Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The British Commonwealth, The Soviet Union, The Near East and Africa, Volume III

867N.48/41

Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. J. Rives Childs of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs

[Washington,] October 8, 1940.

Participants:	Rabbi Breslau, of the Zionist Organization of America
	Mr. Montor, Director of the United Palestine Appeal (and also of the United Jewish Appeal)
	Mr. Murray
	Mr. Alling51
	Mr. Childs

Rabbi Breslau and Mr. Montor stated they had been for some time in touch with the Red Cross with a view to Red Cross assistance for Palestine; that they had obtained what they regarded as a commitment from the Red Cross for the allocation of a sum of $25,000 for Palestine but that they had learned within the past few days some questions had been raised by the Department, first as to the distribution of such a sum among Arabs as well as Jews and, secondly, as to the advisability of extending the scope of the aid to include Egypt as well as Palestine.

Mr. Murray stated that he welcomed their visit as he thought it would afford an opportunity for a meeting of minds on the subject and would promote a clarification of our respective points of view. He added that when the question of Red Cross aid in Palestine had first come to the notice of the Department, Mr. Berle, as the executive officer having oversight over the Division of Near Eastern Affairs, had desired to consider the problem as a whole in relationship to the Near East. In such a survey a number of considerations had obtruded, including the fact that a neighboring country, Egypt, had suffered and was liable to suffer equally if not greater from the war than Palestine. It was pointed out in that connection that while there had been only ten bombings of Palestine towns, Alexandria alone had suffered more than thirty bombings with a considerable loss of life, necessitating the evacuation of more than a third of the population of some 600,000 of that city.

Mr. Montor stated that he thought it would contribute to a clarification of the position of the United Palestine Appeal with reference to Red Cross aid for Palestine if he sketched briefly the background of that question. He observed that as early as April when the appropriation of a fifty million dollar grant by Congress to the Red Cross for war relief was under consideration the United Palestine Appeal had approached the President concerning the making available of a part of this for Jewish relief. The President had stated that the Red Cross would give consideration to Jewish needs as a part of the whole problem of war relief. Before the bombings in Palestine they had approached the Red Cross and had pointed out the pressing need of relief for those stricken by the war who had sought haven in Palestine. They had been concerned with that problem much before the bombings in Palestine and Egypt had taken place. The conversations with the Red Cross on the subject had been concerned with the alleviation of that general problem rather than with the special problem created by the bombings.

Mr. Murray observed that the problem as it had been presented to us by the Red Cross was one viewed in the light of the bombing of Tel Aviv, that we had understood that relief had been sought exclusively for the relief of the Jewish victims of that air raid and that it was felt that any restriction of Red Cross aid to only one element of the population in Palestine would have repercussions prejudicial to the British whose position was hanging in the balance, prejudicial to our own interests and prejudicial no less to Jewish interests. We had telegraphed to our Consul General in Jerusalem at the request of the Red Cross and he had consulted with the Jewish Agency and the Chief Secretary of the Palestine Government. The Chief Secretary had stated to the Consul General that the emergency was not such as would ordinarily warrant an appeal to the Red Cross and it would appear also from the statements made by the Chief Secretary to the Consul General that the Mandatory Power and local organizations were dealing adequately with the situation.

Mr. Montor replied that he thought that the British authorities might be deliberately minimizing the needs of Palestine out of a desire not to have to admit that the needs were greater than their own resources could meet. He added that he had understood from the Red Cross, in explanation of the difficulties that had developed incident to the extension of the promised Red Cross aid for Palestine, that a political angle had developed incident to the question. Mr. Montor stated that he wished to make it quite plain that his organization was not seeking, and would not seek, to press the Red Cross to make an allocation of funds or of aid to Palestine which the American Government might consider contrary to the interests of the British cause or contrary to the interests of this Government.

Mr. Murray answered that the attitude expressed by Mr. Montor made it easier for us to see eye to eye. Mr. Murray continued by setting forth the larger aspects of the question, that the problem of relief for Palestine could not be isolated from the larger problem of relief for Egypt as well. There was stressed the importance of the world of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen to Britain, the unfavorable repercussions which a grant to Palestine alone would have on that world. It was noted that in 1938 the King of Saudi Arabia had addressed himself to the President⁵² expressing his concern over the attitude of this Government toward the Arabs. More recently there had been disquieting reports of a pro-German tendency of King Ibn Saud. It was pointed out that the Suez Canal was flanked by Egypt and that the Mosul oil fields and pipelines were in Arab territory; that Aden, important gateway to the Red Sea, was encompassed by Arabs. These considerations made it essential that nothing should be done to add to Britain’s difficulties in the Near East, where the outcome of the battle in Egypt was only a little less vital to the British than the battle in Britain itself.

Mr. Montor stated he would like to interject the comment whether it was not more advisable for Britain to concern itself with the Jews in Palestine on whose loyalty it could count rather than to be concerned for the Arabs whose loyalty was uncertain. He also observed that Egypt was an independent country which had developed its own social services but Palestine was dependent for most of its social services on non-governmental organizations.

It was observed to Mr. Montor in that connection that the Egyptian Fellaheen who might be bombed would hardly be disposed to concern themselves with abstract considerations of governmental polity. It was observed also that our Consul General in Jerusalem had recently quoted the Palestine press as recognizing that Palestine’s frontier was no longer at Sinai but on the Libyan frontier. It was further observed that if Egypt fell Palestine would inevitably fall with it and that therefore Palestine’s fate was bound up with Egypt.

Rabbi Breslau inquired whether it might not be well to suggest to the Red Cross that they send an investigator to the Near East to study the problem of relief on the spot. Mr. Murray raised the question whether the needs in the Near East could be in any way comparable with those of Europe and particularly of London and elsewhere in England. He added further that established Jewish agencies in Palestine were excellently equipped to deal with the relief of those war refugees who might be finding their way to Palestine; that he could not imagine any war areas where refugees might find better equipped facilities for their aid than were to be found already in Palestine.

Mr. Montor stated that he felt Rabbi Breslau and himself had greatly profited from the extended discussion which had taken place. He had at first suggested the Jewish Agency as a suitable instrument through which Red Cross aid might be dispensed in Palestine, not with any thought of confining such aid to Jews alone but because the Government and the Arabs had no such organizations as Hadassah capable of dealing with the relief problem. He entirely shared the opinion that had been expressed that any aid given to Palestine should be extended to Arab and Jew alike. He added that he and Rabbi Breslau had come to the Department seeking enlightenment and instructions on how best to proceed and they were desirous of deferring in all respects to the opinions of the Government.

Mr. Murray expressed gratification at their attitude and said a telegram had gone out at the suggestion of the Red Cross to our Legation in Cairo⁵³ requesting a report on the situation in that country with reference to war relief. It was added that it was believed best to suspend consideration of Palestine relief until the report from Cairo had been received and we were in a position to consider the problem in its larger Near Eastern aspects.

Rabbi Breslau and Mr. Montor expressed themselves as in full agreement with this course.

51. Paul H. Alling, Assistant Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs.
52. Foreign Relations, 1938, vol. ii, p. 994.
53. Infra.