In 1947, the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) investigated the future of the British Mandate and offered two plans. Its majority recommended separate Arab and Jewish states with an economic union; its minority proposed a federal state. The Jewish Agency accepted the majority plan as a basis for establishing a Jewish state, despite objections to its borders and Jerusalem’s exclusion. Arab leaders opposed partition and demanded an independent Arab state across the country. On November 29, the General Assembly adopted a revised plan, 33–13, with 10 abstentions.
What UNSCOP recommended
The General Assembly created UNSCOP in May 1947 and instructed it to examine the question of the Mandate’s future. The committee visited the country, heard testimony, and reported on August 31. The Arab Higher Committee boycotted its proceedings, while the Jewish Agency presented its case. The committee’s majority, seven of eleven members, proposed partition into Arab and Jewish states, an economic union, and an international regime for Jerusalem. India, Iran, and Yugoslavia instead proposed a federal state. The U.S. State Department’s contemporary history records the two proposals and their distinct institutional arrangements in its summary of the UNSCOP report.
Why Jewish leaders accepted a difficult plan
Jewish Agency representative Abba Hillel Silver told the UN Ad Hoc Committee that the majority proposal fell short for Jews, including because the proposed Jewish state had limited territory and excluded Jerusalem. Still, the Agency was willing to accept it because it made possible the immediate reestablishment of a Jewish state. The U.S. diplomatic record captures both the objections and the decision to accept the majority report. Acceptance was therefore a practical agreement to a two-state recommendation, not approval of every boundary or provision. Read more about the proposed map and economic union.
Why Arab leaders opposed partition
Jamal Husseini, speaking for the Arab Higher Committee, argued that Palestine should become an independent Arab state and that the UN lacked authority to impose its constitutional organization. The committee’s position was that political independence belonged to the country’s inhabitants; it rejected a separate Jewish state and partition. These statements identify the leadership’s stated objection without assigning a single motive to all Arab residents. The U.S. record preserves Husseini’s position and the Jewish Agency’s response in its account of their appearances before the Ad Hoc Committee.
How the General Assembly vote passed
After debate and revisions, the General Assembly voted on November 29, 1947. The proposal received 33 votes in favor, 13 against, and 10 abstentions. Both the United States and the Soviet Union voted in favor, alongside states from several regions and political blocs; 13 states voted against. The official UN session index records the tally and resolution number. Resolution 181 recommended a plan to the United Kingdom and UN members; it did not itself create the two states. Its legal status and international significance are explained in what Resolution 181 meant internationally.