David Ben-Gurion

Born in Poland, Ben-Gurion moved to Palestine in 1906 due to anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe. In 1915 he was expelled from Palestine, which was under Ottoman rule. He immigrated to New York City, where he met and married his wife. In 1918, Ben Gurion joined the British Military and served in the first World War. After the war he was able to return to Palestine, which was now under British rule. After WWII, Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. He led the Israeli forces through the War of Independence and became the country's first prime minister on February 25, 1949 - the day after the first armistice with Egypt. Except for a brief period from 1954 - 1955, Ben Gurion remained prime minister until 1963.

President Kennedy worried that a nuclear-armed Israel would destabilize the Middle East, the two leaders met to discuss the nuclear issue of the Dimona project at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York on May 30, 1961.