Forming the Nation of Israel Essential Question: Which is more important – being powerful or having really powerful friends? Unit V

Sketch: Israel and the Palestinian Territories

The Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean consists of 5 independent nations and 1 disputed territory. Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria are all independent states. The Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are disputed territories. The United Nation in 2012 voted to recognize the State of Palestine. The vote was 138-9, with 40 countries abstaining. The United States, Israel, Canada, the Czech Republic, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Panama voted no.

The People of the Eastern Mediterranean The people of the Eastern Mediterranean date back thousands of years. This area is often called the Holy Land as it is claimed as a religious land for three major religions. The people are mostly Arab, with the exception of Israel which is 75% Jewish. There are also small amount of Kurdish and Armenian populations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Israel/Palestine Population Pyramids

Religious Composition

Ethnic Composition

Linguistic Composition

The Eastern Mediterranean Religious Holy Places The three major monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were founded in Southwest Asia. All three claim Jerusalem as a holy city. The City of Jerusalem, which covers 42 square miles, has Jewish, Christian, Armenian Christian, and Muslim sections.

Modern Jerusalem

Modern Jerusalem Jerusalem Biblical Zoo The Jerusalem Chords Bridge used by Jerusalem Light Rail's Red Line, which began service on August 19, 2011. Jerusalem City Hall Mamilla Avenue adorned with upscale shops adjacent to the Old City Walls.

Jewish Presence in Jerusalem For Jews, Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is the center of their modern and ancient homeland. Located in the old part of the city, the Temple Mount once housed the religion’s earliest temples. There, King Solomon built the First Temple. The Second Temple was constructed after the Jews returned to their homeland in 538 B.C. Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the Holy Temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount.

Jewish Presence in Jerusalem Modern Jews come to pray at the holiest site in Jerusalem, a portion of the Second Temple known as the Western Wall also called the Wailing Wall. It is the only remaining piece of the Second Temple, which was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Romans.

Christian Presence in Jerusalem For Christians, Jerusalem is the sacred location of the final suffering and crucifixion of Jesus. When Jerusalem was under Muslim control, Christians launched the Crusades to regain the lands and place them under the control of Christians. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus was crucified and is said also to contain the place where Jesus was buried (the Sepulcher).

Muslim Presence in Jerusalem After Mecca and Medina, Jerusalem is considered the third most holy city to Muslims. A shrine there, called Dome of the Rock, houses the spot where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad rose into heaven. The Dome of the Rock is located on the Temple Mount next to the Western Wall. Because these most holy sites are so close together, they have been the site of clashes between Jews and Muslims.

Note the closeness…

A History of Unrest From 1520 to 1922 the Eastern Mediterranean was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire sided with Germany during WWI. After the war, the Ottoman Empire fell. Britain and France received the lands in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of the war settlement. After WWI, Britain and France divided the Ottoman lands in the Eastern Mediterranean region. France took the northern portion, Lebanon and Syria. Britain controlled the southern section, Jordan and Israel.

British Palestine The land controlled by Britain was known as Palestine. In the 19th century, a movement called Zionism began. Its goal was to create and support a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Jewish settlers started buying land and settling there. By 1914, just before WWI, about 12% of the population in Palestine was Jewish. After the war, the British took command of the region and continued to allow Jewish immigration to Palestine.

British Palestine As more and more Jews poured into Palestine to escape persecution in Germany, the Arabs resisted the establishment of a Jewish state. In 1939, to reduce tensions the British halted Jewish immigration to Palestine. The land was divided to relieve tensions between Arabs and Jews. An Arab government jointly ruled Trans-Jordan with the British. Britain controlled Palestine, along with local governments that included both Jews and Arabs.

Creating the State of Israel At the end of WWII, thousands of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust wanted to settle in Palestine. Palestine was considered the Jewish homeland. World opinion supported the establishment of a Jewish nation-state. Britain eventually referred the question of a Jewish homeland to the United Nations. In 1947, the United Nations developed a plan to divide Palestine into two states, one for Arabs and one for Jews.

Creating the State of Israel Arabs in the region did not agree with the division. However, the nation of Israel was established on May 14, 1948. Immediately, the surrounding Arab nations of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen invaded Israel to prevent the establishment of the state. Jewish troops fought back. By the 1950s, Israel was a firmly established nation.

Creating the State of Israel Caught in the middle of this turmoil were Palestinian Arabs and Christians. The land designated for the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza Strip is under Israeli control. In the 1960s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed to regain the land for Palestinian Arabs. Over the years, the PLO has pursued political and military means to take possession of Arab land in Israel and allow refugees to return to their homes.

Palestinian Refugees The creation of Israel produced a large number of Palestinian refugees. Today, those refugees and their descendants total almost 3.6 million people. Many of the refugees have struggled to find adequate food and shelter. Many of them are unemployed. Providing education and other services for them is difficult for nations such as Jordan, one of the poorest in the region and the one with the largest Palestinian refugee population.