Winston Churchill, the Jews, and Israel

Although Churchill’s record on Jews and Zionism is far from spotless—at times he even dabbled in anti-Semitism, perhaps for cynical political reasons—the great British statesman ultimately became both a philo-Semite and a supporter of Zionism, as Michael Makovsky explains. What ultimately convinced him to desire the creation of a Jewish state was a 1921 visit to Mandatory Palestine, where he became persuaded that Zionism was a force for the advancement of civilization. He would later regard Israel, and the Jews, as natural allies of the West in the struggle against Soviet Communism. (Interview by Jonathan Silver. Audio, 41 minutes.)