ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated:

A new collaboration between the Jewish Agency and the Truman Library Institute will increase awareness and education around the history and legacy of President Harry S. Truman's support for the creation of the State of Israel at the time, the organizations announced on Wednesday.

The Jewish Agency, along with the Truman Library Institute, will improve existing educational programs, as well as creating new ones, and will ensure that they focus on strengthening both historic knowledge and the current ties between Israel and the US.

The programs will be aimed at schoolchildren, educators and opinion shapers, and the general public in Israel and the US, and it will serve communities and audiences in both countries.

President Truman was the first world leader to officially recognize the State of Israel on May 14th 1948. There was a heated debate in the White House over the pending vote for the UN partition plan for what was then British Mandatory Palestine, and President Truman weighed all the factors, both personal and political, and ultimately voted in favor of the State. 

He then officially declared US recognition of the State of Israel 11 minutes after the new nation was declared by then-chairman of the Jewish Agency, David Ben-Gurion.

"Truman's relationship with the leaders of The Jewish Agency for Israel played a critical role at an important moment in history. The collaboration now between The Jewish Agency and those charged with keeping Truman's legacy is similarly significant in our time,” said Kurt Graham, Director of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. “The mission of both organizations is to educate. The synergies leveraged in this new partnership will help bring this shared vision forward."

“This new cooperation with the Truman Library Institute is a source of tremendous pride, both on a national and personal level,” outgoing Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency and Israel’s President-elect Isaac Herzog said. “Educating the public about the role of President Truman in the history of our nation’s founding and the legitimacy of Israel’s existence will serve to strengthen the important connection between Americans and Israelis.”

"We hope that our new partnership with the Truman Library Institute will perpetuate the deep connection between Israel and the US for generations to come," President-elect Herzog said.