Now Anti-Semites Are Citing Harry Truman

A newly discovered Truman diary, dated 1947, was published recently. The diary revealed scorn for "cruel Jews." He wrote "The Jews, I find, are very, very selfish," "they care not how many Estonians, Latvians, Finns, Poles, Yugoslavs or Greeks get murdered or mistreated as D[isplaced] P[ersons] as long as the Jews get special treatment." He continued: "Yet when they have power, physical, financial or political neither Hitler nor Stalin has anything on them for cruelty or mistreatment to the underdog."

Now Truman's statements are being used by some Arabs to justify their hostility to Israel. According to an intellectual, writing in the London-based Al-Hayat, the recent rise of anti-Semitism, especially in Europe, is very much attributed to Israeli practices against the Palestinians, practices that allegedly parallel those used by Nazis. He writes: "Israel is a shame to the Jews everywhere. Everyone who supports it is a partner in the crime, for it has been transformed from a country for the survivors of the Nazism to a new Nazi state that is practicing what Truman predicted over half of century ago."

This intellectual insists that anti-Semitism must be denounced. Yet, he emphasizes that a "government comprised of war criminals in Israel explains the rise of anti-Semitism in every country." Another way of saying all this is that "I am not an anti-Semite though anti-Semitism is justified on account of Sharon's Nazi practices against the Palestinians, which had been predicted by U.S. president Harry Truman. Therefore Jews must forfeit their support of Israel so as not to become partners in crime."

This line of reasoning speaks volumes of the predicament of the Arab mindset and constitutes the mortal threat to Arab-Jewish peaceful co-existence. Why? Because at the heart of this reasoning is an implicit claim that Jews are evil and that their integration as a distinct group into the region is dangerous and thus unacceptable.

Arabs generally think that Truman admired and sympathized so much with the Jews that he was the first president to recognize and thus legitimize the state of Israel. His diary statements, however, reveal a very different opinion of the Jews. Arabs' reaction was that "we have been telling you so about the Jews, just read Truman's statements."

Truman was not the first president to entertain anti-Jewish ideas. Two other presidents come to mind: Thomas Jefferson and Richard Nixon. But all three presidents did not allow their personal opinions of Jews to affect their actions. Indeed, Truman recognized the state of Israel. Nixon worked for peace in the Middle East and filled key positions in his administration with Jews. Jefferson approved of the American Constitution that guaranteed the protection and equal rights of mankind including Jews.

Palestinian grievances and rights are legitimate. But attempting to prevent the integration of Jews in the region by questioning their nationalist and ethical credentials is misguided. It is no coincidence that Palestinian leaders, including Yasser Arafat himself, have claimed that the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the very symbol of Jewish religion and national belonging, is not the real one.

Zionism's mission has been largely achieved as the aspirations of the Jewish people for a homeland have been fulfilled. But Zionism, like Arab nationalism, is at a crossroads. Security for Israel now constitutes the focal point of post-Zionism, which is struggling to define its new identity while being torn by conflicting goals: keeping the spirit of Zionism alive by expanding settlements into Palestinian territories and achieving peace with the Arabs by relinquishing the settlements. Arabs should heed Truman's, Nixon's and Jefferson's deeds not their sayings. This is what will make Jerusalem the capital city of both Israel and Palestine.

Related Links

Alonzo Hamby,"Truman's Diary in Perspective"

Josh Pollack,"What Did Truman's Outburst About Jews Signify?"

Highlights of Truman's Hidden Diary