1999 E-mail Exchange with Sir Brian Urquhart: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

E-mail Exchange with Sir Brian Urquhart and students from Marin Academy High School, UC Berkeley's Model UN Program, and Boalt School of Law: March 1999 with Harry Kreisler

The UN and the Middle East

What role did you play in the creation of an Israeli state?

Leila Yavari, Model UN Program, UC Berkeley

In 1948, when Israel became a state, I was personal assistant to the first Secretary-General of the UN. I therefore did not play any direct role in this event.

In retrospect, what could the UK have done to avoid some of the problems we face today in the Arab - Israeli, Israeli - Palestinian conflict?

Leila Yavari, Model UN Program, UC Berkeley

I have no useful defense of UK policy as regards Palestine, starting with the Balfour Declaration and the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1917. I think the UK was always trying to balance two unbalanceable forces in Palestine. This, of course, became even more impossible when on the one hand the Arab world became more important because of oil and on the other hand, Jewish immigration into Palestine vastly increased due to Hitler.

Do you believe that the Palestinian people should be given their own nation? If so, what role does the UK play in the consummation of the creation of an independent Palestinian state?

Leila Yavari, Model UN Program, UC Berkeley

I have always believed that the Palestinians should, and must, have their own state.

Of course, the original UN plan for Palestine, the so called Partition Plan of 1947, envisioned both a Jewish and a Palestinian state. Unfortunately, the Arabs categorically refused to accept this plan and so, in effect, what Arafat is now trying to get is what is left of the plan that the Arabs refused in 1948. The UK has virtually no influence in the current situation, in which the effective players are Israel, the United States, and the Palestinian Authority.

How did the United Nations believe that the Middle East situation would play out after the Palestinians refused the original divisions of their land in 1948 that would give them a country of their own at the same time that the Jews would receive a homeland?

Naomi G., Marin Academy High School

In 1948 we all believed, naively as it turns out, that a settlement of the Palestine problem was possible. When this settlement proved to be a dream, the UN turned to cease-fires, armistices, peacekeeping operations, and other forms of conflict control, in an effort to contain the situation in the hope that a settlement could eventually be reached. That remains the situation up till now, unfortunately.

The "Question of Palestine" has been one of the most enduring issues in the history of the United Nations. In the past, members of the United Nations have worked quite hard in search of a peaceful solution. Their efforts, however, have not resulted in a true, comprehensive peace. In particular, the United Nation has never been able to compel Israel to abide by any of the numerous resolutions that have, in the terrible history of the Palestinian people, attempted to ensure for them the justice and recognition they deserve. What do you think is the solution to this seemingly intractable issue, and does there remain an effective role for the United Nations in this area, given that contemporary politics has shown that the wishes of a large majority of the members of the UN -- including the Permanent Members of the Security Council -- can be consistently frustrated by the abuse of the veto power, something the United States has been repeatedly guilty of?

Jawad H. Salah, Boalt School of Law, UC Berkeley

From the very beginning, there has been no possibility of a agreed solution to the Palestine problem for the simple reason that both sides lay claim to the same territory and have no intention of giving up their claim. The history of the problem since 1947 has been a history of lost opportunities, of military opportunism, and of immense suffering for the Palestinians. I think it is fair to say that from the outset the neglect of the interests of the Palestinians both by the Israelis and by the Arabs has been the key to this tragedy. After this long and tortured history it is somewhat ironic that the United States now appears to be the main hope for what is left of the rights of the Palestinians. It is of course very easy to recall the various moments in the past when a far better solution could have been found. This is no help and cannot alter the fact that the current peace process, for all its manifest shortcomings, appears to be the only hope for the Palestinians. I take no pleasure in writing this answer.