867N.01/10–245
Memorandum by the Acting Secretary
of State to President Truman
Washington, October 2,
1945.
We have seen your statement to the press in reply to the question whether
Mr. Roosevelt had made commitments to the King of Saudi [Page 754] Arabia not to make an issue out of the
Palestine question.52 We have also noted the proposal of King Ibn Saud,
in this connection, to make public the letter written to him on April 5,
1945 by President Roosevelt. A copy of this letter is attached.53
We also attach a statement of the basic views of the Department of State
on the question, which we believe you would wish to consider. The
essence of the matter is that promises have been made to both the Jews
and the Arabs that both parties will be consulted before any basic steps
are taken regarding Palestine.
You may perhaps wish the Department to prepare a full summary of the
situation, including our recommendations.
[Annex]
Memorandum
Washington, October 2,
1945.
Subject: Views of the Department of State concerning
American Promises regarding Palestine
Both Jewish and Arab leaders have been deeply concerned by the
reports which are being widely disseminated that the President has
urged the Government of Great Britain to permit the immediate
admission of 100,000 Jewish refugees to Palestine. Zionist leaders
called at the Department a few days ago to express their concern at
what appears to be a tendency to dispose of the problem of Jewish
immigration to Palestine without consulting them. The Arabs,
moreover, are making strong protests against what they consider to
be our failure to live up to frequent promises which we have made to
them during recent years that in our view they should be consulted
before any decision respecting the basic situation of Palestine is
made.
Our assurances of consultation are to be found in several letters
addressed by President Roosevelt to Arab leaders and were repeated
in a letter from President Truman to the Amir of Trans Jordan.54 The most categorical assurance was
contained in President Roosevelt’s letter to King Ibn Saud on April
5, 1945.
The President’s proposal would, if adopted, constituted basic change
the Palestine situation, and it is already clear from the violent
reaction of the Arabs that it would in fact make an immediate issue
out of the Palestine question. The British White Paper, adopted in
1939, [Page 755] established a quota
of 75,000 for Jewish immigration into Palestine during the following
five years, after which time there was to be no further Jewish
immigration without Arab acquiescence. President Truman’s proposal
would involve the abrogation of a cardinal feature of the British
White Paper policy.
The disposition on our part to fail to carry out our promises would
constitute the severest kind of blow to American prestige not only
in the Near East but elsewhere. Much of the work done in the Near
East in recent years in building up respect for, and confidence in
the United States would be undone. Beyond the loss of prestige is
the very serious threat to vital American interests in that area
which would result from a hostile Arab world. Moreover, the smaller
nations of the world, who have looked to the United States for
leadership and on whose support we counted so heavily at San
Francisco, would be sadly disillusioned if we violated our word in
this conspicuous instance.
