Joseph Stalin was the first world leader to recognize the state of Israel.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 6 contradict2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
The claim is contradicted: the Harry S. Truman Library (primary) and Reuters and Snopes (tier1) all identify Truman as the first world leader to recognize Israel, on May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after its creation.
What was said
… There was nothing Russian about the USSR, just like there was nothing Polish about the People's Republic of Poland after the war. So that's that's that's the problem there. There's no doubt that Stalin, who was the first to recognize Israel, um even when the arms embargo was imposed on the you know, in 1948, Soviets continued to send weaponry, usually through Czechoslovakia. …
The Pete Quiñones Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The Truman Library primary source states that Truman was the first world leader to officially recognize Israel as a legitimate Jewish state on May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after its creation.[3]
Contradicts. Reuters and Snopes both identify President Harry Truman as the first world leader to recognize Israel in 1948, with Snopes noting Truman's recognition came in May 1948.[1][2]
Contradicts. Other coverage (The Forward, Netanyahu's speech text, and a 2026 Jewish World News piece) also credits Truman as first, and The Forward notes the Soviets followed three days later, undercutting any claim that Stalin was first.[4][5][6]
Context. The Soviet Union granted de jure recognition on May 17, 1948, three days after Israel's declaration, which Wikipedia and LeftVoice describe as the first de jure recognition by any country. This is a Soviet state act, not Stalin being the first world leader to recognize Israel, and LeftVoice's claim that it came 'long before the United States' is chronologically wrong.[4][7][8]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 5 not rated
- 1US-Israel relations stumble on deepening rift over Gaza | Reutersreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Did Truman Say, 'We Took Palestine in Small Doses' To Create Israel?snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 3Recognition of Israel | Harry S. Trumantrumanlibrary.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4How Truman came to recognize Israel 75 years ago - The Forwardforward.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 5Full text of Netanyahu's speech: Today recalls historic day of Israel's foundingtimesofisrael.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6The United States and Zionism have a 250-year relationship - The ...jewishworldnews.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 7Soviet Union and the Arab–Israeli conflict - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 8How Joseph Stalin Helped Create the State of Israelleftvoice.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Stalin was not an anti-Semite.False
- The Soviet Union provided diplomatic support to the Zionist movement in 1948.True
- The German Democratic Republic (DDR) refused to recognize Israel as a legitimate state.True
- Andrei Gromyko made the speech at the United Nations supporting the partition of Palestine.True
- The Soviet Union sent weaponry to Israel through Czechoslovakia during the 1948 arms embargo.True