Office of the Historian

501.BB Palestine/4–1948

Memorandum by Mr. Robert M. McClintock to the Under Secretary of State (Lovett)

[Washington,] April 19, 1948.

Mr. Rusk telephoned at noon to say that the Plenary Session this morning of the General Assembly decided not to stage any general debate on Palestine but to refer the matter immediately to the First Committee (Political and Security Affairs).1 Since Ambassador Austin’s statement will now be made before Committee 1, which meets at 10:30 tomorrow morning, there may be some minor textual changes in his speech which had been intended for delivery at the Plenary Session. Mr. Rusk says he knows what you have in mind for the statement but that he will endeavor to send us the text of any modification which might be made in Ambassador Austin’s remarks.

Following the Plenary Session this morning, Ambassador Austin and Mr. Rusk told the press that the decision of the Plenary to suspend debate and send the question immediately to Committee 1 represented the fastest possible action and was therefore all to the good.

  1. See GA (II/SS), Plenary, p. 9. The Assembly decision was made by 44 votes to none, with 10 abstentions.↩