867N.01/6–2646: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Appointed Minister to Saudi Arabia (Childs)
173. In your discretion you are authorized to speak to King or Foreign Minister, when you present your credentials, along following lines.
King’s letter86 was taken directly to President Truman by Colonel Eddy day he arrived in Washington. President has studied letter carefully and will reply soon.
We of course regret that Saudi Arabian Govt was disappointed in report of Joint Committee of Inquiry on Palestine. We sincerely hope that SAG will give full consideration and weight to all sections of report, which we feel was an honest effort to reach balanced and equitable conclusions.
Recommendation that 100,000 Jewish refugees be admitted to Palestine is a humanitarian proposal for relief of displaced persons and, in Committee’s view, would not be a step toward a Jewish state. The Committee believed that 100,000 could be settled in Palestine without prejudice to the rights of Arabs now living there. It is further believed that admission of this number, when taken into account with other recommendations contained in report, would not constitute a change in basic situation.
At all events, overall policy of this Govt with respect to these questions has not been determined as yet and they are being given most careful examination and thought by recently constituted Cabinet Committee, which has duty of making policy recommendations to President.
It may be useful to recall that in course of its short history, US has received (between 1820 and 1938) more than 38 million immigrants, large numbers of whom might be classed as refugees, and that during the recent World War this country has received 250,000 refugees.