Correspondence Between President Harry S. Truman and Chaim Weizmann

A ADDRESS: "WALDORF, NEWYORK" // ELDORADO -3000 WALDORF-ASTORIA PARK AND LEXINGTON AVENUES // 49TH AND 50TH STREETS // NEW YORK 22/ May 13, 1948 The President The White House Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. President: The unhappy events of the last few months will not, I hope, obscure the very great contributions that you, Mr. President, have made toward a definitive and just settlement of the long and trouble- some Palestine question. The leadership which the American government took under your inspiration made possible the establishment of a Jewish State, which I am convinced will contribute markedly toward a solution of world Jewish problems, and which, I am equally convinced is a necessary preliminary to the development of lasting peace among the peoples of the Near East. So far as practical conditions in Palestine would permit, the Jewish people there have proceeded along the lines laid down in the United Nations Resolution of November 29, 1947. Tomorrow mid- night, May 15th, the British Mandate will be terminated, and the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, embodying the best en- deavors of the Jewish people and arising from the Resolution of the United Nations, will assume full responsibility for preserving law and order within the boundaries of the Jewish State; for defending that area against external aggression; and for discharging the obli- gations of the Jewish State to the other nations of the world in accordance with international law. Considering all the difficulties, the chances for an equitable adjustment of Arab and Jewish relationship are not un- favorable. What is required now is an end to the seeking of new and solutions which invariably have retarded rather than encouraged a SERVICE final settlement. GOVERNMENT It is for these reasons that I deeply hope that the United States, which under your leadership has done so much to