Image, and Foreign Policy on Palestine and Israel. (1945-1950)
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Pabon Ortega, Carlos
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico)
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2019
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
112
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
M.A.
Body granting the degree
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico)
Text preceding or following the note
2019
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Anyone that sifts through the archives cannot help but conclude that after World War II the Soviet threat along with the creation of a safe place for the Jewish people were of great concern to both the public and the Truman administration. It would also seem that among the voices of support for the Jewish peoples cause for both immigration and creation of a homeland rose President Harry S. Truman. Beyond discovering what were President Truman's real objectives for supporting the creation of Israel an image of him emerged. This investigation takes into account both sides of the argument to get a better sense of Truman's balancing act in the shifting world of politics that emerge after World War II. The central aspects of this investigation include the most prominent public perceptions of President Truman's image or images during and after the creation of Israel. In addition, the effect and purpose of Truman's image within a larger framework of the Cold War Foreign Policy then the correlation between the United States national myth and the support of the creation of Israel in Palestine. This investigation demonstrates how Truman's decision was a balancing act between power and changes in the balance between ideology and pragmatism plus how he was perceived and the decisions he saw fit to make during a crucial time in change of foreign policy related to the Cold War. The Presidents real objects for supporting the creation of Israel, whether personal, political or both, during his presidency and after an image of him, as a supporter of the Israel cause, while sometimes questioned and criticized by some members of the White House and State Department, emerged. That image perpetuated, changed and reaffirmed by himself, the media, the State Department, Zionist groups and the White House served a purpose. Even with opposition from inside the government and people of the United States, not to mention the negative effects in relations with the Arab world, Truman's actions seem to coincide with said image. Truman support for the creation of Israel was the correct move and image to perpetuate in the power struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, something that also strongly concurred with the national myth of the United States. The link, between the United States and Israel, and the notions that it implied added to this already complicated historical scenario another layer of intricacy that President Truman rather effectively balanced. The development of a special relationship between the United States and Israel, apart from being one of kinship is also very much political; the creation of Israel also assured a democratic element in the Middle East, which within the considerations of the Cold War proved to be a great victory.