Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes
I wish there were forces available for use in the United Nations today so that aggression might be impossible for any nation and peace could be enforced in lands which sorely need it, but I hope that negotiations will soon reach a point where between the Arab people and the Jews peace may be brought about. There is plenty of work for all to do and land to be developed which needs the work of many hands.
She was instrumental in forming the United Nations, but one of its weaknesses was and has been since that it was very difficult and cumbersome for the UN to mount a military force to defend a country or region against aggression. The situation has not improved much on that score since 1948. Israel had just been created by the United Nations, but over a dozen Arab State armies attacked the fledgling Jewish nation. The Israelis, against all odds, not only defended their territory but were able to seize key Arab military and strategic areas. Mrs. Roosevelt, and most of the world, assumed that under the circumstances, the Arabs would negotiate a peace treaty with Israel to regain their land. However, the Arab nations would not recognize the State of Israel and would not even negotiate with the Israelis. ER and most of the world was wrong. Instead, the Arab nations’ strategy was to have a cease fire and build their military strength to attack later in greater force. When that also failed and Israel won the subsequent wars, the Arabs then turned to Terrorism. 60 years later, the Israelis and the Arabs were further apart in many ways than in 1948.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962, First Lady (Franklin Delano Roosevelt), U. S. Delegate to the United Nations, Speech before the Junior Division of the United Jewish Appeal,, December 28, 1948
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At that time the Israelis had been rebuffed after offing several major peace proposals and most were convinced that the Palestinians were so fractionated that no one would dare sign a peace even giving Palestinians their own state and sharing Jerusalem as the capital. So they just organized around security needs and walling Israel off from terrorist attacks while maintaining the occupation until something radially changes amongst the Palestinians. At that time there was little point to most Israelis to debating terms of a peace treaty as the odds of ever getting one in the next couple of years were about the same as their going to Mars.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political figure, diplomat and activist. She served as the First Lady of the United States from March 4, 1933, to April 12, 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office, making her the longest-serving First Lady of the United States. Roosevelt served as United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952. President Harry S. Truman later called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements.
