Was Jesse Helms a righteous Gentile or Phony Opportunist?

[Maimonides]

I know Chaim Ben Pesach is grateful to the late Senator Jesse Helms for helping him get kosher food when he was in prison, but looking at Jesse Helms records it appears he started out as a Ron Paul type conservative.

According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms#Foreign_affairs

Helms was not originally a supporter of Israel, proposing in 1973 a resolution demanding Israel return the West Bank to Jordan, and, in 1975, demanding that the Palestinian Arabs receive a "just settlement of their grievances".[55] In 1977, Helms was the sole senator to vote against prohibiting American companies from joining the Arab League boycott of Israel,[56] although this was primarily because the bill also relaxed discrimination against communist countries.[57] In 1982, Helms even called for the U.S. to break diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War.[58] He favored prohibiting foreign aid to countries that had recently detonated nuclear weapons: aimed squarely at India, but also affecting Israel should it conduct a nuclear test.[59] He then worked to support the supply of arms to the United States' Arab allies under Carter and Reagan, until his views on Israel shifted significantly in 1984.[55]

Helms positions on Israel changed in 1984 when he apparently almost lost re-election because of his anti-Israel stance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms#1984_re-election_campaign

Unlike in 1978, Helms faced an opponent in the primary, George Wimbish, but won with 90.6% of the vote, while Hunt received 77% in his.[33] During the general election campaign, Hunt accused Helms of having the most "anti-Israel record of any member of the U.S. Senate".[55] Helms pledged during the campaign that he would retain his chairmanship of the Agriculture committee.[202]

In the most expensive Senate campaign up to that time, Helms narrowly defeated Hunt, taking 1,156,768 (51.7%) to Hunt's 1,070,488 (47.8%).[33] Helms might not have won had it not been for Ronald Reagan's popularity in the state; Reagan carried North Carolina by 24 points that year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Helms only changed his position on Israel when he got Israel to agree to go along with ARM SALES to "MODERATE" Arabs countries http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB121521073192129407.html

Contrary to his reputation, Helms did change his mind. For his first decade in office he opposed aid to Israel and in 1982, after that nation invaded Lebanon, called for "shutting down" relations. But after learning more about Israel's security fears during a visit there in 1985, and receiving assurances that officials there could support some military sales to moderate Arab nations, he became Israel's stalwart ally. "It was a complete switch," recalls Morris Amitay, former executive director of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby.

It seems to me that Helms was just another opportunist politician, who only supported Israel when it affected his political career and then twisted Israel's arm to support arm sales to Arab countries due to his powerful position as a Senior member and then later Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

[Lisa]

Maimonides, you should post this on Ask JTF. 

[Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks]

Maimonides, you should post this on Ask JTF. 

Good point.

[Rubystars]

I think that Jesse Helms was a good person. He certainly was not a Jew hater or he never would have helped Chaim. Maybe he didn't completely understand the toxic "peace process" at first but came to understand it better later on in his political career.

[Lisa]

From what Chaim has said in the past, Senator Helms had nothing to gain by helping Chaim when he was starving in prison.  But he did.  Senator Helms threatened to cut the whole prison budget unless Chaim was given kosher food.  I remember in one Ask JTF show, Chaim mentioned how he scribbled a note to Senator Helms on a paper towel.  Chaim didn't think it would do any good, but it did.

Still, you should bring this up on Ask JTF.  I'm very interested in what Chaim has to say about this.