867N.01/1578
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Murray)73
Mr. Sol Bloom, Congressman from New York, who is a close personal friend of mine, called me by telephone shortly after one o’clock this afternoon to express and to have conveyed to you the following views regarding the delegation headed by Rabbi Wise which is to call upon the Secretary this afternoon. Mr. Bloom said that he had had a long conversation with the delegation in his office this morning when he had made a vigorous but unsuccessful effort to persuade [dissuade?] Rabbi Wise and other members of the delegation from the purposes of their visit upon the Secretary today. Mr. Bloom said he emphasized that nothing was to be accomplished by high-pressured tactics upon the Department to take action of dubious propriety with the British Government in the present Palestine matter. He said he had assured Rabbi Wise that at any time a matter affecting American Jewry might arise in which consultation with the Department might appear necessary he would be only too glad to accompany Rabbi Wise [Page 761] or any other American Jew to the Department of State to confer in a friendly and reasonable manner with any of its officials. If, after such consultation and after due consideration by the Department, the action which he or those accompanying him might request were disapproved, he was, at all times, prepared to place full confidence in the better judgment of the responsible officials of this Department.
Mr. Bloom went on to say that he was convinced that the demands which Rabbi Wise proposes to make today are essentially unwarranted and would, in any case, serve no useful purpose whatsoever. He felt that far more assistance could be rendered the Jews by quiet and reasonable discussion with the Department of all problems that might arise, rather than to resort to high-pressure publicity tactics which he regretted to note were being employed in the present instance.
Mr. Bloom concluded his remarks by expressing the hope that the Department, in discussing the present matter with any Jews from his District or State, would refer to the fact that he had been in touch with the Secretary and other appropriate officials of the Department and that the Department had always found him willing to cooperate in every reasonable way.
- Addressed to the Secretary of State, the Under Secretary, and the Counselor of the Department.↩