Standing up to Washington - Ben-Gurion

Submitted by YJ Draiman (United States), Sep 3, 2017 at 18:25

The American threat conveyed by Secretary of State George Marshall to Moshe Sharett on May 8, 1948 hovered over the deliberations of May 12. Marshall warned that the United States would not rescue the Yishuv in the event of an invasion of regular Arab armies. This position was first presented in March at a time when attacks by largely irregular forces had already become particularly intensive and successful, claiming more than 1,200 Jewish soldiers and civilians—the highest monthly toll on the Israeli side during struggle for independence. At various times, Marshall and State Department officials suggested that transfers of funds from American Jewry would be stopped.

The American government did embargo the shipment of arms. Marshall's preferred plan was withdrawing the United Nations resolution of 29 November 1947 that called for the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Palestinian states and the placing of Jerusalem under international control. Instead, Marshall proposed a UN Trusteeship for a limited time during which the fate of Palestine could be reexamined.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".