<--PREV Doc #55  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #57 Document #56; March 2, 1957 To David Ben Gurion Series: EM, AWF, International Series: Israel ; Category: Cable. Confidential The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVIII - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part I: A New Beginning, Old Problems; January 1957 to May 1957 Chapter 1: The Mideast and the Eisenhower Doctrine   My dear Mr. Prime Minister: I was indeed deeply gratified at the decision of your Government to withdraw promptly and fully behind the Armistice lines as set out by your Foreign Minister in her address of yesterday to the General Assembly.1 I venture to express the hope that the carrying out of these withdrawals will go forward with the utmost speed. I know that this decision was not an easy one.2 I believe, however, that Israel will have no cause to regret having thus conformed to the strong sentiment of the world community as expressed in the various United Nations Resolutions relating to withdrawal. It has always been the view of this Government that after the withdrawal there should be a united effort by all of the nations to bring about conditions in the area more stable, more tranquil, and more conducive to the general welfare than those which existed heretofore. Already the United Nations General Assembly has adopted Resolutions which presage such a better future. Hopes and expectations based thereon were voiced by your Foreign Minister and others. I believe that it is reasonable to entertain such hopes and expectations and I want you to know that the United States, as a friend of all the countries of the area and as a loyal member of the United Nations, will seek that such hopes prove not to be vain.3 I am, my dear Mr. Prime Minister, Sincerely 1 On March 1, during the 666th plenary meeting of the General Assembly, Israel's Foreign Minister Golda Meir had announced the withdrawal. See no. 54 for background. 2 Prime Minister Ben Gurion had called Meir less than three hours before the scheduled announcement, asking for a delay because of the delicate situation. According to Israeli officials, Meir told Ben Gurion that his proposal, which had been motivated by internal political pressures, "was just not in the cards" (State, Foreign Relations, 1955 - 1957, vol. XVII, Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1957, p. 337; see also Alteras, Eisenhower and Israel, pp. 273 - 81). 3 For developments see no. 72.   Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. Cable. Confidential To David Ben Gurion, 2 March 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 56. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/56.cfm <--PREV Doc #55  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #57

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