Office of the Historian

486A. 1112/4–3052

No. 1437
Memorandum by the Deputy Director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs (Kopper) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations (McFall)

restricted
Washington, May 8, 1952.1

Subject:

  • Discontinuance of Saudi Arabian Trade Discrimination Against US Jewish Firms.

You will recall that Senator Lehman2 and Congressmen Javits3 and Celler4 have made inquiries of the Department on behalf of certain of their constituents5 regarding the Saudi Arabian ban on imports from US firms under Jewish control or ownership. Efforts by the Department and the Embassy in Jidda have recently been successful in causing the Saudi Arabian Government to discontinue this discriminatory practice. Reference Jidda Embassy telegram no. 629 dated April 30 (Tab 1).6

It is suggested that you might wish to inform the Senator and Congressmen that such is the case and letters have accordingly been drafted to them for your signature (Tabs 2, 3 and 4).7 . . .

  1. This memorandum was prepared by Awalt between May 5 and 8.↩
  2. Senator Herbert Lehman of New York.↩
  3. Congressman Jacob Javits of New York.↩
  4. Congressman Emmanuel Celler of New York.↩
  5. The letters under reference here, along with correspondence from other Congressmen and various business firms, are in Department of State files 486A.1112, 486A.1116, and 486A.1117.↩
  6. Not printed. (486A.1112/4–3052)↩
  7. None printed.↩