One day in 1947, the members of a new organization convened in a building that had once been a skating rink and changed the world by holding a vote.
Precisely 65 years later, members of the same organization, the United Nations, will hold another vote very much linked to the first. Less is at stake this time. But Thursday’s vote on upgrading the Palestinians to observer state status — a small but significant alteration of their international standing — demonstrates to what extent Saturday, November 29, 1947, is a day that has never really ended.
Witness accounts of the momentous vote in 1947 describe the delegates’ cars pulling up outside the gray building at Flushing Meadow, outside New York, on a cold November afternoon, the crowds gathered outside, an electric excitement inside. People all over the world listened to a live radio broadcast.
The vote was to decide whether to partition the British Mandate territory of Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs. To pass, the motion needed a two-thirds majority. The Jews were in favor, the Arabs opposed. Feverish international lobbying by both sides had preceded the vote.
A Brazilian diplomat, Oswaldo Aranha, presided over the meeting from a high table. Next to him was the secretary general, the Norwegian Trygve Lie. In front of them stood a glass water pitcher and microphones that looked like metallic hard-boiled eggs. Behind them was an enormous painting of the globe.
Read Full Article »