’ superb research _ they interviewed 108 people directly involved with the Reagan presidency _ clearly shows that a leader’s personal experiences and attitudes are often the central elements in shaping national policies.

This was especially evident in Reagan’s intense dislike of communism and the Soviet Union and the extraordinary warmth he felt for Israel. The book provides compelling evidence that Reagan’s famous speech labeling the Soviet Union an”evil empire”accurately reflected his views. It was not an ad-lib line thrown into an address by the film star turned president.

Reagan, and his secretary of state, George P. Shultz, gave high priority to the struggle to free Soviet Jews. Indeed, when the two U.S. leaders had summit meetings with Soviet leaders, the Americans often began those sessions by demanding that Jewish prisoners of conscience be freed from Soviet jails and gulags. Again and again Reagan and Shultz pressed their counterparts in the USSR to allow Soviet Jews to leave for Israel and other countries.

At first, many Soviet leaders believed Reagan was simply reacting to the public campaign on behalf of Soviet Jewry supported by millions of American Jews and Christians. The campaign featured massive rallies, parades, and political pressure. But in repeated meetings with Reagan, it soon became clear to Kremlin officials that Reagan’s passion on the issue came from his heart, not just his head.

Gennadi Gerasimov, a Soviet Foreign Ministry official at the time, remembers Reagan opened one meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev with these words:”Jews want to practice their religion, so they want to leave the country.” Like many other Soviet leaders, Gorbachev”dismissed the idea of religion”but was keenly aware of Reagan’s profound commitment to Soviet Jewry.

Yitzhak Shamir, who was Israel’s Prime Minister during most of the Reagan presidency, told the Strobers that”Reagan’s interest in Soviet Jewry was immense; it was close to the first issue on the American agenda and … Reagan and Shultz were excellent in this confrontation. … The Soviet leaders told me that every time they met with Shultz, he raised the issue of Soviet Jewry. … I have no doubt that they (Reagan and Shultz) brought about the defeat of the Soviet Union.” When there were differences between the Reagan administration and Israel during the 1982 war in Lebanon, Reagan criticized the Jewish state’s policies, but he did it, as one American official put it,”as a friend of Israel; there was no question about that.” According to Howard Teicher, a former National Security Council member, Reagan”consistently displayed”a great deal of”warmth and admiration for Israel in general, and for Israeli leaders in particular.”And Shultz recounted that Reagan”… always had respect for the (Israeli) democratic process and who the democratic process put into power.” It is, of course, far from clear what Ronald Reagan’s lasting legacy will be. Already there are sharp differences of opinion and they are likely to intensify. But thanks to the Strobers’ excellent book, two things are beyond dispute: Reagan’s profound commitment to the security and survival of Israel and his unshakable support for Soviet Jews. On these two points there can be no argument.


DEA END RUDIN

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