Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1943, The Near East and Africa, Volume IV

867N.01/1875: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State

London, July 14, 1943—9 p.m.
[Received July 14—8:31 p.m.]

4592. Department’s No. 4165, July 9, 7 p.m. Mr. Eden has just given me the following letter and proposed statement to be issued by our two Governments regarding Palestine:

“In your letter of the 10th June⁷⁹ you were good enough to inform me that your Government, being deeply concerned over Arab-Jewish tension in Palestine, suggested that a statement, of which you enclosed a draft, should be issued by the United Nations with a view to postponing for the duration of the war a decision on the Palestine question. In subsequent conversation you mentioned that the State Department saw certain disadvantages as well as advantages in a statement on this question by all the United Nations and would have no objection to the issue of a joint statement by His Majesty’s Government and the United States Government.

We warmly welcome this proposal, which we think will be most valuable in preventing any further aggravation of the position in Palestine. But we think that the disadvantages of a statement by all the United Nations outweigh the advantages, and we should prefer a joint statement by our two Governments.

The last sentence of the draft which you enclosed recalls a statement made by Lord Cranborne⁸⁰ in the House of Lords on the 6th May 1942,⁸¹ and we have therefore suggested an amendment to that sentence which brings this out more fully. We have also thought it well to add that we shall not permit or acquiesce in any changes brought about by force in the status of Palestine or the administration of the country.

I enclose a re-draft of the suggested statement incorporating these amendments and I very much hope that the United States Government will agree that it can be issued in its present form.”

[Here follows text of suggested statement substantially the same as that printed on page 799.]

Winant

79. See telegram No. 3586, June 9, to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom, p. 790.
80. Robert Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, Government Leader in the House of Lords.
81. Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords, 5th series, vol. 122, col. 943. Lord Cranborne had said, in response to a question, “My Lords, while I would make it clear that there has been no change in the policy of His Majesty’s Government with regard to Palestine, the noble Lords may rest assured that His Majesty’s Government will not enter into commitments regarding the future of that country without prior consultation with all those, including both Arabs and Jews, whom they may judge to be concerned.”