Thread by @TodayIsrael

November 29, 1947: UN Partition of Palestine - the birth of the Jewish State.

THREAD

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#TheBigOne
@DannyAyalon @IsraeliPM @PresidentRuvi @dannydanon

1/ Throughout the 1940s in British Mandatory Palestine, tensions were high. After the war, the Jewish militias launched full-throated attacks against the British to get them to evacuate Palestine. The Jews were ready for a state of their own.

2/ In 1946, the lesser known Morrison-Grady partition plan was proposed by the British, which proposed British trusteeship over two autonomous regions of Palestine - one for the Jews, one for the Arabs. This plan was promptly panned.

3/ In October 1946, Pres Truman made his Yom Kippur Statement, in which he proposed "a viable Jewish State in an adequate area of Palestine." This was a good step forward.

4/ By January 22, 1947, as tensions in Palestine reached a fevered pitch, the British announced that they would be turning the territory of Palestine over to the @UnitedNationsGH. They had had enough. In February 1947, the British referred the future of Palestine to the UN.

5/ On September 3, 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) visited Palestine, and witnessed the arrival of the illegal immigrant ship Exodus, as well as a terror attack perpetrated by a Jewish militant group. They saw firsthand the tense situation.

6/ The UNSCOP subsequently delivered its report, recommending the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab States. The @JewishAgency endorsed the recommendation, however it was refused by the Arabs. It would go to a vote at the @UnitedNationsGH.

7/ On November 29, 1947, the stage was set. Jewish diplomats from the yishuv in Palestine had been working overtime to ensure that they had the votes on the floor in favour of partitition. The vote was called.

8/ 56 countries would be voting. One by one, they cast their votes.

9/ As the last country voted, the numbers were: 13 against, 10 abstentions, and 33 in favour. Resolution 181, the partition resolution, had passed. A Jewish State would be created with all the backing of international law and organizations.

https://twitter.com/Israel/status/1200342539364114433?s=20

10/ As the announcement of the vote was heard over the radio in Palestine, cheers erupted on the streets. The world had said that the Jews could have a state of their own. The yishuv was elated, and they celebrated. A video of the vote can be seen here:

https://twitter.com/dannydanon/status/1200457496365846529?s=20

11/ After nearly 2,000 years, the Jewish State would be rebuilt. It would not be an easy task though - almost immediately, Arab forces turned their sights on what would soon be Israel. They would not let the Jews establish their own state without a fight.

12/ The War of Independence instantly began that night, with Palestinian Arabs going on the offensive. Over the next few months, both sides would mobilize to their full extent.

13/ Just 6 months later, on May 14, 1948, as the British formally left Palestine, David Ben Gurion arose in a museum in Tel Aviv and read Israel's Declaration of Independence. A state had been reborn on its people's promised land. History would never be the same.

14/ Lots of great reading on this momentous achievement, but we always suggest as a start @DanielGordis "Israel: A Concise History"

amazon.ca/Israel-Concise…

15/ Also, @Martin_Kramer has an excellent article called "Why the 1947 UN Partition Resolution Must be Celebrated"

mosaicmagazine.com/response/israe…

16/ Notably, in his diary at the First Zionist Congress in 1897,#Herzl noted that a Jewish State may very well be created within 50 years. Indeed, just 50 years and 3 months later, Herzl's vision became a reality.

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