Edward "Eddie" Jacobson (June 17, 1891, New York City – October 25, 1955,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

) was an American businessman. He is best known as an Army comrade, business partner, and close friend of President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. Jacobson was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. His parents, David (1851–1935) and Sarah Rubin Jacobson (1862–1941) were impoverished Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.Avner, Yehuda, ''The Prime Ministers (2010) Jacobson had three brothers and two sisters. The family moved to Kansas in 1893, settling in Leavenworth, before finally relocating to

in 1905. Jacobson met Truman in 1905, when both worked in downtown Kansas City. They renewed their acquaintance during World War I, when in 1917 they reported for basic training at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

, near

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...

, with a unit of soldiers from the Kansas City area. They successfully managed a canteen together, and were thus inspired to open a haberdashery together after the war. The business failed as a result of the post-war recession and the resulting debts burdened both for many years. Jacobson spent the rest of his career as a traveling salesman, which enabled him periodically to visit Truman in Washington. According to David McCullough, Jacobson had open access to the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

. When Jacobson first heard about what was happening to the Jews in Germany before and during World War II, he took to discussing it with Truman. After he heard the post-war reports regarding the Holocaust and its survivors, his talks with Truman about how to help the Jewish people became more intense. Because Jewish leaders in the U.S. knew Jacobson was a friend of the President, they approached him to lobby Truman with even more fervor. On March 13, 1948, Jacobson visited Truman at the White House, and persuaded him to meet with Zionist leader Dr. Chaim Weizmann. Truman had been increasingly irritated by lobbying from Zionists, and had issued instructions that he did not want to see any more Zionist spokesmen, but Jacobson reminded him about his admiration for Andrew Jackson. He said "Your hero is Andrew Jackson. I have a hero too. He's the greatest Jew alive. I'm talking about Chaim Weizmann. He's an old man and very sick, and he has traveled thousands of miles to see you. And now you're putting him off. This isn't like you, Harry.". Truman then agreed to meet with Weizmann. Partly as a result of Jacobson's efforts, the United States became the first nation to grant diplomatic recognition to the new state of Israel on May 14, 1948. In 1949, Jacobson visited Israel, where he met with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and President Weizmann. One Kansas City rabbi told reporters that Jacobson should become President of Israel, and Truman wrote him that while Israel "couldn't nominate a better man, I sincerely hope you won't take it." Jacobson rejected the suggestion, saying that it was just "a silly dream of a very emotional rabbi", and that he was "too proud of my American citizenship to trade it for any office in the world."Beschloss, Michael R. (1989) ''Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America''. After Truman's retirement in 1953, Jacobson had wanted to be his escort for his first visit to Israel. However, before he had the chance, he died of a heart attack in 1955.

Timeline

*1893: Moved with his family to

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

*1905: Moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri *19-teens: Worked as a clerk in a Kansas City clothing store *1917–1919: Served as a private in Supply Company,

129th Field Artillery 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length ...

, 60th Brigade, 35th Division, U.S. Army"U.S. Veterans Bureau Form 7202 Index Card" for Jacobson Edward, "United States Government, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940" database, National Archives and Records Administration, St. Louis, Missouri, available through FamilySearch. Rank is listed as "Pvt", Enl is listed as "8/5/17" and Dis is listed as "5/6/19". *1919–1922: Partnered with Harry S. Truman in the Truman & Jacobson haberdashery, 104 West 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri *1922–1945: Traveling salesman in the clothing business *1945–1955: Proprietor, Eddie Jacobson's Westport Menswear, Kansas City, Missouri *1947–1948: Urged President Truman to support the creation of a Jewish homeland in the British Mandate of Palestine – now Israel

References

External links

Edward Jacobson Papers @ the Truman Library
*David Hacohen

ynetnews, April 25, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Edward 1891 births 1955 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Military personnel from New York City United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I