867N.01/5–2848: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom
1978. Por Douglas for info. Ref Embtel 2273, May 26.1 Following account White House press conference May 27 re Palestine:2
“Q. Mr. President, Dr. Weizmann said the other day that you gave him hope for lifting the arms embargo. Can you give us any more detail?
A. The President said that the arms embargo is under consideration by the United Nations; that he had no comment on it.
Q. Mr. President, that is the United States embargo, and not the United Nations embargo?
A. The President said that the embargo by the United States was made by the Security Council of the United Nations; that it was still pending in the United Nations.
Q. Mr. President, your Ambassador in England has been in conference repeatedly with the Foreign Office spokesman and representatives of Britain during the past few days. Can you say anything about relations between America and Britain, and relations between America and Palestine,—the difference between the two?
A. The President said that he could not.
[Page 1073]Q. Mr. President, can you tell us anything about the status of the request for the Jewish State of Palestine for a loan of $90–million to $100–million?
A. The President said that as far as he knew, none had been made; that if one was made, it would be handled in the usual manner, as all those things are.
Q. Mr. President, did Dr. Weizmann suggest a loan?
A. The President said that he did suggest a loan; that he said Israel would like to have a loan, like any other country. The President added that if the correspondent knew of any other country that would not like to have a loan, he wished the correspondent would tell him.
Q. Mr. President, is there any way in which financial aid could be extended to the Jews, say at this time, by special act of the Congress, or are there any funds or appropriations that you could use without consulting the Congress?
A. The President said that there is the Export-Import Bank, and there is the World Bank, that make loans of that kind.
Q. Mr. President, Dr. Weizmann said he wanted part of that loan to be used for tank and anti-tank guns?
A. The President said that Dr. Weizmann did not discuss the details with him; that all he knew was what he had seen in the papers.
Q. Mr. President, that obviously would not come under the Export-Import Bank?
A. The President said that he could not answer that question.
Q. Mr. President, did Dr. Weizmann state what he wanted the loan for?
A. The President said that, he did not; that he said he wanted a loan, period.
Q. Mr. President, and what did you say?
A. The President said that if the State of Israel needs a loan after it is in existence, it would have to go through the usual channels that such things go through.
Q. Mr. President, regarding arms embargo shipments to Israel, the British as I understand it, are shipping arms to the Arabs. What is the difference between the position of the British and our position?
A. The President said that he was not sure there should be any difference.
Q. Mr. President, has the United Nations asked for the embargo on shipping arms?
A. The President said that the United Nations Council requested the arms embargo several months ago and that we complied with it to prevent bloodshed, land that that request still stands.
Q. Mr. President, did they also ask the British to stop shipping arms?
A. The President said that he did not know.
[Page 1074]Q. Mr. President, well, it is a parallel case?
A. The President said that he did not think so; that he thought we were in a much better position to ship arms than any other country in the world.
Q. Mr. President, do you expect the United States to initiate any action on it in the United Nations?
A. The President said let us wait and see what our representative in the United Nations decides to do; that whatever he did, would have his backing.
Q. Mr. President, is there any indication of how soon some action will be taken?
A. The President said that there was not.
Q. Mr. President, would you care to comment on the exchange of diplomats between the United States and the State of Israel?
A. The President said that he did not; that he thought Secretary Marshall commented on that yesterday very well.”
- Not printed; it stated that “Because of great jeopardy to possibility [of] securing Arab-Jewish cease-fire which seems to have resulted from Weizmann’s reported press conference May 25 … it would be extremely helpful for me [i.e., Ambassador Douglas] to know as soon as possible exactly what President did say to Weizmann.” (867N.01/5–2648)↩
- The official text differs somewhat from that given in telegram 1978: for the former, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Harry S. Truman, 1948, p. 278.↩