Gen. George Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who stirred controversy several months ago when he told a college audience that Jews controlled America’s banking system and its most influential newspapers, has told a reporter that Israel is “more of a burden than an asset,” according to Time magazine in its latest issue.
Time said that Brown made the remark in the course of an interview with Raanan Lurie, a cartoonist-writer for King Features Syndicate. A full report on the interview will be published by King Features Syndicate next week, but the gist of Brown’s remarks have been leaked to Israeli newspapers, Time said.
According to Time, Brown’s statement has already caused a furore in Israel and will cause “some embarrassment” to President Ford. The General’s earlier remarks at Duke University brought a rebuke from Ford but the President declined to dismiss him despite urgings from Jewish organizations.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.