Now here's a story I've never heard before, which shows, in my not so humble opinion, just how much God was behind the establishment of the State of Israel.
In August 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) surprisingly recommended ending the British Mandate for Palestine, and partitioning the country into two states: A Jewish state and an Arab state. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Of course, the Arabs rejected the partition, and when the resolution passed (Resolution 181) on November 29, 1947 they started a war against the Jewish community, which intensified when Britain withdrew on May 15, 1948, and Israel declared its independence.
But UNSCOP was supposed to be very pro-Arab and very anti-Israel. The last thing it was expected to recommend was the establishment of a Jewish state. So how did it happen? Through a combination of Arab intransigence (again, sounds familiar doesn't it?) and Jewish ingenuity (that sounds familiar too).
The Arabs threatened all of their people with death if they spoke to UNSCOP, while the US and Britain wished to maintain an appearance of neutrality, and therefore were not represented on it. That left room for the Haganah's intelligence agency (now the Mossad) to go to work. But the story sounds like something straight out of Salah Shabbati, complete with a very funny coincidence with cows crossing the road (yes, I'm going to give it to you). The real story is coming out now as UNSCOP documents are being declassified and a book about UNSCOP's role is being written by Elad Ben Dror.
The committee consisted of 11 members who arrived in Palestine on June 15, 1947. Because the U.S. and Britain wished to maintain the appearance of neutrality, no international powers were represented in the delegation. The Palestinians believed a deal to establish a Jewish state had already been made behind closed doors and so ordered a complete boycott of committee proceedings. Palestinians were warned against making any contact whatsoever with Unscop, and Arab journalists were forbidden to cover their visit. Out of fear of appearing to support one side over the other, the British, too, avoided contact with the committee. In the vacuum created by the Arabs and the British, Zionist diplomats and spies were able to work unencumbered on the Unscop members. The Jewish Agency (the representative body of the Jewish community in the British Mandate) appointed a former British intelligence officer, Aubrey (Abba) Eban, to serve as a liaison with Unscop. Eban focused his energies on two Latin American members, from Guatemala and Uruguay, who became increasingly pro-Zionist as the committee’s investigation proceeded, providing Eban with inside information on specific members and their deliberations.
Alongside Eban, the entire intelligence service of the Jewish underground organization Haganah was put to work monitoring Unscop members. Microphones were placed in hotel and conference rooms. All phone conversations were tapped. The cleaning staff in the building in Jerusalem where the committee held daily hearings was replaced by female agents who reported back each day on its activities. The tactic did not go unnoticed. A member of the Swedish delegation complained that the women on the cleaning staff were “too pretty and educated. They are the eyes and ears of the Zionist leaders, who come to hearings with replies prepared in advance.” The committee’s chairman, Emil Sandstrom, also suspected the Guatemalan member of leaking information to Eban. “I don’t know that he took their money,” Sandstrom commented, “but he certainly took their girls.” At the end of each day, intelligence was collated and circulated to the heads of the Jewish community under the code name Delphi Report, which bore the inscription “Read and destroy!”
The Haganah also gathered personal information on each member, in an effort to discover his particular areas of interest and vulnerabilities. On many of the field trips that committee members took, efforts were made to ensure that they serendipitously encountered someone who spoke their language or shared a common interest. N. S. Blom, a former Dutch official in Indonesia, arrived in Palestine with a pro-Arab agenda, but during his stay he found himself in frequent impromptu meetings with immigrants from the Netherlands, who pressed a different perspective upon him. On one occasion, while traveling in his official vehicle, he came across two farmers herding dairy cows across the road. When Blom got out of the car he discovered that, amazingly, the two farmers were immigrants from the Netherlands. Even more important, their cows were also of Dutch stock! In his otherwise dry reports to the Dutch Foreign Ministry, a welling up of national pride over the contribution of Dutch dairy farming to agriculture in the Holy Land stands out.
Wherever they went in Arab centers of population, committee members encountered empty streets and Palestinian Arabs fleeing restaurants in fear for their lives. Their experience in Jewish areas was quite different. In Tel Aviv, the day Unscop visited was declared a public holiday. The streets were decorated with flags, and friendly crowds surrounded the members wherever they went. The mayor of Tel Aviv welcomed them warmly, and at the end of a meeting at City Hall, the members were invited to step out on the balcony, at which point the crowd below broke into the Jewish anthem, “Hatikvah.”
Even the Iranian delegate, Nasrollah Entezam, initially viewed by the Jewish Agency as a die-hard opponent of Zionism, turned into a supporter of sorts. During a visit to an agricultural settlement in the Negev, Entezam’s Jewish liaison officer (who was a Persian-speaking Haganah agent) overheard him telling a colleague: “What asses the Arabs are! The country is so beautiful, and it can be developed. If they gave it all to the Jews, they would transform it into Europe!”
By contrast, committee members were dismayed by what they saw of British rule in Palestine. The U.N. secretary general’s main representative on the committee, the American Ralph Bunche, wrote of “daily bombings, shootings, kidnappings, sirens, security checks.” Some members traveled to the port city Haifa, where they witnessed 4,500 Holocaust refugees being taken off the famous ship Exodus and transferred to another vessel that would take them back to Europe. The Swede Sandstrom was particularly affected by the experience. “Without this evidence, our investigation would not have been complete,” he wrote in one of the classified documents located by Ben-Dror.
This is a 15 minute film about a new perspective for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians based on the discovery of the formerly classified minutes from the San Remo peace conference of April, 1920. This long hidden document explains the legal rights of the Jews as well as the Palestinians. By returning to the negotiating table and respecting historical facts and international law the film believes there can be real peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Ayalon reacts to 'Palestinian' condemnation of his video
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon has issued the following statement in response to 'Palestinian' reaction to his video telling the truth about the 'West Bank.'
Today (Monday, 25th July 2011), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon reacted to condemnation by the Palestinian Authority over his video titled 'The Truth About the West Bank'. The Palestinian Authority released an official press release claiming that the video was a "cynical and falsified account of history and international law". Chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erakat demanded an official explanation for the video.
Deputy Minister Ayalon said that the video is clearly worrying the Palestinians as it challenges their narrative. "For too long the Palestinian narrative of international law and rights has gone unchallenged and this over the top reaction to a public diplomacy video proves that they are acting like spoilt children who have had their way for too long," Ayalon said. "They are unable to challenge a single fact in the video and have completely avoided a legitimate and honest discussion on the issues."
In the press release, Erekat claims that Israel was accepted to the United Nations on the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution 181. "This false claims shows that Erekat misconstrues international law and its system proving exactly how misguided the Palestinian attempt to have their unilaterally declared state recognized at the United Nations really is. Israel was admitted as a full United Nations member in 1949 by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 273, after a recommendation by the Security Council, because it met all the criteria of statehood, something the Palestinians should bear in mind before they further their confrontational and damaging plan towards September."
"I challenge any of the Palestinian Authority political leadership to a debate on all the issues ahead of September."
The video itself has now reached more than 100,000 views worldwide, including in the Arab world and has been featured on Al Jazeera. There are plans to translate the video into more languages, including Persian. Ayalon said that the reaction to the video has been extremely positive. "I now realize that there has been such a thirst for the truth, not just amongst Israel supporters but also amongst the undecided, and its success has prompted me to think of doing a lot more in this area," Ayalon said.
Sometimes the Arabs are so good at lying that they can no longer tell the difference between lies and the truth. Take, for example, this piece by Ali Halimeh, the 'Palestinian ambassador' to South Africa in Maan (Hat Tip: Eliana).
The two-state solution on the land of Palestine was the first international initiative to end the Arab-Zionist conflict, by voting in the General Assembly of the United Nations on the partition resolution No. 181, on 29 November 1947, without consulting or even notifying the Palestinians or the Arab world.
This led the international community to announce, a few months later, the establishment of Israel in May 1948. This gave Israel the right of statehood through full membership of international organizations, especially the United Nations, leaving the Palestinian people looking for their own state ever since.
Forget for a minute that the 1947 partition plan was not the 'first international initiative' to end the 'Arab-Zionist conflict.' Halimeh never heard of the Peel Commission, for example. But the idea that the 'Palestinians' (a name that then was used for the Jews!) or the Arab world were not consulted or notified of Resolution 181 is comical. And the way he glosses over how Israel became a member of the United Nations (no, it wasn't because of Resolution 181) is a total lie. Here's what really happened.
We've all heard the famous tape of the roll being called at the UN with the US and the Russians both voting yes while the Jew-hating Brits (not my British readers - the British government) vote no. Isn't that what gave the UN stamp of approval to the Jewish state?
No, it's not. And if you look below Marzouk's bunch of lies, you'll find a piece by John Bolton (at the same URL) that decimates the General Assembly argument.
Some, however, argue that there is precedent, citing General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, which endorsed a plan to partition the former British League of Nations mandate into Jewish and Arab states, and a "special international regime" for Jerusalem. They should read what the resolution actually says. Like all assembly resolutions, it is not legally binding. It simply "recommends" the partition plan in question, and "requests that the Security Council take the necessary measures" to implement it. The council never adopted the plan. Although the Jewish leadership accepted it, the Arabs did not, and a multi-front Arab assault followed. End of precedent.
On March 4, 1949, the Security Council adopted Resolution 69, recommending that Israel be admitted to the United Nations, by a vote of 9-1 (Egypt) with 1 abstention (the Brits). And on May 11, 1949, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 273(III), voting 37-12 with 9 abstentions to accept the Security Council recommendation and admit Israel as a member.
Yes, Israel was admitted to the UN just like everyone else, and not the way the 'Palestinians' are proposing to be admitted.
Halimeh is telling a lie in a bid to rewrite the manner in which nations are admitted to the United Nations. This sort of revisionist history needs to be stopped at every turn.
The 'Palestinians' are willing to pursue a reichlet in every way possible except for negotiations. Over the weekend, 'Palestinian' 'negotiator' Nabil Sha'ath threatened that if the US vetoes the 'Palestinian' bid for 'statehood' in the Security Council, the 'Palestinians' will seek the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 181.
Sha’ath’s remarks were published by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper.
He said there was much the Palestinians could do after Washington vetoes the statehood bid at the UN.
“We have a lot to do, but we won’t reveal our steps now,” he added. “We won’t give the Israelis a chance to confront us at the UN.” But he said that one of the ideas being discussed was “going back to UN Resolution 181.”
He said the Partition Plan called for the establishment of two states, “but Israel announced its independence unilaterally and was recognized by the UN.” He noted that Kosovo did the same in spite of Serbia’s opposition.
“Even if the US uses the veto, there will be 131 UN members that recognize Palestine,” he said. “The US then won’t be able to stop these countries from treating us as a state.”
Isn't it amazing how the 'Palestinians' think they can go back 64 years to adopt a solution that the Arab countries rejected at the time? They remind me of children in the playground who insist on having 'do overs' every time they lose a game. At what point will the World reject this childish behavior? Unfortunately, the answer is probably 'never' because it would mean admitting that the Jews are right.
And by the way, 131 UN members don't matter. Membership in the UN cannot be conferred without Security Council approval.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
Now here's a story I've never heard before, which shows, in my not so humble opinion, just how much God was behind the establishment of the State of Israel.
