867N.01/10–1145
The Syrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs to the American Legation in Syria 65
Political Division
Aide-Mémoire
The Syrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs has the honor to bring to the attention of the Government of the United States of America the serious developments in the general situation in Palestine, which threatens with dangerous consequences not only Palestine but all the Arab world. It is not untrue that these developments have been encouraged by official statements made in Washington recently, by widespread Zionist propaganda in the American Press, and by alleged statements of some of the responsible personalities of the United States.
The interest of Syria particularly and the Arab world as a whole in the future of Palestine is due to the firm links that bind her to this part of the Arab world, these links being not less powerful than these among the people of America and its different states. It is right to expect that the American people who can see no difference between New York and San Francisco or between Detroit and Texas should appreciate more than any other people important links that bind Jerusalem to Damascus as well as to the other Arab states. Moreover, the Zionist movement is not a humanitarian one whose aim is to deliver a people from destruction but it is a mere political movement working openly for the establishment of an independent state and the throwing out of a peaceful people from their own national homeland. From this point of view it is a real danger threatening not only Palestine but the whole Arab world as well; and its success or failure in that particular case is regarded by the Arabs as a question of life or death.
Zionism has lately endeavored to convince public opinion in the Allied countries, particularly in the United States of America, that opening the gates of Palestine for the immigration of Jews persecuted by Nazis in different parts of Europe, would be a humanitarian effort, but political Zionism is one thing and the aim [aid] to be accorded to persecuted Jews is another. Aid motivated by a noble humanitarian attitude must be expressed in a different way than by the throwing out of the people from their homeland and the replacement of them by [Page 766] another people. In such a case, aid is rendered to a people by oppressing others who will then be in need of the same aid. One injustice cannot be removed by another even more harmful. In this case we will be face to face with the Zionist Nazism against the Arabs instead of a German Nazism against the Jews.
All this, however, does not prevent the Arabs sharing the sympathy of the civilized world towards persecuted Jews who have been victims of Nazi aggression. “The Arabs are always ready to share in any humanitarian scheme which helps persecuted Jews to secure a peaceful life. There are many sparsely inhabited regions in the world to shelter great number of those who need help. With regard to Pales tine it cannot absorb even its present Arab and Jewish population and any new immigration means the throwing out of a number of Arabs corresponding to the number of incoming Jews, and the strengthening of political Zionism by weakening the Arab people.
Syria is greatly concerned with the future of Palestine and cannot remain inactive in the face of the injustice caused to that country. She cannot but support with the other Arab States the Arabs of Palestine in their struggle for existence.
The Syrian Government would like to call the attention of the Government of the United States of America to its uneasiness concerning the last dangerous developments in the question of Palestine and expects that the attitude of the Arab World towards this problem will be taken into consideration for the sake of strengthening the mutual friendship between America and the Arab World which is very keen to seize every opportunity to do so.
- Received by the Legation on October 10; copy transmitted to the Department with despatch 363, October 11, from Damascus; received November 13.↩