Exodus - Leon Uris [264]
“India.”
“India votes against partition.”
“Iran.”
“Iran votes against.”
“Iraq.”
“Iraq votes against and we will never recognize the Jews! There will be bloodshed over this day. We vote against!”
“Lebanon.”
“Lebanon votes against partition,” Malik said.
“How does the vote stand?” Weizmann asked Barak.
“Fifteen for, eight against, and seven abstentions.”
It was not too encouraging. So far the Jews were running one vote shy of their two thirds, and the deadly abstentions were piling up.
“What do you think, Barak?”
“We will know when they come to the next three South American countries.”
“I think we shall have to start pulling away. We are near the halfway mark and we show no decided strength,” Weizmann said.
“Liberia.”
“Liberia votes for partition.”
“Luxembourg.”
Another small country under duress in the British economic sphere.
“Luxembourg votes for partition.”
And again the British had been directly rebuked. The Yishuv now stood one vote over two thirds.
“Mexico.”
“Mexico abstains.”
The entire Yishuv delegation winced.
“Netherlands.”
“The Netherlands votes for partition.”
“New Zealand.”
“New Zealand votes for.”
“Nicaragua ... for.”
“Norway ... for.”
“Pakistan votes against partition.”
The pivot votes were coming up. “If we get over the next four I think we are in,” Barak said shakily.
“Panama.”
“The Republic of Panama favors partition.”
“Paraguay.”
“Paraguay has just received new instructions not to abstain ... instead, Paraguay votes for partition.”
“Peru.”
“Peru favors partition.”
“Philippines.”
For a breathless second the world stood still. Romulo had been called away from Flushing Meadow. The alternate stood up.
“The Philippines votes for partition!”
A roar went up! The members of the Jewish delegation looked to each other with dazed expressions.
“Dear God,” Barak said, “I think we have made it.”
“Poland.”
“Poland votes in favor of partition.”
The Jews were beginning to pull away. Poland had paid its small indemnity for the years of persecution.
Siam was not represented.
“Saudi Arabia.”
The white-robed Arab screamed out against partition in a hate-filled voice.
“Sweden.”
“Sweden is for partition.”
And now the Arabs had their backs to the wall as they went into the last ditch.
“Syria, against!”
“Turkey votes against partition.”
Barak scanned the balance of the roster quickly. The Arabs still had a breath of life. They now had twelve votes with one more certain. If some last-minute change came through it could upset everything.
“Ukraine.”
“For.”
“Union of South Africa.”
“For.”
“Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.”
Vishinsky got to his feet. “The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics votes for partition.”
“The United Kingdom of Great Britain.”
The hall became silent. The British delegate got to his feet and looked around the room ashen-faced. At this awesome moment he stood alone. The Commonwealth nations had deserted. France had deserted. The United States of America had deserted.
“His Majesty’s Government wishes to abstain,” the Englishman said in a shaken voice.
“The United States of America.”
“The United States of America votes for partition.”
It was all over. The reporters scrambled for their phones to flash the news around the world as the last vote was cast. Yemen gave the Arabs their thirteenth vote. Yugoslavia abstained in deference to a large Moslem minority. Professor Fabregat of Uruguay and the delegate of Venezuela gave the partition plan its thirty-second and thirty-third votes.
In Tel Aviv pandemonium broke loose.
In the final analysis, the Jewish victory was crushing. The Arabs had thirteen votes, and eleven of these were Arab or Moslem nations. The twelfth was a vote coerced from the Greeks. The thirteenth vote, Cuba, represented the only nation on the face of the earth that the Arabs were able to convince by force of argument.
Those men who had won this battle at Flushing Meadow and had seen the miracle unfold were realists. The Jews in Tel Aviv celebrated only for the moment. Ben Gurion and the leaders of the Yishuv knew that