1960's Interview 🎞️ U.S. President Truman on the Creation of Israel • 4K 60FPS
Watch on YouTubeVideo summary
In this historical interview from the 1960s, former U.S. President Harry S. Truman reflects on his decision to recognize the State of Israel immediately upon its formation in 1948. His motivation stemmed directly from his personal experiences at the Potsdam Conference, where he witnessed the devastation caused by the Nazi Holocaust and learned that six million Jews had been slaughtered. Driven by a hope to provide a safe homeland for these survivors, Truman oversaw the establishment of the Israeli government in Palestine, a move he describes as necessary despite the significant opposition it faced from various quarters.
The President details the complex and contentious process of partitioning Palestine, noting that neither side was easily satisfied with the compromise. He explains that while some Jewish leaders and Zionists wanted the entire territory handed over without effort, others among the Arab population desired to drive all Jews into the Red Sea, and conversely, some Jewish factions wanted to push Arabs toward the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Truman admits that his role was to find a middle ground that would create a homeland for the Jews while maintaining justice for the Arabs, acknowledging that often the people one helps most end up being the angriest with them.
Despite facing intense criticism from both Arab nations and certain segments of the Jewish community who felt their demands were not fully met, Truman stood firm in his conviction that something had to be done to resolve the situation. He notes that moving millions of people and filling a country with new inhabitants could not please everyone simultaneously, yet he proceeded because he believed it was the right course of action. At the time, he enjoyed the support of the U.S. Congress, which allowed him to carry out his policies even when diplomatic relations were strained, such as during the conflict with Egypt involving President Nasser.
Truman concludes by observing that while the decision to recognize Israel was far from easy and involved difficult compromises, the new state has proven to be an energetic and successful republic that achieved things never done before in that part of the world. He expresses a long-term optimism that eventually all parties will be satisfied, though he admits it will take a great deal of time to complete this difficult job. Ultimately, he emphasizes that the United States paid no attention to the objections raised by those who opposed the partition, trusting instead in the moral imperative to establish a nation for the Jewish people after their suffering under Nazi persecution.
Read the full video transcript
I also antagonized a lot of people
by recognizing the state of Israel as
soon as it was formed.
Well, I had been to Potsdam and I'd seen
some of the places where the Jews had
been slaughtered by the Nazis.
6 million Jews were killed outright,
men, women, and children, by the Nazis.
And I had as my hope that they would
have a homeland where they could
operate. So, when the time came for
that, we set up the Israeli government
in uh
Palestine,
moved some of the Arabs out, and they
were not moved out and thrown or thrown
out, they were compensated for the land
that they had to give up. The Jews
organized a uh government over there,
and it's been a successful one ever
since. They've done things over there
that never have been done in that part
of the world before.
And there, while it's a small republic,
it's an energetic one.
They not long ago they had a
fuss with Egypt, and if they hadn't been
interfered with by the then president of
the United States, Nasser would been
down in the Sudan where he belongs.
That won't have diplomatic relations.
Roy Anderson was one of them.
We had several other
uh people in the country, even among the
Jews, Zionists particularly, who were
against anything that is to be done if
they couldn't have the whole of
Palestine and everything handed to them
on a silver plate, so they wouldn't have
to do anything. It couldn't be done. We
had to take it in small doses. You can't
move
uh
five or six million people out of a
country and fill it up with the five or
six million more and expect both sets of
them to be pleased.
We had all sorts of objections to
everything that was done. Something had
to be done. We went ahead and done it
and had it done and and now it it's
working out. Eventually, I think we'll
have them all satisfied. But it's going
to take a great deal of time yet to get
the job done.
But don't think that decision to
recognize Israel as an easy one.
I had to make a compromise with the
Arabs and divide Palestine.
The Jews wanted to chase all the Arabs
into
Tigris and Euphrates River, and the
Arabs wanted to chase all the Jews into
Red Sea, and I was trying to What I was
trying to do was to find a homeland for
the Jews and still be just with the
Arabs. But when you go into a thing of
that kind, the people you help most are
the ones that get most angry with you.
Both of them were against me on the
situation, but at present the United
States I paid no attention to them,
carried out what I thought was right,
and I had the support of the Congress,
and I could do it, which is unusual in
these days.
>> You tell us specifically that a lot of
Jewish people were against you, too?
>> Well, well, there were a lot of Jewish
people against me because they wanted
the whole Palestine. As I say, they
wanted to drive all the Arabs into the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.