A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel

On May 14, 1948, the United States became the first nation to grant recognition to the State of Israel. Reflecting on this event, President Harry S. Truman would claim that this was one of "the proudest moments" in his life. Many motives have been attributed to Truman's support for the creation of Israel: his Baptist beliefs, his humanitarian concern for Europe's 100,000 displaced Jews, public opinion, and intense lobbying on behalf of the Zionist cause. But it was by no means an easy decision for him to make.

A Safe Haven follows Truman as he grappled with the pros and cons of recognizing Israel. Ronald and Allis Radosh draw on entries in the president's recently rediscovered diary to reveal the pressures he faced from all corners of the globe to reach a decision about the future of Israeli independence. This dramatic recounting of a key moment in postwar foreign relations is essential to a full understanding of Middle East politics.

Ronald Radosh is the author or co-author of many books, including The Rosenberg File (with Joyce Milton) and Divided They Fell: The Demise of the Democratic Party, 1964-1996. He was appointed to the Public Information Declassification Board (PIDB) by President George W. Bush in 2007, and is a contributing editor to the New York Sun.

Allis Radosh received her Ph.D. in American history from the City University of New York. She was the founder and president of Historical Concepts, Inc. She is the co-author, with her husband, Ronald Radosh, of Red Star Over Hollywood and the author of Persia Campbell: Portrait of a Consumer Activist.

"[A] revelatory account of Truman's vital contributions to Israel's founding." -- Wall Street Journal

--Booklist