FDR, in his last year, tried to befriend both Arab and Jew alike, believing his ability to establish rapport could solve the problem. He, of course, failed to create any reconciliation between them. Truman inherited this situation, but took a different approach. For him it was paramount that the Jews in Europe should be rescued by allowing them to immigrate to Palestine. He consistently, and early on, pressed the British government to allow 100,000 Jews to immigrate to Palestine. They ... (show more)

FDR, in his last year, tried to befriend both Arab and Jew alike, believing his ability to establish rapport could solve the problem. He, of course, failed to create any reconciliation between them. Truman inherited this situation, but took a different approach. For him it was paramount that the Jews in Europe should be rescued by allowing them to immigrate to Palestine. He consistently, and early on, pressed the British government to allow 100,000 Jews to immigrate to Palestine. They refused to grant permits.

Many American Jews beseeched, pressed, scolded, cajoled, and presented their best arguments to Truman, differing arguments much to his annoyance. Someone should have explained to Harry that when you have three Jews discussing something there will be at least five opinions. That may be well known in New York, but Truman was from Missouri and he got it the hard way.

His home town and Army buddy, Eddie Jacobson, was Harry's first and best Jewish friend. Eddie proved decisive when Truman was in the clutch. When the British were obstructing immigration and the American state department was undermining the president's policy and the Jews of the world had become so aggravating that Truman refused to meet with them further, Harry's loyalty to his friend carried the day.

In all this, Truman stuck to his values. They were his true sentiments, and he believed that most of America agreed with him. He felt, that after the war, we all owed it the to Jews to give them a home and Palestine was it.

Allowing the new United Nations to come up with its own solution, Truman avoided applying pressure to any delegation, as a matter of principle. As it turned out, many nations interpreted this as indifference to the outcome, and many aligned themselves with the Arabs' interests, since the Arabs were busy pressuring everyone. In the last 48 hours, Truman's inner circle realized they had to speak up forcefully if statehood for Israel was to be achieved.

Meanwhile, Jews in Palestine, Israelis in fact but not in name, were building a nation. By the time the British pulled out, most of the U.N. mandated territory for the Jews was already under Jewish control, courtesy of Soviet weapons from Czechoslavakia. Since the U.S. state department had placed an embargo on weapons shipment to Palestine and the Arabs were being supplied from a variety of other sources, it fell to Russia to even the field.

This history covers the period from roughly 1943 to 1950, intense years for everyone, and none more than the Jews. It is a great read, full of fascinating detail often told years later by the people then in the fray. Clark Clifford and Chaim Weisman stand out in my mind as people who held to principle, and who provided the president with his clearest guidance and support.

Without Truman's firm hold on the vision, Israel might not exist today. Among the illustrations in the book is an Israeli postage stamp honoring Harry Truman. (show less)