Page 6 - TORCH Magazine #11

originally set aside for the Jewish people had been drastically reduced. Around 77% (land east of the Jordan River) was given to a new Arab kingdom of Transjordan, which later became Jordan, whilst a much smaller Jewish State remained guaranteed under international law.
During the British Mandate of Palestine, many Arabs and Jews considered themselves “Palestinian”. There was the Palestine Symphony Orchestra (later The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra), Anglo-Palestine Bank (later Israeli Leumi Bank) and even the Palestine football team, comprising of Jewish players. An advert (right) has often been used by anti-Israel activists, but was actually created as a tourist poster by Zionists. The coin is inscribed with “Palestine” alongside Hebrew. The ag of Palestine, adorned with the Star
of David, speaks for itself (right). A “Jewish” Palestine is di cult to ignore, yet anti-Israel activities are quick to point out the usage of “Palestine” in support of denying Israel’s right to exist and not the Star of David that shines so radiantly reminding us of the Jewish homeland.
In 1945, the UN’s charter gave recognition to the right for Jewish people to settle in Palestine from the river to the sea - west
of the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
Two years later when the British Mandate expired, the UN divided what was left of Palestine into two independent states - one Jewish (56%) and the other Arab in what is known as the 1947 Partition Plan. The Jews accepted the UN resolution, calling their state Israel. The Arabs rejected the two-state plan and attacked Israel in 1948 after the British departed and immediately after Israel declared independence.
After the Arab-Israel war, Jordan annexed Judea and Samaria, the so-called “West Bank”. Egypt took over the Gaza Strip. Both areas that were originally assigned to the Arabs in the partition plan. Despite gaining control, neither country saw the need to establish an independent Arab state. Israel meanwhile, continued to ourish.
The Origin of Palestine
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