Secretary of State John Foster Dulles informed an Arab League delegation which called on him this morning that the American Ambassador to Israel will present his credentials in Jerusalem but that this fact “implies no change in our attitude regarding Jerusalem nor does it imply any change in the location of the United States Embassy in Israel, which is in Tel Aviv.”
The ambassadors of Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria and Egypt called on Mr. Dulles, the State Department said, “to make known the views of their governments with respect to the plans for the presentation of credentials in Jerusalem by the appointed American Ambassador to Israel, the Hon, Edward B. Lawson.”
The State Department said that “in the course of the conversation the Secretary recalled the policy of the United States Government to look to the United Nations as primarily responsible for determining the future status of Jerusalem. Following normal practice, the presentation of credentials would be effected by Ambassador Lawson at the place where the Chief of State actually is. The fact that this means that the presentation will take place in Jerusalem implies no change in our attitude regarding Jerusalem nor does it imply any change in the location of the United States Embassy in Israel, which is at Tel Aviv.”
The Jordanian Ambassador, who acted as spokesmen for the delegation, said Mr. Dulles confirmed that the presentation by Mr. Lawson in Jerusalem had already been arranged. Asked what he expected Mr. Dulles to do, the Jordanian replied that the Arabs have now left it in his hands “and now we will see what he will do.”
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.
