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Renew U.N.

support for two-state solution

By BRIAN D. SIEGAL
Sixty years ago, on Nov. 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to end 25 years of British
mandatory rule in Palestine and laid the groundwork for a two-state solution -- one
Jewish, one Arab. Six months later, under the looming threat of war from the very
countries that had rejected the U.N. resolution, the state of Israel declared independence,
and the Middle East’s first and only democracy was born.

In the past six decades, the United Nations’ partition decision has been overwhelmingly
vindicated. In a region plagued with religious extremism, tyranny and economic
stagnation, Israel stands as a model of democratic pluralism, economic growth and
human progress.

Despite these contributions, Israel remains the only state whose right to exist is still under
attack, often by the same array of forces that rejected the two-state solution in 1947. Even
more worrying is that today’s United Nations no longer plays a constructive role in
Mideast peace efforts.

The organization’s landmark 1947 decision, for example, has been commandeered by
forces opposed to peace with Israel. In an Orwellian twist contrived by Arab countries in
1977, Nov. 29 was designated a ‘‘Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.’’
Abandoning the original resolution’s embrace of a two-state solution, the U.N.
pronouncement was distorted beyond recognition, undermining, rather than promoting,
peace efforts.

To cite just one recent example, last year’s ‘‘Day of Solidarity’’ observed a moment of
silence in honor of ‘‘martyred’’ terrorists and included, in full view of top U.N. officials, a
large map of ‘‘Palestine’’ on which Israel did not appear.

This and other discriminatory U.N. action toward Israel has made this important
international body virtually irrelevant to regional peace making. Sadly, no Israeli leader
can trust the United Nations to play a productive and fair-minded role in bringing the
parties together and helping reach a just solution.

It’s time for the United Nations to reclaim the moral high ground, to rescue the meaning
of its decision 60 years ago and to once again become a relevant player in the quest for
peace. One simple but symbolically potent action would be for top U.N. officials to
refuse to participate in this year’s Palestinian ‘‘Day of Solidarity’’ activities. Instead,
leaders could use the occasion to speak out in favor of the original spirit of the U.N.
resolution -- of the justness for a national homeland for two peoples -- and call upon all
parties to pursue an equitable two-state solution.

A declaration for a more constructive, even-handed U.N. position need not come at the
Palestinians’ expense. By refusing to acquiesce to an anti-Israel agenda promoted by the
world’s despots and dictators, the United Nations would make it more, not less, likely
that Palestinians will get a state of their own. A more balanced approach is particularly
vital as Israelis, Palestinians and some Arab countries enter a new round of peace
negotiations in Annapolis, Md.

The United Nations made the right decision in 1947, but in ensuing years its policies
were hijacked by member states and nongovernmental organizations more interested in
perpetuating conflict than solving it. To move forward, the United Nations must remind
itself of the truly courageous vote it took 60 years ago. Only then can the world body live
up to the high ideals of its charter and potentially help replicate -- this time successfully --
one of the greatest moments in its own history.

Brian D. Siegal is executive director of the Greater Miami and Broward Chapter of the
American Jewish Committee.

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