Press Release Announcing U.S. De Facto Recognition of the State of Israel
5/14/1948
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At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel. On that same date, the United States recognized the provisional Jewish government as the de facto (in effect) authority of the Jewish state. This press release announced de facto diplomatic recognition and includes handwritten changes in the text, a notation of the time when it was released (11 minutes after the new nation was proclaimed), and President Harry S. Truman's signature.
Decades earlier, in 1917, Chaim Weizmann – scientist, statesperson, and supporter of the effort to establish a state of Israel – had persuaded the British government to issue a statement favoring the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. The statement, which became known as the Balfour Declaration, was, in part, payment to the Jewish people for their support of the British against the Turks during World War I. After the war, the League of Nations ratified the declaration and in 1922 appointed Britain to rule Palestine.
This course of events caused Jewish people to be optimistic about the eventual establishment of a homeland. Their optimism inspired Jewish immigration to Palestine from many countries, particularly from Germany when Nazi persecution began. The arrival of many Jewish immigrants in the 1930s awakened Arab fears that Palestine would become a national Jewish homeland. By 1936, guerrilla fighting had broken out between the Jews and the Arabs. Unable to maintain peace, Britain issued a white paper in 1939 that restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. Jewish people, feeling betrayed, bitterly opposed the policy and looked to the United States for support.
While President Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared to be sympathetic to the Jewish cause, his assurances to the Arabs that the United States would not intervene without consulting both parties caused public uncertainty about his position. When Harry S. Truman took office, he made clear that his sympathies were with the Jewish people and accepted the Balfour Declaration, explaining that it was in keeping with former President Woodrow Wilson's principle of "self-determination." Truman initiated several studies of the Palestine situation that supported his belief that, as a result of the Holocaust, Jewish people were oppressed and also in need of a homeland.
Throughout the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the Departments of War and State, recognizing the possibility of a Soviet-Arab connection and the potential restriction on oil supplies from Arab nations to the United States, advised against U.S. intervention.
Britain and the United States, in a joint effort to examine the dilemma, established the "Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry." In April 1946, the committee submitted recommendations that Palestine not be dominated by either Arabs or Jews. It concluded that attempts to establish nationhood or independence would result in civil strife; that a trusteeship agreement aimed at bringing the two peoples together should be established by the United Nations; that full Jewish immigration be allowed into Palestine; and that two autonomous states be established with a strong central government to control Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Negev, the southernmost section of Palestine.
British, Arab, and Jewish reactions to the recommendations were not favorable. Britain, anxious to rid itself of the problem, set the United Nations in motion, formally requesting on April 2, 1947, that the UN General Assembly set up the Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). This committee recommended that the British mandate over Palestine be ended and that the territory be partitioned into two states.
Jewish reaction was mixed—some wanted control of all of Palestine; others realized that partition spelled hope for their dream of a homeland. Palestinian Arab leaders and other Arab nations were not at all agreeable to the UNSCOP plan. In October, the League of Arab States directed the governments of its member states to move troops to the Palestine border. Meanwhile, President Truman instructed the State Department to support the UN plan, and it reluctantly did so. On November 29, 1947, the partition plan was passed by the UN General Assembly.
At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel. The United States, in the person of President Truman, recognized the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the Jewish state on that very same day. U.S. delegates to the UN and top-ranking State Department officials were angered, however, that Truman released his recognition statement to the press without notifying them first.
On May 15, 1948, the first day of Israeli Independence and exactly one year after UNSCOP was established, Arab armies invaded Israel and the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 began.
U.S. de jure recognition of Israel would be extended on January 31, 1949.
Decades earlier, in 1917, Chaim Weizmann – scientist, statesperson, and supporter of the effort to establish a state of Israel – had persuaded the British government to issue a statement favoring the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. The statement, which became known as the Balfour Declaration, was, in part, payment to the Jewish people for their support of the British against the Turks during World War I. After the war, the League of Nations ratified the declaration and in 1922 appointed Britain to rule Palestine.
This course of events caused Jewish people to be optimistic about the eventual establishment of a homeland. Their optimism inspired Jewish immigration to Palestine from many countries, particularly from Germany when Nazi persecution began. The arrival of many Jewish immigrants in the 1930s awakened Arab fears that Palestine would become a national Jewish homeland. By 1936, guerrilla fighting had broken out between the Jews and the Arabs. Unable to maintain peace, Britain issued a white paper in 1939 that restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. Jewish people, feeling betrayed, bitterly opposed the policy and looked to the United States for support.
While President Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared to be sympathetic to the Jewish cause, his assurances to the Arabs that the United States would not intervene without consulting both parties caused public uncertainty about his position. When Harry S. Truman took office, he made clear that his sympathies were with the Jewish people and accepted the Balfour Declaration, explaining that it was in keeping with former President Woodrow Wilson's principle of "self-determination." Truman initiated several studies of the Palestine situation that supported his belief that, as a result of the Holocaust, Jewish people were oppressed and also in need of a homeland.
Throughout the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the Departments of War and State, recognizing the possibility of a Soviet-Arab connection and the potential restriction on oil supplies from Arab nations to the United States, advised against U.S. intervention.
Britain and the United States, in a joint effort to examine the dilemma, established the "Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry." In April 1946, the committee submitted recommendations that Palestine not be dominated by either Arabs or Jews. It concluded that attempts to establish nationhood or independence would result in civil strife; that a trusteeship agreement aimed at bringing the two peoples together should be established by the United Nations; that full Jewish immigration be allowed into Palestine; and that two autonomous states be established with a strong central government to control Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Negev, the southernmost section of Palestine.
British, Arab, and Jewish reactions to the recommendations were not favorable. Britain, anxious to rid itself of the problem, set the United Nations in motion, formally requesting on April 2, 1947, that the UN General Assembly set up the Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). This committee recommended that the British mandate over Palestine be ended and that the territory be partitioned into two states.
Jewish reaction was mixed—some wanted control of all of Palestine; others realized that partition spelled hope for their dream of a homeland. Palestinian Arab leaders and other Arab nations were not at all agreeable to the UNSCOP plan. In October, the League of Arab States directed the governments of its member states to move troops to the Palestine border. Meanwhile, President Truman instructed the State Department to support the UN plan, and it reluctantly did so. On November 29, 1947, the partition plan was passed by the UN General Assembly.
At midnight on May 14, 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel. The United States, in the person of President Truman, recognized the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the Jewish state on that very same day. U.S. delegates to the UN and top-ranking State Department officials were angered, however, that Truman released his recognition statement to the press without notifying them first.
On May 15, 1948, the first day of Israeli Independence and exactly one year after UNSCOP was established, Arab armies invaded Israel and the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 began.
U.S. de jure recognition of Israel would be extended on January 31, 1949.
Transcript
This Government has been informed that a Jewish state has been proclaimed in Palestine, and recognition has been requested by the provisional Government thereof.The United States recognizes the provision government as the de facto authority of the new State of Israel.
[Endorsement]
Approved, May 14, 1948.
This primary source comes from the Collection HST-CGR: Charles G. Ross Papers, 1892 - 1987.
National Archives Identifier: 200612
Full Citation: Press Release Announcing United States De Facto Recognition of the State of Israel; 5/14/1948; Alphabetical Correspondence Files, 1916 - 1950; Collection HST-CGR: Charles G. Ross Papers, 1892 - 1987; Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, MO. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/united-states-de-facto-recognition-state-israel, June 15, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
