Office of the Historian

501 Gadel Telegrams—1947

Mr. Robert M. McClintock to the Director of the Office of Special Political Affairs (Rusk), at New York

secret
urgent
Washington, November 19, 1947—3:17 p. m.

Gadel 30. Special for Rusk from McClintock. On receiving the attached telegram1 reaffirming our position on the Negeb, Ambassador Johnson through Mr. Rusk by telephone desired to report his very firm conviction that if we stuck by this position through the Subcommittee and carried it before the Ad Hoc Committee on Palestine the result might be that many states would abstain in the vote favoring partition and that this vote might fail to receive a majority.

Ambassador Johnson therefore requested authorization from the Department to maintain our position on the Negeb only during the debate in the Subcommittee, and then, if we were beaten in the vote in the Subcommittee, gracefully to announce our readiness to be guided by the will of the majority. In effect, therefore, Ambassador Johnson proposed that our telegram read, in place of “Ad Hoc Committee”, “Subcommittee”.

Mr. Henderson of NEA agreed with Ambassador Johnson’s recommendation and having learned from Miss Schukraft2 that it would be impossible to see you [Mr. Lovett?] on this matter, I informed Mr. Rusk [you?] that the Department gave Ambassador Johnson the authority he desired.

E. M. McClintock
  1. Not found attached; presumably No. 567 to New York, supra.↩
  2. Gladys E. Schukraft, in the Office of the Under Secretary of State.↩