April 19—April 19, 1775 marks for many the “official beginning” of the American Revolution: the battle of Lexington-Concord—“the shot heard ’round the world.” On April 18, 249 years later, a “vote heard around the world” was taken in the Security Council of the United Nations. Algeria, France, Slovenia, Malta, Guyana, Ecuador, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and China took action to recognize Palestine as a state member of the United Nations. This was a vote heard around the world, on behalf of human freedom, justice and equality. There were two equivocators, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, that abstained. Only the United States, in a vote which will live in infamy, opposed Palestine’s membership. Because it is a permanent member of the Security Council, that one vote by the U.S. stopped the resolution from going through.