Ch. 17“Israel’s Rebirth and the Rise of Arab

Nationalism

Israel’s War for Independence

• The five Arab countries that go to war against Israel include: Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq

• Within weeks of independence, Israel created the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). The IDF quickly swelled to 100,000 men and women

• While the five Arab countries had enough soldiers combined to overpower Israel, they weren’t willing to commit enough

• Both the U.S. and Soviets favored Israel and both wished to exert their influence there

• The IDF defeats the Arabs

• The main reason the Arab countries were unable to defeat Israel is because they were politically divided:

“As long as the Arabs had a chance of defeating Israel in 1948, their leaders and armies competed to pick up the most land and glory in Palestine. Once Israel began driving the Arabs back, they began bickering over who was to blame.” (p.297)

War’s Aftermath1. Palestinian Arabs

• 150,000 managed to stay in their homes in land controlled by Israel. They were subject to harsh restrictions for years, later achieving political rights

• 400,000 Palestinian refugees fled to the “West Bank” where they joined over a half million local Palestinian residents under the protection of the Arab Legion

• 200,000 Palestinian refugees fled to the Gaza Strip where they were protected by Egyptian forces

• Palestinians rejected assimilation into Israel because they wanted to return to their homes. They receive humanitarian help from the UN, but no help to achieve their objective

2. Jordan

• During 1948 war, Abdullah had objective of achieving his goal of a “Greater Syria”. Egypt and naturally Syria were unsupportive of this

• In 1950, King Abdullah annexes the West Bank. Jordan now has 1 million Palestinians (West Bank residents and refugees) under its control

• Abdullah secretly offered peace with Israel in return for rail access to Haifa port

• Palestinians were angry. In 1951, Abdullah is assassinated by a young Palestinian militant while attending mosque

• Abdullah’s son, Husayn, takes the throne.

• Husayn does not settle with Israel

UN Partition Plan, 1947 Israel after 1948 War

3. Syria and Lebanon

• Syria, newly independent from France in 1945, fights poorly against Israel in 1948. They fought in alliance with Egypt and in competition with Jordan

• After the war, Syria was plagued by instability and disunity, went through a series of coups

• In response to this, the first popular Arab socialist movement was born in Syria – the Ba’th Party (or “Renaissance Party”

• The Baathists demanded land reform, nationalization of industries, unification of Arab world, and militant resistance to Israel and the vestiges of European imperialism

• Lebanon (half Christian, half Muslim) gained independence in 1943 and formed a relatively stable democratic government

4. Iraq

• Iraq has two great rivers and large oil revenues. Why is it unable to become the strongest country in the region?

A. Iraq was pasted together of various cultural regions by the British during WWIB. Tigris and Euph. Rivers both begin in TurkeyC. Most of Iraq’s arable land under control of tribal shayksD. Muslim population is divided among Sunni and Sh’iaE. 1/5 of population are ethnic KurdsF. Had minority population of Jews and Assyrians

• Iraq was in competition with Egypt for leadership of Arab world. Iraq attempted to form the first Arab League, but failed to get support. The later attempt by Egypt succeeded, and Iraq reluctantly joined

• After 1948 war, Iraq’s oil revenues continued to grow. However, wealth was poorly distributed

• Iraq maintained strong ties with Great Britain. The “Baghdad Pact” in 1955 was an anti-communist alliance including Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Britain

• To the disappointment of its Arab League allies, Iraq was not proving itself to be a pan-Arab nation.

• King Faysal II is toppled in a military coup in 1958

Nasser’s Policies Towards Israel

• Nasser’s rise to power was in part a result of Egypt’s defeat in Israel

• Egyptian’s viewed Israel’s creation as a colonial imposition on the Arabs

• Nasser came from humble origins; was a lover of History; joined a military academy in 1937; bonded with fellow officers who disliked British control and ousted King Faruq in 1952

• Nasser opposed any alliances with the West. Thus, he emerges as leader of Arab Nationalism

• Nasser agrees to buy $200 million in military equipment from communist countries. He armed Gaza based Palestinians.

• Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal.

• The British and French attempted through diplomacy to regain the canal zone and failed. They now considered military attempts and were able to interest Israel in helping out….

Israel’s Early Years• From the Israeli point of view, they were an embattled nation seeking to ensure the

survival of the Jewish people in the wake of the Holocaust

• Economic assistance from U.S. government, private Jewish organizations and West German reparations kept government afloat

• Politically, Israel set up the Knesset, or legislature. People vote for parties and those parties send a proportionate number of members to the Knesset

• “Israel’s [political] system worked because its leaders, haunted by the memory of Hitler, felt that no personal or ideological preference was more important than the

security of the state”

Israeli Knesset

• Arabs tried to make life as difficult for Israel as possible: all road and rail lines between Israel and neighbors were cut; planes going to and from Israel could not fly over Arab countries; Arab states refused to trade with Israel; ships carrying goods to and from Israel could not pass through Suez Canal or Gulf of Aqaba

• Isolated and faced with border attacks, Israel built its military

Suez Affair• Britain and France wanted to stop Egypt from controlling Suez Canal.

France was also unhappy that Nasser was supporting Algerian rebels

• U.S. chose not to play a role in the Suez Affair. (It was Presidential election time in the U.S.)

• On October 28th, 1956, Israel attacked Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Britain and France bombarded Egyptian air bases and took control of the canal. Israel occupied the Sinai

• For Nasser, the military defeat turned into a political victory: The U.S. and Soviets condemned the attack at the UN and the UN set up a peacekeeping force to occupy Egyptian lands taken by invaders. Britain and France unable to keep canal. Israel, under U.S. pressure, retreated from Sinai. Israel does gain access to Gulf of Aqaba

United Arab Republic• In 1958, Syria and Egypt agreed to merge, forming the United Arab

Republic (UAR)

• Nasser is chosen as President

• Iraq chose to stay out because they didn’t want to share oil revenues

• Lebanese Muslims and Palestinian refugees urged Lebanon to join the UAR.

• The assassination of a pro-Nasser newspaper editor and the subsequent accusation that the mostly Christian Lebanese government was involved leads to a civil war

• Ultimately, Lebanon does not join the UAR. A power sharing agreement among Christians and Muslims is reached

Ideas of Nasserism1. Pan-Arabism: Arab Nationalism with a stress on political

unification. Divided, Arabs had lost Palestine. The benefits of Arab oil were enjoyed by only a handful in Middle East. Opponents accuse Nasser of wanting to enrich himself

2. Positive Neutralism: Policy of staying non-aligned with west or communists. Critics cited the policy as one of “working both sides of the street”

3. Arab Socialism: Meant economic nationalism and economic state planning. Was not Marxist because it rejected atheism and class struggle. Critics argued that socialism inflated Egypt’s bureaucracy and lacked “theoretical rigor”

Pan-Arabism (Continued)

• Nasser’s “July Laws” in 1961 put all major industries in Egypt and Syria under state control

• The Syrian elite organized a military coup and ended their union with the Egypt. The UAR fell (however, Egypt would retain the name until 1970)

• In 1963, Ba’athists seized control in Iraq. Hopes were renewed for a UAR

Jordan Waters Dispute• Israel in the late 1950s

began diverting water from the Jordan River

• Neighboring Arab countries looked at ways they could also divert water. Israel threatened air strikes against any such attempt

• Arab countries agreed to build up militaries so they could divert water and be able to face Israel in battle

Jordan River

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)• PLO formed in 1964 as an umbrella organization to

serve all of the Palestinian Arab groups

• Main principle of PLO was to fight to regain their homeland and they proposed a secular state where Jews, Christians and Muslims could live in peace

• The PLO assembled a conventional army composed of refugees mostly

• A more militant Palestinian Arab group, Fatah, emerged under leadership of Yasir Arafat and other young students

• Israel launched a massive raid into the West Bank in 1966. Condemned by the U.S. and the UN

Arafat meeting with Nasser, 1969

Background to 1967 War

• Syria in 1966 pressed hard for military action against Israel. New leaders in Syria, members of the Alawi religious sect, were very radical Ba’athists. In early 1967, Syria began attacking border areas with Israel

• While Israel massed soldiers at its northern border with Syria, Egypt rolled into the UN-vacated Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula – and once again blocked Israeli access to the Gulf of Aqaba

• U.S., mired in Vietnam War, doesn’t do anything

• Israel, on their own, prepared for war…..