Arab-Israeli Conflict

1. Arab-Israeli Conflict

2. One House, Two Stories: Dalia “Growing up, Dalia would frequently ask her parents and teachers: “What are these houses we are living in?” “These are Arab houses,” she was told. “What are these Arab houses that everyone talks about?” she would reply. Dalia’s school was in an Arab house, and there she would learn Israel’s history. She learned about the creation of the state of Israel as a safe haven for the Jews. She studied the War of Independence as the story of the few against the many. The Arabs had invaded, Dalia would read, in order to destroy the new state and throw the Jews into the sea. Most nations confronted with such hostilities would have been paralyzed, but tiny Israel had withstood five Arab armies. Little David had defeated Goliath. As for the Arabs, Dalia’s textbooks would report that they ran away, deserting their lands and abandoning their homes, fleeing before the conquering Israeli army. The Arabs, one textbook of the day declared, “Preferred to leave” once the Jews had taken their towns. Dalia accepted the history she was taught. Still, she was confused. Why, she wondered, would anyone leave so willingly?” --Excerpt from: The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan, page 115

3. One House, Two Stories: Bashir “We were exiled by force of arms. We were exiled on foot. We were exiled to take the earth as our bed. And the sky as a cover. And to be fed from the crumbs of those among the governments and international organizations who imparted their charity. We were exiled but we left our souls, our hopes and our childhood in Palestine. We left our joys and sorrows. We left them in every corner, and on every grain of sand in Palestine. We left them with each lemon fruit, with each olive. We left them in the roses and flowers. We left them in the flowering tree that stands with pride at the entrance of our house in al-Ramla. We left them in the remains of our fathers and ancestors. We left them as witnesses and history. We left them, hoping to return.” --Excerpt from: The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan, page 217

4. Introduction • Two conflicting sides over land, resources, sovereignty, religion, and culture. • Jerusalem/Temple Mount • Jordan River • Israelis – Judaism, claim rights to ‘Israel’ a recognized state of the UN • Palestinians – Islam, claim the same land as ‘Palestine’, are not recognized by the UN, but have a central ‘PNA’ • Both sides have contributed considerably to violence.

5. Who are the Palestinians and Israelis? • Palestinians include Muslims, Christians, and Druze • Currently a ‘state-less’ nation and therefore ‘citizenship-less’ • Israelis include Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze • Became a political state in 1948 • The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not simply Jews vs. Muslims, though it is often represented that way Wailing Wall (Jewish) and Dome of the Rock (Muslim)

6. Palestinians Today • Palestinians are Arabs [Muslim, Christian, Druze] with historical roots to the territory of Palestine defined in the British Mandate • 3 million live within this area divided among Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip • 700,000 are Israeli citizens • 1.2 million live in West Bank • 1 million in Gaza Strip • 3 million in diaspora • The diaspora community is without citizenship; Jordan only Arab state to grant citizenship www.cnn.com/.../mideast/stories/ history.maps/accords.html

7. The Issues • Palestinian Refugees and the Right of Return • Status of Jerusalem • Borders and the Occupied Territories • Israeli Security Concerns in relation to sovereignty • Settlements in the West Bank

8. Palestinians Claims to the Land Israelis Ancestors lived in area nearly 2000 years ago Jerusalem home to most important Jewish site—Western Wall Ancestors have been living in area nearly 2000 years Jerusalem home to 3rd most important Muslim site-Dome of the Rock/Al-Aqsa Mosque

9. Jewish Claims: Biblical promise of land to Abraham and his decedents [begets Isaac, begets Jacob a.k.a. Israel] Historical site of the Jewish Kingdom of Israel Need for haven from European anti-Semitism Palestinian Claims: Several hundred years of continuous residence Demographic majority Bible is not a legitimate basis for modern claim to territory Jewish and Palestinian Claims to Land

11. Jewish Biblical Claims to Land • Cultural Conflict goes back several thousand years – mainly religious • Old Canaan conquered by Israeli tribes out of Egypt (according to Torah) [1200 BCE] • Hebrew settlements/conquests of present-day Jerusalem under Solomon • First Temple Built in Jerusalem on “Temple Mount” • Later split into two kingdoms: Israel and Judea (both later fall to Assyrians) after Solomon’s death • Land referred to as ‘Palestine’ by ancient Egyptians and ‘Israel’ by the Jewish tribes • Same place, different language

12. Israel: The Western Wall • Jerusalem is the site of the holiest site in Judaism, remains of the earliest Temples. • “The Western Wall is part of the retaining wall supporting the temple mount built by Herod in 20 B.C. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D., Jews were not allowed to come to Jerusalem until the Byzantine period, when they could visit once a year on the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple and weep over the ruins of the Holy Temple. Because of this, the wall became known as the ‘Wailing Wall.’” (http://www.levitt.com/slideshow/s01p05.html)

13. Jewish Ancient History • Control continuously changes from app. 530 BCE – 61 BCE ending with control from Roman Empire • Christianity is founded around 4 BCE – 35 CE, followed by Islam in 622 CE • Non Jewish inhabitants of Israel/Palestine convert begin to practice Islam/Christianity • Roman Empire Collapses after schism, Israel/Palestine is conquered by Persians in 614 CE • Then, conquered by Arab Islamic armies – Al-Aqsa Mosque is built in 715 CE on Temple Mount (considered Third Holiest site in Islam)

14. Palestine: Homeland for Palestinians • Palestinians are the Arabic speaking people that live in Palestine. • Most Palestinians practice Islam which came to Palestine around 638 AD, although some are Christian. • Jerusalem is one of the most holy cities for Islam because Moslems believe that Muhammad ascended to heaven here

15. The Holy Land for Christians • Israel and Palestine has been a major site for Christian pilgrimage and Crusades • Jesus is said to have been born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. • He is said to have been crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem

16. Medieval History • European Christian crusaders begin their attacks on ‘The Holy Land’ occupied by Saladin and his Kurds • Crusaders briefly occupy Jerusalem in 1229 CE, retaken by Mameluke Muslims, later defeated at acre and evicted from ‘Palestine’ • Ottoman/Turk conquest of area in 1517, part of official Ottoman Empire until 1917 • Demographics in Jerusalem under Ottoman Rule: 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians

17. 1800s • 19th Century Palestine was a province of the Ottoman Empire. • In 1850 the population was around 4% Jewish, 8% Christian and the rest Muslim. There was no conflict between the communities. • In Europe Jews faced anti-Semitism and pogroms. • In the 1880s over 200,000 Jews were murdered in state organised Russian pogroms.

18. Anti-Semitism • As anti-Semitism in Europe increased leading Jewish figures came to the conclusion that without a state of their own Jews would always be persecuted. • “For the living, the Jew is a dead man; for the natives, an alien and a vagrant; for property holders, a beggar; for the poor, an exploiter and a millionaire; for patriots, a man without a country; for all classes, a hated rival… a people without a territory is like a man without a shadow: something unnatural, spectral.” Dr Leo Pinsker, 1882.

19. The Pogrom. • This is the name given to a racist attack, particularly on a Jewish community. • ‘Pogroms’, as a term, came from Russia in the 19th century. It means ‘to destroy’. • Jewish communities had long suffered from pogroms even as long ago as Roman times. • As a close-knit group they were small, easily identifiable and as a result were easy to scapegoat (blame for others’ problems ). • Jewish people had no specifically Jewish country that would defend their rights or allow them a place to flee. • They were uniquely vulnerable, sustained only by their faith and traditions.

20. A Jewish house after a pogrom.

21. Examples of anti-Jewish attacks Throughout History • The Roman Emperor Caligula • 12th century London and York riots • After the Black Death in Europe.1348 • In Ukraine 1648 • 1821 Ukraine. (the first riot actually called a ‘pogrom’) • 1881-4 Russia. Few deaths, but much fear and property destruction. • 1903-6 Russia. Many deaths. Much Jewish emigration to Europe and the USA • 1918, and beforehand, sporadic outbreaks in Poland. • 1919 Argentina • 1927 Romania • 1933 Germany. The Holocaust • 1945 Arab states such as Libya

22. 1905 Jewish victims of a pogrom in Odessa.

23. Zionism • GOALS:The spiritual andpolitical renewal ofthe Jewish peoplein its ancestralhomeland ofPalestine. • Freedom from Western anti-Semitism. Theodore Herzl1860-1904

24. Zionism-Late 1800s Zionists are a political group of Jewish people. They argued for a homeland for all Jewish people, a place where Jews would not fear pogroms, and where they could live safely. ’Zion’ is a Biblical name for Israel. They received a huge amount of support towards the end of the 19th century when many Jews were being displaced from around the world. Zionists looked particularly at the land of their Jewish ancestors in Palestine, the land that had been called Judea and had given its name to ‘Jew’.Capital city Jerusalem. This land was already occupied, however, by Arabic peoples called ‘Palestinians’. Many Jewish people were anti-Zionist however despite the pogroms. They felt that a small country would make them easy targets and in any event their ‘Jewishness’ did not make them any less Russian, or German or American. Judaism, they argued, was a religion.

25. “A land without a people for a people without a land” • Theodor Herzl was the founder of modern Zionism. He advocated mass Jewish immigration to Palestine. • Herzl initially did not consider the indigenous people, when he realised they existed he advocated transferring them. • “We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in transit countries, while denying it employment in our country. The property-owners will come over to our side. Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.” • Before they left however the indigenous population would be put to work exterminating snakes and wild animals.

26. Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl • “Oppression and persecution cannot exterminate us. No nation on earth has survived such struggles and sufferings as we have gone through. • “Palestine is our ever-memorable historic home. The very name of Palestine would attract our people with a force of marvelous potency. • “The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, will react powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity. • “The idea which I have developed in this pamphlet is a very old one: it is the restoration of the Jewish State. Pamphlet: "The Jewish State.” (1897)

27. First Zionist Conference, 1897 • Herzl writes Der Judenstaat, orThe Jewish State in 1896. • Met in Basel, Switzerland. • Creates the First Zionist Congress. • Becomes an international Jewishorganization. • “Next Year in Jerusalem!”

28. Aliyah (Ascension) • From 1882 onwards mostly eastern European Jews seeking a new life free from persecution began arriving in Palestine. • The first arrivals quite often mixed with the Palestinians, after 1900 they increasingly self-segregated. • Around 60,000 arrived between 1882 and 1914.

29. Reflection • Write for three minutes about BOTH of the following questions. • If you were Israeli, why might you think you should live on the land that is now Israel? • If you were Palestinian, why might you think you should live on the land that is now Israel?

30. The Ottoman Empire in WW1

31. The Middle East in 1914

32. Hussein-McMahon Letters, 1915 ....Britain is prepared to recognize and uphold the independence of the Arabs in all regions lying within the frontiers proposed by the Sharif of Mecca.... Hussein ibn Ali,Sharif of Mecca

33. Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916

34. The Arab Revolt: 1916-1918

35. World War One • World War I breaks out; Turkey (Ottoman Empire) fights against Allies • Balfour Declaration by the UK in Nov 1917 • “His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object…” - British Foreign Policy during wartime • British control of Egypt extends itself to the Israel/Palestine area under pressure from the ‘Zionist Movement’ Dec 1917

36. The Balfour Declaration • In 1917 Britain, at the height of World War One, agreed for its own imperial reasons agreed to sponsor the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. • Palestinians were not consulted, Lord Balfour wrote: “in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country. The Four Great Powers are committed to Zionism. And Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who inhabit that ancient land… In short so far as Palestine is concerned, the powers have made no statement of fact which is not admittedly wrong, and no declaration of policy which, at least in the letter, they have not always intended to violate.”

37. Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration The British Foreign Office, November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet. “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation. Signed by Arthur James Balfour

38. Post World War One • Faisal-Weizmann Agreement – Jan 3, 1919; part of the Paris Peace Conference • Leader of the Zionist Commission (Chaim Weizmann) met with Emir Faisal (Kingdom of Hedjaz) • Encourage mass Zionist/Jewish settlements in Palestine, in exchange for an Arab nation encompassing present-day Iraq, Syria, and the Fertile Crescent • Became irrelevant – Kingdom of Hedjaz was conquered in 1923 and incorporated under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

39. The dividing up of the Middle East after World War I.

40. Redeeming the Land---Post World War One • After Britain took control of Palestine in 1918 a whole new wave of Zionist immigration began. • These new immigrants sought to have as little to do as possible with the Palestinian population – boycotting their produce, culture and economy. • Instead these immigrants with British support set up their own exclusive institutions, used their own language and generally ignored the fact that another people was already living in Palestine. • A key element of their settlement was the idea of “the conquest of labour” whereby they would “redeem the land” by establishing modern farming communities. In this way they hoped to become “a light unto the nations.”

41. Palestine 1920.

42. The flag of the British Mandate over Palestine

43. Violence in the 1920s • Palestinians demanded representative self-government but Britain ignored their calls. • Tensions between the Palestinians and the new immigrants rose throughout the 1920s and 30s as Palestinians feared for their future. • Violence broke out in 1920, 1921 and 1929. The worst single incident was the murder of 67 Jews in Hebron in 1929.

44. 1920 Anti-Jews Riots • The Arabs had been promised Palestine after World War One, but the British had decided to retain control in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. • This supported the Zionists’ idea of a national home for Jews in Palestine whilst promising to curb any erosion of the rights of the local Arab population. • Many Arabs did not believe that the British could, or would, protect their rights if many Jewish settlers were to arrive. • Meanwhile Jewish people who already lived in Palestine had been clashing with their Arab neighbours. • April 4,1920,during a Muslim procession, a riot broke out in Jerusalem. It lasted 4 days. • Jewish people- ironically non-Zionists- were the main casualties. • The consequences were: that Jewish immigration to Palestine was temporarily stopped (turning the Zionists against the British),and the Jews themselves realised that they had to defend themselves if they were to survive.

45. 1921 More AntiJew Riots. • Clashes between rival Socialist and Communist Jewish groups in Tel-Aviv reached a peak. • Arab Palestinians, feeling threatened by the violence, readily joined in and had to be controlled by the British military. • The Arabs were ever fearful that they were being pushed out of Palestine by the growing numbers of Jewish immigrants. • Riots also occurred in Jerusalem. • Casualties were low, and were mostly where Arab protesters met with a military response from the British.

46. Winston Churchill Jews are in Palestine“as of right and not on sufferance...” “When it is asked what is meant by the development of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, it may be answered that it is not the imposition of a Jewish nationality upon the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole, but the further development of the existing Jewish community, with the assistance of Jews in other parts of the world, in order that it may become a centre in which the Jewish people as a whole may take on grounds of religion and race, an interest and a pride.” British Secretary of State for the Colonies June, 1922

47. A Telling Terminology “Recognition … to the HistoricalConnection of the Jewish People with Palestine. (Preamble to the Mandate) “Reconstituting their National Home in that Country [Palestine] (Preamble to the Mandate) “Recreation of Palestine as the national home of the Jewish race.” (U.S. Congress 1922)

48. Post World War One Canges • European Zionists continue to settle in Palestine – Britain begins to decolonize – grants independence to nearby Egypt and Transjordan • League of Nations – France and Britain divide the Middle East into ‘Mandates’ • Churchill White Paper (June 3, 1922) – clarifies Balfour Declaration in response to anti-semeiic riots in Palestine • Main Point: Europe dividing new nations for ‘self-determination’ – deconstruction of imperialism

49. July 24, 1922“Mandate for Palestine” “Recognition Has Been Given to the Historical Connection of the Jewish People with Palestine and to the Grounds for Reconstituting their National Home in that Country.” • 51member countries – the entire League of Nations – unanimously declared: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, British India, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Persia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of China, Romania, Siam, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela.

50. The British mandate of Palestine. 1923. The area labelled ‘Palestine’ by 1936 had become a war zone with regular clashes between Arab and Jewish settlers. By 1939 however the Arabs were completely repressed by the harsh British military presence. A Jewish military was being encouraged, and the partition of Palestine would seem to be an acceptable solution along the line shown on this map.