Harry Truman Administration: Statement Concerning the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry (Palestine Commission)

The Composition of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry which was announced in Washington and London on November 13, and which will operate under a rotating chairmanship will be as follows:

Joseph C. Hutcheson, Judge of the Fifth Circuit Court at Houston, Texas (American Chairman).

Sir John E. Singleton, Judge of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, London (British Chairman).

Frank Aydelotte, formerly President of Swarthmore College, now Director of the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton, and American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust.

Frank W. Burton, Editor of the Boston Herald.

Wilfred P. Crick, Economic Adviser to the Midland Bank, London, formerly with Ministry of Food.

Richard H. S. Crossman, Member of Parliament (Labour); formerly Fellow and Tutor of New College, Oxford, assistant editor of New Statesman and Nation, and Deputy Director of Psychological Warfare, A.F.H.Q., Algiers.

Q. Max Gardner, former Governor of North Carolina, now practicing law in Washington.

Sir Frederick Leggett, until recently Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and National Services.

Major Reginald E. Manningham-Buller, Member of Parliament (Conservative), a barrister.

James G. McDonald, formerly Chairman of the Board, Foreign Policy Association, High Commissioner for Refugees, and member of the editorial staff of the New York Times.

Lord Morrison (Robert Craigmyle, Baron Morrison), Member of Parliament (Labour).

William Phillips, formerly Under Secretary of State, Ambassador to Italy, personal representative of the President with the rank of Ambassador at New Delhi, and Delegate to the London Naval Conference, 1935.

As announced by the two Governments on November 13, 1945, the terms of reference of the Committee will be as follows:

1. To examine political, economic and social conditions in Palestine as they bear upon the problem of Jewish immigration and settlement therein and the well-being of the peoples now living therein.

2. To examine the position of the Jews in those countries in Europe where they have been the victims of Nazi and Fascist persecution, and the practical measures taken or contemplated to be taken in those countries to enable them to live free from discrimination and oppression and to make estimates of those who wish or will be impelled by their conditions to migrate to Palestine or other countries outside Europe.

3. To hear the views of competent witnesses and to consult representative Arabs and Jews on the problems of Palestine as such problems are affected by conditions subject to examination under paragraphs 1 and 2 above and by other relevant facts and circumstances, and to make recommendations to His Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States for ad interim handling of these problems as well as for their permanent solution.

4. To make such other recommendations to His Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States as may be necessary to meet the immediate needs arising from conditions subject to examination under paragraph 2 above, by remedial action in the European countries in question or by the provision of facilities for emigration to and settlement in countries outside Europe.

The Governments of the United States and Great Britain urge on the Committee the need for the utmost expedition in dealing with the subjects committed to it for investigation and request that they may be furnished with its report within 120 days of the inception of the inquiry.

The procedure of the Committee will be determined by the Committee itself, and it will be open to it, if it thinks fit, to deal simultaneously through the medium of sub-committees with its various terms of reference.

Sources: Public Papers of the President