The United States may be willing to compromise on the number of Jews to be admitted to Palestine and agree on the entry of less than the 100,000 which has been demanded on several occasions by President Truman, according to a source close to the U.S. members of the joint Anglo-American committee which is meeting here to discuss implementation of the recommendations of the Palestine inquiry committee.
In addition, the three committee members, representing the State, War and Treasury Departments and headed by former Assistant Secretary of State Henry F. Grady, may even discuss with the British the possibility of sending American troops to Palestine to share the responsibility of law and order there.
The source would not predict how long the negotiations here would be prolonged, but it is known that the committee members, who arrived in London from Washington on Saturday, brought with them an abundance of clothes, which does not suggest that agreement is imminent.
The committee is zealously guarded from all contacts with the press, and it is known that Mr. Grady does not contemplate any regular conferences with newspapermen. The JTA informant said that it was plain that the committee head was playing his cards close to his chest in relation to the British. It is reported that Mr. Grady is particularly close-mouthed because he regards it as imperative that the British do not guess the limits of the committee’s discretionary powers through inadvertent comments to the press.
U.S. DELEGATES MAY AGREE TO SENDING TROOPS TO PALESTINE
The fact is, of course, that the committee is here not only for purposes of discussion but also for a period of undisguised bargaining. This bargaining may take the form of negotiations over the number of Jews to be admitted to Palestine and it is possible, for instance, that the United States, if confronted by a British demand to halve the Truman figure of 100,000 Jews may be willing to “split the difference.”
Current conversations among the negotiators indicate that, if necessary, the American experts may report favorably to Washington on the question of sending American forces to the Middle East to bolster the British position. The aforementioned source said that “nothing is hard and fast. All the points must be decided on their individual merits.” When this correspondent suggested that “the Truman line may not necessarily be adhered to,” the informant shrugged and remarked, “we have got to please a lot of people, including the Arabs, you know.”
(The London correspondent of the New York Herald Tribune reports today that the British members of the committee have suggested that the United Nations organization appeal to all countries to admit a number of Jews from Europe. This scheme would apply mainly to the estimated 500,000 Jews in various European countries who wish to emigrate rather than the 100,000 or so displaced Jews in Germany and Austria, the report said. It adds that it is believed that if this plan is adopted, the British would be willing to admit the 100,000 DP’s into Palestine.)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
