President John F. Kennedy this weekend indicated interest in the Arab refugee situation and asked the Right Rev. Francis B. Sayre, dean of the Washington Cathedral, who returned recently from the Near East, to send the White House a written report.
Rev. Sayre called at the White House, at Mr. Kennedy’s invitation, to report on an “exploratory trip” to the Near East specifically to survey the Arab refugee issue. A leader of a group of clergymen and others concerned about the fate of the Arabs who once lived in Palestine, Rev. Sayre said he could not divulge exactly what Mr. Kennedy said, but made known that the President wanted a written report to augment today’s discussion.
Seeking to evaluate chances for a solution of the Arab refugee issue. Rev. Sayre visited the United Arab Republic, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel. He commented that sometimes he found the situation rather discouraging and thought “the human problem” had become enmeshed in “politics and economics. ” He indicated that it might have been his special role to attempt to learn what was behind the impasse on Arab refugees.
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.
