Billy Graham apologizes for anti-Semitic remarks in Nixon White House

New York (ENI) - Billy Graham, the prominent American evangelist, has apologized for remarks he made 30 years ago in which he said American Jews had a "stranglehold" on the U.S. media. In comments taped in the Oval Office with former President Richard Nixon and released last week by the National Archives, Graham, who has often been called "America's pastor", is heard to say: "This stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain." In his apology, released March 1 by a Texas public relations firm, the 83-year-old Southern Baptist pastor said: "Although I have no memory of the occasion, I deeply regret comments I apparently made in an Oval Office conversation with President Nixon.some 30 years ago," he said. "They do not reflect my views and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks."

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