Harry Truman, who served as American President from 1945 to 1953, was no lover of the Jews.
“The Jews have no sense of proportion nor do they have any judgment on world affairs…The Jews, I find are very, very selfish. They care not how many Estonians, Latvians, Finns, Poles, Yugoslavs or Greeks get murdered or mistreated as D.P. as long as the Jews get special treatment.”
Yet, when David Ben-Gurion, head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, America was the first country to recognize the new state.
It took President Truman just 11 minutes on the same day after the proclamation to register America’s recognition.
It wasn’t just a snap decision Truman made as earlier he had several discussions with the White House staff who had differing opinions.
One group favoured acceptance as they believed America could benefit from a close working relationship, but the other group feared the State of Israel could aggravate an already tumultuous Middle East.
Truman had to take into account the opinions of both sides, but considering his negative feelings towards Jews, it was a rather surprising decision he made so quickly.
It may have been influenced by an external factor.
A Hometown Friendship
How the President reached that decision includes a remarkable story.
Eddie Jacobson was a longtime friend of Harry Truman. They were friends as teenagers and both served together in the army in WW1.
After returning home they decided to go into business.
Eddie had worked in retail and Harry in banking. So, they opened a haberdashery business, but when the Great Depression took effect the business folded.
Harry decided to go into politics and suggested Eddie do the same, but he wasn’t interested:
“No thank you. I’m going to make an honest living.”
You Have a Hero
Although the two men went different ways, early in 1948 Eddie was persuaded to visit President Truman, to convince him to meet Dr. Chaim Weizmann, former head of the World Zionist Organisation.
Weizmann was working diligently to make sure America would support the forthcoming State of Israel which had been approved by the United Nations in November, 1947.
On 13 March 1948 Eddie Jacobson visited Truman in his office. He’d never asked him for a favour, but this time he didn’t pull his punches.
“Harry, you must support an independent Jewish state.”
Truman was furious – to such an extent that Jacobson had to find a quick way to calm him down.
He looked around the office and saw a small statue of former President Andrew Jackson on horseback, grabbed it and thrust it in front of Truman.
“Harry, you have a hero. Andrew Jackson. I, too have a hero. Chaim Weizmann. The greatest Jew who ever lived.”
Chaim Weizmann is an old man, not well at all, but he’s traveled all the way to see you.”
President Truman fell silent, deep in thought, though still agitated:
“All right you baldheaded son of a bitch. You win. I’ll see Weizmann.”
The Secret Meeting
A few days later, Weizmann arrived in Washington for a secret meeting with President Truman, which was conducted in a cordial manner.
Weizmann requested America’s support for the state and $135 million for much needed aid.
The President offered him $100 million.
Furthermore, Truman promised him the support of the US, making good his promise in a memorandum:
“The United States recognizes the provisional government as the de facto authority of the new state of Israel.”
Recognition of the state was one thing, but the plight of Jewish refugees from war-torn Europe was something else.
Congress opposed allowing Jewish refugees to settle in America over and above the immigration quota.
Earlier, Secretary of State Dean Acheson informed them that in the American military camps, more than 100,000 displaced persons from Europe were being temporarily housed.
Most of them were Jewish.
That didn’t move Congress one iota, but perhaps this was one reason Harry Truman recognised the need for the state of Israel.
It would be essential for the survival of the Jewish refugees.
But there was another reason.
Truman was very fond of his friend Eddie Jacobson; their friendship went back a long way.
Eddie was a truly dedicated Zionist and Truman genuinely wanted to please him.
At the same time, the creation of a Jewish state would satisfy Congress who opposed relocation of the Jewish refugees to America.
Could these two factors have been the reason why Truman so enthusiastically embraced the creation of a Jewish state?
That being the case, it is one of the most extraordinary examples of history being made by the combination of compassion with secret pleasure.
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