Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume V, Part 2

Elsey Papers

Statement Presented by the Presidents Special Counsel (Clifford) at the White House Meeting of May 12, 1948. ¹

[ Washington , undated.]

I would like to make a brief statement of my views on the situation in Palestine.

When the United Nations Committee on Palestine concluded its study of the Palestine problem last fall, it recommended a plan of partition with economic union. The United States Government, after most careful consideration of all aspects of this plan, decided to support it, with certain comparatively minor modifications. The General Assembly of the United Nations, by the overwhelming vote of 33–13, approved this plan with the modifications we favored in a Resolution passed on November 29, 1947.

The United States Government felt that partition was the best possible solution to the Palestine problem and hoped that all members of the United Nations, and all elements of the population in Palestine, would abide by the terms of the Resolution of November 29, 1947. Unfortunately, disorder and strife became widespread in Palestine during the weeks following the passage of that Resolution;, and it became apparent to the United States Government that the terms of the Resolution of November 29 could not be put into effect peacefully by May 15, 1948, the date of the termination of the mandate. This Government decided to make every effort to obtain a peaceful solution to the Palestine problem, even at the expense of temporary postponement of partition. We requested a special session of the General Assembly in the hopes that an intermediate step could be devised which would lead to the peaceful implementation of the partition Resolution of November 29.

Secretary Marshall stated on March 20th and I stated on March 25th that the most important consideration in our minds was to avert violence and bloodshed, and to this end we sought every method of action through the Security Council as well as through the General Assembly. As we then said, we were trying to get a temporary bridge, in the form of trusteeship, on the road toward peaceful implementation of the partition plan approved by the United Nations Assembly.

The date set for partition in the Resolution of the Assembly of November 29, 1947, is at hand, and it appears that a Jewish State will be set up in the very near future, and an Arab State sometime thereafter.

I look with favor on the creation of a Jewish State in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Resolution of November 29, and I assume that, when a Jewish State is set up, the provisions for democratic government outlined in that Resolution will be complied with. When the Jewish State is set up in accordance with those provisions, I favor the recognition of that State by the United States Government.

I have asked the Secretary of State to have the representatives of the United States in the United Nations take up this subject in the United Nations with a view toward obtaining early recognition of a Jewish State by the other members of the United Nations.²

I also hope that when the peoples in the portion of Palestine assigned for an Arab State have set up a State in accordance with the provisions of the Resolution of the Assembly on November 29, 1947, similar recognition will be granted to that State by the United States and by the other members of the United Nations.

1. The source text bears the following notation in the handwriting of Mr. Elsey: “As done by G[eorge] M. E[lsey], based on Lowenthal Draft. Used & read by C[lark] M. C[lifford] at 4:00 12 May Conference.”

   The statement was possibly intended for the President’s May 13 press conference, but was not used by the President on that date. (Marginal notation by McClintock on State Department file copy, 501.BB Palestine/5–1348) For the remarks actually made by President Truman at his press conference of May 13, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Harry S. Truman, 1948, p. 253.

2. At this point in the statement as originally drafted the following sentence appears: “I believe that the United States should recognize the Jewish state promptly after its establishment.” This sentence had been penciled out by an unidentified person.