867N.48/46: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Jerusalem (Wadsworth)

Your 155, November 11, 5 p.m. The American Red Cross, in consultation with the Department, has given careful consideration to the question of Red Cross relief in Palestine, and has reached the conclusion that the time has not yet arrived when the relief problem of Palestine and the whole problem of relief in the Near East can and should be dealt with.

The Red Cross understands that there are at present no immediate emergency needs for relief of air raid victims in Palestine. So far as concerns the problems of indigent refugees and unemployment, the Red Cross points out that these needs are matters for the consideration of the country as a whole and are hardly within the scope of the kind of emergency relief that the American Red Cross is usually prepared to extend. It is added “On the other hand, with developments in the Middle East threatening to involve Palestine in major difficulties, the Red Cross must stand ready to assist when the moment arrives.”

In communicating these conclusions to Rabbi Silver of the United Palestine Appeal, the American Red Cross has assured him that “the way is being prepared to give this assistance when the time arrives in full cooperation and collaboration with your organization and the other agencies interested in relief in Palestine.”

You may communicate the foregoing to the Palestine authorities and other interested individuals and groups with whom you have conferred on this subject.

Hull