On 29.11.1947 the United Nations General Assembly approved Resolution 181 that stated that the Land of Israel was to be partitioned into two states for two nations. The Resolution was not implemented, but historically, it was considered a monumental diplomatic achievement for the Jewish Agency and the most important breakthrough on the road to statehood since the Balfour Declaration. The UN partition plan gave the Zionist Movement the international legitimacy it needed in order to fulfill its two main goals – the founding of an independent state and the absorption of Jews from around the world, in the spirit of the Balfour Declaration. This international legitimacy enabled Ben Gurion to declare the independence of the state unilaterally, and not in accordance with the timetable set by the UN.
The confirmation of the Partition Plan was a joyous and emotional event for Jews around the world and those in Palestine, and hundreds of telegrams and letters arrived at the offices of the Jewish Agency from Palestine and the Jewish communities around the world, all with expressions of happiness and hope for the future. As a telegram from Branislav Teicholtz, an inmate of the Jewish refugee camp in Vienna, stated: "These are historic and fateful days for our country and our nation, days filled with hope and joy". A few examples of the many letters kept in the CZA are presented here.