Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Near East and Africa, Volume V

501.BB Palestine/10–3047: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Bevin)¹

secret
us urgent

Washington, November 7, 1947—7 p. m.

Reference is made to the aide-mémoire of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs dated October 30, 1947² with regard to the activities of the SS Pan Crescent and Pan York, which according to the aide-mémoire are vessels registered under the flag of Panama now present at Constanza. The Foreign Secretary has likewise invited attention to the possibility that the Colonel Frederick C. Johnson, now lying at Norfolk, Virginia, may be destined for the same traffic.

The Department of State has undertaken immediate investigation of the status of these vessels. This investigation however is not complete and the following comments provide merely an interim answer reflecting the concern which the Government of the United States shares with the Government of the United Kingdom over the activities of vessels engaged in the clandestine emigrant traffic to Palestine. Meanwhile armed cutters of the United States Coast Guard have the Colonel Frederick C. Johnson under twenty-four hour surveillance at Norfolk and all possible steps are being taken to prevent the sailing of this vessel.

For the most confidential information of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs it can be revealed that Officers of the Department of State have discussed this problem as a matter of urgency with authorized representatives of the Jewish Agency in New York City. With specific reference to the SS Pan Crescent, Pan York, and SS Colonel Frederick C. Johnson an authorized representative of the Jewish Agency has informed the Department of State that the Jewish Agency has no information about prospective sailings either from Atlantic ports or ports in the Black Sea during the next five or six weeks. The representative of the Jewish Agency added that the Agency would do everything within its power to prevent further incidents but indicated that the Agency did not have complete control of the Jewish Underground. The Agency requested any precise information available as to prospective sailings in order that it might use its maximum influence to prevent incidents. The Department’s representative stated that it expected the Jewish Agency to exert itself to the utmost to see that the Underground is restrained.³

Furthermore the Secretary of State has in person called in Jewish leaders and informed them with the greatest possible emphasis that unless immediate and effective steps were taken to stop this clandestine activity he would have no other recourse but to treat the matter publicly.

Marshall

1. Sent to London as Department telegram 4772, with the instruction: “Please call on Mr. Bevin and leave with him the following memorandum in response to his aide-mémoire of October 30 (your 5787 October 30).” Telegram 5787 is not printed.
2. Not printed.
3. Telegram 1240, November 19, 11:05 p. m., from New York informed the Department: “A report in the NY Post to the effect that the Pan York and Pan Crescent were ready to sail from the Black Sea last week but the Jewish Commission ordered the passengers disembarked pending further alterations to the ships’ probably meant that representations which the JA had made were being heeded, Gelber (JA) told USGADel. Gelber said he did not know what was meant by ‘further alterations to the ships’ but he thought it might be the reason given to the people by their leaders who did not wish to give the real reasons, i.e., the fact that illegal immigration should be cut down.” (501.BB Summaries/11–1947)