Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Arab-Israeli Dispute; United Arab Republic; North Africa, Volume XIII

59. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (Rountree) to the Secretary of State¹

Washington, January 17, 1959.

SUBJECT

• Your Appointment with Ambassador Eban at 3:30 p.m. Monday, January 19, 1959

Discussion:

The Embassy informs us that Ambassador Eban had two purposes in mind in asking for this appointment: (1) to transmit a personal letter to you from Prime Minister Ben Gurion and (2) to outline his government’s assessment of the present situation in the Middle East. [3 lines of source text not declassified]

[4 paragraphs (19 lines of source text) not declassified]

Ambassador Eban’s analysis of the present situation in the Middle East may focus on the new Iraqi regime and how its development may affect the West’s relationship with Nasser. This has been a preoccupation of all Israel Embassy officers in their recent contacts with the Department. At Ambassador Eban’s last appearance in the Department, he told Mr. Hart he was under instruction to “express concern that the United States, alarmed over the growth of the Communist influence in Baghdad, may be contemplating a rapprochement with Nasser to assist him to exert a countervailing influence.” (Tab C)²

In the face of recent indications that the struggle in Baghdad is moving in favor of the Communists, the Israelis have suggested that if Nasser does turn to the West, care should be exercised to avoid treating him so generously that other countries in the area, now firmly committed to the West, will decide that their national interests would be better served by achieving a more neutral position and reaping benefits from both the West and the USSR.

In reply to the foregoing, the Israelis have been told that the United States Government plans no precipitate flight to Nasser and that while for some months we have assumed a posture of readiness to re-establish normal relations with the United Arab Republic, progress to this end has been slow.

You may want to take this opportunity to reiterate your misgivings about the rapidly enlarging estimates of what Israel expects in immigration of Eastern European Jews this year. Jewish sources only recently were predicting an influx of perhaps 20,000 Rumanians but the Government of Israel is now actively planning for as many as 100,000. In your November 26 conversation with Ambassador Eban (Tab D),³ you expressed concern over reports of increasing immigration as providing a basis for fears in the area that population pressures will tempt Israel to expand.

Recommendations:

[2 paragraphs (5½ lines of source text) not declassified]

(2) United States Attitudes Towards Qasim as They May Bear on West-United Arab Republic Relations.

It is recommended that you comment along the following lines:

We are intervening in no way in the internal Iraqi struggle but are increasingly disturbed by the apparently unchecked growth of Communist influence over the new regime. We would like to think that Qasim had the desire and the intention to resist but we see little evidence of it. We think that if Qasim does not soon take a stand against the Communists, he may become their prisoner. We are certainly not casting ourselves into Nasser’s arms, but are heartened by Nasser’s apparent dawning realization of the dangers of Communism to the Middle East. This development, we believe, is of benefit to the free world, and should be discreetly encouraged. We are continuing our efforts to establish a more normal relationship with the United Arab Republic.

(3) Immigration from Eastern Europe.

It is recommended that you raise this question on your initiative and comment as follows:

We understand that in Israel it is now anticipated there will be a very substantial increase in immigrants from Rumania this year, the first of whom are already arriving at the rate of some hundreds weekly. As you remarked in your November conversation, this movement, especially in such numbers, is sure to aggravate Arab fears of Israel expansionism and make it difficult for the United States to defend itself against charges that its assistance is financing Israel immigration.

Mr. Rockwell and Mr. Hamilton of NE will accompany on this call.

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.84A/1–1759. Secret. Drafted by Hamilton on January 15; initialed by Rountree; and sent through S/S. A handwritten notation on the source text indicates that Dulles saw it.
2. None of the tabs was attached to the source text. Tab A was not declassified. Tab B was a copy of Eisenhower’s July 25 letter to Ben Gurin; see footnote 2, Document 31. No memorandum of conversation between Hart and Eban, December 19, 1958, has not been found. A briefing memorandum for the meeting is in Department of State, NEA Files: Lot 59 D 582, Israel—General, 1958.
3. See Documents 49 and 50.