The hidden documents that reveal the true borders of Israel and Palestine (Updated)
David Gerald Fincham on
I once believed that Israel has never defined its
borders. It was one of those things that “everyone knows”. I was
corrected by the blogger talknic.
Mondoweiss is privileged to have talknic as a frequent commenter, and
many readers here will be familiar with the document to which he pointed
me: the letter written by Eliahu Epstein, the representative of the Jewish Agency in Washington, to President Truman and to the State Department, on May 14, 1948.
borders. It was one of those things that “everyone knows”. I was
corrected by the blogger talknic.
Mondoweiss is privileged to have talknic as a frequent commenter, and
many readers here will be familiar with the document to which he pointed
me: the letter written by Eliahu Epstein, the representative of the Jewish Agency in Washington, to President Truman and to the State Department, on May 14, 1948.
Epstein’s letter to Truman
In the letter, the Provisional Government of Israel
formally requested the United States to recognize the new State of
Israel which was about to be declared in Tel Aviv, effective one minute
after midnight (6 p.m Washington time) when the British Mandate over
Palestine ended. It begins (my emphasis):
formally requested the United States to recognize the new State of
Israel which was about to be declared in Tel Aviv, effective one minute
after midnight (6 p.m Washington time) when the British Mandate over
Palestine ended. It begins (my emphasis):
My dear Mr. President, I have the honor
to notify you that the State of Israel has been proclaimed as an
independent republic within the frontiers approved by the General
Assembly of the United Nations in its Resolution of November 29, 1947.
(The full text is given in the link above, and also appears below.) The resolution referred to, UNGA Resolution 181,
recommended the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab
states. The Zionist leadership had publicly accepted the Partition Plan,
and this letter defines the borders of Israel to be those specified in
the Plan (see map attached).
recommended the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab
states. The Zionist leadership had publicly accepted the Partition Plan,
and this letter defines the borders of Israel to be those specified in
the Plan (see map attached).
Partition plan, UN 1947, with ’49 armistice delineated
