As a result of the United Nations’ 1947 Partition Plan, which granted Zionists 55% of Palestine and indigenous Palestinians only 45% of their land, a period of nakba, or catastrophe, occurred (Kamrava 79). Though Palestinians despised and rejected the proposed plan, Zionists were quick to accept it, since they were confident that with the plan intact, they would be able to conquer the remaining parts of Palestine. Once the plan was approved, Zionists began to brutally attack Palestinian villages. The attack of Deir Yassin, a village in which Zionist forces mutilated villagers’ bodies and threw them into wells, struck fear in Palestinian families and thus initiated an exodus out of Palestine. During this time, between 750,000 and 1,000,000 Palestinians …show more content…
When Israel successfully became a state, countless Palestinians were infuriated and expressed their anger through forms of art. Poems written by Palestinians, including Mahmoud Darwish’s “ID Card” and Abu Salma’s “We Shall Return” and “My Country on Partition Day,” embody the emotions encountered by Palestinian Arabs regarding the injustices they faced at this time and prove that although Palestine no longer existed, Palestinian nationalism continued to strengthen.
In the poem “ID card,” Mahmoud Darwish exposes the injustices faced by Palestinians during the 1948 war while exemplifying nationalism through taking pride in his personal identity and heritage. Darwish was a Palestinian Arab that was forced to flee to Lebanon as a result of the Zionist conquest. Though he was a child during the 1948 war, he writes “ID card” from the perspective of a Palestinian father. Within the second stanza of the poem, the narrator states, “My children number eight… I tug their bread, their clothes / And their notebooks / From within the rock” (3, 8-11). Darwish provides insight on the life of a Palestinian father and specifically explains the goals that this father has for his children. He states that the father “[tugs]” his children’s “notebooks,” suggesting that the father places
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However, a significant amount of controversy existed within the Partition Plan that justified the anger felt by Palestinians. In the poem “My Country on Partition Day,” Abu Salma draws light on these contradictions; when referring to Western nations, he states, “They’ve prohibited oppression among themselves / but for us they legalized all prohibitions… In the West, man’s rights are preserved, / but the man in the East is stoned to death” (14-15, 18-19). Salma explains how the United Nations, which consisted of Western countries, claimed to value human rights and ensure that individuals were treated fairly; however, this same organization knowingly permitted Zionists to brutally attack Palestinians and drive them out of their land. Therefore, their definition of justice differed for Eastern areas when compared to Western ones. Salma ironically states, “Maybe justice changes colors and shapes!” (22). By doing so, he emphasizes the fact that the controversies that arose as a result of the Partition Plan were not justifiable, since justice is defined as equal treatment for all. Therefore, the nations that crafted the Partition Plan and allowed Zionist forces to conquer Palestine did so in a paternalistic, but hypocritical way, making the plan unfair. Due to their unfair
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
...Palestine. The main points of the White Paper put the plans for partition as impractical and enforced restrictions on Jewish immigration and the transfer of land. The White Paper said that with the Jewish population at 450,000 having been settled in the mandate, the points in the Balfour Declaration have been met. “His Majesty’s Government therefore now declare unequivocally that it is not part of their policy that Palestine should become a Jewish State.” Even though much hope seemed to be lost at this point, faced with the impending Nazism in Europe, Zionist Jews and non-Zionist Jews had felt the pressure to unite and thus led to the Biltmore Conference.
Naomi Nye was born to a German-American mother and a Palestinian-American father. However, she normally writes from her Palestinian-Arab perspective. In several of her poems within The Heath Anthology—“Ducks,” “My Father and the Figtree,” and “Where the Soft Air Lives”—Naomi Nye reminisces about her Muslim heritage and childhood as it correlates to her present identity. In addition, she incorporates the effect of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on herself and on Arab culture in her work. Ultimately, Naomi Nye’s poetic work should remain in The Heath Anthology as her style demonstrates how historical events and a deep-rooted heritage can enrich a sense of identity and culture.
Israel was created as a haven for persecuted Jew as a result of the Holocaust, however, it was soon run by the military. “The new Israel seemed to be a nation where the military ruled ignoring the will of the countr...
Bob Hawke once said; “Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.” Perhaps Hawke put into a few simple words one of the most complicated issues within our world today, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Israel continues to strip the Palestinians of their land and fears it’s very existence because of the Palestinians terrorist acts, there seems to be no solution in sight. The world appears to be split and all over the place when it comes to this matter. According to The Middle East Institute for Understanding approximately 129 countries recognize Palestine as a state while many others do not. Over all the political matters within this issue not only affect Palestine and Israel but the world as a whole, as the Middle East and the West seem to disagree. This has had and will continue to have an enormous impact on many political affairs all over the world particularly in the current fight against terrorism. Personally I feel that the Israeli Palestinian conflict while being a very complicated matter has a simple solution. Within this issue I am a firm believer that the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces is extremely unjust and must come to an end. Once this is achieved a two state solution will be the most effective way to bring peace to the area. The occupation of the West Bank violates political and legal rights, human rights, and illegally forces Palestinians who have lived in the area for hundreds of years from their land. This conflict is at the height of its importance and a solution is of dire need as nuclear issues arise in the Middle East due to the tension between Israel and it’s surrounding neighbors, and the...
Most people think Israel always belonged to the Jews but it wasn’t always a safe, holy place where Jews could roam freely. Along with Palestine, it was actually forcefully taken from the Arabs who originated there. The main purpose of this novel is to inform an audience about the conflicts that Arabs and Jews faced. Tolan’s sources are mainly from interviews, documentations and observations. He uses all this information to get his point across, and all the quotes he uses is relevant to his points. The author uses both sides to create a non-biased look at the facts at hand. The novel starts in the year 1967 when Bashir Al-Khairi and his cousins venture to their childhood home in Ramallah. After being forced out of their homes by Jewish Zionists and sent to refuge for twenty years. Bashir arrives at his home to find a Jewish woman named Dalia Eshkenazi. She invites them into her home and later the...
This marked the beginning of the Palestine armed conflict, one of its kinds to be witnessed in centuries since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War 1. Characterized by a chronology of endless confrontations, this conflict has since affected not only the Middle East relations, but also the gl...
Israeli-Druze’s feel integrated into Israeli society, while simultaneously also feel alienated due to “lack of full equity, and linguistic-cultural differentiation” (Nisan). Regardless, the Maghar Druze community living in Israel identify as Israeli over Palestinian and even over an Arab nationality. The separation of identity from Arab to Israeli is due to long and violent religious conflicts between the Druze and Muslims in Palestine (Nisan). These hate crimes have created an obvious transition for Maghar Druze to align with Israel over neighboring Arab states. Most importantly the recruitment into Israeli military has provided the Maghar community the sense of protection against a common enemy which has strengthened the Druze – Israeli identity. Overall, the state of Israel has provided the Maghar Druze the sense of belonging through citizenship and military service; thus giving them the desire for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to continue their integration into Israeli society.
knowledge of what happened, but speaking with more of an, if anyone took a moment to think about this, how wouldn’t have they noticed an indication to the coming terror. Hitler never hid his intention and neither did the events of operation hummingbird16. So were these all just repercussions to not accepting the Partition plan of 1939, and instead accepting a version of it in 1947? No matter how many questions are answered, there will always be many more to take its place. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict may seem to be just another what-if, and understandably, it’s hard to look at what happened without the knowledge of what happened, and maybe for that reason, the Peel Commission, is still silently being persistent, even after falling between the cracks of history.
Conflicts between people often have multiple causes and effects. A majority of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an argument that dates back to Biblical times. The Jewish argue Palestine was the historical site of all Jewish kingdoms, which was promised to Abraham and his descendants. The Arabs argue that Ishmael, forefather of Arabs, is the son of Abraham so God’s promise that the land should go to Abraham’s descendents includes Arabs as well . Some of the main causes which worsen the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the disparity between Sykes-Picot agreement and Balfour Declaration, The United Nation Partition plan of 1947, which was the separation of the boundaries, and Hitler’s Final Solution. While these causes affected both sides
Critics have already begun a heated debate over the success of the book that has addressed both its strengths and weaknesses. The debate may rage for a few years but it will eventually fizzle out as the success of the novel sustains. The characters, plot, emotional appeal, and easily relatable situations are too strong for this book to crumble. The internal characteristics have provided a strong base to withstand the petty attacks on underdeveloped metaphors and transparent descriptions. The novel does not need confrontations with the Middle East to remain a staple in modern reading, it can hold its own based on its life lessons that anyone can use.
The film explores how resistance, to the Israeli occupation, has taken on an identity characterized by violence, bloodshed, and revenge in Palestinian territories. Khaled and Said buy into the widely taught belief that acts of brutality against the Israeli people is the only tactic left that Palestinians have to combat the occupation. In an effort to expose the falsity of this belief, Hany Abu-Assad introduces a westernized character named Suha who plays the voice of reason and opposition. As a pacifist, she suggests a more peaceful alternative to using violence as a means to an end. Through the film “Paradise Now,” Abu-Assad not only puts a face on suicide bombers but also shows how the struggle for justice and equality must be nonviolent in order to make any significant headway in ending the cycle of oppression between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
The British mandate in Palestine can be characterized as a form of colonialism, which sought to reconcile the competing, contradictory and incompatible interests of the British, Zionists and Palestinians. In summary it can be said that it is during this time that the British, in trying to satisfy all parties, not only made themselves hated by all involved parties, but failed at preventing the conflict from escalating into outright war. In many ways, the mandate’s failure was laid before it even began. The mandate was destined to fail because of contradicting commitments Britain made during WWI.
Although “Araby” is a fairly short story, author James Joyce does a remarkable job of discussing some very deep issues within it. On the surface it appears to be a story of a boy's trip to the market to get a gift for the girl he has a crush on. Yet deeper down it is about a lonely boy who makes a pilgrimage to an eastern-styled bazaar in hopes that it will somehow alleviate his miserable life. James Joyce’s uses the boy in “Araby” to expose a story of isolation and lack of control. These themes of alienation and control are ultimately linked because it will be seen that the source of the boy's emotional distance is his lack of control over his life.
His origins were extremely important to him and he displays this throughout the poem. Mahmoud repeats the statement “I am an Arab” in almost every stanza of the poem (Darwish 80). He’s not ashamed of his heritage and will not forget it. Mahmoud wants to reveal how proud he is to be an Arab, and show that he is being punished for who he is. Darwish wants it to be remembered that he is being exiled and he wants his feelings recorded. The reader is continually told to “put it on record” (Darwish 81). The author is not afraid to express himself through his writing. He writes in a style that encourages people to communicate their views. Darwish wants people to be able to comfortably express themselves. The author is very upset about his unjust experience, but calmly documents his feelings. He ironically asks “What’s there to be angry about?” four times in the poem (Darwish 80). Darwish is staying calm but still showing that the situation is extremely unfair and bothersome. “Identity Card” shares one terrible exile experience with readers. Repetition is used many times in the poem, stressing important