867N.01/8–3145
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Near
Eastern and African Affairs (Henderson) to
the Secretary of State
[Washington,] August 31, 1945.
Mr. Secretary: You
will recall that we told you during a recent conversation in your office
that the Division of Near Eastern Affairs was making a study of the
current problem of Jewish immigration into Palestine and that we hoped
to be able to give you the results within a few days This problem is
pressing since the present quota of Jewish immigrants allotted under the
White Paper is practically exhausted, and the Zionists on the one hand
are pressing for immediate mass Jewish immigration into Palestine, while
the Arabs on the other are insisting that there shall be no further
Jewish immigration. It is possible that while you are in London, the
British Government will ask you what the attitude of the United States
toward this problem is. In such an event, it is our hope that the
information and suggestions incorporated in the attached memoranda28 may be helpful to you. It is also possible that the
President may have some interest in this matter.
We realize that any decision which might be made will result in a certain
amount of irritation both to the Zionists and their friends and to the
Arabs. The adoption of the suggestions made by the Division of Near
Eastern Affairs will not be fully agreeable to either side.
Nevertheless, in view of all the circumstances, they seem to me to offer
the best solution of the problem that has been offered from any
source.
[Annex]
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Near
Eastern Affairs (Merriam)29
[Washington,] August 31,
1945.
Within a few months the British Government, acting under its White
Paper policy respecting Palestine, will have issued all of the
immigration certificates allowable under the terms of that policy
unless Arab acquiescence is obtained to further Jewish immigration.
Since it is hardly conceivable that formal Arab acquiescence could
be secured,
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the British
will be obliged to make a difficult decision: whether to abide by
the White Paper policy and thus, in effect, terminate Jewish
immigration into Palestine, or to establish a new interim policy
whereby Jewish immigration will continue, at least for the time
being, until the Palestine Mandate is revised and brought under the
United Nations.
It is probable that the British will decide to permit Jewish
immigration into Palestine to continue, and there are indications
that the British Government will seek the support of the United
States Government for its decision. Accordingly, Mr. Yale of NE has
prepared the attached paper30 dealing with the subject. The paper has been
drawn up, as you know, in close consultation with interested
officers in both NE and NEA, and it has NE’s approval.
The main points are as follows:
- 1.
- The Zionists demand that one million Jews be admitted to
Palestine as rapidly as possible.
- 2.
- The maximum number of Jews in Europe who will desire to
(migrate is probably closer to half a million than to a
million. (The Soviet Government is unlikely to permit its
Jewish citizens to emigrate to Palestine). Many European
Jews prefer emigration to the United States over migration
to Palestine.
- 3.
- The housing situation in Palestine is bad. Without any
immigration, additional accommodations for about 200,000
persons will be needed in 1948 and 1946.
- 4.
- Nine-tenths of Palestinian industry is Jewish-owned.
However, it has serious reconversion problems because it
became greatly expanded during the war to meet military
demands, with little regard to costs or to peacetime
markets. Hence, Palestinian industry will not be able to
furnish work for new immigrants over the short term. On the
contrary, the immediate outlook is for unemployment of
existing industrial labor.
- 5.
- Mass immigration into Palestine would be opposed by the
Arab, probably by means, of armed force.
- 6.
- Any government or governments which sponsor large-scale
immigration into Palestine would incur responsibilities to
the prospective immigrants, since European Governments would
relax efforts to reintegrate the Jews into the national
life. If, after large-scale immigration had begun, it had to
be stopped or curtailed, for any reason, the sponsoring
governments would have to find places other than Palestine
to receive these Jews.
- 7.
- The security requirements, if Palestine were opened to
large-scale immigration, would be very considerable. No
Government should advocate a policy of mass immigration
unless it is prepared to assist in making available the
necessary security forces, shipping, housing, unemployment
guarantees, et cetera.
- 8.
- In view of the foregoing, the United States should refrain
from supporting a policy of large-scale immigration into
Palestine during the interim period.
- 9.
- The United States could support a Palestine immigration
policy during the interim period which would carry
restrictions as to numbers and categories, taking into
account humanitarian considerations, the economic welfare of
Palestine and political conditions therein. The British
Government, as the mandatory power, should accept primary
responsibility for the policy and be responsible for
carrying it out.
If you approve of the line we have taken, you may wish to bring this
matter to the Secretary’s attention, in view of the fact that the
British may seek our views on the subject during his forthcoming
visit to London.
