Israel

1. Israel a quick overview of Jewish history

2. According to Judaic scripture, God gave Moses the laws while the Hebrews were on the Exodus from Egypt.

3. About 2,000 years ago the Roman Empire grew around the Mediterranean Sea.

4. The Jews revolted against Roman rule. The rebellion was crushed and the Jews forced to leave Israel.

5. Israel ceased to exist in 70 AD, and the Jews spread out around the world. In the late 1800s, a Hungarian Jew named Theodore Herzl came up with an idea that would protect Jewish people from discrimination… The Jews should have their own homeland… This started the Zionist movement. Jewish populations lived throughout the world. Throughout history, the Jewish people lived in other people’s countries, and periodically they were discriminated against.

6. The Ottoman Empire in 1914 The Ottoman Turks controlled Palestine. The British sent T E Lawrence to encourage Arabs (including the Palestinians) to revolt against the Turks. In return the British insinuated that they would support Arab independence after World War I. Lawrence was successful in getting the Arabs to rise up against the Ottomans. General Allenby victoriously entering Jerusalem.

7. During the War, the British Foreign Minister, Lord Balfour, issued the Balfour Declaration. The British government promised to support the Zionist cause of creating a homeland for Jews in Palestine.

8. After World War I, the League of Nations gave the lands of the Ottoman Empire to the British and the French as Mandates (to look after until the people were ready for independence).

9. After World War I, the Zionists encouraged Jewish immigration to Palestine. As conditions in Nazi Germany and Europe worsened for Jews, many decided to start new lives in Palestine.

10. The horrors of the Holocaust convinced many that the Jews needed a homeland.

12. In 1947, the United Nations Organization proposed dividing Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. The Palestinians rejected this. The following year, Israel declared its Independence and became a country. This led to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

13. The Israeli military proved to be better equipped, trained, and motivated.

14. …the result of the wars… Palestinian refugees

15. almost 60 years later, and 3.7 million Palestinians still live in refugee camps

16. In 1948 the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 on the Question of Palestine, which "resolves that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return..."

17. Today there are more than 3.7 million Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps throughout the Middle East and many more exiles worldwide. Their right of return is clearly and unambiguously guaranteed by international law under the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The refugees have a claim to citizenship, financial settlement and, in some cases, return to former homes and property in what is today Israel. The government of Israel, however, opposes Palestian immigration, in order to maintain the Jewish character of the state. Whatever the details of any future agreement, a lasting and effective settlement must find a solution for Palestinian refugees that recognizes and accommodates their �right of return� and their claim to full citizenship in a state they can call home.

18. President Jimmy Carter managed to get Egyptian and Israeli leaders to meet at Camp David and make a peace agreement.

19. The Palestinians left in Israel have been unhappy at their treatment…

20. Anger at Israel led to the Intifada, or uprising of Palestinians against Israeli rule. Israeli distrust has resulted in the “Apartheid Wall” The overwhelming superiority of Israeli weapons has resulted in some Palestinians turning to suicide bombings.