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NST-17 THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON for May 20, 1948 Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Thanks very much for yours of the seventeenth enclosing me a copy of a letter you had written to General Marshall about the recognition of Palestine. I am sorry, of course, that you were disturbed by the procedure but, under the circumstances, there was not much else to be done. Since there was a vacuum in Palestine and since the Russians were anxious to be the first to do the recognizing General Marshall, Secretary Lovett, Dr. Rusk and myself worked the matter out and decided the proper thing to do was to recognize the Jewish Government promptly. Senator Austin was notified of what was taking place but he didn't have a chance to talk with the other members of the delegation until afterward. I am sorry that it caused any dis- turbance. Sincerely yours, of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt Apartment 15-A 29 Washington Square, West New York 11, New York