1. Israel and Palestine

2. Importance of Jerusalem
Read pages and answer the following questions
Why is Jerusalem important to Jews?
Why is Jerusalem important to Christians?
Why is Jerusalem important to Muslims?

3. Historical background
Jews lived in the area now occupied by Israel and the Palestinian Territories up until 70 CE
Prior to the Common Era, there were a series of Jewish kingdoms that were conquered by various powers
Around the beginning of the Common Era, the Roman Empire controlled the area
A series of revolts, beginning around 66 CE, resulted in the Jewish Temple being destroyed and the Jewish people being expelled from the area
After the first century CE, Jews lived in a diaspora
Diaspora: a population that has been scattered around the world
Many lived in Europe, where they suffered regular persecution
This culminated in the Holocaust, where nearly 6 million Jews were murdered
In the 1800’s, a movement began in Europe called Zionism
Goal was to create a Jewish country in the same place as their old homeland
Promoted Jewish immigration to what was then called Palestine and pressured the governments of Europe and the US to support the creation of a Jewish country there

4. Graphing Data
Use the data in the table below to make a line graph showing the percentage of the population of Palestine that was Jewish during the 19th and early 20th centuries
You will need to first figure out what the percentage is for each year
Year
Jewish Population
Total Population
1800
7,000
275,000
1890
43,000
532,000
1914
94,000
689,000
1922
84,000
752,000
1931
175,000
1,033,000
1947
630,000
1,970,000

5. Arab-Israeli Conflict
Read about the history of the conflict between Israel and the Arab countries and write a short description, in your own words, of what each map represents