Swords, plowshares, spears & pruning hooks

The redemption of the world is too big a job for the United Nations.

When the United Nations headquarters was built on Manhattan’s East Side in 1951, a new plaza was also constructed across the street.

Carved into the plaza’s broad wall of granite were the words of the prophet Isaiah, who envisioned a day of redemption and a world finally at peace:

United Nations Plaza, 1950s

Notice anything strange about the inscription? Is something missing?

In 1975, almost 25 years after this wall went up, stone carvers added the missing piece:

Isaiah 2:4: Better late than never.

Why did it take almost 30 years to include the proper attribution?

I’m not sure. But I have an idea.

Imagine…

It’s 1951, and the U.N. Plaza is almost complete. The construction crew’s foreman — let’s call him Frank — is meeting with Trygve Lie of Norway, who was then U.N. Secretary-General. Their conversation about the Plaza is coming to a close:

Frank the Foreman: … Before we wrap up here, there’s one other matter we need to discuss…

U.N. Secretary General: What’s that?

Foreman: It’s the quote from Isaiah — the “swords into plowshares” thing — that we carved into the granite last week. The work order and design specs don’t include any attribution for the quote.

UNSG: And?

Foreman: Well, usually we include the source of quotes like this. It gives visitors some historic context. And stealing a quote and not giving proper credit is bad form. You might even call it plagiarism.

UNSG: Plagiarism?? No no, Frank… not in this case.

Foreman: Why not in this case?

UNSG: Because that Biblical vision of worldwide peace is no longer exclusive to the Bible. It’s now a universal hope. An international aspiration. It also happens to be the raison d’etre of the United Nations. Redemption of the world is now our business. It’s our vision. We’ve moved on from those old-time religions by taking the best parts of them — like Isaiah’s vision of peace — and letting it serve as our guiding light. Hope writ large… but without the Biblical baggage or sacred narratives or any God nonsense.

Foreman: But…

UNSG: We’re saying: Thank you, Jews, for that idea of hope, progress, peace, and redemption. It was and still is a truly sensational idea, and it seems you came up with it first. But you can stand down now. Your assignment is complete. Thank you for your millennia of service. The United Nations will take it from here.

Foreman: Hmmm… I dunno. Will that work?

UNSG: Sure it’ll work.

Foreman: Really? Because using the quote this way strips it of context, and removes the Biblical narrative that precedes it, which is what gave Isaiah’s prophetic words their power in the first place. Isaiah’s vision without the Story is just a warm-and-fuzzy sentiment you might find on a Hallmark greeting card.

UNSG: Like I said, we love the Bible’s redemptive vision. It’s boffo stuff. And your greeting card angle — remind me to mention that idea to Bernice at the gift shop. But I gotta say: the God part and all those Bible stories need to be removed. It’s silly. It’s childish. It’s divisive. And let’s be brutally honest: After the Holocaust, who believes in God anymore?

Foreman: With all due respect, sir, I think the real question is: After the Holocaust, who believes in people anymore?

Israel: The U.N.’s bastard child

Foreman: … And can’t you see the problem you’ve created for yourself?

UNSG: Problem? What problem?

Foreman: Three years ago, in 1948, Israel declared its independence. After almost 2,000 years in exile, the wandering Jews of the world once again had a national home, thanks in large part to the United Nations. For millions of people, that return is a fulfillment of another Biblical prophecy about the “ingathering of the exiles.” The ancient words of Deuteronomy 30:1-5; Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 29:14; and Ezekiel 20:41-42 seem to have finally come true, which excites and inspires millions of people who take Scripture seriously.

UNSG: So?

Foreman: So, on one hand, you tell me the Bible and all its God talk is no longer relevant. Meanwhile, you and the organization you lead have served as the midwife for the creation of a Jewish state that fuels the belief in Biblical prophecy: The Jews have returned to their land — just as foretold in Scripture! … Put another way: When the United Nations helps create the modern nation-state of Israel, the U.N. also undermined its own stated mission.

UNSG: Yeah, I guess that’s true. Maybe we did kinda blow it. Just yesterday I was telling my secretary that I sometimes think Israel is the U.N.’s bastard child — conceived in the heat of passion after World War II as a way for the international community to do penance for the sins of the Holocaust. But now that bastard child is going to grow up and undermine the whole “family of nations” shtick we’re doing here. The kid will eventually become an embarrassment to us because with the Jews back on the scene as a nation-state, it’ll be easy for them to lay claim to that Isaiah quote. The redemption of the world? they’ll say to us. That’s not your job. And that’s gonna piss off a lot of people here at U.N. headquarters.

Foreman: Exactly right.

Dealing with the bastard child

UNSG: Well, don’t worry. We have ways of dealing with our mistakes and… ummm… our indiscretions.

Foreman: Such as?

UNSG: Ever hear of UNRWA?

Foreman: Nope.

UNSG: It’s a new thing we created two years ago. A special part of the U.N. designed just for the Palestinians. It’s called the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. We set it up to take care of the problem.

Foreman: “Take care of the problem” as in resettle Palestinian refugees in neighboring countries?

UNSG: No no no. Resettlement is the job of UNHCR — the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR finds new homes for displaced people, but that’s not our goal with the Palestinians and UNRWA.

Foreman: Why not?

UNSG: For the reasons you just described!

Foreman: Huh?

UNSG: Given our second thoughts about Israel — and the way that our grand mission explicitly borrowed the Jewish one — we’ve decided not to solve the Palestinian refugee problem, but to sustain it. We’re gonna let the problem fester by keeping the Palestinians in refugee camps instead of finding them homes in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Arab states. Palestinians are and will remain our best wedge against whatever our wayward bastard child might do.

Foreman: Wait a second. UNRWA is intended to prolong the Palestinian refugee crisis so you can use them as a cudgel against Israel?

UNSG: That’s a bit crude. But yeah, that’s the basic idea.

Foreman: Isn’t that painfully cynical and duplicitous?

UNSG: Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

Foreman: What does that mean?

UNSG: You gotta grow up, son. The United Nations is a political organization, not a monestary. You want morality? Go to church. Or a synagogue. Or a mosque. But you’re not gonna get what you’re looking for here.

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More than 70 years later…

… the United Nations remains haunted by its own history. And its deep regret about its “moment of passion” hasn’t gone away: