867N.01/12–2244
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Near Eastern and African Affairs (Murray)80
We have sent you considerable material in recent weeks bearing upon the reaction of the Arab statesmen and politicians in the Near East to pro-Zionist pronouncements in this country. In this connection I think that you will be interested in noting the following extract from a letter to a member of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs from an official of the OWI who had occasion to discuss various matters with the Iraqi delegation to the International Business Conference:
“Every member of the Delegation gave me to understand in no uncertain terms that the fair settlement of the Palestine issue is the most important condition for creating and building up any friendly relations between the Arab people of Iraq and those of the United States. They said heretofore the contributions of such institutions as the American University of Beirut, as well as the friendly feelings brought back by Iraqi students who had studied in the United States, were very instrumental in creating in Iraq a friendly disposition towards this country. The recent actions of various groups and legislative bodies in America regarding Palestine, however, have counteracted this friendly orientation to a large measure. Every member of the group assured me that this feeling was shared by every Arab citizen of Iraq and that the feeling on this question was very intense.”
I think this statement is of considerable significance, coming as it does not from any official source or from any political group in the Near East, but from a representative group of Iraqi business men. It shows that the anti-Zionist sentiment is not confined to the political leaders in the Near East, but is a universal feeling which we must constantly take into consideration.
- Addressed to the Secretary of State, the Under Secretary (Grew), and the Assistant Secretary (Dunn).↩