Arab-Israeli Conflict The Middle East nations are no strangers to conflicts. For many, many years, there will be brief periods of peace, and long lengths of conflicts, wars, and strong tensions.

History of Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Important vocabulary  Palestine: land found along the Mediterranean Sea, bordered on the east by the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. This includes present day Israel and Jordan.  Palestinian: anyone who once lived in Palestine or whose parents or grandparents lived in Palestine.

 Arab: a term used to refer to a group of people who share the Arabic language. Most of these are in or from Middle Eastern countries. Most of them also share a common faith in Islam.  Jews or Hebrews: a religious group that has strong roots in Jerusalem and Palestine, they have been continually forced to move from place to place.  Zionist: people who wanted to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

History of Israel  The origins of Israel go back to Abraham who left Mesopotamia in search of land at the command of Yahweh (God). His search ended in Canaan or the “Promised Land,” and Abraham established a new home.  David and Solomon were among their most famous kings. David made Jerusalem his capital city and Solomon built a large temple for the Jews to worship in.

 The Israelites were forced into slavery by the Assyrians, and the Babylonians from Iraq invaded Judah and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. (This is an example of Jewish persecution)  The Jews later rebuilt their temple and were allowed to continue to worship as normal.

 It was the Romans who were the first to call this land Palestine. They took over this region in 63 BC and the Jews tried twice to revolt against the Romans. Both of these revolts were unsuccessful.  After the 2 nd revolt, the Romans forced the Jews to leave Palestine. Most of these Jews went to live in Europe.

 This dispersal of Jews is referred to as the Diaspora.  After being forced out of their homeland, Jewish people were unable to establish their own nation.  After the Romans, Palestine was controlled by the Byzantine Empire until the 600s AD. In 638, the Arabs conquered Palestine. Until the mid- 1900s, Palestine was mostly populated by Arabs.

 The Jewish people didn’t forget about where they came from or their homeland.  They wanted a place where their traditions and laws would be a part of their government.  Jews that desired a homeland for the Jewish people were called Zionists.  As a result of this movement, large numbers of Jews moved back towards Palestine.

So what if the Jewish people move to Palestine??? What’s the big deal???   Remember how the Jews were forced out of Israel in 70 A.D.??? Well, the Palestinians (Arabs) have lived in Israel for the hundreds of years since the Jews were gone. So, the Jews are trying to move into land that is occupied by the Palestinians.   Jerusalem is holy land to 3 major faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam)   Jews and Muslims each want to control Jerusalem (remember, it is the capital)

 The persecution, or bad treatment, of Jews in Eastern Europe triggered the start of the Zionist Movement and eventually led to a mass immigration of Jews to Palestine.  This was a political movement to create a Jewish state. By 1914, there were approximately 85,000 Jews living in Palestine as a result of this movement.

 During World War I, , Great Britain was fighting to win control of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. In 1916, Great Britain promised to create an Arab Kingdom if the Arabs in the Ottoman Empire would support Great Britain in the War.  In 1917, Great Britain issued the Balfour Declaration in hopes of gaining Jews’ support in the war also.

 The Arab leaders believed that Great Britain would give them control of Palestine in exchange for their help in WWI. So…they helped.  But…the Balfour Declaration was issued on and in it, Arthur Balfour, who was the foreign minister for Great Britain, made a declaration saying that Jews could move back to Palestine as long as the rights of the Palestinians were fully respected.  The Palestinians were furious.

 Following WWI, Great Britain was granted the mandate, or permission to rule, by the League of Nations. This mandate gave Great Britain control over Palestine and TransJordan.

 The Arab Palestinians felt betrayed by Great Britain and between 1936 and 1939, the Palestinians staged an uprising against Great Britain. Many British soldiers and Arab civilians were killed in this fighting.  During WWII, ( ), Hitler’s Holocaust killed approximately 6 million Jews. Many of the survivors of the Holocaust turned to Palestine for safety.

The Nazi Holocaust  6,000,00 Jews killed by the Nazis [1/2 in the concentration camps.]

 After conflicts and fighting in Palestine…  In 1947, Great Britain realized that they were not going to be able to bring peace to Palestine. They turned the problem over to the United Nations. On , the UN Partition Plan was passed. This plan said that Palestine was to be divided into Jewish and Palestinian states with an international area around Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

 The plan granted 56% of the land to the Jews in Palestine, and that % included the best land along the coast. The land left for the Palestinians was very mountainous and dry.  The Arab leaders rejected the plan and demand that Palestine be a united state with a secular government. Fighting began between Jews and Palestinians. Many Palestinians became refugees during this struggle.

 With Great Britain out of Palestine, the Jews claimed Palestine for their homeland. On May 14, 1948, Israel became a state for the Jewish people of the world. As a result of this independence movement and Israel’s continued attempts to push the Arabs off their land, the surrounding Arab countries pledged their support to the Palestinians in the fight against the Jews.

  Effects of creation of Israel   Palestinians became refugees in other countries throughout the middle east.

Map of Palestinian Refugees According to the map, what was one result of the creation of Israel?

Conflicts over the control of Israel/Palestine:  Six Day War  Yom Kippur War  Constant conflicts over West Bank

Six Day War  Israel launched a military strike against enemies of Israel (friends of the Palestinians).  Israel essentially destroyed Egypt, Syria and Jordan’s Air Force and military. It was a huge win for Israel.  Israel won land in this event (but a lot of it was occupied by Arabs).

Yom Kippur War  In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the most sacred Jewish holy day in an attempt to regain territories they lost in the 6 Day War.  Egypt and Syria are fairly successful at first, but a massive airlift of supplies and weapons from the USA helped Israel come out on top.  Israel won the war, but they lost many men and many millions of dollars worth of equipment. In an expression of their anger, Arab oil-producing countries issued a boycott of all countries who were helping Israel. This created a major oil crisis in the U.S.

 There were many peace attempts. Most are only temporarily successful.  Despite the efforts for peace, numerous attacks continued on Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas. Violence was traded back and forth as suicide bombings and retaliation shootings occurred in the occupied territories. The peace process became increasingly unpopular.

Terrorism is a constant threat in Israel

 Even today, there have been several attempts of peace negotiations. Each time an agreement was made, no side was really pleased or seemed to stick with the agreement.

 So who lives where today?  In theory, Palestinians would have the Gaza Strip and most of the West Bank, but there are still many Israelis moving and living in that area.  There is still disagreement and violence in Israel between the Jews and the Arab population.  The U.S. has supported Israel and they are one of our biggest allies.

You solve the problem…  This is obviously a very sensitive matter with no easy solution. You and your partner need to come up with your best solution to the Arab-Israeli Conflict. You must address the following issues…  1. Should the Jews have been permitted to return to Palestine after WWII? Why or why not?  2. What was another solution INSTEAD of the Partition Plan to satisfy both groups?  3. Since we can’t go back and change history (#1 and #2), how would you fix the bad feelings with the groups TODAY in the current situation that they live in?