The Magazine  Instant Recognition  Israel's debt to Harry S.
Truman.  Jul 20, 2009, Vol. 14, No. 41 • By ALONZO L. HAMBY
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Truman has struck many observers, myself included, as badly
battered, and at times confused, by the vehement debate and
difficult policy choices he faced. The Radoshes make a
persuasive case that he secretly promised Zionist leaders,
including Chaim Weizmann, that the United States would be the
first nation to recognize a new Jewish state and that his
apparently erratic behavior was a symptom of his determination
to do so without losing his revered secretary of state, George
Marshall.  In the end, he prevailed, ordering instant
recognition of the new state of Israel and suffering not a
single resignation in protest. His motivation doubtless had a
political tinge, reflecting to some degree his longtime
friendship with Jacobson, and may have been strengthened by the
widespread Protestant belief that biblical prophecy ordained t