883.48/7a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Egypt (Fish)
113. For your confidential information, the American Red Cross is contemplating the donation of 25,000 dollars for war relief in Palestine, including in particular the relief of those stricken by air raid attacks in that country.
The Department is of the opinion that, for numerous reasons, it would be inadvisable for the Red Cross to attempt to isolate the relief problem in Palestine from the larger problem of war relief in the Near East, including in particular Egypt. The Department has in mind in that connection the reports which have been received from Egypt of the repeated bombing of Alexandria and of the evacuation [Page 875] of a large proportion of the inhabitants of that city. It is believed, accordingly, that the war relief problem in Egypt is actually as well as potentially as serious, if not more serious than that of Palestine, and that contributions made by the Red Cross to Palestine alone would have most undesirable repercussions in Egypt as well as in other countries of the Near East.
In order to assist the Red Cross in reaching a decision you are requested to telegraph the Department as soon as possible (a) an estimate of the total number of civilian casualties resulting from Italian bombings in Egypt; (b) an estimate of the civilian property loss; (c) an estimate of the number of people who have evacuated their homes in consequence of the bombings of Egyptian towns and (d) the approximate amount of financial aid which the Egyptian Government and local organizations have provided for war relief.
The Department desires also your opinions and recommendations, based on all the considerations involved, regarding a possible allotment by the Red Cross for Egypt. In the event the Red Cross may find it possible to make a donation for Egypt in addition to that contemplated for Palestine the Department has in mind suggesting the Red Crescent as the agency through which the sum might most appropriately be administered. Your recommendations in this particular are also desired, bearing in mind that the Red Cross would expect an efficient and impartial administration of the funds.