Former President Harry S Truman (Willie Falk, left) objects to claims that he is prejudiced from Bella Abzug (Helen Lazer), as Don Muller (Matt Caplan, right) reads from Truman’s personal correspondence.
When former President Harry S Truman agreed to be interviewed by young attorney Bella Abzug, he must have been oblivious to her reputation as a force with which to reckon. In William Spatz’s Truman vs. Israel, directed by Randy White, a retrospective that alternates between Abzug’s 1950s encounter with Truman and her post-Congress years, a still feisty Abzug unapologetically reminisces about that meeting and its outcomes.
At the outset, soldier Don Muller (Matt Caplan) is wounded while defending Israel’s independence. He curses Truman (Willie Falk), but the full context for that anger remains unexplained. The subsequent 1988 scene reveals Abzug at home, posing for a portrait by an unidentified Jewish artist (Mark Lotito). Even in her later years, Abzug (Helen Laser) is unmistakable, remembered for her trademark colorful hats, identifiably New York accent, abrupt manner, and staunch Zionism. The painter, fixated on a radio broadcast about the Israeli vs. Palestinian conflict, engages Abzug in a heated discussion on the topic. This leads Abzug, nicknamed “Battling Bella,” to recall for him her fateful 1956 meeting with the former President.
Abzug (right) expresses her frustration with Muller’s belligerence toward Truman. Photographs by Darin Chumbley.
In a flashback, the meeting at Truman’s Missouri home begins with Abzug’s attempt to stick to, and have Truman agree to, her given agenda. Abzug’s law firm wants her to dissuade Truman from bringing a libel suit against David Rosenfeld, a journalist who has accused Truman of racism and antisemitism. She and Muller, Abzug’s Gentile associate, review Truman’s personal and professional correspondence to demonstrate that such a suit would be unwinnable. The drama then morphs into a revealing, near-deadly encounter and an unexpected change in the dynamics of the Truman-Abzug relationship.
Truman dislikes Abzug’s informality (she calls him Harry) and she is frustrated by multiple phone interruptions by the ex-President’s daughter Margaret. “My family comes first,” he maintains. Laser’s Abzug is loud, pushy, and sometimes grating, but those qualities are integral to the character, whereas Caplan’s Muller is far more intense and confrontational. Abzug cautions him to tone down his anger.
Truman initially balks at having a Jew in his house—and an assertive one at that. After he asks Abzug to leave, he recognizes that, Jew or not, he needs her to advance his lawsuit. When Truman’s personal correspondence is read aloud, Abzug and Muller dissect it for racist, antisemitic comments, inconsistent positions on Israel (voting for the UN’s recognition of Israel but refusing to arm it), and family traditions that bar Jews from his house. For the first time, Truman grasps the extent of the “ammunition” that Melvin Belli, Rosenfeld’s superstar lawyer, may hurl at him, including testimony from his lifelong friend and business partner, Eddie Jacobson (Mark Lotito):
If Belli stresses your antisemitism, Eddie might not be the witness we need.
Truman doesn’t want his legacy to be marred by allegations of prejudice, and Abzug and Muller emphasize that public disclosures to the contrary would humiliate Truman.
Longtime Truman ally Eddie Jacobson (Mark Lotito, left) defends Truman from Muller’s allegations.
As Truman, Falk skillfully captures not only the President’s dignified bearing but his blind spots and pressure points as well. When he seeks validation from Jacobson (a pro-Israel advocate who urged Truman’s UN vote) the latter meets Abzug and Muller in Truman’s garden (not in the house, because Jacobson is a Jew). It is through this conversation that Jacobson, defending Truman, lays out the competing challenges and complex history that this Missouri farmer has faced, and praises Truman’s courage and loyalty.
The real rationale for the lawsuit and an even more surprising revelation about Muller’s motivations in heckling Truman emerge. As Muller, Caplan vacillates between mild annoyance with and outright rage at Truman. He challenges Truman’s decision, as Commander in Chief, to bomb Japan twice at close intervals, without regard for the consequences. The Muller character highlights an underlying sub-theme of war, loss, and PTSD.
Although the script takes a few liberties for dramatic effect, Truman vs. Israel sheds a powerful light on a little-known, yet highly significant episode in a precarious post–World War II political world. It exemplifies how illustrious, imperfect, and radically different individuals were able, however briefly, to transcend what separated them, negotiate a solution, and avert disaster.
Truman vs. Israel runs at Theater at St. Clements (423 West 46nd St.) through Jan. 4. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays, and Wednesdays through Saturdays; matinees are at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. No performances on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, or New Year’s Eve. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit trumanvisrael.com.
Playwright: William Spatz
Director: Randy White
Lighting Designer: Tyler Micoleau
Set Designer: Lauren Helpern
Sound Designer: Elizabeth Weidner
Costume Designer: Sydney Gallas
