ROOSEVELT, Franklin D (1882-1945). Typed letter signed ("Franklin D Roosevelt") as President to Mr. Edward J. Flynn, Washington, 9 April 1943.

One page, 175 x 222mm., bifolium, on White House letterhead with a blank integral leaf (typical mailing folds just grazing signature).

President Roosevelt denies a request to endorse a proposed fund to resettle refugees in Palestine, adding instead that "this Government has been and is actually now taking every possible step to find a safe and proper refuge for these refugees." Roosevelt responds to a letter from 25 March 1943, which forwarded a memorandum from Bernard A. Rosenblatt, President of the Palestine Foundation Fund. Rosenblatt, then proposing a campaign to raise funds in Great Britain for the settlement of refugees in Palestine, requests a statement of support from Roosevelt. While voicing the Government's support for providing "a safe and proper" refuge for all refugees, the President refuses to provide a statement, citing: "I think you will agree that it would appear inadvisable for me to make the statement requested in view of the military situation in the Near East".

A life-long Zionist, Bernard A. Rosenblatt (1886-1969) served as founder and first president of the American Zion Commonwealth in 1915, a land development firm dedicated to facilitating Jewish settlement in Palestine. Later, he was the first American to be appointed to the World Zionist Executive in 1921, and served as Vice President of the Zionist Organization of America from 1927 to 1948.