Call Number:

C1240

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); United Nations Mission to Palestine, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1948-1949 (inclusive)

Creator:

Henderson, F. P.

Form:

Documents -- 20th century., Maps -- Palestine --1946., and Political cartoons -- United States -- 20th century.

Abstract:

Consists of a memorandum and typed copies of the "Summaries of the Daily Operations" of the United Nations Mission Mediator to Palestine in 1948-1949, ordered and here compiled by F. P. Henderson, the head of the U.N. operations branch in Haifa, Israel.

The United Nations General Assembly convened its first special session from 28 April to 15 May 1947 to consider the problem of Palestine. The Assembly established the Special Committee on Palestine and asked it to prepare a report and propose a solution for the problem. The Committee recommended the partition of Palestine into two states with special international status for Jerusalem. The Security Council adopted the resolution and called for an immediate truce. On May 14,1948, the Assembly adopted a resolution which affirmed its support for the efforts of the Security Council to secure a truce, and appointed a U.N. Mediator in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden. However, also on the same day, a Jewish state, Israel, was proclaimed, and war broke out, with several Arab armies becoming engaged. On May 22, 1948, the Security Council called for a stop to all military action and for all the parties to facilitate the task of the U.N. Mediator. The Council instructed the Mediator and the Truce Commission to supervise the observance of these provisions and decided to provide them with a sufficient number of military observers. The observers formed the basis of what later became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. The Security Council issued truce directives, ordering an immediate and unconditional cease-fire and the demilitarization of the city of Jerusalem. On September 17, 1948, the Security Council was shocked after learning of the assassination of the U.N. Mediator, Count Bernadotte. He was then replaced by Dr. Ralph J. Bunche.

The collection consists of a memorandum and typed copies of the "Summaries of the Daily Operations" of the United Nations Mission Mediator to Palestine in 1948-1949. These daily operations summaries were initiated by Henderson who had arrived at the Mission Headquarters in Haifa, Palestine, one week after September 17, 1948, the day Count Folke Bernadotte, first U.N. Mediator, was assassinated in Jerusalem. Dr. Ralph Bunche was named Acting Mediator following Bernadotte during this "Truce" period. In his memorandum, Henderson explains that it was the lack of communication between the U.N. Headquarters and its field agencies, and the total absence of any kind of documentation with regards to the activities of all the parties involved in the conflict (including Jerusalem, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan), which prompted him to order the implementation of the daily procedure of record collecting. These records were meant to be a documentation of all the activities and violations of the Truce or Mediator's decisions as a basis for later armistice or peace negotiations, or for an historical record of the conflict and the U.N.'s first attempt to stop a conflict and re-store peace. There are 145 summaries, typed in both English and French, dating from September 29, 1948, to February 24, 1949 -- all sent from the U.N.'s Mediator's Headquarters Advance Command Post in Haifa, addressed to "All SUNMO's" (Senior United Nations Military Observers). Also included are two maps of North and South Palestine from 1946 and 1947 taped together, which are also autographed by Henderson, and clippings of several political cartoons.

Also included are two maps of North and South Palestine from 1946 and 1947 taped together and autographed by Henderson, and newspaper clippings of political cartoons, some from The New York Times from 1956 and 1959.

Folders arranged in chronological order, with the forlders for the map and the cartoons being in the end.