Second Graders Reenact the 1947 UN Vote for the State of Israel

As part of the second grade’s unit on the history of the Land of Israel, and especially in light of current events, students were excited to reenact a momentous day. On November 29, 1947, a 2,000-year-old dream became a reality: the State of Israel was reborn in its ancient homeland. This historic moment was made possible by the UN General Assembly's adoption of Resolution 181, which partitioned the British Mandate into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.

The second graders formed a Model UN in class, complete with formal attire, each student representing two countries. In Hebrew, they read aloud announcing their country’s vote on the establishment of the State of Israel: “neged” (“no”), “nimneh” (“abstain”), or, hopefully, “be’ad” (“yes”)! The students felt real-time surprise and thrill as each vote was announced, booing in frustration or cheering in joy as they kept track of the tallies. It truly helped them understand how people felt listening along to the vote in 1947!

When the final vote was cast, they rejoiced to count that “yes” had won and that Israel would officially be a country. They watched recordings of real reactions to the 1947 announcement and, just like the people in the videos, celebrated by singing and dancing together.