This Day in History: 29 November 2020
29 November 1947
73 years ago, today, the UN voted for the partition of Palestine, and the creation of an independent Jewish state, despite strong Arab opposition. This plan proposed that the Jews were to possess more than half of Palestine, even though they made up less than half of Palestine's population. The Palestinian Arabs, aided by volunteers from other countries, fought against the Zionist forces. Despite this, the Jews secured full control of their allocated area of Palestine and also some Arab territory. In May 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed by Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion, and the next day, forces from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded.
The modern conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine had dated back to the 1910s, when both groups laid claim to the territory, controlled by the British at the time. These Jews mainly consisted of Zionists, recent emigrants from Europe and Russia who came to the Jews' ancient homeland to establish a Jewish national state. The native Palestinian Arabs, on the other hand, sought to prevent Jewish immigration and set up a secular Palestinian state. The British also attempted to limit Jewish immigration as a means of appeasing the Arabs. However, many Jews illegally entered Palestine during World War II, as a result of the Holocaust in Europe.
Want to find out more about the UN partition of Palestine? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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