Truman and the Creation of Israel

Eric Stiner

Hour 2

Richards

Truman and the Creation of Israel

With the growing pressure for a new state of Israel after the atrocities committed against the Jews in World War Two, President Franklin D Roosevelt's adopted a neutral policy towards Palestine. Roosevelt felt like the United States needed complete cooperation from Jews and Muslims before they could get involved. When Roosevelt passed away in April of 1945, Harry Truman was thrown into the presidency of the United States. Along with the ongoing war with Japan and difficulties with the Soviet Union, there was immediate pressure from Zionist leaders to get something done. Truman said "I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets have fallen on me"(Levantrosser). When Truman took office, his administration placed American interests first and made their policy consistent with Roosevelt's policy. Although he remained neutral, the Palestine issue was one of Truman's greatest concerns. He wrote Virginia C. Gildersleeve: "The Jewish and Arab situation in the Near East is a most difficult one and has caused us more difficulty than most any other problem in the European Theater..." (Donovan). When the statistics came into focus, of the hundreds of thousands Jews that were displaced, Congress was forced to make a decision. The United States Congress would eventually tell Truman that the Jewish immigration policy into Palestine was to be Great Britain’s situation because they held a League of Nations mandate over Palestine. Truman ignored this advice because he felt as if Congress cared more about their own interests and the Arab reaction, rather than focusing on the Jewish suffering caused by Adolph Hitler during World War II. Truman saw the suffering that the Jews went through and it affected him greatly. The final decision on the Palestinian conflict came straight from Truman's personal conception of right and wrong. Truman ignored the advice of his most trusted advisors because his Christian religious background and its emphasis on biblical teachings influenced his beliefs, value system, and moral absolutes, all of which directed him toward actively assisting in the creation of Israel.

It is well documented that Harry S. Truman was a very religious man. His strong Christian beliefs were vital in the early decision making process on the Palestine conflict. Harry S. Truman was born in the small town of Lamar, Missouri. When Truman was 6 years old, his family moved so that Harry could attend a church school in Independence, Missouri. The opportunity for Harry to be raised on strong Christian values was one of his parents top priorities. Harry took a special interest in reading, writing, and especially history. Studying the Bible became a fascination for Harry even as a young child and the Bible became a vital part of Harry's upbringing. He was known as a bookish learner and a great student of history (Hillman).

Truman's fascination for the Middle East was evident. He stated that, "It was here where so much of our history was made."(Hillman) Truman once held a meeting in the Oval Office to discuss the historical significance of the Middle East and especially the Palestine region. He pulled out a map from his desk and began talking about the Middle East. Truman spent over an hour discussing the historical significance of different areas of Palestine. People that were in the meeting described his detailed presentation of the region as "masterful" and "that of a distinguished scholar" (Benson).

Eight days after Truman was sworn in as president, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise of New York, co-chairman of the American Zionist Emergency Council, came to ask Truman to support a Jewish state in Palestine (Donovan). Truman assured Stephen Wise that he supported the Zionist goal but he didn't want to take immediate action. Truman wanted to create an immigration system that would "let as many Jews into Palestine as possible" (Evensen).

Although Truman supported the Zionist goals, he faced outside pressure from Great Britain and even the Vatican on the danger of the Zionist goals. Britain’s issues with the Arabs, in the Palestine region, had to do with the protection of oil and the Suez canal. Britain tried their best to keep peaceful relations with the Arabs for those reasons. They felt like if they allowed Jews to immigrate into Palestine that it would potentially hurt business relations with the Arabs. Truman became increasingly impatient with the British lack of action on the issue. He stated “Of course, the British control Palestine and there is no way of getting one-hundred thousand Jews in there unless they [the British] want them in” (Donovan).