The U.S. was the first nation to offer diplomatic recognition to the newly declared state of Israel on May 14, 1948. The decision came after a long debate within the U.S. government. President Harry S Truman initiated several studies of the Palestine situation that supported his belief that, as a result of the Holocaust, Jews were oppressed and also in need of a homeland. The Departments of War and State, recognizing the possibility of a Soviet-Arab connection and the potential Arab restriction on oil supplies to the United States, advised against U.S. intervention on behalf of the Jews.
Truman himself was unsure what to do. On February 27, 1948, he wrote:
“The situation has been a headache to me for two and a half years. The Jews are so emotional, and the Arabs are so difficult to talk with that it is almost impossible to get anything done. The British, of course, have been exceedingly noncooperative in arriving at a conclusion. The Zionists, of course, have expected a big stick approach on our part, and naturally have been disappointed when we can’t do that.”Read more>>