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  4. Document 620

611.84A94/6–950: Circular telegram

The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic Offices 1

confidential
Washington , June 9, 1950—2 a. m.

Air transport agreement with Israel scheduled for signature 1500 GMT June 13 Tel Aviv.2

[Page 1090]

For ur background info if questioned, and guidance in event of adverse reaction Arab states, agreement is 43rd bilateral air transport agreement negotiated by US. US policy, and that of most countries whose airlines operate internationally, calls for negot intergovernmental arrangements with all countries on certificated routes of scheduled flag air carriers. In limited nr cases operations through foreign countries are conducted by US carriers under temporary or interim arrangements. However, this is exception to above policy. Thus in NE area US concluded air agreements with Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey 1946, with Syria 1947.3 No special significance shld be attached to fact that US-Israeli agreement is first such formal arrangement concluded by Israel. In nr other cases, for example Burma, Egypt, US was first state with which agreement concluded.

Acheson
  1. At London, Arab capitals, Tel Aviv, Paris, Athens, Rome, Tehran, and Ankara.↩

  2. Negotiations on the proposed civil air transport agreement with Israel had been conducted at Tel Aviv, except for one session at Washington with Mr. Pincus. The details of the negotiations are documented in the files of the Department of State, chiefly under 611.84A94.

    The agreement was signed at Tel Aviv on June 13; for text, see Department of State Treaties and Other International Agreements (TIAS), 1952, vol. 3, pt. 4, p. 4582. The Department statement, printed in Department of State Bulletin, June 26, 1950, p. 1043, noted that the “text closely follows the United States standard form for such agreements. Under the terms of the agreement, the United States flag carrier TWA will conduct services to Lydda, and the Israeli flag carrier will be authorized to conduct services to New York City across the North Atlantic.” The Israeli Government’s press release of June 13 quoted Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok as stating, “It is the first agreement signed by Israel with any power. It is also the first agreement signed by us with the United States of America on any subject. It augurs well for the cementing of friendly ties between us and the United States as well as for the development of Israel’s air connections with the world.” Embassy Tel Aviv transmitted a copy of the press release in despatch 379, June 14 (611.84A94/6–1450).

    ↩
  3. See Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. vii, pp. 793–80, and footnote 24, p. 901, respectively; and ibid, 1947, vol. v, p. 1343.↩