Editorial Note
Mr. Eliezer Kaplan, Treasurer of the Jewish Agency, sent a letter to Mr. Henderson on December 22 in which he cited conversations he had had the previous week with officers of the State and Treasury Departments and of the Export-Import Bank. He enclosed two memoranda setting forth various financial proposals of the Jewish Agency (867N. 01/12–2247)
Mr. Merriam analyzed these proposals in a memorandum of December 31 to Mr. Henderson, as follows: “In scope and purpose, the program calls for raising 11/4 billion dollars for a four-year project calling for resettling 400,000 European and Asiatic Jews in the Jewish State, and for developing the country in a way to raise the Arab standard of living gradually to that of the Jews. The JA hopes to raise ¾ billion dollars from private sources and appeals to the U.S. Government to supply the balance of ½ billion dollars. Of the latter sum, the JA seeks an Eximbank loan of $75,000,000, leaving it to be implied that the remaining $425 billion [million] is to be supplied by a grant from the U.S. Government.
“From the table of ‘Funds Required for the Accomplishment of the Four-Year Plan’ on page 3 of the memorandum, it is clear that expenses directly connected with the immigration program account for $1,070,000,000 of the total expenditure of $1,251,500,000 envisaged, thus leaving only $180 million for general development purposes, including raising the Arab standard of living.”
Mr. Merriam concluded: “it is difficult to see how serious consideration can be given to a financial request of this kind before political conditions in and around Palestine are placed on a sound basis and before the immigration and financial policies of the Jewish State are established. It is inconceivable that the Congress or the Eximbank would provide funds for the purpose of setting up an economic and immigration regime on a shaky, indigent basis which would result only in further appeals for money and other forms of assistance, probably including arms and armed force, to carry forward an unsound investment.” (867N.51/12–3147)