867N.01/1165a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)77
3649. Please inform the Prime Minister that the President has recently received two communications from King Ibn Saud expressing his opposition to the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine or any further increase of Jewish influence in that country. In this general connection, the President, within the past few days, has discussed the Palestine situation with Dr. Chaim Weizmann. As a result of this discussion, the President believes that the time has come when an approach should be made to Ibn Saud with a view to seeing whether any basis for a settlement can be found. If the Prime Minister agrees with this conclusion, the President would propose to send to Saudi Arabia to initiate discussions Lieutenant Colonel H. B. Hoskins, Army of the United States. Colonel Hoskins is thoroughly familiar with the current situation in the Near East through a recent visit to that area and for a long time has been a close student of the Arab-Jewish problem. He speaks Arabic fluently.
Please mark your reply “Secret for the Secretary and Under Secretary”.
- An attached memorandum of June 15 by the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Alling) reads: “The attached telegram to London was drafted upon instructions from Mr. Welles following a conference which he had at the White House with the President and Dr. Chaim Weizmann.”↩