Did you know that Harry Truman saw a similarity between himself and the Persian emperor, Cyrus? Cyrus was the figure lionized by the prophet Isaiah in this past Sunday's first reading at Mass, from Isaiah 45. Cyrus was the Persian emperor who conquered the Babylonian empire in 539 BC. The Jews, defeated earlier by the Babylonians, had spent 70 years in their "Babylonian captivity," that is, in their exile from the Holy Land, until Cyrus set them free and allowed them to return to their homeland.
In 1948 the State of Israel was established by Jews who had returned to the homeland after nearly 2000 years of another exile. For a state to be duly recognized as a legitimate nation, other nations have to give recognition that the new state is indeed a nation. The critical issue in 1948 was: would any nation recognize this new state? There was a great reticence among nations to give their recognition, for the very same reasons that haunt the Palestinian-Israel battle to this day.
When Harry Truman was asked by American Jews to recognize the State of Israel, he had to weigh the pros and cons very seriously because the issue was fraught with trouble. When he finally decided to give recognition, that very act by the most powerful nation on earth made the State of Israel sure and certain.
When asked about this decision later on, he said that he saw himself as in the same position as Cyrus who enabled the Jews to return to their homeland. He said, "I am Cyrus!" Now, that was indeed making a connection between Scripture and the present day!
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