November 29, 1947…
Every year Israel’s leaders praise the greatness of this date. It was on this date the United Nations passed General Assembly Resolution 181, calling for the partition of Palestine.
To borrow U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s description of the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, let’s call November 29, 1947 "a date which will live in infamy, or we can just call it the "Jewish People’s Nakba.
So, you ask, "What’s so tragic about this day? After all, didn’t the UN resolution establish of the Jewish State?"
Au contraire, the resolution was a violation the Jewish People’s legal rights, it gave false legitimacy to a second Arab country on Jewish National territory, and was a serious violation of international law.
At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, when deciding what to do with the former Ottoman- Turkish territories in the Middle East, the victorious Principal Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan) decided to give Palestine to the Jewish People. It was also decided to give the Arabs the Lion’s share of the Middle East.
Their decision was based on the idea of finding the indigenous peoples from the former empire and setting up smaller, legitimate, democratic countries. The decision to give Palestine to the Jews was reached with the signed approval of the Arab delegation. It was based on the December 2, 1917 British foreign policy statement known as the Balfour declaration, which supported granting Palestine to the Jews.
In April 1920, it was decided to put this newly established Jewish country called Palestine under the "big brother Mandates System. Under this system, larger already existing countries would stay in these new countries and help set up the new countries while maintaining the peace.
By the time of the April 1920 San Remo Conference, the borders of the three Middle East Mandates [Mesopotamia (Iraq), Syria (Syria and Lebanon), and Palestine (Israel), were already decided. However, it would later be up to the British and the French to draw the maps. These borders are still the legal borders today. Included in the borders of the Jewish country called Palestine is all Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and Judea and Samaria (what the Jordanians called the West Bank).
The allies, recognizing "the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country, appointed the British with the task of "putting into effect the creation of the Jewish State as outlined in the Mandate for Palestine.
For example, Article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine recognizes the right of Jews to settle all the Mandated territory, and Article 5 prohibits altering the borders.
The Mandate for Palestine was not created by the League of Nations as most people believe. It was created by the victorious allies who held the former Turkish territories. The League of Nations had no legal right to create the Mandates. However, the Mandates were part of the founding charter of the League of Nations (Article 22) and the United Nations Charter (Article 80).
This history and law is important when we consider the significance of the UN partition Plan. The International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that the Mandates are law, and that the United Nations has no authority to alter them. Therefore, any resolution calling to divide Palestine into two countries violates the Mandate and Article 80 of the United Nations Charter and is therefore illegal.
Resolution 181 could not have any legal effect on Israel’s establishment or its borders. A contract or agreement is only valid or binding if there is offer and acceptance. The UN Partition was rejected by the Arabs and conditionally accepted by the Jewish Agency. The Jewish Agency’s condition was that the resolution must be accepted by the Arabs. Since there was no acceptance, there was no legally binding contract or agreement.
The UN Partition Plan did not establish the Jewish State. The Jewish State had already been established under international law on April 25, 1920. It was on that date that legal title to Palestine was given to the Jewish People by the inter-allied agreement of the victorious allies who were the only ones who could make such a decision. Nothing has or can change that decision. I cannot sell you my home, and come back twenty-five years later and say, "I’ve changed my mind, I’m transferring the title to Bob."
The world’s belief that the UN Partition Plan has any legal standing, defines Israel’s right to exist, or determines that Arabs have a right to a separate country in Palestine, is a deception and is Israel’s version of the Nakba.
This year, when our leaders stand up to celebrate the U.N Partition Plan, everyone should ask, "How can you celebrate the event that, for 63 years has challenged Jewish legal sovereignty to our homeland?"
Mark Kaplan is the director of the Office for Israeli Constitutional Law. Kaplan is a former news anchor/producer for Israel National News TV (Arutz Sheva). Visit the OFICL Website at www.JusticeNow4israel.com
mkaplan@JusticeNow4israel.com
