Israel is a high controversial state that all have differing opinions on. There are many things that make Israel a hot topic. In order to discover why Israel is so controversial, this paper will delve into the creation of Israel, and how it affects the area around it.
Israel was created on November 29, 1947 by the United Nations in Resolution 181. Resolution 181, also known as the Partition Resolution, declared that the territory of Palestine would be divided into two separate states, one Jewish and one Arab, when the British Palestine mandate expired in May 1948. However, the city of Jerusalem was declared an independent city state, and would be protected by the United Nations ("Creation of Israel").
There are two main reasons why Israel is located where it is, the Zionists wanted a Jewish state created in the holy land, and the British controlled it. Zionism, as defined by Merriam-Webster is "an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel" ("Zionism"). Zionism is the force that led to the creation of Israel where it is today. Zionism gained large international clout after the British issued the Balfour declaration, which stated that the British would like a Jewish state in Palestine (Renton). The Balfour Declaration gave the Zionists a big right to take over land in Palestine because the British had control of what was then called Mandatory Palestine. The British had controlled Palestine since the Ottoman Empire collapsed. Basically, when the Zionists decided they wanted to create a state in Palestine, they went to the British with the Balfour Declaration in hand, and there wasn't much the British could do but gi...
... middle of paper ...
... 2004. Print.
"Genesis 15:18." Bible Hub. Biblos.com, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. genesis/15-18.htm>. "Number of Terrorism Fatalities in Israel." Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli
Cooperative Enterprise, 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. .
"The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict." The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict. Jews for Justice, 2001. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. .
Renton, James. "The Balfour Declaration: Origins and Consequences." Jewish Quarterly RSS. Jewish Quarterly, Mar. 2008. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .
"Zionism." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. .
The ideas of David, Reuven and other reform Jews sparked new interest in the notion of a Hebrew state in Palestine. Zionism was an idea with a long history, but it starts to involve the characters of The Chosen and picks up intensity after the Holocaust.
Imperialism, Colonialism, and war had a huge impact on the Middle East, and it can also be thought of as the source of conflict. According to the map in Document A, it shows that the size of the Ottoman Empire grew smaller after the first world war, along with this change came new boundaries. These borders were created by the victorious European countries that won World War I, and made different ethnic and religious groups separated and grouped together with others. Great Britain's took over Palestine mandate and developed the Balfour Declaration that promised Jews support in making a home in Palestine. Most of the Palestine land was populated with Arabs. As soon as Jewish immigration increased, so did the tension between the two groups because each felt like they deserved the Palestine land. Zionism began early in the history of Judiasm and it was the movement for the Jews to establish a home in Palestine, and return to their holy land. During the Holocaust, six million Jews were killed and the deep-seeded hatre against them increased
On November 29th, 1947, the United Nations passed Resolution 181 in favour of the partition of Palestine for the creation of an Israeli state. This resolution laid down a plan for the establishment of a Jewish state and an Arab state linked by mutual economies. Jerusalem, located in the heart of the country, was to be an international regime. This resolution was shortly passed after World War II, with the events of this war helping to strengthen the mindset and determination of the Jewish people fighting for their homeland and was in a way, pivotal to the movement. However, plans for a independent Jewish state was already in talks before World War II had even began.
According to Shlaim, the conflict begins during World War 1 when the British made various promises to both Jews and Arabs while simultaneously plotting with the French to divide all the territory into spheres of influence . The British assumed that Palestinians and Jews could leave peaceably in a single state, but Britain's obligation to the Jews could only be met at the expense of the Arab majority. The British carved up the territories under their mandate without regard for religious, ethnic, or linguistic composition of their inhabitants.
The Middle East has since time immemorial been on the global scope because of its explosive disposition. The Arab Israeli conflict has not been an exception as it has stood out to be one of the major endless conflicts not only in the region but also in the world. Its impact continues to be felt all over the world while a satisfying solution still remains intangible. A lot has also been said and written on the conflict, both factual and fallacious with some allegations being obviously evocative. All these allegations offer an array of disparate views on the conflict. This essay presents an overview of some of the major literature on the controversial conflict by offering precise and clear insights into the cause, nature, evolution and future of the Israel Arab conflict.
...lared to create the Jews National Home within Palestine. The political Zionism has greatly achieved its progress. Although not a popular movement in the present day Israel political arena, the present state of affairs of Israel owe too much to Theodor Herzl.
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian.” Stated former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir after three fourths of one million Palestinians had been made refugees, over five hundred towns and cities had been obliterated, and a new regional map was drawn. Every vestige of the Palestinian culture was to be erased. Resolution 181, adopted in 1947 by the United Nations declared the end of British rule over Palestine (the region between the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River) and it divided the area into two parts; a state for the Jewish and one for the Arab people, Palestine. While Israel was given statehood, Palestine was not. Since 1947, one of the most controversial issues in the Middle East, and of course the world, is the question of a Palestinian state. Because of what seems a simple question, there have been regional wars among Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, terrorist attacks that happen, sometimes daily, displacement of families from their homes, and growing numbers of people living in poverty. Granting Palestinian statehood would significantly reduce, or alleviate, tensions in the Middle East by defining, once and for all, the area that should be Palestine and eliminating the bloodshed and battles that has been going on for many years over this land.
The Israeli-Palestine conflict is an event that has been well documented throughout the course of Middle-Eastern history. The conflict dates back as far as the nineteenth century where Palestine and Zionist, will later be known as Israel, are two communities each with different ideologies had the same overwhelming desire to acquire land. However, what makes this clash what it is, is the fact that both of these up and coming communities are after the same piece of land. The lengths that both sides went to in order obtain they believed was theirs has shaped the current relationship between the two nations today.
The revolt caused the Jews to develop greater self sufficiency in the region. For example, when the British destroyed the Port of Jaffa, the Zionists were able to obtain permission to build their own port, increasing their influence and limiting the Palestinians’. M.J. Cohen notes the uncompromising nature of the Zionists to Palestinians demands shows their commitment to their goal. His analysis of the political interactions between the two groups reveals that negotiations were unsuccessful because the leaders on both sides were unwilling to make sacrifices, particularly in regards to continued Jewish immigration and the number of Jews in Palestine. This shows that the main political bodies of both groups had greatly opposing views to the point that compromise was unable to be made between
Since the Arabs were living in Palestine when the Ottoman Empire control it. Since the Arabs defeated the Ottoman Empire with the help of from Germany, “Just short of 6 months the Palestinians were crushed, militarily and psychologically” (document 8) On the other hand, Israel grew beyond the partition lines, gained more defensible borders and they destroyed Arab homes reducing their population. The Palestinians rightly felt that the Israelis were taking over the area and were pushing out of lands promised to them in both the Balfour Declaration and the UN 1947 Partition.
Israel a Jewish nation, which is one of the most Jewish populated countries. Secondly, the
On November 2 1917 the Balfour Declaration was issued from Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild conveying a promise to the Zionist Federation of a national home in Palestine. This appeared to be a step closer towards materially realising the early Zionist aspirations as previously articulated by Theodor Herzl in August 1897 when he envisioned “the creation of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine to be secured by public law.” Although professing to be a “declaration of sympathy with the Jewish Zionist aspirations” in reality the reasons behind the Balfour Declaration surpassed Zionist efforts in British politics or genuine pro-Zionist sympathies. Despite many Zionists becoming increasingly active in British politics, the formation of a Jewish state was not the intended consequence of the declaration; rather it was primarily in provision of British own interests in Palestinian territory. This land, to which the Balfour Declaration referred had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the 16th century and included contemporary Israel and a small section of present-day Jordan. It occupied a prime strategic position dividing two French colonies, Syria and Lebanon, and the British colony in Egypt whilst harbouring jurisdiction over the prized Suez Canal. Simultaneously British had imperialistic motives to take advantage of the power vacuum left vacant by the slow death of the Sick Man of Europe, the Ottoman Empire. The Balfour Declaration also temporarily allowed the Britain to hold the balance of power between the two opposing nationalist movements in Palestine however it did obligate them to both sides proving a future problem. It was also hoped that propagating a future national home to the Zionists at large would secure the ...
When Yasser Arafat addressed the United Nations General Assembly, he tried to articulate the actions the Palestinian Liberation Organization had taken and to justify those actions. Arafat points out that the struggles with Imperialism and Zionism began in 1881 when the first large wave of immigrants began arriving in Palestine. Prior to this date, the Muslims, Jews (20,000) and Christians all cohabitated peacefully (pop. 1/2 million). In 1917, the Belfour Declaration authorized increased immigration of European Jews to Palestine. 1 From 1917 to 1947, the Jewish population in Palestine increased to 600,000 and they rightfully owned only 6% of the Palestinian arable land. Palestine population at this time was now up to 1,250,000. 1
The partition of India and its freedom from colonial rule set a precedent for nations such as Israel, which demanded a separate homeland because of the irreconcilable differences between the Arabs and the Jews. The British left Israel in May 1948, handing the question of division over to the UN. Un-enforced UN Resolutions to map out boundaries between Israel and Palestine has led to several Arab-Israeli wars and the conflict still continues.