Questions and Answers
What people ask about this history
Short, sourced answers to the questions that come up most often.
- Who was Jorge García Granados?
- He was a Guatemalan lawyer, politician, writer, and diplomat who represented Guatemala on the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947 and later served as Guatemala's first ambassador to Israel.
- How is he related to Roberto Arzú?
- Jorge García Granados was Roberto Arzú's maternal great-grandfather. The verified family line runs Jorge García Granados → Carlos Raúl Eduardo García-Granados Quiñónez → Sylvia García-Granados → Roberto Arzú García-Granados.
- Did Guatemala vote for the creation of a Jewish state?
- Guatemala was one of the 33 countries that voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 on November 29, 1947.
- Why is García Granados important to Israel?
- His importance went beyond Guatemala's vote. He advocated among Latin American countries, defended Israel's diplomatic legitimacy, became Guatemala's first ambassador to Israel, and recorded the experience in a major firsthand book.
- Was Guatemala the first country with an embassy in Jerusalem?
- Yes. Guatemala is widely recognized as the first country to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, generally dated to 1956. García Granados had presented his credentials there in July 1955.
- What is The Birth of Israel?
- It is García Granados's firsthand account of UNSCOP, the Palestine investigation, the United Nations deliberations, Jewish displacement after the Holocaust, and the diplomatic events surrounding Israel's independence.
- What does this legacy mean for Roberto Arzú?
- It connects Roberto's support for Israel to a documented family tradition of standing for Jewish national self-determination, democratic sovereignty, and a strong alliance between Guatemala and Israel.