Office of the Historian

867N.01/6–546: Telegram

President Truman to the British Prime Minister (Attlee)57

secret
us urgent
Washington, June 5, 1946—10 a.m.

Thank you for sending the list of the subjects which your Govt [Page 618] would like to have discussed by the experts of the two Govts in connection with the Palestine report. Our feeling is that the matter is one which will require a rather extensive exchange of views and we have certain plans for the setting up of a special group to handle this and related questions arising out of the report. We are proceeding to organize this group as quickly as we can and in the meantime we have turned your list over to the various experts in the State and War Depts with the request that they give it their immediate attention.

We are hopeful that members of the group of experts will be able to proceed to London as soon as possible as suggested by Mr. Bevin.58 As we doubt however that our plans will be sufficiently advanced for our side to begin the discussions on the report as a whole at the time you suggest, namely one week prior to June 20, we are planning to send to London by that time one or more experts to discuss the urgent physical problems arising out of the transfer to Palestine of the 100,000 Jews mentioned in the report.

While it will take considerable time to find satisfactory answers to all the problems which you have listed, we feel it would be highly desirable that we begin immediately consideration of the question of the 100,000 Jews whose situation continues to cause great concern. I can assure you now that we shall take responsibility for transporting these persons as far as Palestine and shall lend necessary assistance in the matter of their temporary housing. We shall be glad to consider also providing certain longer term assistance for them. This last matter, however, should be reserved for the more general conversations.

We understand, of course, that until after June 20 it will not be possible for our two Govts to make any definite decisions with regard to any of the points contained in the report. We are anxious however in view of the urgency of the problem of the 100,000 Jews to initiate the discussions between the two Govts on the physical problems directly connected with their transfer as soon as possible.

  1. Sent to London as Department’s telegram 4482, with the instruction: “President requests you deliver following message to PriMin Attlee in reply to latter’s telegram regarding Palestine received through Brit Emb on May 27.”↩
  2. In memorandum of May 18 from the British Embassy, not printed.↩