The State of Israel

ISRAEL

Zionism and the Jewish connection to the land

• The Jews felt that Palestine was the land that God promised them thousands of years ago

• This desire to return to their homeland began in the late 1800s and grew in popularity after WWI.

• In 1917, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration- stating that they would work toward the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine because of Zionism.

• 1903-1933-Jewish population grew from 25,000 to 238,000 as Jews moved into region

The Creation of Israel• Arabs had been living in Palestine since the

1300’s (as part of the Ottoman Empire)• The Arabs did not support Zionism because

they felt the Jews were taking away their land-this was a recipe for disaster!!

• As more Jews moved to Palestine, tensions with Arabs increased and clashes became more violent and frequent

The Creation of Israel• Because of the horrors of the Holocaust, the U.S. and

most of the non-Arab world believed that Jews should be allowed to move to the area

• Great Britain was trying to keep the other Arab countries in the world happy by stopping Zionism (remember they were in control of Palestine after WWI)

• After WWII, they allowed the United Nations to resolve the issue, so on May 15, 1948, the state of Israel was created in part of Palestine.

• This day was known as “al-Nakba” or “the Catastrophe” to Arabs

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The Start of the Conflict

• The very next day - 5 Arab armies from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq invaded Israel and were defeated by the Israelis

• Over next several years, Arab countries competed to lead Arab forces against Israel

• The United States and most of the non-Arab world supported Israel

The Conflict Continues(don’t copy)

• 1964-Palestinian Liberation Organization was formed• -Made up of several Palestinian political groups in different

countries whose goal was to take Palestine back from Israelis• -1969-2004—Yasser Arafat leader of PLO• 1967 Six-Day War• -Israel doubled amount of land it controlled and spread hope and

confidence throughout Israel and its supporters• -500,000 Palestinians fled their homes during this conflict, joining

hundreds of thousands already displaced because of Arab-Israeli fighting. Many of them ended up in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan

• 1972 Olympics—Munich, Germany• -“Black September (terrorist groups formed by Palestinian

militants) took 11 Israeli athletes hostage—all were killed along with 5 terrorists and 1 policeman

Attempts at Peace (don’t copy)• 1977—Menachem Begin (Israeli Prime Minister) and

and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat worked out a peace agreement with help of President Jimmy Carter

• Agreement is called “Camp David Accords” because they met at Camp David in the U.S.

• Prime Minister Begin agreed to remove all Israeli troops from Sinai Peninsula and return the land to Egypt

• This made other Arab countries mad and they stopped doing business with Egypt

• 1981-Sadat was assassinated by Egyptian troops

Hezbollah and Hamas (don’t copy)

• Two important Arab groups founded in mid-1980s• Both groups are supported by Syria and Iran• Both have led violent attacks on Israel, killing many

civilians• Hezbollah (means party of God) is mostly Shiite

Muslims from Lebanon• Hamas is a group based in West Bank and Gaza Strip

Peace at Last?? (don’t copy)

• Still today, Israeli and Arab forces attack and counter-attack each other. Gaza Strip and West Bank are constant battle zones were people are never safe for long.

• There have been many cease-fires and peace agreements signed, but nothing has and may never bring peace to this region.

Other conflicts

Israel and Palestine are not the only conflicts between countries in this region:

• Afghanistan vs. Soviet Union• Iran vs. Iraq• Sunni vs. Shia Muslims• Kurds vs. other ethnic groups• Persian Gulf WarThese wars did not at least initially involve the U.S.

They were and still are fought over land and religion.

QuestionThink about the history of the Jews.

After so many years without a homeland, what do you think was the main event that led to the establishment of the state of Israel? (Was it Zionism, the spread of anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, or a combination of all 3?)

Has your answer to these questions changed??-Do you agree with the creation of Israel? Do you relate more to Israel or Palestine’s side?