[2][3] He emigrated to the United States during World War II, continuing his advocacy and scholarship while working with organizations such as the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
In 1917, back in Odessa, he published pamphlets «Евреи и украинцы» (Jews and Ukrainians) and «Национальные движения в свободной России» (National Movements in the Free Russia).
Schechtman emigrated to the United States in the summer of 1941, and soon became part of the 'inner circle' of the New Zionist Organization of America (NZOA).
Schectman wrote numerous books and articles dedicated to Jewish and world history, human migrations, population transfer and refugee issues.
In his 1961 book Star in Eclipse: Russian Jewry Revisited, he provided an account of the Babi Yar tragedy.
"[10] His work on the Palestinian refugee problem[12] was heavily criticised by Erskine Childers[13][14] and Steven Glazer[15] for misquoting, carefully selecting words, and taking statements out of context to fit his narrative.
Schechtman was the anonymous author of two smaller works published in 1949, which he credits in the introduction to his 1952 book, The Arab Refugee Problem[12] and where, according to Khalidi, the reference to the evacuation order first appeared.