Page "George Marshall" Paragraph 22

As Secretary of State, Marshall strongly opposed recognizing the state of Israel.

Marshall felt that if the state of Israel was declared that a war would break out in the Middle East ( which it did in 1948 one day after Israel declared independence ).

Marshall saw recognizing the Jewish state as a political move to gain Jewish support in the upcoming election, in which Truman was expected to lose to Dewey.

He told President Truman in May 1948, " If you ( recognize the state of Israel ) and if I were to vote in the election, I would vote against you.