Page 226 - big friday
P. 226
‫‏‬May 13, 11pm
Q‫ ‏‬uoted below is the text of a letter dated May 10, addressed to the Chief Secretary of the
Palestine Government by the General Secretary of the Executive of the Jewish Agency,
setting forth its stand on the subject of the "cease-fire" imposed by the mandatory power:
"‫‏‬I am directed by the Executive of the Jewish Agency to lodge a formal protest against the
manner in which the 'cease-fire' arrangement for Jerusalem was fixed for May 8 at 12pm
without the Jewish Agency having been consulted. The Jewish Agency has accepted and
will honour the arrangement. I must, however, protest against the arrangement having
been put into force on the basis of consultations with the Arab side only. The Jewish
Agency expressed its readiness to agree to a cease-fire all over Palestine if the other side
agreed to it. The government has not imposed any such country-wide cease-fire upon the
Arabs. The Jews for their part cannot agree that the Arabs could select one particular place
in which they are concerned for a cease-fire arrangement, and that the cease-fire should
thereupon be imposed on the Jews by the government without their even having been
consulted. […]"

‫‏‬May 22, 9 am – Restricted
‫‏‬It is now extremely difficult to get in touch with prominent and representative Arabs, but
such Arab reaction to American de facto recognition of Israel as has become available
to us is that the United States has betrayed the Arab States. Arab opinion reaching us
is extremely bitter against the United States. The feeling among some Arabs is that the
foundation of the state of Israel is a menace to the security and well-being of the Arab
states. These persons state that if the Arab Armies are defeated in a major engagement with
the Jews, public reaction in such countries as Egypt and Iraq will be so unfavorable that
the present governments will fall and both domestic and foreign Communist elements
will take advantage of the resultant situation to attempt to foment public disorder and
undermine national security. The foundation of the State of Israel has been described by
some Arabs here as "made-to-order as a bridge-head for the penetration of the Near East
by the USSR".

‫‏‬The Turkish Consul, in conversation with the Consul General officers, said, "I am
entirely unable to understand US policy. On one hand, you help Greece and Turkey and
on the other hand you undermine us from the rear."

T‫ ‏‬he Jews are of course elated, and the Consul General has been informed that
demonstrations took place in Tel Aviv and Haifa. In Jerusalem, the Jews are faced with
the immediate and grim task of warfare and have not been able to give much thought to
anything but the business at hand. The Jewish feeling seems to be that US recognition
must be followed by strongly positive action to give support to the Jewish state as well as
to the Jews of Jerusalem."
224 The Friday That Changed Destiny‫‏‬
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