ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LAW: IS ISRAEL ILLEGAL? By Shira Sorko-Ram

ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LAW: IS ISRAEL ILLEGAL?

Maoz Israel Report january 2013

San Remo Map 1920

AT THE CLOSE OF WORLD WAR I, THREE COLONIAL POWERS - BRITAIN, FRANCE, WITH THE ASSENT OF RUSSIA - DIVIDED UP THE FORMER OTTOMAN EMPIRE. BRITAIN OCCUPIED MOST OF

PALESTINE AND IRAQ; FRANCE OCCUPIED SYRIA AND LEBANON. THE AREA WHICH IS NOW ISRAEL WAS in theory UNDER INTERNATIONAL RULE, BUT WAS ADMINISTRATED BY BRITAIN.

ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LAW:

IS ISRAEL ILLEGAL?

By Shira Sorko-Ram

There is one phrase that every media

network in the world knows and uses - “occupied

territory.” This phrase shapes the

orientation and perspective of literally the

entire world.

In its truest definition/meaning/understanding,

occupied Palestinian territory

means Israel is illegally occupying land

belonging to someone else.

In other words Israel is flouting international

law.

Israel has no legitimate right to the land

which she is occupying. And even “Israel

proper” is questionable.

There is no peace because Israel is building

apartments and creating towns (derisively

called “settlements”) in “occupied territory.”

If Israel would just give up her claims

to the “occupied Palestinian territory” then

Arabs would make peace and the earth

would be relieved of most of the turmoil

generated in the Middle East.

It is astounding to see how little journalists

and politicians know about Israel’s roots.

They often act as if Israel appeared one day,

confiscated Arab land and seized the capital

city of the Palestinian nation.

Every follower of Yeshua needs to know

the facts of how the modern state of Israel

came to be. So here goes!

Thirty-five hundred years ago a man

from Ur of the Chaldees (today Iraq) and

his family travelled to what was then called

Canaan, where he was told by God that the

land there would be an inheritance to him

and his descendants forever.

Of course, what journalist in this modern

world would accept such a fanciful “legal

document” from God?

But fortunately for them, there are other

legal treaties and documents that though

conveniently ignored by pundits and leaders,

do exist and give international legitimacy

and justice to Israel’s existence – no

matter what nations declare today.

It was just after World War I and the

English and French had defeated Germany

and the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Now

there was nothing left to do but divide up

the booty. That’s what victorious armies

do, do they not?

So even before the war officially ended,

Sir Mark Sykes representing Britain and

Charles Picot of France negotiated the

Sykes-Picot Agreement which carved up

the Ottoman Empire between Britain and

France (with a bit left for Russia).

Britain took the southern part of the Middle

East including the so-called Palestine

area (the name given to the land of Israel by

the Romans) while France took Greater Syria.

Britain also decided to give a bit of Palestine

– the Golan Heights which belonged

to the Jewish tribe of Manasseh and was part

of Britain’s Mandate – to France and France

later gave it to Syria – you could call it a sort

of happenstance administrative model.

THE BALFOUR DECLARATION

The two colonial powers, Britain and

France, began divvying up the former Ottoman

Empire according to the pressures and

considerations at the moment. Fortunately

for the Jewish people, during World War I

a prominent scientist, Dr. Chaim Weizman,

discovered a new process to produce acetone

used in the manufacture of explosives – a

discovery that greatly helped Britain’s war effort.

This innovation encouraged Foreign

Secretary Arthur Balfour to issue the Balfour

Declaration of 1917 – the modern foundational

basis for Israel’s legitimate rights to Palestine

as her Jewish homeland. (See page 5)

There followed a number of treaties and

covenants that affirmed the Balfour Declaration

– by the world body of the League of

Nations, the San Remo conference, and finally

the United Nations which voted to accept

Israel as a member nation of the UN.

During the years after WWI through

WWII when millions of Jews were dying in

gas chambers, the Arab peoples of the Middle

East fought with all their might to keep

Jews out of their Jewish homeland. Britain,

understanding that there were many more

Arabs than Jews, and needing them to fight

along side them against the Ottoman Turks,

mostly caved in to Arab violence, riots and

political demands.

THREE WHITE PAPERS

Early on, in 1922, Winston Churchill

came up with a plan that he thought might

work. When the Arabs demanded that he

2 Maoz Israel Report january 2013

1. ABRAHAM’S PROMISED LAND 2000 B.C. 2. Balfour declaration 1917 3. 76% GIVEN TO ARABS 1922

EGYPT

EGYPT

SAUDI ARABIA

IRAQ

SYRIA

TRANS-JORDAN

MIDIAN

HAMATH

AMMON

MOAB

EDOM

ARAM

(SYRIA)

HITTITES

CYPRUS

Euphrates

River

Eilat

Petra

Damascus

Mediterranean

Sea

Mediterranean

Sea

Mediterranean

Sea

Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Tyre

Sidon

Beersheva EGYPT

SAUDI ARABIA

IRAQ

SYRIA

TRANS-JORDAN

PALESTINE

BRITISH MANDATE

Jerusalem

Eilat Eilat

Occupied Palestinian Territory?

Have you noticed:

- There has never been a

Palestinian state.

- There has never been a Palestinian

people until Yasser Arafat and other

Arab nations created them IN 1964.

- The “Palestinian people” have no

holidays celebrating national events

– only protest days against Israel.

- No nation has ever claimed Jerusalem

as their capital in the centuries

after the Jewish people were

expelled by the Romans in 70AD.

That is, no one until Israel made

the new Jerusalem her capital -

and then recaptured the ancient

city in 1967.

confiscated Arab land and seized the capital

city of the Palestinian nation.

Every follower of Yeshua needs to know

the facts of how the modern state of Israel

came to be. So here goes!

Thirty-five hundred years ago a man

from Ur of the Chaldees (today Iraq) and

his family travelled to what was then called

Canaan, where he was told by God that the

land there would be an inheritance to him

and his descendants forever.

Of course, what journalist in this modern

world would accept such a fanciful “legal

document” from God?

But fortunately for them, there are other

legal treaties and documents that though

conveniently ignored by pundits and leaders,

do exist and give international legitimacy

and justice to Israel’s existence – no

matter what nations declare today.

It was just after World War I and the

English and French had defeated Germany

and the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Now

there was nothing left to do but divide up

the booty. That’s what victorious armies

do, do they not?

So even before the war officially ended,

Sir Mark Sykes representing Britain and

Charles Picot of France negotiated the

Sykes-Picot Agreement which carved up

the Ottoman Empire between Britain and

France (with a bit left for Russia).

Britain took the southern part of the Middle

East including the so-called Palestine

area (the name given to the land of Israel by

the Romans) while France took Greater Syria.

Britain also decided to give a bit of Palestine

– the Golan Heights which belonged

to the Jewish tribe of Manasseh and was part

of Britain’s Mandate – to France and France

later gave it to Syria – you could call it a sort

of happenstance administrative model.

THE BALFOUR DECLARATION

The two colonial powers, Britain and

France, began divvying up the former Ottoman

Empire according to the pressures and

considerations at the moment. Fortunately

for the Jewish people, during World War I

a prominent scientist, Dr. Chaim Weizman,

discovered a new process to produce acetone

used in the manufacture of explosives – a

discovery that greatly helped Britain’s war effort.

This innovation encouraged Foreign

Secretary Arthur Balfour to issue the Balfour

Declaration of 1917 – the modern foundational

basis for Israel’s legitimate rights to Palestine

as her Jewish homeland. (See page 5)

There followed a number of treaties and

covenants that affirmed the Balfour Declaration

– by the world body of the League of

Nations, the San Remo conference, and finally

the United Nations which voted to accept

Israel as a member nation of the UN.

During the years after WWI through

WWII when millions of Jews were dying in

gas chambers, the Arab peoples of the Middle

East fought with all their might to keep

Jews out of their Jewish homeland. Britain,

understanding that there were many more

Arabs than Jews, and needing them to fight

along side them against the Ottoman Turks,

mostly caved in to Arab violence, riots and

political demands.

THREE WHITE PAPERS

Early on, in 1922, Winston Churchill

came up with a plan that he thought might

work. When the Arabs demanded that he

2 Maoz Israel Report january 2013

1. ABRAHAM’S PROMISED LAND 2000 B.C. 2. Balfour declaration 1917 3. 76% GIVEN TO ARABS 1922

EGYPT

EGYPT

SAUDI ARABIA

IRAQ

SYRIA

TRANS-JORDAN

MIDIAN

HAMATH

AMMON

MOAB

EDOM

ARAM

(SYRIA)

HITTITES

CYPRUS

Euphrates

River

Eilat

Petra

Damascus

Mediterranean

Sea

Mediterranean

Sea

Mediterranean

Sea

Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Tyre

Sidon

Beersheva EGYPT

SAUDI ARABIA

IRAQ

SYRIA

TRANS-JORDAN

PALESTINE

BRITISH MANDATE

Jerusalem

Eilat Eilat

Occupied Palestinian Territory?

Have you noticed:

- There has never been a

Palestinian state.

- There has never been a Palestinian

people until Yasser Arafat and other

Arab nations created them IN 1964.

- The “Palestinian people” have no

holidays celebrating national events

– only protest days against Israel.

- No nation has ever claimed Jerusalem

as their capital in the centuries

after the Jewish people were

expelled by the Romans in 70AD.

That is, no one until Israel made

the new Jerusalem her capital -

and then recaptured the ancient

city in 1967.

rescind the Balfour Declaration, he replied

in his 1922 White Paper, that he could not

do that. The Balfour Declaration stands.

However, to appease the Arabs, he arbitrarily

took the land under the British Mandate

east of the Jordan River – 76 percent

of what had been promised as a homeland

to the Jews – and ordered that Jews could

no longer settle or live there. This was a

betrayal of the full promise of the Balfour

Declaration, but Churchill thought it worthwhile

in that Britain could then reserve for

the Jews the remaining 24 percent of Palestine

which was west of the Jordan River to

the Mediterranean Sea. Churchill was seen

as a friend to the Jewish people.

The Arabs gladly took the land on the

east bank, but continued to launch terrorist

attacks against the Jews over the remaining

24 percent meant for a Jewish homeland.

In response to the continuous violence,

another White Paper in 1930 was written by

the British government stating that it now

seemed necessary to limit the number of

Jews immigrating to anyplace in the Holy

Land because they were taking jobs away

from the Arab population. It is a wellknown

fact that everywhere the Jews lived,

they built up the economy and actually gave

Arabs new jobs. The truth is, where Jews

lived, Arabs were also attracted to move in.

But the British wanted to stop the Arab violence

at all costs.

In 1939, at the beginning of the destruction

of 6,000,000 Jews in Europe, the British

sent out a third White Paper allowing

only 10,000 Jews a year into Palestine for

the next five years! After that, the Arabs

would decide on whether more Jews would

be allowed into Palestine. Thus, during

WWII, the Jews were denied a safe haven

from the Nazi butchers. The British sense

of justice collapsed under the weight of

Arab terrorism and obstinacy.

JEWISH PEOPLE STILL WITHOUT A HOME

Meanwhile, France gave Lebanon her

independence in 1943 and Syria in 1946

while Britain gave Iraq her independence in

1932 and Jordan in 1946.

Still Israel was given no country of her

own because of the constant violence of the

Arabs who were determined that no Jews

would create a state in the midst of “Arab

territory.”

Finally Britain had had enough and

threw up her hands, handed the mess over

to the League of Nations and its successor,

the United Nations.

UN WELCOMES ISRAEL

AS MEMBER STATE

The League and, after that, the UN upheld

the Balfour concept, but divided what

was left of the British Mandate into a small

section for Israel, leaving room for another

Arab state in the hill country west of the

Jordan River (Judea and Samaria.)

Israel agreed to receive this tiny piece of

land for her new state and Israel was granted

her entry to the UN as an independent

Jewish state in 1948. More than mystifying

is the fact that after 6,000,000 Jews had

been murdered in that very decade, Britain

could not bring herself to cast her UN vote

in favor of Israel. She was the only European

state that abstained. Even Russia voted

for Israel!

But every single Muslim nation in the

UN in 1947 voted against Israel’s statehood.

It was destiny that at that time the

Muslim countries and their close allies did

not yet have the majority vote in the UN

General Assembly as they do today.

Israel accepted UN Resolution 181 and

273 (see page 6) and Founding Father David

Ben Gurion declared Israel a free and

independent state on May 14, 1948.

FIVE ARAB NATIONS INVADE ISRAEL

The Arabs completely rejected the UN

resolution and five Arab nations invaded

Israel the next day, vowing to destroy the

nascent state.

When the smoke cleared, the Jordanians

had seized the West Bank area of Judea and

Samaria and East Jerusalem for themselves

and Egypt appropriated Gaza for themselves.

They were able to do this because

there was no “Palestinian people” or “Palestinian

state.” The only rulers over Palestine

for the last 500 years were the Ottoman

Turks and the British.

Four thousand Jews lost their lives in that

war for independence, but Israel actually

4. PEEL PROPOSAL 1937 5. UN PARTITION PLAN 1947 6. CEASE FIRE LINES 1949 7. CEASE FIRE LINES 1967

january 2013 Maoz Israel Report 3

Mediterranean

Sea

Mediterranean

Sea

Mediterranean

Sea

EGYPT EGYPT

EGYPT

JORDAN JORDAN

ISRAEL ISRAEL

JORDAN

SYRIA SYRIA

SYRIA

LEBANON LEBANON LEBANON

gained about 60 percent of what the UN had

offered the Arabs for their state! The CIA

did not believe Israel could possibly win.

Israel only had some 20,000 to 30,000 irregulars

for most of the war. Many of them

were new immigrants and couldn’t even

understand their commanders in Hebrew,

while the Arabs had large regular armies. It

was an absolute miracle.

SIX DAY WAR 1967

Nineteen years later the Arabs again

threatened to throw Israel into the sea and

in an act of war blockaded Israel’s entrance

to the Red Sea. Israel struck back,

chasing the Egyptians out of Gaza, the

Jordanians out of Judea and Samaria (the

West Bank) and ancient Jerusalem. Israel

conquered the Sinai Desert, Gaza, and

took over their ancient homeland of Judea

and Samaria. Moreover, they captured the

Golan Heights from the Syrians, ending

the constant terrorist attacks for decades

from the Heights down on Jewish villages

and kibbutzim in Galilee. In six days. An

incredible miracle.

The Arab nations then had no choice

but to signed cease-fire agreements with

Israel. But they emphasized that they

were not recognizing any borders of any

kind with Israel since they did not accept

the existence of a Jewish state. No Israel.

No borders.

YOM KIPPUR WAR 1973

Again Arab nations invaded Israel with

a surprise attack on Israel’s holiest day.

Again, miraculously, Israel pushed the Arabs

back, and actually could have marched

on to Cairo in the south and Damascus in

the north. But by this time the UN powers

that be almost hysterically demanded

that Israel stop. Another cease-fire was

arranged – but again no borders were designated

because (remember?) the Arabs

refused to recognize the Jewish state, and

therefore would of course not give her borders.

Until today, no borders for Israel have

been assigned in written form by anyone.

Only cease-fire lines.

EASTERN BORDER – THE SECOND

INTIFADA 2000-2004

Muslim violence raged on. In the Second

Intifada which began in the year 2000

in the West Bank, there was every kind

of terror you could possibly imagine: late

night commando raids, bus bombings,

bar mitzvah shootings, random stabbings,

street riots, town sieges, bicycle bombers,

clashes at holy sites, car bombs, sniper fire

fights, human shields, mortar attacks on

settlements and farms.

Experts told Israel that it is impossible

to win against guerrilla warfare – which

is what the Intifada was. However, Israel

had no choice if she were to survive. After

5800 Arabs were killed, the Intifada

was over.

Yes, 1,053 Israelis were also killed according

to the B’Tselem NGO, and 2,267

Israelis injured. One hundred twenty Arab

suicide bombers made themselves martyrs.

But what did the Arabs in Judea and

Samaria gain? For a start, the loss of their

fast-growing economy, and the hardships

of many new Israeli checkpoints and a

protective wall (which the world said was

illegal) keeping the suicide bombers out of

Israel proper.

NORTHERN BORDER - HEZBOLLAH

Israel has had numerous wars - too many

to write about in this article. Suffice it to

speak of one: When Hezbollah terrorists

continually attacked Israel’s northern border

towns, Israel drove them out and created

a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, fighting

the terrorists together with Lebanese

Christians who were Israel’s allies. Under

international pressure, Israel pulled out in

the year 2000, only to have Hezbollah grow

into a powerful guerrilla army equipped by

Syria and Iran. Just one short war of 33

days with Hezbollah in 2006: 121 Israeli

soldiers killed, 1244 wounded, 43 civilians

killed – including 18 Israeli Arabs – and

1384 Israeli civilians wounded – mostly

from 4000 rockets.

In an effort to end the hostilities, on 11

August 2006, the United Nations Security

Council unanimously approved UN Resolution

1701.

Now here’s the joke: The resolution

called for Israel to withdraw and for Hezbollah

to disarm with United Nations

forces (UNIFIL) making sure it happened.

Israel did pull out but Hezbollah rearmed.

Today, Hezbollah has some 40,000 rockets

according to the IDF’s intelligence. It is

estimated the terrorist organization which

is an arm of Iran and Syria can shoot 500

to 600 rockets a day into northern Israel if

war breaks out again.

Hezbollah stashes its arms next to

schools, hospitals and civilian homes – so

that if Israel targets the caches of weapons

and it blows up civilians – especially

children – Hezbollah wins the political and

media war – isolating Israel even more and

preventing her from having the means to

defend herself.

SOUTHERN BORDER - HAMAS

Israel unilaterally pulled out of Gaza in

2005, only to see it completely taken over

by the terrorist organization Hamas. Over

the last 12 years, Hamas has hit Israel’s

southern population with more than 15,000

rockets. In Sderot, one town alone, an estimated

15,000 people suffer from PTSD and

1,000 are undergoing treatment.

The last conflict with Gaza in November

2012 called the Pillar of Cloud in Hebrew,

gives Israel a short breathing time

until Hamas begins their rocket attacks

again. Psychologists suggest that up to

70 percent of Israeli children living under

these constant rocket attacks suffer from

trauma and are permanently emotionally

damaged.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal who arrived

in the Gaza Strip for the first time (his

home in Syria is no longer safe) told it like

it is: “Palestine from the river to the sea,

from the north to the south, is our land and

we will never give up one inch or any part

of it.”

As the years have gone by and the UN is

now dominated by Islamic states, Muslims

have discovered many new weapons of war

– political war – against Israel. The plan is

to so isolate and delegitimize Israel that the

world will finally just say, “Away with her!”

Now that the Palestinian Authority has

been voted in by the UN General Assembly

as a non-member state, the PA has a whole

new set of weapons against Israel. But

that’s for another story.

The Bible’s prophetic words are fast

coming to pass: “And it will come about in

that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy

stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will

be severely injured. And all the nations of

the earth will be gathered against it. Zechariah

12:3

But prophecies foretelling the day Israel

shall be saved and be a light to the nations

will also be fulfilled. In that day, the Lord

says, “Israel will not bear the shame of the

nations anymore.” Ezekiel 34:29

DOCUMENTS VERIFYING

ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO EXIST

BIBLICAL BASIS FOR ISRAEL’S

EXISTENCE IN THE HOLY LAND

On that day the Lord made a covenant

with Abram, saying, “To your descendants

I have given this land, from the river of

Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.”

Genesis 15:18

He has remembered His covenant forever.

. .which He made with Abraham, and

His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to

Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting

covenant, saying, “To you I will give

the land of Canaan as the portion of your

inheritance.” Psalm 105:8-11

BALFOUR DECLARATION BY

HIS MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT

November 2, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you,

on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the

following declaration of sympathy with Jewish

Zionist aspirations which has been submitted

to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

“His Majesty’s Government view with

favour the establishment in Palestine of a

national home for the Jewish people, and

will use their best endeavours to facilitate the

achievement of this object, it being clearly

understood that nothing shall be done which

may prejudice the civil and religious rights

of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine,

or the rights and political status enjoyed

by Jews in any other country.”

I should be grateful if you would bring

this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist

Federation.

Arthur James Balfour, Foreign Office

[Great Britain]

(Palestine is the name that Rome gave

to the region of Israel’s Biblical inheritance

in an attempt to destroy forever the

nation of Israel.)

This article is not for casual

reading. It is an archive of

treaties, covenants and resolutions.

Boring! But these

documents are the proof of

Israel’s earthly international

legitimacy - no matter what

the world says now. Keep this

Maoz Report issue to share

with friends who might be

concerned that Israel exists

and behaves outside of international

law.

THE COVENANT OF THE

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

April, 1919

ARTICLE 22.

To those colonies and territories which as

a consequence of the late war have ceased to

be under the sovereignty of the States which

formerly governed them and which are inhabited

by peoples not yet able to stand by

themselves under the strenuous conditions

of the modern world, there should be applied

the principle that the well-being

and development of such peoples form

a sacred trust of civilization and that securities

for the performance of this trust

should be embodied in this Covenant.

Certain communities formerly belonging

to the Turkish Empire have

reached a stage of development where

their existence as independent nations

can be provisionally recognized subject

to the rendering of administrative advice

and assistance by a Mandatory until

such time as they are able to stand alone.

The wishes of these communities must be

a principal consideration in the selection

of the Mandatory.

“The League of Nations was formed to

maintain world peace. However, it had no

military arm and failed to stop WWII. It was

replaced by the United Nations in 1945.”

THE SAN REMO RESOLUTION

April 25, 1920

It was agreed: (a) To accept the terms of

the Mandates Article as given below with reference

to Palestine, on the understanding that

there was inserted in the process-verbal an

undertaking by the Mandatory Power that this

would not involve the surrender of the rights

hitherto enjoyed by the non-Jewish communities

in Palestine. . . (b) that the terms of the

Mandates Article should be as follows:

The boundaries of the said States will be

determined, and the selection of the Mandatories

made, by the Principal Allied Powers.

The Mandatory will be responsible for

putting into effect the [Balfour] declaration

originally made on November 8 [sic],

1917, by the British Government, and

adopted by the other Allied Powers, in favour

of the establishment in Palestine of a

national home for the Jewish people, it being

clearly understood that nothing shall be

done which may prejudice the civil and religious

rights of existing non-Jewish communities

in Palestine, or the rights and political

status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

“The San Remo conference was an international

meeting of the post-World War I

Allied Supreme Council, held in San Remo,

Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. It was attended

by the four Principal Allied Powers

of World War I who were represented by

the prime ministers of Britain (David Lloyd

George), France (Alexandre Millerand)

and Italy (Francesco Nitti) and by Japan’s

Ambassador K. Matsui.

The San Remo Resolution adopted on

April 25, 1920 incorporated the Balfour

Declaration of 1917. It and Article 22 of the

Covenant of the League of Nations (granting

the League the authority to create nations

out of areas conquered in war, i.e. the

former Ottoman Empire) were the basic

documents upon which the Mandate for

Palestine was constructed. Britain received

the mandate for Palestine and Iraq; France

gained control of Syria including presentday

Lebanon.”

THE PALESTINE MANDATE

July 24, 1922

The Council of the League of Nations:

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers

have agreed, for the purpose of giving effect

to the provisions of Article 22 [See

above] of the Covenant of the League of

Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected

by the said Powers the administration of the

territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged

to the Turkish Empire, within such

boundaries as may be fixed by them; and

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers

have also agreed that the Mandatory

should be responsible for putting into effect

the [Balfour] declaration originally

made on November 2, 1917, by the Government

of His Britannic Majesty, and

adopted by the said Powers, in favor of

the establishment in Palestine of a national

home for the Jewish people...

Whereas recognition has thereby been

given to the historical connection of the

Jewish people with Palestine and to the

grounds for reconstituting their national

home in that country; and confirming the

said Mandate, defines its terms as follows:

ART . 2. The Mandatory shall be responsible

for placing the country under

such political, administrative and economic

conditions as will secure the establishment

of the Jewish national home, as

laid down in the preamble, and the development

of self-governing institutions. . .

ART. 6. The Administration of Palestine

. . .shall facilitate Jewish immigration

under suitable conditions and shall

encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish

agency referred to in Article 4, close

settlement by Jews on the land, including

State lands and waste lands not required

for public purposes.

United Nations General

Assembly Resolution 181

November 29, 1947

The General Assembly, Having met in

special session at the request of the mandatory

Power [Great Britain] to constitute and

instruct a Special Committee to prepare for

the consideration of the question of the future

Government of Palestine at the second

regular session;

Requests that the Security Council take

the necessary measures as provided for in

the plan for its implementation. . .

The mandatory Power shall use its

best endeavours to ensure that an area

situated in the territory of the Jewish

State, including a seaport and hinterland

adequate to provide facilities for a

substantial immigration, shall be evacuated

at the earliest possible date and

in any event not later than 1 February

1948.

Independent Arab and Jewish States

and the Special International Regime

for the City of Jerusalem, set forth in

Part III of this Plan, shall come into existence

in Palestine two months after the

evacuation of the armed forces of the

mandatory Power has been completed

but in any case not later than 1 October

1948. The boundaries of the Arab State,

the Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem

shall be as described in Parts II and

III below.

No discrimination of any kind shall be

made between the inhabitants on the ground

of race, religion, language or sex.

All persons within the jurisdiction of the

State shall be entitled to equal protection of

the laws.

F. ADMISSION TO MEMBERSHIP

IN THE UNITED NATIONS

When the independence of either the

Arab or the Jewish State as envisaged in

this plan has become effective and the

declaration and undertaking, as envisaged

in this plan, have been signed by either

of them, sympathetic consideration

should be given to its application for admission

to membership in the United Nations

in accordance with article 4 of the

Charter of the United Nations.

B. THE JEWISH STATE

Part III. - City of Jerusalem: The City

of Jerusalem shall be established as a

corpus separatum under a special international

regime and shall be administered

by the United Nations. The Trusteeship

Council shall be designated to discharge

the responsibilities of the Administering

Authority on behalf of the United Nations.

Adopted at the 128th plenary meeting:

In favour: 33 Australia, Belgium, Bolivia,

Brazil, Byelorussian S.S.R., Canada,

Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican

Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala,

Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxemburg,

Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,

Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines,

Poland, Sweden, Ukrainian S.S.R.,

Union of South Africa, U.S.A., U.S.S.R.,

Uruguay, Venezuela.

Against: 13 Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt,

Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan,

Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen.

Abstained: 10 Argentina, Chile, China,

Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia,

Honduras, Mexico, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.

[Full text can be found at http://www.

yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm]

United Nations General

Assembly Resolution 273

May 11, 1949

Noting that, in the judgment of the Security

Council, Israel is a peace-loving State

and is able and willing to carry out the obligations

contained in the Charter,

Noting that the Security Council has

recommended to the General Assembly

that it admit Israel to membership in the

United Nations,

Noting furthermore the declaration by

the State of Israel that it “unreservedly accepts

the obligations of the United Nations

Charter and undertakes to honour them

from the day when it becomes a member of

the United Nations,”

Recalling its resolutions of 29 November

1947. . .

The General Assembly, acting in discharge

of its functions under Article 4 of

the Charter and rule 125 of its rules of procedure,

1. Decides that Israel is a peace loving

State which accepts the obligations

contained in the Charter and is able and

willing to carry out those obligations;

2. Decides to admit Israel to membership

in the United Nations.

TWISTS AND TURNS

The Faisal-Weizmann Agreement January

3, 1919 was a great beginning of Jewish

and Arab cooperation. However, it was

short-lived. The three White Papers and the

Peel Commission, while trying to uphold

the Balfour promise succumbed over time

to Arab terrorism and influence.

THE FAISAL-WEIZMANN

AGREEMENT

3 January 1919

His Royal Highness the Emir Feisal, representing

and acting on behalf of the Arab

Kingdom of Hedjaz, and Dr. Chaim Weizmann,

representing and acting on behalf of

the Zionist Organization, mindful of the racial

kinship and ancient bonds existing between

the Arabs and the Jewish people, and

realizing that the surest means of working

out the consummation of their natural aspirations

is through the closest possible collaboration

in the development of the Arab

State and Palestine, and being desirous further

of confirming the good understanding

which exists between them, have agreed

upon the following:

Article III

In the establishment of the Constitution

and Administration of Palestine, all such

measures shall be adopted as will afford the

fullest guarantees for carrying into effect

the British Government’s Declaration

of the 2nd of November, 1917. (Balfour

Declaration)

Article IV

All necessary measures shall be taken

to encourage and stimulate immigration

of Jews into Palestine on a large scale,

and as quickly as possible to settle Jewish

immigrants upon the land through closer

settlement and intensive cultivation of the

soil. . .

(signed) Faisal Ibn Hussein

(signed) Chaim Weizmann

“Faisal Ibn Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi,

was for a short time King of Greater Syria

in 1920, and later King of Iraq. He was a

member of the Hashemite dynasty. Chaim

Weizmann was President of the Zionist Organization,

and the first President of the

State of Israel.

Faisal’s father, Hussein bin Ali, the

Sharif of Mecca and King of Hedjas, formally

endorsed the Balfour Declaration in

the Treaty of Sevres (the peace treaty between

the Ottoman Empire and Allies at

the end of World War I) of 10 August 1920,

along with the other Allied powers. Under

Arab pressure, the King later unilaterally

reneged on this treaty.”

The following remarks are summaries of

the White Papers and the Peel Commission

WHITE PAPER OF 1922

After the 1921 Arab riots and slaughter

of Jews, Winston Churchill issued a White

Paper in 1922 stating that the Balfour Declaration

could not be amended and that the

Jews were in Palestine by right.

Churchill declared: “But in order that

this [Jewish] community should have the

best prospect of free development and provide

a full opportunity for the Jewish people

to display its capacities, it is essential

that it should know that it is in Palestine as

of right and not on the sufferance. That is

the reason why it is necessary that the existence

of a Jewish National Home in Palestine

should be internationally guaranteed,

and that it should be formally recognized to

rest upon ancient historic connection.”

At the same time, to appease Arab violence,

the British government decided to

create an Arab nation from all of the land

east of the Jordan River – removing 76 percent

of Palestine from Jewish habitation.

Churchill also hinted that he might have to

regulate Jewish immigration to Palestine if

the Jewish population grew too fast. The

Arabs found that the more they rioted, the

more Britain limited Jewish immigration.

WHITE PAPER OF 1930

More Arab riots and another White Paper.

This paper hinted at the need to curtail

Jewish immigration to the entire area originally

designated by the Balfour Declaration

as a homeland for the Jewish people.

THE PEEL COMMISSION

JULY 1937

At the height of 1936-1939 Arab riots,

a royal commission of inquiry headed by

Lord Robert Peel went to Palestine to investigate.

He recommended that the British

Mandate be abolished and the country divided

between two peoples with Jerusalem

becoming an international city under British

rule. He saw no injury to Arabs with

Jewish immigration. The British accepted

the recommendation. The Jews rejected it

as the portion given for a Jewish state was

miniscule. The Arabs rejected it because

they wanted no Jews and no Jewish state.

The proposal was shelved.

WHITE PAPER OF 1939

As the fierce riots by Arabs in Palestine

continued, the British produced yet

another White Paper. This infamous paper

is known for its closure of Israel’s ancient

homeland to Jewish immigration - at the

very time Jews were beginning to lose their

lives in Europe under Nazism. Instead of

enabling Jews to flee to their ancient homeland,

Britain virtually slammed the door

shut to millions of Jews who were about to

be slaughtered.

Britain, whose sole claim to ruling the

Holy Land was because of the spoils of

war, decided that over the next five years

of 1940-1944, a maximum of 75,000

more Jewish immigrants could come to

Israel.

After that, Britain would let the Arab

majority decide if more Jews could come.

This paper also placed restrictions on Jews

buying land from Arabs. Thus Britain,

who was given the unique opportunity to

fulfill the ancient prophecies of the Bible,

promising that one day the Jews would

come back to live in their promised land,

failed to give the Jewish people their

homeland and are thus complicit in allowing

6,000,000 million Jews to be slaughtered

in World War II.

Incidentally, there were members of

the House of Commons who opposed this

White Paper, asserting that it was in opposition

to the Balfour Declaration. But it was

approved by the House of Commons on 23

May 1939 by 268 votes to 179.

The 1939 White Paper was rejected by

Jews, Arabs (for opposite reasons) and the

League of Nations. Because of bureaucracy,

the British refused to let even a total of

75,000 jews immigrate.

Britain decided there would be no Jewish

or Arab state on the remaining 24 percent

of Palestine.

WHEN A GENTILE WOMAN

GIVES A JEWISH BIBLE

to a jewish bo y

By Chaim Goldberg

Boys in love do crazy things. Some

get tattoos. Some spend all their

money trying to woo the object of

their affections. Others, like me,

get suckered into receiving Bibles.

Here I was, 18 years old and I was in

love with a girl named Rachel Donnelly.

She was a girl in my high school who was

the most beautiful and vibrant human being

I had ever laid eyes on. We were friends,

appearing in school plays together, hanging

out after school and things like that…but I

wanted more. I wanted her.

One afternoon, I gave Rachel a ride

home from school. She invited me into

her house to ‘hang out’…an invitation I

gladly accepted. Upon entering her house,

we encountered her mom. She was busy in

the kitchen, preparing dinner. Did I mention

that Rachel was one of 14 kids? Yes

you read that correctly, 14!! So you can

imagine what kind of a strong woman her

mother was, to birth 14 babies!

Rachel’s mom, Susan, was an extraordinary

human being. Not just for her ability

to procreate. There was something about

her. She was all of 5 feet in height. But

she had an inner strength that you could just

sense. And something else. I wasn’t sure

just what it was. But the feeling that I had

whenever I was around her, is that being in

her proximity was like being closer to God.

It’s a hard thing to describe. It was an

energy that was almost tangible.

On this particular afternoon, I noticed

for the first time, that Mrs. Donnelly was

wearing a Star of David pendant around

her neck. I was shocked at this discovery.

Here I was a Jewish kid and here she was

some sort of Gentile woman (with a name

like Donnelly and 14 kids I always assumed

she was Irish Catholic, but didn’t know for

sure) and she was wearing a Jewish star?

Before I could help myself, I blurted out:

“Mrs. Donnelly why are you wearing a

Jewish star?” She replied, “This is the Star of

David, and Jesus is a descendant of David.”

I had no idea what she was talking about.

But I wasn’t about to question her – since she

was the mother of the girl I was crazy about.

Later that afternoon, just as I was about

to leave, Mrs. Donnelly called to me from

the other room.

“Come here,” she said “I have a gift for

you.” You have a gift for me, I thought?!

This woman has 14 children, how on earth

could she have time, energy or thought to

get a gift for me, some guy who’s clearly

trying to make a move on her daughter?!

“OK,” I said. She handed me a wrapped

package. I sensed it was some sort of book.

And as I pulled back the wrapping paper,

my guess was confirmed. It was a book.

But no ordinary book. It was a Bible!

Clearly the earlier conversation about Yeshua

and the Star of David had sparked

Mrs. Donnelly to think she had a spiritual

opening with me. Now she was going in for

the kill. She was trying to convert me! She

wanted me to become like one of ‘them.’

The title of this Bible she gave me was

‘The Jewish New Testament’ by David

Stern. I knew instantly why she was giving

it to me. But I couldn’t show any emotion.

I had to keep my cool. I needed this woman

to like me, and to put in a good word for me

with her daughter. I politely thanked her.

Left the house. Got in my car. Tossed that

‘book’ in the back seat and never gave it

another thought.

Fast forward almost 2 years. I’m now 20

years old. Living in my first apartment in, of

all places, Cadillac, Michigan. If you want

to get to Cadillac, take a flight to Detroit,

drive north for about 5 hours, until you see

nothing but trees. That’s probably Cadillac.

I was a young TV producer, working for a

CBS affiliate in northern Michigan. I rented

a place in an old abandoned country school

house (that looked like the one on Little

House on the Prairie) that someone had

converted into two apartments. It was on a

dirt road, and even had some sort of wooden

cross out on the lawn commemorating the

school that once inhabited the structure. I

had no neighbors. It was just open fields and

trees as far as the eye could see.

One evening, I was lying around the

apartment, bored out of my mind. There was

nothing to do. I was a big city kid, living in

this tiny town where I knew exactly no one

and had no options for entertainment. Apparently

there was nothing good on TV that

night either, because I did something I rarely

do…I read. Don’t get me wrong, I like to

consider myself an educated person. I was

a journalist, loved politics, was interested in

world affairs. But I just preferred to get my

information from TV, movies, the radio, or

short articles in newspapers and magazines.

I just wasn’t a big book reader.

But that night, out of desperation, I wanted

something to read. So, I walked to the

bookshelf in my bedroom and started perusing

the limited selection. And there, to my

utter shock, was ‘that book.’ That ‘Bible.’

That ‘Jewish New Testament’ that Mrs.

Donnelly had given me. What was it doing

here? How did it get here? I had no memory

of ever seeing that book again, after leaving

her home with it. I certainly didn’t remember

packing it and taking it with me to my

first apartment, after leaving college.

To this day, I have no explanation for this

Bible being on my shelf, that night, in that

place. It still astonishes me. But there it was.

OK. This was an opportunity. A chance

to finally know why I didn’t believe this.

Being raised in a Jewish home, I was taught

all my life that Yeshua and Christianity and

the New Testament, wasn’t for us. That

wasn’t what we believed in. Tonight I was

finally going to know, why?

I took out the book. Sat down on my bed.

And began flipping through, trying to figure

out where to start. I was a little bit afraid

of it, to be honest. I had never done anything

like this, investigating another faith. I

flipped through the pages and saw the words

- ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’ OK, this was

good. I think I had heard of this before.

Fine, this is where I’ll start my reading.

And so I began. “How blessed are the

poor in spirit for the Kingdom of Heaven is

theirs….” etc., etc., etc., ok, this is all quite

flowery and weird. Not really sure what this

is all about. Keep reading. This is boring.

OK, skip a page. Then I see the words ‘Love

Your Enemies.’ What is this, I thought?

Love your enemies? I had never heard

of anything like this before. I kept reading.

‘But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for

those who persecute you! Then you will become

children of your Father in heaven…’

Wow. Wow. This was really something. I

put down the book. Closed it. Didn’t read

one more word. Didn’t have to. Wow. Love

your enemies? Pray for them? This was a

revelation in thinking that had never entered

my brain before. I was stunned, overwhelmed,

incredibly moved. I was suddenly

consumed with the thought, “this is the kind

of thing that I would expect God to say…

because men/people don’t talk like this.”

What an overwhelming thought. That

these could be the words of God. But no…

no I had to reject that thought. I was Jewish.

This was Yeshua talking. This was a

Christian Bible. No way!

I tried to banish the thoughts that were

invading my mind. I put that book back

on the shelf and never looked at it again. I

don’t know who you are David Stern, but

this is not for me!

Or was it?

After only reading those few paragraphs

in the book of Matthew, my life was undone.

For days, I was tormented by the thought

“just say that you believe that Yeshua is

real.” What?! Who said that? Where is this

thought coming from. No way! I’m Jewish!

But this thought wouldn’t stop rolling

around in my mind. “You don’t have to say

that you believe in Yeshua; just say that you

believe that Yeshua is real.”

For three days, these words pounded

away at my consciousness, like a raging

river. But I was determined to put up a

dam in my mind to keep them out. Finally

I couldn’t take it any more. It was literally

driving me mad.

And before I realized what I was doing, I

relented. I got down on my knees and yelled

out “OK, I believe that Yeshua is real!”

Suddenly, it was as if the dam I had built

in my mind was burst through by raging

water. My mind was flooded and I would

never be the same again.

It would be several months and lots of

soul searching before I finally fully comprehended

that I was now a believer in Yeshua.

I was one of ‘them.’ And almost 18

years later, I’m thrilled to say I still am!

But it all began that night. Reading those

few words, from that beautifully translated

Jewish New Testament.

Now here I am, all these years later, working

at Maoz with…of all people, Dr. David

Stern as he and Maoz put together a plan to

translate his Jewish New Testament Commentary

into Hebrew. I couldn’t be prouder!

What an honor it has been just to meet Dr.

Stern and to share my story with him.

It is still amazing to me how God used

this Jewish New Testament to reach me,

this very special translation of the Bible tailored

to meet the Jewish reader right where

he or she is, in the midst of our culture and

faith and heritage. I pray He continues to

reach many more Jews who will soon be

reading the Hebrew version of his Jewish

New Testament Commentary.

I praise God for Dr. Stern and his writing.

I praise God for Mrs. Donnelly for

giving me that book, all those years ago.

She has since left this world and is with our

LORD. I think of my life here in Israel and

my work to reach the Jewish people with

the Gospel as her legacy. I am the fruit of

her faithfulness and prayers. She had such

a heart for the Jewish people and was a bold

evangelist. And to this day, one of my most

cherished possessions is that Star of David

pendant she used to wear, which her family

gave to me after her death.

You can now help carry on this legacy, by

contributing to this vital translation project. I

hope you’ll prayerfully consider doing so.

The author is the head of the Maoz

Media Department.

DISCIPLESHIP IN TEL AVIV