Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1944, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, The Far East, Volume V

867N.01/10–2144: Telegram

The Minister in Iraq (Henderson) to the Secretary of State

Baghdad, October 21, 1944—10 p.m.
[Received October 22—1:58 p.m.]

230. See Legation’s 201, September 5. Dewey’s recent statement regarding Palestine has created a sensation in Iraqi Government circles.²¹ I have been reliably informed that the Prime Minister after referring to it with considerable heat stated during a personal conversation that Iraqi Government and Arab nationalist circles in Iraq had been following a policy of ignoring pro-Zionist utterances on the part of leading American officials and citizens on the ground that such utterances should not be given face value during an American electoral campaign, that however while the Arabs were remaining quiet the Zionists were endeavoring irrevocably to commit the future American administration to the carrying out of the Zionist program and that he did not believe that it would be possible much longer to restrain the Iraqi press from commenting on the wooing of the Zionists by American political leaders of both parties.

(2) The recent letters of Sumner Welles,²² Ickes²³ and Stimson²⁴ regarding Palestine have added to the irritation of those Iraqis who have known about them.

(3) Several days ago the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs told me that the Dewey statement as reported by Reuters and the Egyptian press but not thus far published in Baghdad had deeply angered local Arab leaders. He said that the President of the Senate was planning to send a telegram to Dewey on the subject. British Ambassador tells me that Prime Minister also mentioned the matter to him and that he informed the Prime Minister that in his opinion it would be wiser to ignore Dewey’s statement at least for the time being.²⁵

(4) The recently established leftist pro-Soviet newspaper Ash Sha’b yesterday broke the silence which has been observed by the Iraqi press with regard to Zionist propaganda in the United States with a series of brief articles summarizing the statements made by Dewey, Welles, Ickes and Stimson. The statement credited to Welles that the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine should be a part of the future peace appears particularly to have attracted attention since Welles is regarded here more as an authority on American foreign policy than a politician.²⁶ The statement credited to Stimson that the solution of the Palestine problem will undoubtedly depend upon “political considerations” is regarded here as a signal for the Zionists to begin to press their cause with all the weapons at their disposal. No other Baghdad newspaper has thus far referred to these various statements and no editorial comment has appeared.

(5) A Foreign Office official told me this morning that Foreign Office had just received a Reuters dispatch stating that in view of President’s statement on Palestine, Arab Chambers of Commerce in Palestine had decided to boycott the Culbertson Mission. In reply to his question I said that I had no knowledge of any recent statement made by the President on the subject of Palestine. He also told me that the articles referred to in paragraph (4) of this telegram had been taken from the Egyptian press and had been published without the knowledge of Foreign Office. There was no intention of changing the policy of press silence laid down by the Foreign Minister at least until his return within the next few days following which the matter would probably be reconsidered in the Cabinet. He added that since Egyptian newspapers are giving wide publicity to pro-Zionist statements of rather responsible American Government officials and other prominent Americans it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Iraqi Government to restrain the local press.

Henderson

21. On October 12, 1944, Governor Thomas E. Dewey, of New York, the Republican candidate for President, issued the following statement:

    “I heartily endorse the Palestine plank in the Republican Party platform. Again I repeat what I previously stated to the great leader of the American Zionist movement and distinguished American, Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, that I am for the reconstitution of Palestine as a free and democratic Jewish commonwealth in accordance with the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the resolution of the Republican Congress in 1922. I have also stated to Dr. Silver that in order to give refuge to millions of distressed Jews driven from their homes by tyranny, I favor the opening of Palestine to their unlimited immigration and land ownership.

    “The American people have time and again declared themselves in favor of these principles. The Republican Party has at all times been the traditional friend of the movement.

    “As President I would use my best offices to have our Government working together with Great Britain to achieve this great objective for a people that have suffered so much and deserve so much at the hands of mankind.” (H. Rept. 1997, p. 3; copy filed in Department under 867N.01/12–244.)

22. Former Under Secretary of State.
23. Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior.
24. Henry L. Stimson, the Secretary of War, had written a letter on October 10 to Senator Robert A. Taft withdrawing his earlier objection to the proposed Palestine Resolution, stating, “In my judgment, political considerations now outweigh the military, and the issue should be determined upon the political rather than the military basis.” (867N.01/12244)
25. A telegram of protest was sent by the Presidents of the Iraqi Senate and Chamber of Deputies to Governor Dewey on October 19 (867N.01/10–2644).
26. In transmitting this telegram to the Under Secretary of State, the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs commented: “It is interesting to note that according to our Minister in Baghdad, Loy Henderson, particular attention has been attracted by Mr. Sumner Welles’ statement as he is regarded in Iraq as an authority on American foreign policy rather than a politician.” (867N.01/10–2644)