Office of the Historian

62. Circular Telegram From the Department of State to Certain Diplomatic Missions1

Washington, January 28, 1959—12:58 p.m.

913. Eban morning twenty-seventh informed RountreeGOI intention to ask Security Council consider killing of Israel shepherd by Syrian gunfire.2 Israel motivated by desire bring matter to SC for peaceful resolution before series such incidents might precipitate major crisis.

Eban asked United States to take initiative, before Council convenes, to mobilize opinion of leading members and urge them to express their concern over repeated acts of violence on Israel-Syrian frontier. He hoped USG could also indicate to SYG that latest incident is very thing for which SC asked him to seek solution during his recent Middle East visit. SYG might be asked to take further initiative.

Rountree recalled that during consideration of Israel complaint last month SC members, while making clear their abhorrence of renewed frontier violence, had questioned whether Israel made full use of available UNTSO and MAC machinery before bringing complaint to SC. Eban evaded question of submission to MAC, stating only that MAC officers are junior on both sides and mechanism is bogged down with innumerable matters as yet unconsidered. It is any member’s privilege to bring threat to its security to SC attention, he concluded, adding Israel should not be rebuffed in this approach.

Rountree applied it is not question SC not being prepared to deal with problem but whether Israelis have laid best possible foundation for complaint by first exhausting remedies available through other UN machinery. In any event, he said, matter would be studied immediately. He indicated Dept would be in consultation with USUN.3

Dulles
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 684A.86B/1–2859. Confidential. Drafted by Hamilton on January 27, cleared in draft with Brown, and signed for Dulles by Rountree. Sent to Tel Aviv and repeated to Amman, Cairo, Damascus, London, Paris, Rome, Jerusalem, and USUN. A memorandum of this conversation is ibid., 780.00/1–2759. Similar approaches were made to Lodge and Wilcox on January 29 by Israeli representatives. (Telegram 599 from USUN, January 29; ibid., 684A.86B/1–2959, and memorandum of conversation, January 29; ibid.)↩
  2. The shooting occurred on January 23.↩
  3. On January 29, the Department informed Lodge that it recognized the Israeli right to appeal to the Security Council, but believed all local U.N. machinery should be utilized first. The United States should reserve its position until a full report on the incident was made by MAC. (Telegram 645; Department of State, Central Files, 330/1–2959) The Security Council considered the Israeli complaint without decision on January 30. For the record of these proceedings, including Lodge’s statement along the lines suggested in telegram 645, see U.N. Doc. S/PV.845.↩