Because it is Right, Part I
Israeli journalist Amir Oren wrote a fascinating and frightening piece in Ha’aretz last week. Oren, a student of American history, had read parts of the recently published Truman diaries and reminds us that the President didn’t personally care for Jews. He also described a 1947 CIA assessment of the potential establishment of the State of Israel.
Israeli journalist Amir Oren wrote a fascinating and frightening piece in Ha’aretz last week. Oren, a student of American history, had read parts of the recently published Truman diaries and reminds us that the President didn’t personally care for Jews. He also described a 1947 CIA assessment of the potential establishment of the State of Israel.
Interestingly, the CIA predicted the pan-Arab fight to destroy Israel and the backlash against Jews in Arab lands. It predicted ongoing terrorism and guerrilla warfare in Israel and U.S.-Soviet tensions over the region. It noted the U.S.had already lost a great deal of prestige in the Arab world and, presciently, that “The Arab governments are probably as greatly influenced by religious pressures as they are by nationalist pressures. (They) are capable of a religious fanaticism, which when coupled with political aspirations is an extremely powerful force. Whether or not the Arab governments are capable of guiding this force is difficult to judge.” It predicted ongoing difficulty for U.S.policy goals in the region. On the other hand, the CIA predicted that Israel would survive only two years.
Since all the regional negatives came to pass with the single exception of the destruction of Israel, one might conclude that President Truman (and subsequent presidents) should not have invested so much American effort in supporting it – maybe they should have let “nature” take its course. That is fuel for those who, today, would prefer that we dump Israel and get on with “real life.” For example, former French prime minister and current member of the European Parliament, Michel Rocard, who called Israel an “abnormal case in the world,” and a “historic mistake.” (June 04)
Oren himself drew no conclusions from what he shared with readers. Here is ours.
In David McCullough’s seminal biography, Truman’s personal distaste for religious and racial minorities is clear, so his decisions to integrate the U.S.Army and recognize Israel inform us that for Truman, the personal is not political. Truman believed in “fairness and equality before the law” (pg. 247), and overruled his much-admired Secretary of State George Marshall to recognize the nascent State of Israel. (“I had to make it plain that the President of the United States…is responsible for making policy.” pg. 620) As President, he had to do what was right and fair, and so he did. He integrated the Army because it was right and he recognized Israel because it was right.
“Because it’s right.” That sounds like a slim reed for those of us who support Israel today. There are many, many reasons for the United States and other countries to support Israel in the face of the never-ended pan-Arab attempt to strangle it at birth. But in the face of those who marshal politics, history, economics and dire threats against it, the first one is “because it’s right.”
What is right, how to do right and when to do it are the key decisions national leaders make, and elections are voter referenda on those decisions. As we approach ours, JINSA Reports will consider what is right for the United States and our people and how that determines our national agenda.