
The night of November 29, 1947 was one of the happiest nights in history for Jews around the world since the dedication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Any Jewish person that was alive at the time remembers that night with such clarity, they can tell you exactly where they were for this historical occasion.
After 2000 years of anticipation, 57 representatives of the countries that were part of the then new organization, the United Nations, gathered to vote and recognize the right of the Jewish nation to have an independent state of their own.That night, the streets were filled with music and dancing. In Jerusalem, men, women and children climbed onto the British military vehicles and offered drinks to the soldiers that they had hated so much. This day will forever be remembered in the history of Israel.
The story that isn’t told is one in which the very existence of the state of Israel is directly connected to the American holiday of Thanksgiving, 1047. We, as a state, must give thanks to Thanksgiving.
On November 26, 1947, the Partition Plan was brought to a vote in the UN. The Arab countrues opposed any move towards compromise. Ben Gurion, our pragmatic leader, was also unhappy with the partition plan as it would mean leaving the holy city of Jerusalem under the jurisdiction of the UN. He did say, however, that at “this moment we are closer than ever to our 2000-year-old dream.
At midday, Moshe Sharet, the head of the Jewish Agency, understoof that the Jewish people would not have the necessary majority vote to pass this resolution. 22 countries needed to vote in favor of the partition plan in order to overcome the Arab block. The Jewish people needed more time. They needed to convince more countries to vote “Yes”. 2000 years and they only needed a few more hours.
The filibuster! The person on the stand dominated the session (a la Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) until the day was at an end.
November 27th was Thanksgiving and the UN did not meet for two days, allowing the Americans their holiday. In these two days, diplomatic pressure was applied to Liberia, Greece, Haiti and the Philippines so that they would vote in favor of partition.
On November 29, no one was sure how the vote would turn out and tensions were high. The Jewish people waited, with baited breath, for the historical broadcast.
On Sunday, November 30, the War of Independence began.
We are thankful that this holiday provided us with the time we needed to gain majority vote in the UN. We are thankful that we are living in this beautiful oasis, this Start-up Nation, with happiness and health. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers. May this holiday bring you many things to be thankful for.