The Arab/Israeli Conflict

Lecture Analysis

• Guiding Question: What has caused the conflict between Israel and the Arab countries?

• Analyze the following lecture as though it were a primary source– Take notes and summarize what it has to say about

the guiding question– Identify bias– Put it in context– Identify subtext

• 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

• 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

• 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

• The Creation of the State of Israel– Jewish immigration to Palestine increased steadily in

the early 20th century• Particularly increased as the Nazis rose to power in Europe• Sometimes bought land from absentee landowners (people

living in Istanbul or Cairo that owned land in Palestine and collected rent from generations of Palestinians

• The Creation of the State of Israel– Jewish immigration to Palestine increased steadily in the early 20th century

• Particularly increased as the Nazis rose to power in Europe• Sometimes bought land from absentee landowners (people living in

Istanbul or Cairo that owned land in Palestine and collected rent from generations of Palestinians)

– By 1947, approximately 32% of the population of Palestine was Jewish• The UN created a plan to divide up

Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state

• Accepted by most of the Jewish population and leadership

• Rejected by most Arabs who wanted all of the territory as an Arab state– Palestinians felt that, since they had

been there for centuries and were the majority, they should get the land

• The Creation of the State of Israel– Jewish immigration to Palestine increased steadily in the early 20th

century• Particularly increased as the Nazis rose to power in Europe• Sometimes bought land from absentee landowners (people

living in Istanbul or Cairo that owned land in Palestine and collected rent from generations of Palestinians)

– By 1947, approximately 32% of the population of Palestine was Jewish• The UN created a plan to divide up Palestine into a Jewish

and an Arab state• Accepted by most of the Jewish population and leadership• Rejected by most Arabs who wanted all of the territory as

an Arab state– Palestinians felt that, since they had been there for

centuries and were the majority, they should get the land

– In May of 1948 the British, who had controlled the area since WWI, pulled their troops out• The Jewish People’s Council

declared the establishment of a Jewish state, the State of Israel

• The Arab-Israeli Wars– The first Arab Israeli war

began when the State of Israel was established in 1948• Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria,

and Lebanon, along with Palestinian forces, did not recognize the new Jewish state and attacked• Israel, with European

military training and weapons, drove back the Arab armies and expanded their original territory

• The Arab-Israeli Wars– The first Arab Israeli war began when the State of Israel was

established in 1948• Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, along with

Palestinian forces, did not recognize the new Jewish state and attacked

• Israel, with European military training and weapons, drove back the Arab armies and expanded their original territory

– The Six-Day War occurred in 1967• Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq had

been threatening to attack Israel• Israel carried out a preemptive

strike that destroyed the air forces of all the Arab armies, leading to an Israeli victory within 6 days

• By the end of the fighting, the Israelis had further expanded their territory– Took control of the Palestinian

Territories (The West Bank and the Gaza Strip), the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights

• The Arab-Israeli Wars– The first Arab Israeli war began when the State of Israel was

established in 1948• Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, along with

Palestinian forces, did not recognize the new Jewish state and attacked

• Israel, with European military training and weapons, drove back the Arab armies and expanded their original territory

– The Six-Day War occurred in 1967• Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq had been threatening to

attack Israel• Israel carried out a preemptive strike that destroyed the air

forces of all the Arab armies, leading to an Israeli victory within 6 days

• By the end of the fighting, the Israelis had further expanded their territory– Took control of the Palestinian Territories (The West

Bank and the Gaza Strip), the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights

– The Yom Kippur War occurred in 1973• Arab countries, led by Egypt and Syria, launched

a surprise attack on Israel on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur

• As part of their cold war strategies, the US supplied military aide to the Israelis while the Soviet Union did the same for the Arabs

• Israel halted the Arab armies, then succeeded in pushing them back beyond the original lines before the US and the Soviet Union brokered a ceasefire