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

by Allis Radosh, Ronald Radosh

Overview

A dramatic, detailed account of the events leading up to the State of Israel's creation and President Truman's controversial 1948 decision to recognize it.

"[This] revelatory account of Truman's vital contributions to Israel's founding. . .is told. . . with an elegance informed by thorough research." —Wall Street Journal

"Even knowing how the story ends, A Safe Haven had me sitting on the edge of my seat." —Cokie Roberts

On May fourteen, 1948, under the stewardship of President Harry S. Truman, the United States became the first nation to recognize the State of Israel—just moments after sovereignty had been declared in Jerusalem. But it was hardly a foregone conclusion that America would welcome the creation of this new country. While acknowledging this as one of his proudest moments, Truman also admitted that no issue was more controversial or more complex than the problem of Israel.

Impeccably researched and brilliantly told, based on never-before-used archival material, A Safe Haven is a suspenseful, moment-by-moment re-creation of this crossroads in U.S.–Israeli relations and Middle Eastern politics.

"A Safe Haven is an outstanding achievement. This is certain to become an essential work for students, journalists, and statesmen—indeed, anyone interested in understanding Israel's origins." —Michael Oren, author of Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present and Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061940675
Publisher:	HarperCollins e-books
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	466
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Allis Radosh has taught at Sarah Lawrence College and the City University of New York, and served as a program officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ronald Radosh, professor emeritus of history at the City University of New York and adjunct senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, is the author or coauthor of fourteen books, including The Rosenberg File. He has written for The New Republic, National Review, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. This is the second book they have written together. They live in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

What People are Saying About This

Cokie Roberts

“Even knowing how the story ends, A SAFE HAVEN, had me sitting on the edge of my seat watching Harry Truman weigh the arguments of his friends and advisors in the months, then weeks, then days leading up to his recognition of Israel.”

Ron Rosenbaum

“In their deeply engaging study of Truman and the foundation of Israel, the Radoshes capture the dramatic intersection of momentous millennial aspirations and the thrilling intricacies of political intrigue with remarkable narrative skill. ”

Michael Oren

“ A Safe Haven, is an outstanding achievement. This is certain to become an essential work for students, journalists, and statesmen—-indeed, anyone interested in understanding Israel’s origins.”

Editorial Reviews

Truman's remarkable perseverance is recounted by the Radoshes in readable prose, with good anecdotal color, a general sense of fair-mindedness (except perhaps toward the Arabs) and impressive detail.
—The New York Times

Jonathan Tepperman

Even knowing how the story ends, A SAFE HAVEN, had me sitting on the edge of my seat watching Harry Truman weigh the arguments of his friends and advisors in the months, then weeks, then days leading up to his recognition of Israel.

Cokie Roberts

In their deeply engaging study of Truman and the foundation of Israel, the Radoshes capture the dramatic intersection of momentous millennial aspirations and the thrilling intricacies of political intrigue with remarkable narrative skill.

Ron Rosenbaum

A Safe Haven, is an outstanding achievement. This is certain to become an essential work for students, journalists, and statesmen—-indeed, anyone interested in understanding Israel’s origins.

Michael Oren

This is an excellent examination of a presidential decision that has had immense historical consequences.

Booklist

[A] revelatory account of Truman’s vital contributions to Israel’s founding. . . . Told by the Radoshes with an elegance informed by thorough research.

Wall Street Journal