This BlogBurst piece is cross-posted by participating websites, to commemorate a milestone in Israel's history. The list of the participating sites is appended at the end of this post. TOH to Israpundit for organizing it all and providing us with this introduction:
Today is the anniversary of the UN vote on resolution 181, which approved the partition of the western part Palestine into a predominately Jewish state and a predominately Arab state. (It is vital to recall that the UN partition plan referred to western Palestine, to underscore that in 1921 the eastern part was ripped off the Jewish National Home by the British Government and handed over to the then Emir Abdullah.)
The partition plan was approved by 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions.
The 33 countries that cast the “Yes” vote were: Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Byelorussia, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, Union of South Africa, USSR, USA, Uruguay, Venezuela. (Among other countries, the list includes the US, the three British Dominions, all the European countries except for Greece and the UK, but including all the Soviet-block countries.)
The 13 countries that chose the Hall of Shame and voted “No” were: Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen. (Ten of these are Moslem countries; Greece has the special distinction of being the only European country to have joined the Hall of Shame.)
The ten countries that abstained are: Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.
To all this I say:
Conventional wisdom holds that UN General Assembly Resolution 181 was instrumental in the formation of the State of Israel. Indeed, at the time of the resolution, there was much rejoicing among Jews worldwide, as the resolution was perceived to have given legitimacy to the Zionist enterprise. To this day, some assert that the UN "created" Israel and therefore has the power to take back what it once gave.
As it turned out, the resolution was nothing but an empty gesture to the Jewish people and has mostly done a disservice to Israel and indeed to the entire region. It gives the UN a dubious legacy, and it is time to reassess its actual meaning. Israel owes the United Nations nothing but contempt.
Here's why:
The UN did not create Israel
From a legal point of view, UN GA resolution 181 did not have the authority of international law; it merely expressed the political opinion of a majority of the General Assembly at that time. It did give a number of member states a pretext to recognize Israel as an independent state, but such recognition was often made on a de facto rather than a de jure basis, anyway. And even for those states that needed such a pretext, the League of Nations mandate was, and is, still in force and provides plenty of legal basis for recognizing Israel as the realization of the need for a Jewish homeland.
It is also questionable to lend legitimacy to a plan that only one side of the issue agrees to (and with great reluctance). The Arab states rejected the plan outright, and Great Britain abstained from voting on the issue.
From a practical point of view, the UN did nothing to assert, and far less enforce the resolution. Israel was left to defend itself from invasions from all its borders, and Jerusalem - designated as UN territory - came under siege.
In fact, the Jewish Agency vowed that Israel would declare its independence when the UK abandoned its mandate whether or not the UN supported a formation of the state.
As it turned out, Israel was created by the will and determination of its citizens, who sacrificed their lives and risked everything to defend their newly asserted sovereignty. It is a country built the old-fashioned way: through wars of independence.
In the long run, Israel (and the Palestinians) would have been better off without the resolution
Great Britain had already announced its intention to (illegally) abandon the mandate when the resolution about the UNSCOP partition plan came to a vote in the General Assembly. If the plan had been rejected by the assembly, the mandate still would have been terminated, and Israel would have declared its independence. There is no reason to believe the war would have turned out any differently.
Israel would have had to work harder to obtain de facto and certainly de jure recognition, but in diplomacy realism always prevails over principle. But without the illusion of UN "charity," Israel would have had a stronger basis to insist on full inclusion in international affairs.
UNSCOP and GA members also ignored the force of pan-Arab nationalism in its recommendations and has neglected the issue ever since. If the resolution had failed, the UN in general and the victorious Allied states in particular would have had to confront this movement sooner and more realistically. The resolution fed Arab nationalist perceptions of colonialism, creating the canard that Israel is an imperialist agent that should be opposed by the entire "non-aligned" bloc within the UN.
UN legitimacy has become a cruel paradox.
In virtually every action since 1947, the UN has sought to deny Israel the sovereignty every other member state takes for granted. In each of the Arab-Israeli wars, the Security Council has done nothing when fighting was going against Israel; only to act swiftly when it looked like Israel would be too successful. Israel is the only member state that is not eligible to serve on the Security Council and is subject to more condemnation than any other government on this planet.
As it is, the legacy of resolution 181 reflects the shortcomings of the UN itself. Resolution 181 was well-intended, idealistic, and hopeful. But it has become the stuff of cynicism and political opportunism.
List of participating sites, in alphabetical order of site name
(Chances are that some will disagree and others will agree with me - I take no responsibility for their opinions, just as I don't expect them to take responsibility for mine).
Anti Idiotarian Rottweiler
Arkansas Bushwacker
Armies Of Liberation
Bama Pachyderm
Biurchametz
Blimpish
Blithered
Blog Willy
Blue Rev
Canadian Comment
Cao's Blog
Catholic Friends of Israel
Christian Patriot
Christian Action for Israel
Clarity and Resolve
Crusader War College
Cuanas
Danegerus
Daniel Davis
Flig
Harald Tribune
Heretics Almanac
Hidden Nook
History Nerd
Ice Viking
I Love America
Instant Knowledge News
Israpundit
JPundit
Jersusalem Posts
Leaning Right News
Lindasog
Live Journal
MCNS
Martinipundit
Mererhetoric
Motnews
Mugged By Reality
Mystical Paths
Naebunny
NetWMD
Nice Jewish Boy
Peaktalk
Protect Our Heritage
Reaganesque
Red Tigress
Riteturnonly
Shimshon9
Solomonia
Spitball Defense
Supernatural
Tampa Bay Primer
Techie Vampire
Texasbug
Tex The Pontificator
The Autism homepage
The Conservative
The Seal Club
Wackingday
Who's Your Rabbi
Voxfelisi
Weblog of a Wandering Jew
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