ABSTRACT
Richard M. Nixon entered the White House in early 1969 amid speculation that he might follow an ‘even-handed’ policy on the Middle East, avoiding the markedly pro-Israel stance of his predecessor, Lyndon B. Johnson. Indeed, during Nixon’s first year in office, his administration unveiled an ambitious plan for Middle East peace that infuriated the Israelis and provoked an extended crisis in US-Israeli relations. Starting in 1970, however, the Nixon administration de-emphasized its peace plan and adopted positions on the Arab-Israeli dispute that were more congenial to Israel. The following year the United States dramatically increased its military and economic assistance to Israel.1
