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Marshall's Plan For Israel

Why one American hero had a Jewish problem.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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Q: With all the recent stories
about the 50th anniversary of the
Marshall Plan, I've heard several
profiles of former U.S Secretary of
State George C. Marshall, after
whom the plan was named. He has
been lauded as the man who rebuilt
Europe after World War II. I know
he was still secretary of state dur-
ing the United Nations' debate over
the partition of Palestine and the
subsequent declaration of state-
hood by Israel. But what was his at-
titude to the Zionists and the Jewish
state?
A: He may be a hero in Eu-
rope, but in Israel he is not on
anyone's list of great men. Mar-
shall was in the lead to dis-
suade President Truman from
supporting the partition of
Palestine and recognizing a
Jewish state.
Marshall's plan was to re-
build the economies of western
Europe, forming them into a
bulwark against the Commu-
nist drive from eastern Europe.
Although most western Euro-
pean countries relied on coal as
their principal form of energy,
U.S. oil-company executives be-
lieved Europe gradually would
shift to an oil-based economy.
Already in the post-war years,
most of the oil Europe used
came from the Middle East.
Marshall saw the Palestine
conflict as a potential major
threat to the stability of the
Middle East, and thus to west-
ern Europe. He believed that
giving in to Arab demands on
Palestine would guarantee that
Arab oil would keep flowing. He
was not alone in this assess-
ment. Dean Acheson and
Robert Lovett, both undersec-
retaries of state, and Loy Hen-
derson, Middle East section
head, agreed with their boss.
Another powerful Marshall
ally was U.S. Secretary of De-
fense James V. Forrestal, a for-
mer Wall Street lawyer with
strong ties to the oil companies.
Not only did he concur on the
oil issue, he also stated that the
Jews, being outnumbered by
the Arabs, would lose a war. A
U.S. commitment to the Jew-
ish state, including war sup-
port, would jeopardize
American strategic and mili-
tary interests in the Middle
East.
Marshall also believed the
Zionist leadership was riddled
with Communist spies and So-
viet sympathizers. He cited CIA

reports suggesting that many
Jewish refugees and other im-
migrants arriving in Palestine
actually were Soviet agents.
In May 1948, two days before
the British mandate in Pales-
tine was about to expire, Mar-
shall confronted Truman in the
president's office. Marshall told
Truman that if the United
States gave diplomatic recog-
nition to a Jewish state, then
he would vote against Truman
in the elections that fall. Mar-
shall was a war hero, far more
popular than Truman, whom
many thought of as a lame-
duck president (having risen to
the office only when President
Roosevelt died). If Marshall
went public against Truman,
then Truman probably would
lose the election. Truman told
Marshall he would give the
matter his consideration.
On May 13, David Ben-Gu-
rion announced that at mid-
night the State of Israel would
come into existence. Marshall
sensed that Truman would go
ahead with recognition. He also
realized that Truman might fire
him, and he did not want to lose
the political power and stature
he had as secretary of state.
Marshall called Truman and
recanted his threat.
In January 1949, Marshall
resigned. He was named pres-
ident of the American Red
Cross. From 1950 to 1951, he
served as Truman's secretary
of defense. In 1953, he won the
Nobel Peace Prize. He died in
1959. He is known in U.S. diplo-
matic circles for hav-
ing said that
America's greatest
diplomatic mistake
was recognizing the
State of Israel.

ly moving Vanna Speaks) or Ed
McMahon, forgotten but not
gone, (his magnificent opus, of
course, was Here's Ed.) But
you're sure to be asking, "Why,
oh why, did some of these peo-
ple write books about them-
selves? Isn't there enough
suffering in the world?" A par-
tial list:
Lauren Bacall — too many
boring works to recount here.
Roseanne (AKA Roseanne
Barr, Roseanne Arnold) — dit-
to.

Rona Barrett —Miss Rona

(1974) (what a profound impact
she had on society — how fab-
ulous that we can read all about
it).

Jack Benny — Sunday
Nights at Seven (1990)
Milton Berle — several au-
tobiographies
Claire Bloom — Limelight
and After (1982)
David Brenner — Soft
Pretzels with Mustard (1983)
George Burns — an un-
ending collection (we know the
guy had a long and interesting
life, but really ...).
Sid Caesar — Where Have
I Been? (1982)
Sammy Calm — I Should
Care (1974)
Kirk Douglas — The Rag-
man's Son (1988)
Moss Hart — Act One
(1958)
Ben Hecht — two autobi-
ographies (why can't these peo-
ple tell their stories in a single
book?).
Marty Ingels —Martin and
Shirley (1990), writ-
ten with wife Shirley
Jones. Has anyone
actually read this?
Groucho Marx
and Harpo Marx —
for a combined total
of four.
Leonard Nimoy
— I Am Not Spock
(1975)— Maybe not,
but why else are you
famous?
Shelley Winters
Leonard Nimoy:
Another actor, another — at least a zillion.
autobiography.
Why, we don't know.

Q: I am amazed, time
and again, by the num-
ber of people who write
autobiographies. I
mean, who cares? This
one had trouble, that
one suffered — and
now the public has to
hear all about it! Good
grief.
I'm certain many Jewish celebri-
ties have written their life stories.
Please tell me who, so I'll be sure
to boycott them.
A: Fortunately, there's no one
on this list quite as embarrass-
ing as letter-turner Vanna
White (author of the profound-

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