Jacobson and Harry Truman became close friends during World War I and partnered after the war in a failed haberdashery. In March 1948, Jacobson visited Truman, now the president, at the White House and persuaded him to meet with Chaim Weizmann at a time when Truman was refusing to see Zionist leaders. Jacobson’s intervention is considered crucial in Truman’s recognition of Israel that May.
Photo: Eddie Jacobson with President Harry Truman, his former business partner, in 1954 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Harry S. Truman Library)