UK: Prince Charles asked who will "stand up and take on the Jewish lobby in US" - has "dodgy views on Israel"

"Surely some US president has to have the courage to stand up and take on the Jewish lobby in US? I must be naive, I suppose!" (Prince Charles, Nov. 24, 1986))

Via The Daily Mail: 

Prince Charles was fiercely criticised last night after it emerged he once urged the US to ‘take on the Jewish lobby’ – and blamed ‘the influx of foreign Jews’ for causing unrest in the Middle East.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal the incendiary comments are contained in a letter in which the Prince lays bare his thoughts on one of the world’s most bloody disputes.

Writing to his close friend Laurens van der Post in 1986, the Prince makes a startling assessment of the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

He argues it was the exodus of European Jews in the middle of the last century that ‘helped to cause the great problems’. He goes on to say terrorism in the region will only end when its causes are eliminated. 

He then expresses the hope a US President will find the courage to stand up to the American ‘Jewish lobby’. 

The term ‘Jewish lobby’ is considered by many to be anti-Semitic – suggesting wealthy Jews in the US operate behind the scenes to exercise undue influence over government policy.  (..)

Last night, Stephen Pollard, influential editor of The Jewish Chronicle, said: ‘To me this is the most astonishing element of the Prince’s letter. The “Jewish lobby” is one of the anti-Semitic themes that have endured for centuries. It is this myth there are these very powerful Jews who control foreign policy or the media or banks or whatever.’

Mr Pollard described the letter as ‘jaw-droppingly shocking’, adding: ‘That they [the Prince’s comments] come from the heir to the throne is unsettling, to put it mildly.’

While the letter is inflammatory, there is no suggestion Charles holds anti-Semitic views. He has many prominent Jewish friends and in 2013 became the first Royal to attend a chief rabbi’s inauguration ceremony. In a speech that year, he expressed concern at the apparent rise of anti-Semitism in Britain.

In the past it has been reported that the Prince is privately critical of US policy in the Middle East, with one diplomatic source accusing him of having ‘fairly dodgy views on Israel’.

Charles has always enjoyed a close and supportive relationship with the Jewish community in Britain. 

At the same time, he is seen as a defender of Islam, with one historian noting that no other major Western figure has as high a standing in the Muslim world. 

It has also been suggested he has pro-Palestinian leanings, a perception the letter appears to support. (...)

In 1993, Charles delivered what was then considered to be the most pro-Islamic speech ever made by a member of the Royal Family. 

He said: ‘Islam can teach us today a way of understanding and living in the world which Christianity is poorer for having lost.’ 

He added: ‘These two worlds, the Islamic and the Western, are at something of a crossroads in their relations. We must not let them stand apart.’

In 2003, it was reported the Prince had not been to the US for the previous six years on Foreign Office advice, largely because of his criticism of US policy in the Middle East. 

A diplomatic source said at the time the Prince had ‘in American terms and international terms, fairly dodgy views on Israel. He thinks American policy in the Middle East is complete madness.’

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