Toward Peace in Palestine

Judah Magnes, the first president of the Hebrew University, wrote “Toward Peace in Palestine” to commit to the idea of a single state shared by Jews and Arabs, at a time when the international community advocated partition. His article appeared in the January 1943 issue of Foreign Affairs, where he argued that a Jewish state that did not recognize Arab demands would lead to war. His plan envisioned a single territory composed of Transjordan, Syria, and Lebanon, which would take in Palestinians who did not want to live in Israel. His ideas also constituted the official platform of the Iḥud (Union) political party which he cofounded in 1942. His proposals were sharply criticized by the mainstream Zionist leadership, in particular by David Ben-Gurion. Just months before the declaration of the State of Israel, Magnes traveled to the United States to lobby the State Department for a UN trusteeship rather than immediate statehood. He died a few months later.