South Africa was among the 33 states that voted in favour of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, recommending the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine, and was one of only four Commonwealth nations to do so. On 24 May 1948, nine days after Israel's declaration of independence, the South African government of Jan Smuts, a long-time supporter of Zionism, granted "de facto" recognition to the State of Israel, just two days before his United Party was voted out of office and replaced by the pro-apartheid National Party. South Africa was the seventh nation to recognise the new Jewish state. On 14 May 1949, South Africa granted "de jure" recognition to the State of Israel. The Israeli interest in South Africa sprang in part from the presence of about 110,000 Jews in South Africa, a figure which included more than 15,000 Israeli citizens.