The Impossible Takes Longer

If Franklin D. Roosevelt will have it his way, he will "do nothing to assist the Jews against the Arabs and would make no move hostile to the Arab people." This promise of the American President to King Abdulaziz of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy in Egypt's Great Bitter Lake was even made in writing on April 5, 1945. However, a week later, Roosevelt died with cerebral hemorrhage and Vice President Harry S. Truman succeeded as President. This milestone would greatly change the course of American policy on the partition of Palestine which facilitated the creation of the State of Israel.

Vera Weizmann, widow of the first President of Israel, in her memoirs "The Impossible Takes Longer" opined that President Harry Truman will always be remembered as one of our 'founding fathers'.

Before the drama over partition was played to a finish in the General Assembly of the U.N., Chaim, who suspected that the French delegation was wavering in its support, cabled our old friend Leon Blum, asking him, 'Does France really wish to be absent from a moment unfading in the memory of man?' On 29 November, when the vote was taken in the Assembly, thirty-three nations voted for partition, thirteen against, ten abstained, and there was one absentee, the last somewhat unaccountably, being Siam. Among those who abstained was the United Kingdom. France, the United States, and the U.S.S.R. were among those who voted in favour. It was a rare spectacle, rarely repeated, to see the two great rival powers, the Unites States of America and Russia, voting together, for motives, of course, which were entirely different. I promptly left the Assembly room to be the first to inform my husband of the decision.

Chaim had decided not to attend this fateful meeting of the U.N. Assembly. He was too tired and too overwrought. Just before the Jewish Agency repressentatives, Sharett, Sprinzak, and Shazar, left our suite in our New York hotel for Lake Sucess, Chaim had broken down in a fit of uncontrollable sobbing. By the time they returned with the great news, he had recovered completely. The emotional storm which had swept through him so unexpectedly had spent itself in the moment of victory which he himself shared.

The news of the UN resolution spread like wildfire throughout New York, and tens of thousands gathered spontaneously at the St. Nicholas Skating Rink, the only place avaiable for assembly at a few hours' notice. Chaim was prevailed upon by his friends to go to this meeting, and when he finally arrived, tired, sick and exhausted, he was carried forward on the shoulders of the masses. There had never been such pandemomonium, such enthusiasm and exhilaration as that moment when Chaim made his appearance on the shoulders of the surging crowd. The Hatikvah was sung with a fervour never before or since repeated.


Vera Weizmann. The Impossible Takes Longer. 1967. (pp 220-221)

Reluctant Midwife

Filipinim is synonymous to caregiver in Israel. For the past decade the Filipino OFWs in Israel, majority of whom are metapelets, sets the tone for the Philippine-Israel relations which is commemorating its Golden Year since the establishment of their respective embassies in August of 1957. But even a decade before that, the Philippines is already in her element - reluctantly midwifing the birth of Israel.

Abba Eban, a liaison officer then to the UN Special Committee on Palestine, in his Autobiography, gives us a glimpse of that day in November 29, 1947, where he successfully attained approval for the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab segments. Also, an interesting footnote on Carlos P. Romulo to once and for all douse our much touted tie-breaker role in the historic vote. He wrote:

When the General Assembly came together on November 27, we were plunged into gloom. There was every reason to fear that if the vote was taken, we would fall short of the two-thirds majority. The day before, the odds had seemed to be in our favor. But at precisely that moment the French delegate, Alexandre Parodi, had called for a postponement of the session. In the twenty-four hours since then, we had lost ground. The representative of Uruguay, Professor Rodriguez Fabregat, embarked on a long discourse that could not uncharitably be regarded as a filibuster. As the minutes ticked away, all hope seemed to be receding. It was then that the chairman, Ambassador Aranha, revived our hopes. He discovered that the hour was late, that the decision to be made was important and that the following day was an American national holiday, Thanksgiving Day. With a firm hand, oblivious of Arab protest, he adjourned the session. It was clear we would know our fate on November 29, and that November 28 would be a day of unremitting toil...

(Forward to November 29)

...I made for the United Nations General Assembly headquarters, which was in ferment of tension. Newspapermen, television and radio correspondents from all over the world were concentrated in the lobbies, while the delegates’ seats and visitor’s gallery were crowded as they had never been before The United Nations was facing a momentous opportunity at a very early stage of its career. On the podium, pale and solemn were the President of the Assembly, Oswaldo Aranha, Trygve Lie and the equally well nourished Assistant Secretary-General Andrew Cordier. Aranha called the meeting to order and invited the representative of Iceland to the rostrum. Thors, to my relief, was magnificent. He stated with firm conviction that despite every examination or all avenues, he and his committee were convinced that an agreement in advance was impossible. The only hope of conciliation lay in an act of judgment and decision. If the world community was firm in support of partition, then partition would come into existence and those who opposed it now would have no course but to acquiesce.

From that moment on, the debate went inexorably our way. An attempt by Chamoun to secure a postponement in order to discuss the federal proposal was firmly ruled out of order by Aranha and opposed with impressive unity by Gromyko and Hershel Johnson. By this time the United States and the Soviet Union were becoming irritated by the delaying tactics imposed on the General Assembly by the Arab and the British delegations. Here, for the first time since the end of the war, two Great Powers were reaching agreement on a major international issue, and countries of lesser responsibility were preventing their accord from coming into effect. General Carlos Romulo of the Philippines, who had spoken against partition two days before, had now disappeared, and a new Filipino delegate spoke as ardently for the partition plan as Romulo had spoken against. Liberia also had swung around in our favor. To my relief, my own “clients” – the Benelux countries – now recorded their firm intention to support the partition plan. There was still the fear that a French abstention might upset this prospect.

Finally the speechmaking came to an end, and a solemn hush descended on the hall. Aranha announced his intention to call for a vote in alphabetical order. Some of us who were present still retain a memory of the tone in which Cordier recited the votes. “Argentina?” “Abstain.” “Afghanistan?” “No.” “Australia?” “Yes.” “Belgium?” “Yes.” “Bolivia?” “Yes.” “Byelorussia?” “Yes.” And so it went on. When France loudly said “Oui,” there was an outbreak of applause in the hall, which Aranha sternly suppressed. By the time we had gone half way through the alphabet, we knew that we were safely home. Finally, after the announcement of Yugoslavia’s “abstention,” we heard the historic words: “Thirty three in favor, thirteen against, ten abstentions, one absent. The resolution is adopted.”...

Excerpts From: Abba Eban, An Autobiography, pages 97-99

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This November will mark 60 years since the famous and fateful UN partition vote that paved the way for Israel's creation. The Knesset plans to reenact the vote with fanfare.

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