Mid-East Experts Answer Questions

Mr. Cook,

You ask a fascinating question - it is one that could be asked, after all, of many countries around the world, including our own, huge parts of which were taken from native peoples. The reverse question is also interesting - i.e., why does Israel care so much about the opinion of its neighbors that it puts such a premium on having the neighbors recognize its very right to existence? I think the answer to that question is connected to my answer to Mr. Podesta's question, that for Israelis, security is ultimately bound up in acceptance, not military might.

As for the particulars of your question, the United Nations in 1947 authorized the partition of the British mandated territory of Palestine into two independent states - one Jewish, one Arab. On the day the British mandate ended, the local Jewish communal leadership declared independence and five neighboring Arab states attacked. The new state, Israel, defended itself and, through the fog of war, emerged larger than its original allotted boundaries. The Arab states (Egypt and Jordan) that were in possession of the remaining portions of Palestine kept them for themselves rather than establish the independent Arab state envisioned by the United Nations. Today's diplomatic effort to create an independent Arab state in Palestine is a legacy of the decision by Arab states and the then-dominant leaders of the Palestinians to reject partition 61 years ago.