Journal Article

American Cyrus? Harry Truman, the Bible, and the Palestine Question

Robins, Walker S.

2017

Overview

This essay is less concerned with the broader argument that Truman's religion influenced the decisions he made between 1945 and 1948 than with more specific claims that Harry Truman believed that the restoration of Jews to Palestine or his role in recognizing Israel were in varying ways prophetic fulfillment of biblical promises. While still others have dismissed the role of the Bible or religion in Truman's decision to recognize Israel, no one has yet critiqued these specific claims or critiqued the evidence mobilized in support of them. The question of whether one of the most important American foreign policy decisions of the 20th century was informed by the president's understanding of biblical prophecy, however, demands deliberate attention. This essay directly takes on these more specific claims, arguing that they neither fit with what we know about Truman's religion or approach to the Bible nor find support in contemporary evidence.

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Subject: 20th century / Bible / Decision making / Foreign policy / Jewish people / Postwar history / Prophecies / Prophecy / Religion / Truman, Harry S (1884-1972) / Zionism