Notes from the Playwright:

"In 2016, I went to a lecture about Truman and Israel, 1948. It was an excellent
lecture and confirmed all the supposed myths I learned growing up. My mother
was President of the women's division of Bonds for Israel and my father met with
Ben Gurion and was solicited to help increase trade between the countries. So
Israel was part of my life from the time I was born, 4 months after Israel was
established.
But soon thereafter, I watched a documentary by Steven Spielberg’s sister which
seemed to contradict Truman being the “Father of Israel”. The seed was planted
and quickly grew. The first research led me to the same old conclusions.
Fortunately, the real story started to appear after some deep diving into the facts.
From that came the original play “Truman and the Birth of Israel”.

It had a very successful run in Chicago and in West Palm Beach. We had
fascinating talkbacks after the play where as many as 50% of the audience stayed
to participate, an event that we plan to continue in NYC. But the play was very linear and not particularly theatrical. With the idea to bring it to NY, I knew it had to be re-written. With the support of my original, and current director, Randy White, and others came the historical fiction play, “Truman vs Israel”. Ironically the original working title was “Truman v Israel” but I determined that a play set in a courtroom might disengage the audience. Though just a piece of the larger picture, I married the 2 versions into a play that I hope will both entertain and enlighten. Quoting Randy, it’s “history on the hot seat”. So, buckle down and leave your prior beliefs at the door."

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—William Spatz, Playwright