Seventy-eight years ago, on November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to recognize the right of the Jewish people to reestablish a state in the Land of Israel. The decision, known as the UN Partition Plan, offered Jews and Arabs a path toward self-determination. The Jewish side acknowledged the plan as a groundbreaking compromise and a moral recognition of the Jewish people’s right to independence in their historic homeland. The Arab side rejected it outright, choosing instead the path of confrontation.
The Jewish community in the Land of Israel, small and vulnerable at the time, embraced the opportunity with urgency and resolve. The modern State of Israel became a thriving democracy, a global center of innovation, science, and arts.
The Arab world, in contrast, responded to the same historical crossroad by refusing compromise. The Arab rejection of the partition plan led not to the realization of Palestinian statehood but to wars, displacement of Jews and Arabs, and decades of missed opportunities. In 1947, the Palestinians could have had a state of their own alongside Israel. They chose war instead. The consequences have echoed ever since. Palestinian leaders spent decades and enormous resources attempting to destroy Israel’s existence., rather than fostering coexistence.
Israel’s story since 1947 is one of successful development through resilience and perseverance, proof that moral clarity and pragmatic compromise can coexist. Israel has consistently declared and demonstrated its willingness to live in peace with its Arab neighbors, seeking agreements and partnerships with those ready to choose a similar path.
Today, the contrast is stark. Israel, smaller than many of its neighbors, stands as a technological hub, an open economy, and a pluralistic society. Meanwhile, many of the regimes that once declared they would destroy Israel have faced political upheaval, poverty, and internal conflict. Those who rejected coexistence have too often rejected progress as well.
This divergence is especially evident in the rise of Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza strip, whose jihadist ideology and explicit commitment to Israel’s destruction pose an existential threat not only to Israeli civilians but also to any hope of peaceful coexistence. Hamas rejection of compromise, its glorification of violence, and its exploitation of the Palestinian population have perpetuated suffering and stalled every attempt at building a constructive future. Its actions reflect the most extreme version of the same rejectionism that began in 1947: a refusal to accept the legitimacy of the State of Israel at all.
The legacy of November 29 reminds the world, and particularly the Middle East, that futures are sculpted by choices. The Jewish people chose acceptance, compromise, and construction. The Palestinian leadership chose refusal, denial and destruction. Seventy-eight years later, the results of those two paths are clear.
Israel’s existence today is not only a political fact. It is a moral victory, a testament to the power of faith, resilience, and the enduring right of the indigenous people of Israel to its state in the Land of Israel. The hope remains that one day, our Palestinian neighbors will make the same choice Israel made in 1947: to accept the legitimacy of the other and to build a future worth sharing.