UNTSO special ID cards - Our Passports
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  • UN special travel ID cards
  • UN special travel ID cards
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June 1, 2024
in Articles, General
by Neil
0 Comments

UNTSO special ID cards

 

United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.

 

UNTSO was founded on May 28th 1948 following the creation of the State of Israel and the hostilities that existed in the Middle East. Its main aim was to assist the peacekeepers in the region in implementing the Armistice Agreements that where being signed or negotiated (On March 1949 all warring sides met at Rhodes Island in order to break an armistice and settle disputed border claims), and by offering a solid military structural command for the various forces placed on the ground by the UN. Later, other peace keeping organizations were established: UNDOF and UNIFIL.

 

In 1948 the UN decides to appoint Folke Bernadotte as the United Nations mediator to assist in the establishing of a truce in Palestine, due to the surge in violence that erupts in the region: UN resolution 186 (C-S) from May 14th entrusted the organization in these efforts.

 

That year saw a string of killings and assassinations of local and foreign figures, such as US consul general in Jerusalem Thomas C. Wasson on May 23rd culminating with the assassination of the UN mediator himself on September 17th.

 

UNTSO originally was located at Cairo, Egypt, and was moved to the temporary British enclave of Haifa around June of 1948. Due to the fighting and the return of the UN peace keeping forces in July 21st, it was moved for the last time to the Government House in Jerusalem on October 7th.

 

The images in this article are related to this organization and to one of its senior members.

 

United Nations Truce Supervision Organization special-ID number 499 was issued on June 15th 1954 to

US Lt. Col.  Charles F. Brewster (1914-1998). It is personally hand-signed by the commissions head General Vagn Bennike (the ID also came with his wife & child’s issued samples as well, together with other personal documents from the time, while serving in Jerusalem).

 

Apparently, judging by the text inside the document, it seems it was issued as some sort of laissez-passer or an identity document to be used together with ones passport. It enabled one to move from West to East Jerusalem and into Jordanian occupied West Bank (1948-1967).

 

Coming close to 70 years of establishment of this organization, the region sees no end to the violence and conflicts. It sadly seems that all sides are unable to find the right path that would lead them all to a final ever lasting peace. With deep religious, cultural & historical connections claimed by all sides, apparently an end to the bloodshed is not foreseeable.

 

Small image source: Wikipedia.

 

Thank you for reading “Our Passports”.

Neil Kaplan
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