The Myth of the U.N. Creation of Israel

8/11/2019 The Myth of the U.N. Creation of Israel

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The Myth of the U.N. Creation of Israel

Foreign Policy Journal

The map of Palestine from 1947 National Geographic

by Jeremy R. Hammond | October 26, 2010

This essay is available for download in !" format at the a#thor$s website.

There is a widely accepted belief that United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181

created Israel based upon an understandin! that this resolution partitioned "alestine or

otherwise conferred le!al authority or le!itimacy to the declaration of the e#istence of the state

of Israel$ %owe&er despite its popularity this belief has no basis in fact as a re&iew of the
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resolution's history and e#amination of le!al principles demonstrates incontro&ertibly$

Great (ritain had occupied "alestine durin! the

)irst *orld *ar and in +uly 1,-- the .ea!ue of

Nations issued its mandate for "alestine which

reco!ni/ed the (ritish !o&ernment as the

occupyin! power and effecti&ely conferred to itthe color of le!al authority to temporarily

administrate the territory$01 2n April - 1,34

see5in! to e#tract itself from the conflict that had

arisen in "alestine between +ews and Arabs as a

result of the 6ionist mo&ement to establish in

"alestine a national home for the +ewish people

0- the United 7in!dom submitted a letter to the U$N$ reuestin! the 9ecretary General to

place the uestion of "alestine on the A!enda of the General Assembly at its ne#t re!ular

Annual 9ession and reuestin! the Assembly to ma5e recommendations under Article 1: of

the ;harter concernin! the future !o&ernment of "alestine$0 theGeneral Assembly adopted Resolution 1:? which established the U$N$ 9pecial ;ommittee on

"alestine @UN9;2" to in&esti!ate the uestion of "alestine to prepare a report to the

General Assembly based upon its findin!s and to submit such proposals as it may consider

appropriate for the solution of the problem of "alestine$03

2n 9eptember >$> percent of thetotal area for their state$0, The UN9;2" report ac5nowled!ed that

*ith re!ard to the principle of selfDdetermination althou!h international reco!nition was

e#tended to this principle at the end of the )irst *orld *ar and it was adhered to with re!ard to

the other Arab territories at the time of the creation of the EA' =andates it was not applied to

"alestine ob&iously because of the intention to ma5e possible the creation of the +ewish

National %ome there$ Actually it may well be said that the +ewish National %ome and the sui

!eneris =andate for "alestine run counter to that principle$01:
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In other words the report e#plicitly reco!ni/ed that the denial of "alestinian independence inorder to pursue the !oal of establishin! a +ewish state constituted a reBection of the ri!ht of the

Arab maBority to selfDdetermination$ And yet despite this reco!nition UN9;2" had accepted

this reBection of Arab ri!hts as bein! within the bounds of a le!itimate and reasonable

framewor5 for a solution$

)ollowin! the issuance of the UN9;2" report the U$7$ issued a statement declarin! itsa!reement with the report's recommendations but addin! that if the Assembly should

recommend a policy which is not acceptable to both +ews and Arabs the United 7in!dom

Go&ernment would not feel able to implement it$011 The position of the Arabs had been clear

from the be!innin! but the Arab %i!her ;ommittee issued a statement on 9eptember -,

reiteratin! that the Arabs of "alestine were determined to oppose with all the means at their

disposal any scheme that pro&ided for se!re!ation or partition or that would !i&e to a minority

special and preferential status$ It instead

ad&ocated freedom and independence for an Arab 9tate in the whole of "alestine which would

respect human ri!hts fundamental freedoms and euality of all persons before the law and

would protect the le!itimate ri!hts and interests of all minorities whilst !uaranteein! freedom

of worship and access to the %oly "laces$01-

The U$7$ followed with a statement reiteratin! that %is =aBesty's Go&ernment could not play

a maBor part in the implementation of a scheme that was not acceptable to both Arabs and

+ews but addin! that they would howe&er not wish to impede the implementation of arecommendation appro&ed by the General Assembly$01


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use of a minority in the country$ The United Nations 2r!ani/ation has no power to create anew 9tate$ 9uch a decision can only be ta5en by the free will of the people of the territories in

uestion$ That condition is not fulfilled in the case of the maBority proposal as it in&ol&es the

establishment of a +ewish 9tate in complete disre!ard of the wishes and interests of the Arabs

of "alestine$013

Ne&ertheless the General Assembly passed Resolution 181 on No&ember -, with The rele&ant te#t of the resolution statedH

The General Assembly$

Recommends to the United 7in!dom as the mandatory "ower for "alestine and to all other

=embers of the United Nations the adoption and implementation with re!ard to the future

!o&ernment of "alestine of the "lan of "artition with conomic Union set out belowJ

Reuests that

@a The 9ecurity ;ouncil ta5e the necessary measure as pro&ided for in the plan for itsimplementationJ

@b The 9ecurity ;ouncil consider if circumstances durin! the transitional period reuire such

consideration whether the situation in "alestine constitutes a threat to the peace$ If it decides

that such a threat e#ists and in order to maintain international peace and security the 9ecurity

;ouncil should supplement the authori/ation of the General Assembly by ta5in! measure

under Articles


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The matter was thus ta5en up by the 9ecurity ;ouncil where on Cecember , the 9yrianrepresentati&e to the U$N$ )aris lD7houri obser&ed that the General Assembly is not a world

!o&ernment which can dictate orders partition countries or impose constitutions rules

re!ulations and treaties on people without their consent$ *hen the 9o&iet representati&e

Andrei Gromy5o stated his !o&ernment's opposin! &iew that The resolution of the General

Assembly should be implemented by the 9ecurity ;ouncil lD7houri replied by notin! further

that

;ertain para!raphs of the resolution of the General Assembly which concern the 9ecurity

;ouncil are referred to the ;ouncil namely para!raphs @a @b and @c outlinin! the functions

of the 9ecurity ;ouncil in respect of the "alestinian uestion$ All of the members of the

9ecurity ;ouncil are familiar with the ;ouncil's functions which are well defined and clearly

stated in the ;harter of the United Nations$ I do not belie&e that the resolution of the General

Assembly can add to or delete from these functions$ The recommendations of the General

Assembly are well 5nown to be recommendations and =ember 9tates are not reuired by force

to accept them$ =ember 9tates may or may not accept them and the same applies to the

9ecurity ;ouncil$ 014

2n )ebruary ? 1,38 the Arab %i!her ;ommittee a!ain communicated to the U$N$ 9ecretary

General its position that the partition plan was contrary to the letter and spirit of the United

Nations ;harter$ The U$N$ has no Burisdiction to order or recommend the partition of"alestine$ There is nothin! in the ;harter to warrant such authority conseuently the

recommendation of partition is #ltra viresand therefore null and &oid$ Additionally theArab %i!her ;ommittee noted that

The Arab Cele!ations submitted proposals in the Ad %oc ;ommittee in order to refer the whole

le!al issue raised for a rulin! by the International ;ourt of +ustice$ The said proposals were

ne&er put to &ote by the president in the Assembly$ The United Nations is an International body

entrusted with the tas5 of enforcin! peace and Bustice in international affairs$ %ow would therebe any confidence in such a body if it bluntly and unreasonably refuses to refer such a dispute

to the International ;ourt of +usticeK

The Arabs of "alestine will ne&er reco!ni/e the &alidity of the e#torted partition

recommendations or the authority of the United Nations to ma5e them the Arab %i!her

;ommittee declared and they would consider that any attempt by the +ews or any power or

!roup of powers to establish a +ewish 9tate in Arab territory is an act of a!!ression which will

be resisted in selfDdefense by force$018

2n )ebruary 1? the U$N$ "alestine ;ommission tas5ed by the General Assembly to prepare

for the transfer of authority from the =andatory "ower to the successor !o&ernments under the

partition plan issued its first report to the 9ecurity ;ouncil$ It concluded on the basis of the

Arab reBection that it finds itself confronted with an attempt to defect its purposes and to

nullify the resolution of the General Assembly and callin! upon the 9ecurity ;ouncil to

pro&ide an armed force which alone would enable the ;ommission to dischar!e its

responsibilities on the termination of the =andate$ In effect the "alestine ;ommission had

determined that the partition plan should be implemented a!ainst the will of the maBority

population of "alestine by force$01,


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In response to that su!!estion ;olombia submitted a draft 9ecurity ;ouncil resolution notin!that the U$N$ ;harter did not authori/e the 9ecurity ;ouncil to create special forces for the

purposes indicated by the United Nations "alestine ;ommission$0-: The U$9$ dele!ate

*arren Austin similarly stated at the ->


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recommendations to it re!ardin! the !uidance and instructions which the ;ouncil mi!htusefully !i&e to the "alestine ;ommission with a &iew to implementin! the resolution of the

General Assembly$0->

Curin! further debates at the 9ecurity ;ouncil o&er how to proceed Austin obser&ed that it had

become clear that the 9ecurity ;ouncil is not prepared to !o ahead with efforts to implement

this plan in the e#istin! situation$ At the same time it was clear that the U$7$'s announcedtermination of the =andate on =ay 1> would result in the li!ht of information now a&ailable

in chaos hea&y fi!htin! and much loss of life in "alestine$ The U$N$ could not permit this he

said and the 9ecurity ;ouncil had the responsibility and authority under the ;harter to act to

pre&ent such a threat to the peace$ The U$9$ also proposed establishin! a Trusteeship o&er

"alestine to !i&e further opportunity to the +ews and Arabs to reach a mutual a!reement$

"endin! the con&enin! of a special session of the General Assembly to that end we belie&e

that the 9ecurity ;ouncil should instruct the "alestine ;ommission to suspend its efforts to

implement the proposed partition plan$0-?

The 9ecurity ;ouncil "resident spea5in! as the representati&e from ;hina respondedH The

United Nations was created mainly for the maintenance of international peace$ It would be

tra!ic indeed if the United Nations by attemptin! a political settlement should be the cause of

war$ )or these reasons my dele!ation supports the !eneral principles of the proposal of the

United 9tates dele!ation$0-4 At a further meetin! of the 9ecurity ;ouncil the ;anadiandele!ate stated that the partition plan is based on a number of important assumptions the first

of which was that it was assumed that the two communities in "alestine would coDoperate in

puttin! into effect the solution to the "alestine problem which was recommended by the

General Assembly$0-8 The )rench dele!ate while declinin! to e#tend either appro&al for or

disappro&al of the U$9$ proposal obser&ed that it would allow for any number of alternati&e

solutions from the partition plan includin! a sin!le 9tate with sufficient !uarantees for

minorities$0-, The representati&e from the +ewish A!ency for "alestine read a statementcate!orically reBectin! any plan to set up a trusteeship re!ime for "alestine which would

necessarily entail a denial of the +ewish ri!ht to national independence$0


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The Authority of the U$N$ with Re!ard to "artition

;hapter 1 Article 1 of the U$N$ ;harter defines its purposes and principles which are to

maintain international peace and security to de&elop friendly relations amon! nations based

on respect for the principle of eual ri!hts and selfDdetermination of peoples and to achie&e

international coDoperation on &arious issues and promotin! and encoura!in! respect for

human ri!hts and for fundamental freedoms for all$

The functions and powers of the General Assembly are listed under ;hapter IM Articles 1:throu!h 14$ It is tas5ed to initiate studies and ma5e recommendations to promote international

cooperation and the de&elopment of international law to recei&e reports from the 9ecurity

;ouncil and other or!ans of the U$N$ and to consider and appro&e the or!ani/ation's bud!et$ It

is also tas5ed with performin! functions under the international trusteeship system$ Its authority

is otherwise limited to considerin! and discussin! matters within the scope of the ;harter

ma5in! recommendations to =ember 9tates or the 9ecurity ;ouncil or callin! attention ofmatters to the 9ecurity ;ouncil$

;hapter M Articles -3 throu!h -? states the functions and powers of the 9ecurity ;ouncil$ It istas5ed with maintainin! peace and security in accordance with the purposes and principles of

the U$N$ The specific powers !ranted to the 9ecurity ;ouncil are stated in ;hapters MI MII

MIII and II$ Under ;hapter MI the 9ecurity ;ouncil may call upon parties to settle disputes

by peaceful means in&esti!ate and ma5e a determination as to whether a dispute or situation

constitutes a threat to peace and security$ It may recommend appropriate procedures to resol&edisputes ta5in! into consideration that le!al disputes should as a !eneral rule be referred by

the parties to the International ;ourt of +ustice$ Under ;hapter MII the 9ecurity ;ouncil may

determine the e#istence of a threat to peace and ma5e recommendations or decide what

measures are to be ta5en to maintain or restore peace and security$ It may call upon concerned

parties to ta5e pro&isional measures without preBudice to the ri!hts claims or position of theparties concerned$ It may call upon member states to employ measures not in&ol&in! the useof armed force to apply such measures$ 9hould such measures be inadeuate it may authori/e

the use of armed forces to maintain or restore international peace and security$ ;hapter MIII

states that the 9ecurity ;ouncil shall encoura!e the de&elopment of pacific settlements of local

disputes throu!h re!ional arran!ements or a!encies and utili/e such to enforce actions under

its authority$

The functions and powers of the International Trusteeship 9ystem are listed under ;hapter II

Articles 4> throu!h 8>$ The purpose of the system is to administer and super&ise territories

placed therein by a!reement with the !oal of de&elopment towards selfD!o&ernment or

independence as may be appropriate to the particular circumstances of each territory and its

peoples and the freely e#pressed wishes of the peoples concerned$ The system is to operate in

accordance with the purposes of the U$N$ stated in Article 1 includin! respect for the ri!ht of

selfDdetermination$ The General Assembly is tas5ed with all functions not desi!nated as

strate!ic which are desi!nated to the 9ecurity ;ouncil$ A Trusteeship ;ouncil is established to

assist the General Assembly and the 9ecurity ;ouncil to perform their functions under the

system$


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;hapter III Article 84 states the functions and powers of the Trusteeship ;ouncil which areshared by the General Assembly$ Authority is !ranted to consider reports accept and e#amine

petitions pro&ide for &isits to trust territories and ta5e these and other actions in conformity

with the terms of the trusteeship a!reements$

Another rele&ant section is ;hapter I entitled the Ceclaration Re!ardin! NonD9elfD

Go&ernin! Territories which states that

=embers of the United Nations which ha&e or assume responsibilities for the administration ofterritories whose peoples ha&e not yet attained a full measure of selfD!o&ernment reco!ni/e the

principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount and accept as a

sacred trust the obli!ation to promote to the utmost within the system of international peace

and security established by the present ;harter the wellDbein! of the inhabitants of these

territories

To that end =ember states are to de&elop selfD!o&ernment to ta5e due account of the political

aspirations of the peoples and to assist them in the pro!ressi&e de&elopment of their free

political institutions$

;onclusion

The partition plan put forth by UN9;2" sou!ht to create within "alestine a +ewish state

contrary to the e#press will of the maBority of its inhabitants$ Cespite constitutin! only a third

of the population and ownin! less than 4 percent of the land it sou!ht to !rant to the +ews more

than half of "alestine for purpose of creatin! that +ewish state$ It would in other words ta5e

land from the Arabs and !i&e it to the +ews$ The inherent inBustice of the partition plan stands in

star5 contrast to alternati&e plan proposed by the Arabs of an independent state of "alestine in

which the ri!hts of the +ewish minority would be reco!ni/ed and respected and which would

afford the +ewish population representation in a democratic !o&ernment$ The partition plan was

blatantly preBudicial to the ri!hts of the maBority Arab population and was premised on the

reBection of their ri!ht to selfDdetermination$ This is all the more uncontro&ersial inasmuch as

the UN9;2" report itself e#plicitly ac5nowled!ed that the proposal to create a +ewish state in

"alestine was contrary to the principle of selfDdetermination$ The plan was also premised upon

the erroneous assumption that the Arabs would simply acuiesce to ha&in! their land ta5en

from them and &oluntarily surrender their maBority ri!hts includin! their ri!ht to selfD

determination$

U$N$ General Assembly Resolution 181 neither le!ally partitioned "alestine nor conferred upon

the 6ionist leadership any le!al authority to unilaterally declare the e#istence of the +ewishstate of Israel$ It merely recommended that the UN9;2" partition plan be accepted and

implemented by the concerned parties$ Naturally to ha&e any wei!ht of law the plan li5e any

contract would ha&e to ha&e been formally a!reed upon by both parties which it was not$ Nor

could the General Assembly ha&e le!ally partitioned "alestine or otherwise conferred le!al

authority for the creation of Israel to the 6ionist leadership as it simply had no such authority

to confer$ *hen the 9ecurity ;ouncil too5 up the matter referred to it by the General Assemblyit could come to no consensus on how to proceed with implementin! the partition plan$ It bein!


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apparent that the plan could not be implemented by peaceful means the su!!estion that it beimplemented by force was reBected by members of the 9ecurity ;ouncil$ The simple fact of the

matter is that the plan was ne&er implemented$ Numerous dele!ates from member states

includin! the U$9$ arri&ed at the conclusion that the plan was impracticable and furthermore

that the 9ecurity ;ouncil had no authority to implement such a plan e#cept by mutual consent

by concerned parties which was absent in this case$

The U$9$ 9yria and other member nations were correct in their obser&ations that while the

9ecurity ;ouncil did ha&e authority to declare a threat to the peace and authori/e the use of

force to deal with that and maintain or restore peace and security it did not ha&e any authority

to implement by force a plan to partition "alestine contrary to the will of most of its

inhabitants$ Any attempt to usurp such authority by either the General Assembly or the 9ecurity

;ouncil would ha&e been a prima facie &iolation of the ;harter's foundin! principle of respect

for the ri!ht to selfDdetermination of all peoples and thus null and &oid under international law$

In sum the popular claim that the U$N$ created Israel is a myth and Israel's own claim in its

foundin! document that U$N$ Resolution 181 constituted le!al authority for Israel's creation or

otherwise constituted reco!nition by the U$N$ of the ri!ht of the 6ionist +ews to

e#propriate for themsel&es Arab land and deny to the maBority Arab population of that land

their own ri!ht to selfDdetermination is a patent fraud$

)urther corollaries may be drawn$ The disaster inflicted upon "alestine was not ine&itable$ The

U$N$ was created for the purpose of pre&entin! such catastrophes$ Oet it failed miserably to doso on numerous counts$ It failed in its duty to refer the le!al uestions of the claims to

"alestine to the International ;ourt of +ustice despite reuests from member states to do so$ It

failed to use all means within its authority includin! the use of armed forces to maintain peace

and pre&ent the war that was predicted would occur upon the termination of the =andate$ And

most importantly far from upholdin! its foundin! principles the U$N$ effecti&ely acted topre&ent the establishment of an independent and democratic state of "alestine in direct&iolation of the principles of its own ;harter$ The conseuences of these and other failures are

still witnessed by the world today on a daily basis$ Reco!nition of the !ra&e inBustice

perpetrated a!ainst the "alestinian people in this re!ard and dispellin! such historical myths is

essential if a way forward towards peace and reconciliation is to be found$

Notes

01 The "alestine =andate of the ;ouncil of the .ea!ue of Nations +uly -3

1,--htt%&''avalon.law.yale.ed#'20th(cent#ry'%almanda.as%$

0- Great (ritain had contributed to the conflict by ma5in! contradictory promises to both +ewsand Arabs includin! a declaration appro&ed by the (ritish ;abinet that read %is =aBesty's

Go&ernment &iew with fa&our the establishment in "alestine of a national home for the +ewish

people and will use their best endea&ours to facilitate the achie&ement of this obBect it bein!

clearly understood that nothin! shall be done which may preBudice the ci&il and reli!ious ri!hts

of e#istin! nonD+ewish communities in "alestine or the ri!hts and political status enBoyed by+ews in any other country$ This declaration was deli&ered by )orei!n 9ecretary Arthur +ames

(alfour to representati&e of the 6ionist mo&ement .ord .ionel *alter Rothschild in a letter on
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asphttp://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp


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No&ember - 1,14 and thus came to be 5nown as The (alfourCeclarationhtt%&''avalon.law.yale.ed#'20th(cent#ry'balfo#r.as% $0 United Nations 9pecial ;ommittee on "alestine Report to the General Assembly 9eptember


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Nations No&ember 11 1,34 htt%&''#nis%al.#n.or)'%dfs'99:1-2.%df$01> United Nations General Assembly 1-8th "lenary =eetin! United Nations No&ember -,1,34htt%&''#nis%al.#n.or)'#nis%al.nsf'*a+*adbf-22a-/2/61+b006dd+'61/f+6b*d*2+00/2/6ce600/22c*eO%en!oc#ment$01? United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 No&ember -,

1,34htt%&''#nis%al.#n.or)'#nis%al.nsf'*a+*adbf-22a-/2/61+b006dd+'

+f0af2bd*+6*b+/2/6c--0061d2/-O%en!oc#ment$014 United Nations 9ecurity ;ouncil ---nd =eetin! Cecember ,

1,34htt%&''#nis%al.#n.or)'#nis%al.nsf'*a+*adbf-22a-/2/61+b006dd+'ce-+bc*6122a--*/2/6e6*006*bf6O%en!oc#ment$018 )irst 9pecial Report to the 9ecurity ;ouncilH The "roblem of 9ecurity in "alestine

United Nations "alestine ;ommission )ebruary 1?

1,38htt%&''domino.#n.or)'#nis%al.nsf'/ba+a/c6cef/1b02/6-e000*-bc'fdf+-eb+6c-*d6-/2/6cc00cdba+O%en!oc#ment$01, Ibid$

0-: Craft Resolution on the "alestinian Fuestion 9ubmitted by the Representati&e of;olombia at the ->3th =eetin! of the 9ecurity ;ouncil )ebruary -3

1,38htt%&''#nis%al.#n.or)'%dfs';6.%df$0-1 U$N$ 9ecurity ;ouncil -> 1,38 htt%&''#nis%al.#n.or)'%dfs';6/.%df$0-


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1,38htt%&''domino.#n.or)'#nis%al.nsf'*a+*adbf-22a-/2/61+b006dd+'6+6bb+1de*2db*b/2/60ba006+dO%en!oc#ment$0

Documents

The Myth of the U.N. Creation of Israel