867N.4846: Telegram
The Consul General at Jerusalem (Wadsworth) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 12—4:35 p.m.]
155. Referring to Department’s telegram of November 9, 6 p.m., I regret exceedingly that coded text of numbered paragraph 4 of my telegram No. 123 was either not given to typist or was omitted by her when copying.
It read as follows:
“4. He recognized, however, the force of the Jewish Agency’s contention, stressed by its Financial Director in my conversation with him of the preceding day, that Palestine Jewry is faced with a very real financial emergency in its efforts to meet the various war-born problems of absorption of indigent refugees and unemployment resulting from economic dislocation as well as those of air raid precaution, possible urban evacuation, and, finally, medical aid and direct relief to air raid victims.”
The Financial Director referred to in this paragraph is the Kaplan mentioned in the Department’s telegram under reference. He concurred in the accuracy of my recapitulation of his statement. Doctor Magnes,55 with whom I also discussed the matter, asks me to say that he “supports strongly the Kaplan statement and, while recognizing that no immediate emergency need exists for the relief of air raid victims, urges the desirability of an American Red Cross unit or representative because of developments in this part of the world”.
As a matter of fact, Tel Aviv suffered its only air raid on September 9 and there has been no serious air raid at Haifa since that of September 21.
Lady MacMichael has discussed with me what might be done with the proposed American Red Cross gift if made, and we have suggested to Colonel Jardine of the British Red Cross, Middle East Headquarters, Cairo, that his organization consider duplicating in money or supplies the amount of any such American donation.
[Page 878]Our common idea was that any such gifts should not be used for the care of past air raid victims but held as the nucleus of a special Red Cross fund to be used to supplement, in an emergency and where most needed, funds available to local social welfare agencies which are equipped, as her committee is not equipped, to render direct aid to future air raid victims in the Holy Land.
This idea is approved by the Chief Secretary as well as by Magnes, Kaplan and the Political Director of the Jewish Agency.
- Judah Leon Magnes, President of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.↩