2 Friday, May 20, 1977
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
History-Making Incident
When Truman Broke Into Tears
Over Israel's Redemption
Harry S. Truman had made a promise to Chaim Weiz-
mann and it was not to be broken. In the State Depart-
ment there was obstruction. Secretary of State George
Marshall opposed support for the Zionist cause. The entire
Department backed him. Clark Clifford, now a Washington
practicing attorney and then, from 1946 to 1950, chief coun-
sel and adviser to President Truman at the White House
(he later served as Secretary of Defense in the adminis-
tration of President Lyndon B. Johnson), consistently
urged recognition of the Jewish State—yet to be named
TRUMAN
BEN-GURION
prior to May 14, 1948. In the last hours of the- controversy
the then Assistant Secretary of State Robert Lovett al-
tered his opposing view and joined Clifford in the pro-Zion-
ist stand.
In the leading article of this month's American Heritage,
Clifford described the struggle between President Truman
and the State Department on the Israel-to-be issue. The
basics of that internal battle have already been outlined in
these columns editorially and news-wise.
Clifford relates that Truman was infuriated by the hin-
drances in his official circles and the obstacles they placed
in his path. Recalling the pledges he had made to Weiz-
mann he said he did not want to be made out a liar.
The revealing article by Clark Clifford in American Heri-
tage, "Recognizing Israel." concluded with an account of
a soul-stirring and deeply moving meeting of President
Truman and the then Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion of
Israel:
Some years later President Truman met David Ben-
Gurion while both men were still in office. In Ben-Gu-
rion's memoirs he recalls the following:
At our last meeting, after a very interesting talk,
just before (the President) left me —it was in a New
York hotel suite—I told him that as a foreigner I
could not judge what would be his place in American
history; but his helpfulness to us, his constant sympa-
thy with our aims in Israel, his courageous decision to
recognize our new state so quickly and his steadfast
support since then had given him an immortal place
in Jewish history. As I said that, tears suddenly
sprang to his eyes. And his eyes were still wet when
he bade me good-by. I had rarely seen anyone so
moved. I tried to hold him for a few minutes until he
had become more composed, for I recalled that the
hotel corridors were full of waiting journalists and pho-
tographers. He left. A little while later, I too had to go
out, and a correspondent came up to me to ask, "Why
was President Truman in tears when he left you?"
I believe I know. These were the tears of a man
who had been subjected to calumny and vilification,
who had persisted against powerful forces determined
to defeat him, who had contended with opposition
even from within his own administration. These were
the tears of a man who had fought ably and honorably
for a humanitarian goal to which he was deeply dedi-
cated.
These were tears of thanksgiving that his God had
seen fit to bless his labors with success.
Such episodes serve as reminders of the sentimentalities
that created the deeply moving events of a state reborn, of
Prophecy fulfilled, of an oppressed people rising up anew
with the self-liberating force motivated by the will to live.
Are these factors now taken for granted, with the sover-
eignty of Israel a reality?
Let the episodes serve once again to remind this gener-
ation of the miracle that stirred not only the Jewish people
but all mankind.
Barbarians in Jewish
Ranks: The Satmar Sect
A shocking example of barbaric medievalism was in evi-
dence in the ultra-Orthodox sections of Brooklyn. The high-
ly respected Lubavitcher Hasidim, with their adherence to
the belief that the rebirth of the state of Israel is part of
Jewry's Messianic hope, have become the targets of a hat-
ing Jewish group. The Satmar Hasidic sect is not only an-
tagonistic to the Lubavitcher on a competitive basis: the
Satmarer hate the Lubavitcher because the latter rejoice
in Zionist triumphs in the redemption of Israel
.
When Harry S. Truman Was Moved to Tears by The Emotional
Impact of Israel's Rebirth at Meeting with David
Ben-Gurion . . . Setting Record Straight on Eddie Jacobson
Therefore, Satmar supporters, acting like hooligans. mo-
lested the Lubavitch supporters. desecrated the graves of
their elders, attacked them in synagogues and demon-
strated against the Rebbe for having dared to call the En-
tebbe rescue mission a miracle. Because they prefer to
wait for the arrival of the Messiah the Satmarer terrorize
anyone who is willing to work for redemption now.
What is happening is not a war between Contending Hassi-
dim. It is a barbaric act by a group whose actions equate
to those of the worst anti-Semites in their attempt to de-
stroy Israel and Jewish unity. The brutalities in Brooklyn
are the work of a gang of haters who are aligned with the
Naturei Karta, the few hundred Jewish Jerusalemite anti-
Israelis whose tactics are worse than those of the PLO.
The affiliates, the Satmar-Naturei Kartists, have trans-
ferred the terrorist acts to the New York area, and the
Lubavitcher are not the chief sufferers. All of Jewry is the
target in the paid advertisements they insert in the New
York Times attacking Israel and Zionism and all their sup-
porters.
What a pity that such medievalism should have gained
supporters in this country.
That the mild-mannered Lubavitcher, whose Rebbe de-
mands of his followers that there be no retaliation for the
victims of inhuman treatment by antagonists is in itself an
outrage. Even worse is the manner in which the terroriz-
ing group disgraces the good name of their people by un-
Jewish and anti-Jewish acts. For that public opinion
should drive them into the isolation of their own-created
jungle.
The Role of Eddie Jacobson:
A Factual Revelation
Clark Clifford's revealing clarification of the Truman-
State Department struggle, as it appeared in American
Heritage, was supplemented by an interview the Arnerican
Heritage conducted with the ad-
viser to President Truman. The
questions posed included one
about the man who had briefly
been Truman's partner in a ha-
berdashery business.
Many claims have been made,
always questionable, about the
role of Eddie Jacobson in the
ATerican recognition of Israel's
statehood. The question ad-
dressed to Mr. Clifford about Ja-
cobson and his reply is quoted
as follows from American Heri-'
EDDIE JACOBSON
tage:
Did he ever talk to you about the role of his friend and
former business partner Eddie Jacobson, who is said to
have influenced him in this direction?
Yis, he did. But of course it's important to emphasize
that Eddie Jacobson did not in any way influence
Harry Truman's decision on the -recognition of Israel.
He did, in fact, as the President stated in his mem-
oirs, come to visit the White House, and he urged the
President to see Chaim Weizmann, which he did. The
President was glad to see him as an old friend, but he
was perfectly aware that Jacobson was not familiar
with the overall situation, and that he had been sent
to see him by the Zionists, who naturally would use
every conceivable channel to the President. He didn't
mind, but he told me that he said to him, in effect:
"Eddie, don't get involved in this. It's more com-
plicated than you understand."
History does not tolerate exaggerated claims to glory.
Therefore ,this revelation also is of value in the Clifford ac-
count of what had transpired during the period that was so
critical for world Jewry and the impending statehood of Is-
rael.
David Hyatt's Timely Warning
of Rebirth of KKK Menace
A new era commenced for the National Conference of
Christians and Jews (parent organization of the Detroit
Round Table) with the assumption of the presidency by
David Hyatt. He is unhesitant in his condemnation of ter-
rorism. He has opposed anti-Semitic trends that were
rooted in anti-Israel propaganda. Now he takes the lead in
the war against a revitalized Ku Klux Klan.
In a statement that appeared in the New York Times he
warned against the KKK's re-emergence, asserting:
A mere 50 years ago, one-quarter of our nation's
age, society was caught up in an awful sweep of Ku
Klux Klan-led religious and racial intolerance that sul-
lied the national election and saddened decent,
thoughtful members of all religious faiths.
The hate-mongering lists; the mob-spirited lynch-
By Philip
Slomovitz
ings of and atrocities on blacks; the lash, the tar
brush, the cowardly hooded face lighted by fiery
cross; the Catholics, Jews
and blacks hunted, tor-
mented and vilified. That
was the United States of
America, Babe Ruth's he-
roic baseball feats notwith-
standing. A few years later,
a political unknown in Eu-
rope named Adolf Hitler
came to power on the wings
of a campaign of racial su-
periority and anti-Semi-
tism.
The investigative report
in the New York Post call-
ing attention to the Klan's
existence in New York City
is not totally surprising.
DAVID HYATT
However, since it is once
again in the headlines, it does indeed raise serious
questions about racial and religious progress in the
past 50 years.
There does appear to be growing publicity of KKK
activities. An avowed Klan leader appeared on a local
morning television' show within the past couple of
months, and now this affirmation of the chapter in
Queens.
The seeming decline of the Klan through the 60's
has been reversed, according to the Anti-Defamation
League. If that is so, then it is incumbent upon the
people of New York City and this nation to raise a col-
lective hostile voice to the Klan's venom.
The Klan is an organization of haters and hate prop-
agandists. Any rhetoric to the contrary is merely di-
versionary. We can only hope that racial and religious
tensions have not reached a state at which people of
good will forget about moral decency and respect for
their fellow human beings. The National Conference of
Christians and Jews asks the people of New York to
reject vehemently the local Queens chapter, the state-
wide organization and chapters throughout the nation
wherever the Klan may be hiding.
Fortunately, in our society we do have freedom of
speech and assembly, and no one is denying the
Klan's legal rights to constitutional guarantees. But
its existence is morally indefensible. The NCCJ was
founded in 1928, amid Klan popularity, to combat its
heinous prejudice, through a systematic program of
education. Overt Klan activities became unpopular.
So long as the ADL, the NCCJ, the NAACP, the Na-
tional Urban League, the American Jewish Com-
mittee, the clergy and the public in general continue
to•castigate the Klan, it still will be an aberration on
society, It's imperative that all segments of society
work to insure that hate-mongers will never again pre-
vail.
Hyatt recognizes the necessity of speaking- out against bi-
gotries in time, without giving the poisons a chance to ger-
minate. The KKK threat may be limited to only a few
areas. The movement may be insignificant, having lost its
glamor as a result of the spirit that dominates the New
South. But even the minutest form of bias can grow, even if
by adoption by other similarly bigoted groups as the KKK.
Therefore, whatever semblance of hatred is visible must be
excised unhesitatingly. Hyatt renders a service by encour-
aging such tactics in an adherence to vigilance.
Compensation for Breira's
Leadership: Popular Rejection
Defeat of two Breira leaders for Rabbinical Assembly of
America directorial positions might well be judged as the
expected treatment to be accorded participants in a move-
ment that does not lend glory to American Jewry. Repudia-
tion of such leadership in no sense abandons adherence tc
the principle of free speech and the right to differ. In this
instance it is the result of studies which confirm that the
movement purportedly formed to encourage a cooperative
effort with peace-seeking Arabs in reality yields to the tac-
tics of those who would destroy Israel.
What Breira does is prostrate itself before the enemies
of Israel, who also are the antagonists of all of Jewry,
with offers to submit to the abandonment of Israel's pre-
sent security benefits, without receiving any sort of assur-
ance that an accord is steeped in mutuality for peace.
Breira has become synonymous with submission to the
menace of self-destruction, with the enemy continuing a
policy of not even sitting at the same table with Israel, ei-
ther in diplomacy or in any other form of social, economic
or cultural spheres. Under such circumstances the Breira
program becomes a method of prostration and the peace
claim is a mere mirage. Therefore its rejection by Jewry.