Celebrating 60 Years

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Israel and the American Cyrus
Celebrating 60 Years
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One of the proudest moments of my life

• Recognizing Israel Promptly
• May 14, 1948
• 611 pm EST

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Trumans Favorite PsalmNumber 137

• By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
  yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

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A Homeland of Their Own

• The President insisted that the Old Testament had
  made a commitment to the Jewish people that
  someday they would have a homeland of their own.

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President Truman and Chaim Weizmann the president
of the World Zionist Agency

• I had faith in Israel even before it was
  established. I knew it was based on the love of
  freedom, which has been the guiding star of the
  Jewish people since the days of Moses.

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Early History

• Israel has been a sacred place for Jewish
  people since biblical times. According to the
  Torah, it was a land promised by God to Jews as
  their homeland.

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Early Immigration to Palestine

• The reason for the mass migration of Jews was
  due to the Russian persecution of Jews.
• When the czar Alexander II of Russia was
  assassinated, the Jews were blamed, and many
  settlement options were taken away from them.

Czar Alexander II
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The Second Aliyah

• Between the years of 1904 and 1914, the Second
  Aliyah took place. This was an event in which
  approximately 40,000 Jews immigrated to
  Palestine. Most of these Jews came from Russia
  and Poland.

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• During World War I, British Foreign Secretary
  Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration.
  This document viewed with favor the establishment
  of Palestine becoming a national home for the
  Jewish people.

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• The Jewish Legion, a battalion composed of
  Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British
  conquest of Palestine. When the Arabs opposed the
  plan, the 1920 Palestine riots began. This led to
  the formation of the Jewish group known as
  Haganah, or the defense in Hebrew.

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The League of Nations

• In 1922, the League of Nations granted the
  United Kingdom a mandate over Palestine. They
  stated it would secure the establishment of the
  Jewish national home.

The League of Nations
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• Jewish immigration continued with the Third and
  Fourth Aliyah between the years of 1919 and 1929.
  During this period of time 100,000 Jews
  immigrated to Palestine.

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British Mandate of Palestine

• The British Mandate of Palestine, or the
  Mandate of Palestine, was international
  recognition for establishing Palestine as a
  national home for Jewish people. The mandate
  began in 1920.

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Jaffa Riots

• The Jaffa Riots were the riots and killings
  between the Arabs and the Jews in the British
  Mandate of Palestine in 1921 between May 1st and
  May 7th. These riots resulted in the death of 47
  Jews, 48 Arabs, and also left 146 Jews and 73
  Arabs injured.

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World War II

• The rise of Nazism in Europe led to the Fifth
  Aliyah, which resulted in the influx of a quarter
  of a million Jews. This great influx led to the
  Arab Revolt of 1936 1939. With many countries
  turning down Jews who were fleeing the Holocaust,
  the Aliyah Bet was organized to bring Jews to
  Palestine.

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Aliyah Bet

• The Aliyah Bet was the code name given to
  illegal immigration of Jews to the British
  Mandate of Palestine against British laws
  forbidding immigration. This helped Jews escaping
  Europe during the Holocaust.

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Increase in Population

• At the end of World War II in 1945, Jews made
  up 33 of Palestines population. This was up
  from the 11 that populated the area in 1922.

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Becoming a Country

• After 1945, the United Kingdom became
  increasingly violent with the Jews. In 1947, the
  British government withdrew from the Mandate of
  Palestine stating that they were unable to find a
  solution between the Jews and Arabs conflicts
  over Palestine.

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The State Department Opposed Zionism
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The Pentagon Opposed Zionism
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The Intellligence Agencies Opposed Zionism
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but, Harry Truman ordered implementation of
pro-Zionist initiatives between 1945-47.
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Truman requested that Britain revoke the White
papers of 1939 which limited Jewish migration to
Palestine.
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Truman endorsed a Jewish state when he gave, what
is now known as the Yom Kippur statement on
October 4, 1946.
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Truman endorsed a 1947 United Nations partition
proposal on terms favorable to the prospective
Jewish state.
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The International City Jerusalem

• The United Nations, on November 29, 1947,
  approved the UN Partition Plan. This divided
  Israel in two, one side for the Jews, the other
  for the Arabs. Jerusalem was to be international
  city.

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Harry S. Truman

• On May 12th, 1948 at a meeting in the Oval
  Office, President Harry Truman stated that the
  Middle East was a place of no democratic
  government. He felt that if Israel was recognized
  as a country, it could be a place of such
  government.

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Independence Day In Israel

• On May 14, 1948 the State of Israel was
  proclaimed. This was one day before the Mandate
  of Palestine expired..

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One of the proudest moments of my life

• Recognizing Israel Promptly
• May 14, 1948
• 611 pm EST

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By clicking on Truman on the next slide, you will
view a history of Israel in sixty seconds.
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President Harry Truman, Ambassador Abba Eban and
Israels first President, David Ben-Gurion on
May 8, 1948.
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What Do You Think?In the American government,
what agencies were against recognition of Israel?
Why do you think they took this position?
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What Do You Think?What were some influences on
President Truman that you believe affected his
decision to recognize Israel as a new nation?
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What Do You Think?If Truman were not the
President, would Israel have been recognized in
1948? So promptly? Be specific with details.