136: Why not two states from the start?
Summary
Haviv answers a subscriber’s question on why two states weren’t established in 1947, explaining that the UN partition plan was rejected by Arab leaders who opposed any Jewish state or federal alternative. He details the existential crisis facing Holocaust survivors and Jews in the Arab world, which drove Jewish acceptance of the flawed plan despite its indefensible borders. The episode highlights how Arab refusal to recognize the plan or establish a Palestinian state in occupied territories led to war and the eventual founding of Israel.
Topics discussed
The 1947 UN Partition Plan and its flaws
Jewish acceptance of the plan post-Holocaust
Arab rejection and threats to Jewish communities
Rejection of the federalist alternative proposal
Three Arab legal arguments against partition
Arab threats as justification for Jewish statehood
The Arab plan for a unitary state and Jewish refugees
The 1948 War, Soviet arms, and economic crisis
Jordan and Egypt's refusal to establish a Palestinian state
PLO founding and the missed opportunity for two states
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