MY MISSION IN ISRAEL 1948-1951 by James G. McDonald First United
States Ambassador to Israel SIMON AND SCHUSTER, NEW YORK 1951 To
RutH and 3VEY 3VHSSIO3ST For ye remember, brethren, our labor and
travail working night and day ... i THESSALONIANS 2 9 The Biblical
quotations which head each chapter are from the Standard American
Edition, Revised Version. J. G. M. Contents BOOK ONE Bombs to
Ballots Preface xi I. A Complete Surprise 3 II. Inadequate Briefing
10 III. Bevins Arrogant Distortion 20 IV. Vevey and Rome 28 V.
Shalom Welcome 36 VI. Two Violations of Protocol 47 VII. Against
Heavy Odds The Organization of a Mission 56 VIII. Bernadotte 65 IX.
Terrorists Become Politicians 78 X. Waiting 90 XI. Paris Interlude
100 XII, Crises 114 x CONTENTS BOOK TWO The Fabric Holds XIII.
Elections, Knesset, Embassy 131 XIV. The Role of an Ambassador 148
XV. The Calm Before 167 XVI. The May-June Crisis And a Visit Home
181 XVII. Return-And Istanbul Briefing 192 XVIII. The Holy City
Abdullah of Jordan 204 XIX. Crowded Months 217 XX. Israel Prepares
225 BOOK THREE The New State XXI. Ben-Gurion Weizmann 241 XXII.
Sharett et al.-Natural Leaders 259 XXIII. Isaiah Fulfilled The
Ingathering of the Exiles 273 XXIV. The Future 282 Index 299
Preface For as much as many have taken in hand to draw up a narra
tive concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,
even as they delivered them unto us who from the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers of the word y it seemed good to me also
. . . to write. LUKE 1 1-3 THIS is a personal book a personal
report on my experience and impressions during more than two years
as the first United States Ambassador to the new State of Israel.
The opinionsexpressed are wholly mine no one else has any
responsibility for them. I have tried to avoid thrashing out old
straw from which so many writers have gleaned rich harvests. Thus I
have re frained from retelling the stories of Israels heroic
defense, its improvisation of Army, Navy and Air Force, the
miracles of transforming deserts into orchards, the spectacular
change of the physical face of the land, the beauty of mountain,
valley and sea, the rise of communal settlements and of socialized
industry. Only the highest literary artistry could advantage ously
weave new variations on these well-known themes. I have discreetly
avoided them. Whether I have been discreet and helpful in the
dissemina tion of knowledge is for the reader to judge. Many who
have occupied public office have written books. At what point such
writers use of knowledge gained in official position constitutes an
indiscretion, an impropriety or worse is often a moot ques tion.
For my part I have included only such information as will, in my
opinion, be of assistance to our government and people in their
dealings with our many complex relations in the Middle East. In
those frequent cases where our national interest could Xii MY
MISSION IN ISRAEL not be injured, and where public understanding
would be increased, I have not hesitated to utilize knowledge
gained, from either official or unofficial sources. I have felt
justified in using official documents which, though classified as
confi dential or even secret, when issued, have since been declassi
fied in fact by the passage of time. My personal diary dictated
almost daily to my secretary or to my daughter from the time of the
Presidents call to duty until my resignationhas been drawn upon
frequently to document my recollections of major events. Occasional
extracts from the diary are used to give a more vivid impression of
the drama in which I played a role. These quotations though not
originally intended for publication are given, except for typo
graphical corrections, as they were written. My estimates of
individuals are personal and are based almost exclusively on my own
experience with them...
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