November 29th, 1947 A Turning Point In Jewish History

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
November 30, 2001

 

Yesterday was the 54th anniversary of one of the most momentous events in Jewish history.

It probably did not appear on any secular calendar.

It was most certainly not celebrated in the forum in which it occurred.

It was tragically marked in the place that it created.

What Happened On This Date 54 years Ago?

On November 29 th, 1947, in Lake Success, New York Nassau County, Long Island, the very young United Nations voted to adopt a partition plan that created the State of Israel. While until May 14 th, 1948 the British were still in command through the British Mandate, this was the date that created the state. The United Nations does not commemorate the dates when it created countries. Israel celebrates its Independence Day on 5 Iyar. Yesterday was marked by another terrorist attack in Northern Israel.

In some ways nothing has changed since the day of the Book of Genesis in the Torah and since 1947. And yet the years 1947 and 1948 were the turning point in Jewish history that reversed the previous 2000. The dynamics of Jewish existence has been radically changed. We, the Jewish people of the Diaspora need to understand our place in the Jewish scheme of things, and then are challenged to play our part.

In the Torah portions starting with Toldot two weeks ago and continuing through tomorrow's portion of VaYishlach, is recorded the ongoing tension between Jacob and Esau to be the next link in the history of the patriarchs. It seems that if Jacob and his mother Rebecca had left well enough alone, that, despite being the second born, Jacob would have succeeded his father Isaac anyway, and not Esau. But that is not the way the story is written. This struggle has been part of our history every since. Though genetically totally different from Esau and his descendants, the prophet of tomorrow's haftorah, Obadiah, parallels a later struggle between Edom, a country east of the Jordan River and Judea, to that of Esau and Jacob. Later in history the Rabbis call Rome and its Empire Edom/Esau in the struggle with the Jews of Judea. The Arabs, though also totally genetically not related to Esau and Edom, peoples long ago swept away in the tides of history, sometimes claim to be their descendants who will now dominate the younger brother. Times haven't changed all that much.

In the latter 1800's the Turkish province of Palestine, was virtually empty and in great ruination. To this place came a small and steady stream of Jewish pioneers, chalutzim, to reclaim and rebuild our home. As they improved the area other peoples also came and the populations grew. Herzl helped formulate the Zionist vision of the redemption of the Jewish people as he saw the anti-Semitism of the Dreyfus trial in France. This dream and plan was furthered in the ensuing decades, but always at a price, always with a struggle.Esau, Edom of today did not accept Jacob's descendants. After World War I, Britain received the Mandate over Palestine. They coped with this ever-growing tension by proposing partition plans. First they loped off the entire eastern side of the mandate and gave it to Abdullah as a reward for his supposed support during World War I. This became Trans-Jordan; later just Jordan. Then they proposed dividing up the rest into Arab and Jewish sections with Jerusalem as a totally separate entity. Each time they proposed giving us anything the Arabs rioted. After World War II and the evidence of the Holocaust, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine was created. In August 1947 it submitted its plan for partition. On November 29th, 1947 it was affirmed. A great retelling is found in the book Exodus by Leon Uris.

I wonder sometimes if anyone ever looks over the past. The plan of 1947 was based on several factors:

Our right to be there.

The economic unity of the area despite any political divisions.

The Arabs have to respect the security of the Jewish area.

That the Holy places should be preserved.

That outside countries should stay out of the business.

That Arabs and Jews had to cooperate and live together.

From November 1947 until April, 1948 over 900 Jews of Palestine were killed by Arab terrorism. They unilaterallyrejected the UNSCOP partition plan. They rejected the concept that there could be an independent Jewish entity onany amount of land.

That was the fact then, and that is the fact now.

The foundation for any peace must include the acceptance of an autonomous independent Jewish state in the area of our birth. We are the singular modern people with an unbroken chain from antiquity with a claim upon that land, with an uninterrupted rooting in this land of over 3,500 years.

Though overshadowed by the tragedy of September 11th and the war in Afghanistan, the Middle East is not far from center stage. All the recent statements not withstanding, the issue from antiquity remains the same:

Will all the Arabs, Arafat, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PFLP, accept Israel's right to exist?

Unconditionally.

For if "land for peace" is just a strategy to dismember the State piece by piece, they will never have the pieces and there will never be peace. The world will have to understand that there is no difference between the terrorism that destroyed the World Trade Center, attacked the Pentagon, downed the jet in Pennsylvania and life in Israel. All that we have been experiencing since September 11th has been the ongoing existence in Israel forever.

The time is not far off when we, the Jews of America, will need to advocate for the State of Israel with our political leadership. While Israel will always speak for itself, the united support of American Jewry has been an important dynamic. If there is a war against terrorism, it also includes the terrorism against Israel. That is an argument now to made.

Yet November 29th, 1947 changed the dynamic of the Jewish world. Previously Europe had been the center of Jewish existence, inheriting the mantle from Spanish Jewry, which had inherited from Babylonian Jewry. With the destruction of European Jewry, American Jewry has briefly been the center of the Jewish people. The creation of the State recreated the original dynamic of the Jewish people, with Israel at the centertying the Diaspora communities together. Soon there will more Jews in Israel than any place else in the world. There Hebrew language is alive and creative. There different forms of Judaic religious expression compete in a natural environment. We are no longer the center. We are a strong Jewish community among many.

One of the instruments that links us together is the World Zionist Congress. More than just an advocate inside Israel, it is the only world Jewish body. Our new role is to be participants in that organization. In the mail and in the lobby are ballots in order to vote in the Zionist Congress. I urge you to take a ballot and register by paying the $4.00 per person registration fee. We are part of the Masorti – Conservative Movement. You can also do it on line with a credit card.

This is a new Jewish world in which we must be brave participants.

We must consciously choose to have a Jewish identity in the Diaspora because we believe in our Judaism, or be swept away.

We must consciously choose to be part of the Jewish people or be left out.

We must also consciously choose to participant in the historical drama of the Jewish people by being advocates for Israel and participants in our national existence.

We pray when terrorism in any form and in every place will cease throughout the world.

We pray when an era of peace will descend upon every conflict, and children will grow up in tranquility and serenity.

At the same time we are part of a united Jewish people.

May we loyally and passionately fulfill our part.

May true peace come to Israel and the world.

Amen.