The Creation of Israel

1. The Creation of Israel • 1800 BCE – Hebrews: nomadic tribes from Canaan (later called Palestine and present day Iraq) • Hebrews considered themselves the chosen people: direct descendants of Abraham and Isaac. • Hebrew belief was Monotheistic

2. 1500 B.C.E. – Hebrewsmoved to Egypt because of a drought– used by Egyptians as a work force. • 1250 – Mosesled Hebrews back to Canaan (across Sinai) • 1025 – Formed Kingdoms of Judea and Israel. Kings David and Solomon build the first temple in 1000 BCE

3. 586 B.C.E - Conquered by Babylonians –1st temple destroyed – first Diaspora (scattering of people) • 539 BCE - Babylon falls to Persian Rule (Cyrus) • 300 BCE Persians allowed Hebrews back - built a second temple (165 BCE.) Wailing Wall – the remaining remnants of the 2nd Temple. Projected model of the 2nd Temple

4. 70 CE Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the second temple - second Jewish Diaspora(scattering Jews to other parts of the world). • Romans renamed the area Syria Palaestina (after the Hebrew enemy Philistines)

5. 313 CE Christianity centers in Jerusalem (due to Roman Emperor Constantine) • 639 CE – Muslim Arab armies capture Jerusalem – build the Dome of the Rock • 1096 CE Pope sends men to recapture the Holy Land (Crusades). Christians did not defeat the Arabs. • 1516 – 1917 Ottoman Turks (Muslims) take over Palestine. The Dome of the Rock

6. Late 1800’s: Zionism – a movement among European Jews to set up a Jewish homeland in Palestine. • Persecution of Jews (Anti-Semitism) became rampant in Europe due to: Jews kept to themselves in communities, churches, usury.

7. WWI: The Ottoman Empire sided with Germany and Austria Hungary • Britain’s promises: 1.Arabs land in Palestineif they help fight the Ottomans. 2. Jews a national homeland in Palestine for Jewish support during the War. (Balfour Declaration)

8. WWII 1930-40’s: Nazis rise to power – many Jews fled to Palestine – Jewish numbers restricted to Palestine. (immigrants or refugees?) • Result of WWII – Palestine turned over to the United Nations in 1947.

9. 1947 United Nations Partition Plan: The U.N.splits Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. • Arabs object to giving any territory to Jews. • (Fill in first blank map) • Arabs – Black • Jews - Yellow

10. 1948 Israeli War for Independence • Jews announce the creation of Israel. • Arab nations declare war at once, and military forces are sent. • 1949 - Israel defeats Arab forces with the help from the U.S. Armistice is called by UN. UN annexes almost half the area set aside for Arabs under the UN partition plan + half of Jerusalem. Jordan gets West Bank, Egypt gets Gaza Strip, and Syria gets Golan Heights. • Arab refugeesflee to those three areas.

11. 1956: Egypt nationalizes Suez Canal (completed by French in 1869, then controlled by Britain because of access to Indian colony) • Egypt blocks Israel’s use of the Suez Canal • Israel, Britain and France attack Egypt. Conflict ends in a UN cease fire.

12. 1964: Creation of the PLO ( Palestinian Liberation Organization). The primary goal – a state for Palestinian Arabs. Leader was Yasser Arafat.

13. 1967; The Six-Day War – Israel initiates a strike on Egyptian air force on the ground – destroys them • Israel captures East Jerusalem and the WestBank from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. All three become known as the Occupied Territories. • (Fill out the second map.)

14. 1973: The Yom Kippur War: Nothing won or lost. Egypt and Syria try to get back lands taken in Six-Day War – ends in a UN cease fire. • 1979: The Camp David Accords: peace treaty between Egypt’s President Anwar El Sadat and Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Arranged by President Jimmy Carter – all three received Nobel Peace Prizes. Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Sadat, Carter, and Begin

15. Land given back to Egypt after the Camp David Accords: The Sinai Peninsula. • Israel still kept a strong presence in the three Occupied Territories. • (Fill out the Third Map)

16. 1987: Intifada or “the shaking”. Tired of Israeli rule, Arabs in the Occupied Territories began a mass uprising. Due to U.S. support, Israeli fighters had better weapons - Palestinian rights were violated.

17. 1993: The Oslo Accords- PLO and Israel sign peace agreement: Israel recognized PLO as reps of Palestinian people. PLO recognized the Israel’s existence. Palestinians gained control of Gaza Strip and Jericho (in West Bank). Both Yitzhak Rabin (Israel) and Yasser Arafat (PLO) received Nobel Peace Prizes. Rabin is assassinated soon after.

18. (Final Map) • Territory gained in 1993 – today. Parts of West Bank and Gaza have pockets of Palestinian residents, but Israel still controls the territory. • 1994 – 2004saw many ups and downs between Palestinians and Israelis:

19. History of U.S. Government Aid to Israel • U.S. government assistance to Israel began in 1949 with a $100 million Export-Import Bank Loan • From 1949 -1965, U.S. aid to Israel averaged about $63 million a yr, over 95% was economic development assistance and food aid. • Until 2003, Israel received approx. one-third of the annual US foreign aid budget. In 2005, the US gave Israel more than $2.6 billion in aid, a budget exceeded only by US aid to Iraq. • Since World War II, Israel has been the largest overall recipient of US aid:1949-2006 Israel received more than $156 billion of direct US aid.

20. September 11, 2001 – it has been noted that one of the main causes of the World Trade Center and Pentagon Terrorist attacks on 9/11/01: United States’ continual support of Israel.

21. 2004 - Security barrier was built in the West Bank, Arafat dies, and Mahmoud Abbas, a known member of HAMAS, was elected President of Palestinian National Authority.

22. Israel's Separation Barrier, dubbed the "Apartheid Wall" or "Berlin Wall" by Palestinians, has attracted international attention, largely due to the scale of the project. • The historical parallel to the barrier is the Berlin Wall, which was 96 miles long. Israel's barrier is expected to reach at least 403 miles in length. The average height of the Berlin Wall was 11.8 ft, compared with the max current height of Israel's Wall - 25 ft. • Israel's barrier is therefore planned to be four times as long and in places twice as high as the Berlin Wall.

23. 8/15/05 – Israeli’s evacuated the Gaza Strip and 4 West Bank settlements. • Gaza is an area similar to Mtn. View to the Freeway, then to the Boise River. • There are 1.2 million Palestinians living there.

24. Current Situation • In December 2009, the Israeli government ordered a 10-month lull in permits for new settlement homes in the West Bank. • Mohamed Abbas threatened to abandon negotiations if settlement construction was renewed. He said "Israel has a moratorium for 10 months and it should be extended for three to four months more to give peace a chance.”