Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Institute for Research and Policy המרכז הירושלמי לענייני ציבור ומדינה )ע"ר( ISRAEl’s RiGHTS as a Nation-State in International Diplomacy Israel’s Rights as a Nation-State in International Diplomacy © 2011 Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs – World Jewish Congress Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs 13 Tel Hai Street, Jerusalem, Israel Tel. 972-2-561-9281 Fax. 972-2-561-9112 Email: [email protected] www.jcpa.org World Jewish Congress 9A Diskin Street, 5th Floor Kiryat Wolfson, Jerusalem 96440 Phone : +972 2 633 3000 Fax: +972 2 659 8100 Email: [email protected] www.worldjewishcongress.com Academic Editor: Ambassador Alan Baker Production Director: Ahuva Volk Graphic Design: Studio Rami & Jaki • www.ramijaki.co.il Cover Photos: Results from the United Nations vote, with signatures, November 29, 1947 (Israel State Archive) UN General Assembly Proclaims Establishment of the State of Israel, November 29, 1947 (Israel National Photo Collection) ISBN: 978-965-218-100-8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Overview Ambassador Alan Baker .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 The National Rights of Jews Professor Ruth Gavison ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9 “An Overwhelmingly Jewish State” - From the Balfour Declaration to the Palestine Mandate Sir Martin Gilbert .......................................................................................................................................................................................23 Self-Determination and Israel’s Declaration of Independence Professor Shlomo Avineri ....................................................................................................................................................................35 The United Nations and Middle East Refugees: The Differential Treatment of Arabs and Jews Dr. Stanley A. Urman ..............................................................................................................................................................................45 Israel’s Rights Regarding Territories and the Settlements in the Eyes of the International Community Ambassador Alan Baker ........................................................................................................................................................................65 The Historical and Legal Contexts of Israel’s Borders Professor Nicholas Rostow ..................................................................................................................................................................75 The Misleading Interpretation of Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) Professor Ruth Lapidoth ........................................................................................................................................................................85 Defending Israel’s Legal Rights to Jerusalem Ambassador Dore Gold .........................................................................................................................................................................97 Palestinian Unilateralism and Israel’s Rights in Arab-Israeli Diplomacy Dan Diker ......................................................................................................................................................................................................115 Is the Gaza Strip Occupied by Israel? Col. (ret.) Pnina Sharvit-Baruch ..................................................................................................................................................131 The Violation of Israel’s Right to Sovereign Equality in the United Nations Ambassador Alan Baker .....................................................................................................................................................................147 Countering Challenges to Israel’s Legitimacy Prof. Alan M. Dershowitz .................................................................................................................................................................159 Appendices: 1. The Balfour Declaration, November 2, 1917 .................................................................................................................169 2. The Palestine Mandate, December 1922 ..........................................................................................................................170 3. U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181 (Partition Plan), November 29, 1947 ....................................176 4. The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948 ..............................................197 5. U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, November 22, 1967 ...............................................................................200 6. U.N. Security Council Resolution 338, October 22, 1973 ...................................................................................201 7. Israel-PLO Recognition, September 9-10, 1993 .........................................................................................................202 8. Israel-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, September 13, 1993 .................................................................204 9. Interim Agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, September 28, 1995 .....................................215 About the AutHors ................................................................................................................................................233 About THE Jerusalem CENTER for Public Affairs ..............................237 About THE World Jewish Congress ...................................................................................238 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Alan Baker The importance of this book arose in light of a concerted campaign launched some years ago and presently being waged against Israel by Palestinian, Muslim, and other non-Arab elements in the international community. This campaign seeks to question the very legitimacy of Israel in virtually every aspect of its historical, political, and cultural life, and even extends into international organizations, international media, and the web, with the aim of questioning and undermining the very foundations of Israel’s existence. With a view to providing the international community in general, and readers, academics, parliamentarians, and others, with an authoritative exposition of Israel’s basic rights as a state in international diplomacy, several world-renowned experts have been asked to write a chapter on some of the most central aspects of Israel’s existence and rights. In light of claims by Palestinian leaders questioning the very right to statehood of a Jewish state, we chose to open this book with a chapter on “The National Rights of Jews” by Prof. Ruth Gavison, recipient of the 2011 Israel Prize for Law and one of the world’s experts in the field of nationalism and public law. Addressing the issue of the right to establish a national home in Palestine, renowned historian and author Sir Martin Gilbert, who among other things has written the official biography of Sir Winston Churchill, discusses in the second chapter entitled “An Overwhelmingly Jewish State” - From the Balfour Declaration to the Palestine Mandate,” issues regarding the League of Nations Mandate and the British government’s understanding of the Jewish right to a national home in Palestine. 5 Since Israel’s right to establish a Jewish state has been and still is constantly under discussion, Prof. Shlomo Avineri, one of Israel’s greatest experts in political science, has written the third chapter on “Self-Determination and Israel’s Declaration of Independence.” The refugee issue has tenaciously been on the international agenda since 1948, and figures in all the major international documentation. But while this was originally an issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries, as well as of Palestinian refugees, the Jewish-refugee aspect appears to have been forgotten by the international community. Dr. Stanley A. Urman, an expert on the refugee issue who heads the international organization “Justice for Jews from Arab Countries,” has written the fourth chapter, “The United Nations and Middle East Refugees: The Differential Treatment of Arabs and Jews.” Over the years, and despite developments within the peace process, the international community has formulated and insists on reiterating a sort of “accepted terminology” that defines Israel’s status as an “occupying power” and determines that “settlements are illegal,” without any serious attempt to review the accuracy or truth behind such terminology. In the fifth chapter, on “Israel’s Rights Regarding the Territories and the Settlements in the Eyes of the International Community,” I address this phenomenon and point to the inherent lack of accuracy and the way in which the international community has allowed itself to be misled by clichés. Despite the fact that the issue of borders has been agreed between Israel and the PLO to be a subject for negotiation between them in the negotiations on the permanent status, the Palestinian leadership is persistently attempting to dictate the outcome of such negotiations through unilateral campaigning in the international community with a view