Happy Zionism Day!
The 29th of November is the thread that connects the end of the exile to the establishment of the State of Israel. It bridges a past filled with persecution against Jews to the recognition of the Jewish people’s right to their historic homeland.
For the Jewish people, November 29, 1947, symbolizes the natural expression of their national aspirations, a right that they historically deserve.
This is the day in which a wandering people was accepted into the family of nations, for better or worse.
In my opinion, this date is unjustly called the day of the Partition Plan. Indeed, on this day the United Nations Special Committee ripped apart historic parts of our homeland. Nevertheless, that recognition was the climax of decades of hard work to fulfill Theodor Herzl’s vision for establishing a Jewish state
More than 120 years has passed since the First Zionist Congress in which Jewish communities from around the world found within them the courage to stop dreaming and start acting.
Despite the unacceptable concessions of the 1947 Partition Plan which left the Jewish state a fraction of what they deserved, it paved the way for the establishment of Israel.
In an attempt to stop the bloody war between them, the Arabs were given an opportunity to establish an independent Arab state alongside a Jewish one. The Arab leadership decided to rip apart the Partition Plan and use armed force in order to “remove the Jewish cancer” that threatened them.
In contrast to the attitude of the Arab leadership, the Yishuv [Jewish community] extended its right hand in peace while holding in its left hand the international recognition of the 29th of November.
Let us not forget that the opposition to Jews living in the Land of Israel did not start in 1947. The Arab leadership rejected the partition proposal of the 1937 Peel Commission as well.
The Arab leadership consistently waved away all proposals for peace in the years to come. Their failure to recognize the existence of a Jewish state in any part of the Land of Israel brought continuous suffering for decades, but it also revealed their true intentions.
The State of Israel that was established with the inspiration of the Biblical prophets and in the spirit of democracy and freedom is under daily attack from that same organization that recognized its natural right to independence 71 years ago.
In the United Nations of 2018, member states of questionable human rights records are submitting resolutions against the only stable democracy in the Middle East that allows full rights of all its inhabitants and seeks social equality.
In this arena, Israel must set the goal of breaking the automatic majority against it in the United Nations.
For the past eight years, Syria has suffered a terrible civil war in which a dictator has used chemical weapons against his own citizens.
In Turkey, tens of thousands of public servants, soldiers and anyone accused of being against the government have been dismissed from their jobs or put in detention.
In Iran, there have been confirmed instances of those accused of crimes being tortured, stoned or having limbs amputated as a form of punishment.
In the Palestinian Authority, those who sell property to Jews are sentenced to death. Official PA media outlets praise terrorists who murder Jews. Yet in the United Nations, there are a disproportionate number of resolutions against the State of Israel. In the year 2018 alone there were 20 resolutions against Israel and only six against any other country.
The United Nations that made the morally just decision on November 29, 1947, today is being used as a tool for the violent rhetoric of dictatorships. The true violators of human rights are attempting to rewrite history and erase the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.
Israel of today strives hard to be a Jewish and democratic nation. In the Knesset, all opinions and views are represented. Women in Israel carry key roles in the public sphere, in courts and in the highest ranks of security forces. In Israel there is freedom of worship for all religions and minorities enjoy government representation. There are Arab judges in courts, Druze officers in the military, and Bedouin professors in academia. A diverse mix of ethnicity and gender can be found in the fields of business, medicine and hi-tech.
Israel made a concerted effort to achieve peace treaties with its neighbors, and continues to strive to achieve diplomatic relations with Arab and Muslim countries throughout the Mediterranean region and Africa. Today, Israel enjoys diplomatic relations with over 160 countries. It conducts a stubborn struggle against terrorism and serves as a model for dozens of countries around the world on how to deal with crisis situations. The Jewish state is a pioneering power in innovation, science, health care, agriculture, media and cyber technologies.
In 2018, this State of Israel, 71 years after the dramatic UN vote of the 29th of November is a holiday for me – a Zionist holiday. Perhaps the day will come soon when all the countries in the UN will also recognize this holiday and we can celebrate together. Chag sameach!
The writer serves as the vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization.