867N.01/1812⅖
Memorandum by President Roosevelt to the Secretary of State
Washington
, July 7,
1942.
The more I think of it the more I feel that we should say nothing about the Near East or Palestine or the Arabs at this time.12 If we pat either group on the back, we automatically stir up trouble at a [Page 544] critical moment. Furthermore, the question of arms for Palestine ought not to be mentioned because it is impossible from the military point of view to get them just now.
F[ranklin] D. R[oosevelt]