Office of the Historian

127. Letter From the Secretary of State to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson1

Washington, February 21, 1957.

Dear Senator Johnson: I am glad to have your letter of February 112 commenting on the report that consideration is being given in the General Assembly of the United Nations calling for economic sanctions against Israel unless it withdraws its forces of occupation from the Gaza Strip and the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba.

As you know, we have been giving this matter a great deal of serious thought and consideration for the last several weeks. Events have been developing with such rapidity on an hour-to-hour basis that I have felt it exceedingly difficult to put down in a letter any position which might not be academic or out of date before the letter was delivered. I dictated one or two earlier replies, but the situation changed before I could sign them. This was one of the reasons, of course, that the President and I were anxious to meet with you and other members of the Congressional leadership in order to discuss together, in terms of latest developments, the many complexities of this problem.

As I said at our meeting, there is strong sentiment among many members of the United Nations for economic sanctions. There is reluctance to concede that it is permissible for a nation, even though subjected to grievances to seek relief by attacking and occupying parts of a neighboring country. It is felt in many quarters that to condone this would be to open the door to military action in many other quarters where grievances exist, and that the whole fabric of peace will be torn apart.

I think, also, that the President made it clear at that meeting, as he did also in his speech last night, that we would be reluctant to see the situation in the United Nations develop in such a way that sanctions would seem to most of the members of the United Nations to be the only effective solution. We have, as was indicated in our Aide-Mémoire to the Government of Israel3 which was released on February 17, given important assurances to Israel that her ultimate interests would be protected. Thus far Israel apparently has felt that those assurances were not sufficient. However, I am still hopeful that they will prove to be acceptable to Israel and that she will withdraw. I expect to discuss this further with the Israeli Ambassador over the week end. If Israel does not withdraw in reliance of the far reaching [Page 232] assurances now obtainable, the United Nations may feel that the only alternative consistent with its authority is to continue to press Israel to comply with its repeated withdrawal resolutions.

Sincerely yours,

John Foster Dulles4
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 320/2–1157. a marginal notation indicates the letter was delivered to Johnson on February 22.↩
  2. Document 83.↩
  3. Document 78.↩
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩