Transcript Roots of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

By: Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
The Dreyfus Case, 1894
Capt. Alfred
Dreyfus
Emile Zola
Zionism
 GOALS:
The spiritual and
political renewal of
the Jewish people
in its ancestral
homeland of
Palestine.
 Freedom from
Western anti-Semitism.
Theodore Herzl
1860-1904
British Promise to the Jews:
Balfour Declaration, 1917
Sir Arthur James Balfour
Br. Foreign Secretary
His Majesty’s Government
views with favor 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, it
being clearly understood that
nothing shall be done which
may prejudice the civil and
religious rights of existing nonJewish communities in
Palestine…
Prince Faisal at Versailles,
1918
Arab Disappointment as B. and F. treat Middle
East like territory open to colonial rule
The League of Nations
Mandates Middle East
(Ottoman)
Class C
Mandates:
B: took over
area of
Palestine,
Jordan, Iraq
F: took Syria
and Lebanon
“New” Countries & Ruling
Families Emerge!
 Prince Faisal  “ruler” of Trans-Jordan.
 Prince Abdullah  “ruler” of a newly-created
Iraq [pasted together from three distinct
geographic regions].
 The House of Saud  put on the throne of the
newly-created Saudi Arabia.
 The Pahlavi Family  put on the throne of a
new Iran.
 Mustafa Kemal  leads a military/nationalist
movement in Turkey.
Oil Discovered - Becomes the
New International
“Coin of the Realm!”
 American oil companies
[Texaco & Chevron], gain
oil concessions in Bahrain
and Saudi Arabia
 Now countries have a real
interest in the area and
Middle East has a
bargaining chip!
Jews & Arabs in Palestine, 1920
×
In 1920, there
was 1 Jew to
every 10 Arabs in
Palestine.
×
By 1947, the ratio
was 2 Arabs for
every Jew.
The Arabs felt that
they were loosing
control of their
“country!”
British
Mandate in
Palestine
Created
July, 1922
Jewish Settlements:
The Kibbutz System
 First one founded in 1908.
 Communal living.
 “Make the Desert
Bloom!”
1929 Arab Riots
IZBAH AL-YAHUD!
[“Slaughter All the Jews!”]
Jewish
Immigration
1919
1,806
1931
4,075
1920
8,223
1932
12,533
1921
8,294
1933
37,337
1922
8,685
1934
45,267
1923
8,175
1935
66,472
1924
13,892
1936
29,595
1925
34,386
1937
10,629
1926
13,855
1938
14,675
1927
3,034
1939
31,195
1928
2,178
1940
10,643
1929
5,249
1941
4,592
1930
4,944
Palestine Arab Revolt:
1936-1939
Their Goals:
 An end to Jewish
immigration to Palestine.
 An end to the transfer
of lands to Jewish
owners.
 A new “general
representative
government.”
The Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem, Haj Amin
al-Hussani, with Adolf
Hitler.
British White Paper of 1939
 Limited Jewish
immigration to
Palestine to 75,000 over
the next five years.
 It ended Jewish land
purchases.
 Independence for
Palestine within 10 years.
 It is NOT British policy
that Palestine become a
Jewish state.
Hitler’s
“Final
Solution”
The Jewish population in each country in 1942.
Nazi Concentration
& Extermination Camps
The Nazi Holocaust
 6,000,00 Jews killed
by the Nazis [1/2 in
the concentration
camps.]
ARABS & JEWS
• 1936 – Arab and Jew uprisings with
riots and killings
• Arabs (Palestinians) angry at Britain
over mass immigration by Jews and
evictions due to new settlers
• British tries to limit immigration – now
Jews angry!
• Britain cannot handle the problem any
longer! UN partition
U. N. Partition Plan of 1947
Israel Becomes a Nation:
May 14, 1948
Chaim Weizmann,
1st President
David Ben-Gurion,
1st Prime Minister
War Begins!: May 15, 1948
Palestinians thought land
division UNFAIR
WAR – Palestine, Syria,
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan all
attack Israel
Israel wins – 700,000
Palestinians become
refugees
New Wars!
Arab Refugees, 1948
The Palestinian Diaspora begins!
1948 – Syria, Egypt and
Jordan rose together to take
down Israel. With US help
and arms, Israel wins and
extends territory – 800,000
Palestinians displaced
1967 – Israel suspects Syria,
Egypt and Jordan are plotting
and strike first in “Six-Day
War”. Israel takes much of
the West Bank, Gaza Strip
and Syria’s Golan Heights.
Many consider these illegally-held territories and the UN tries to
get Israel to move out with limited success. However, in 2005,
the Israeli’s move out of Gaza and the Palestinian Fatah and
Hamas groups fight it out for control of the Palestinian Authority
For much of their history,
Palestinians have no
organized government or
army. 70% live in
poverty and the average
family earns just over
$1,000 a year
Thus, they are often left
to vent their frustration
in guerrilla fashion –
rock throwing, car
bombs and suicide
bombings. Now
Hamas and Fatah duke
it out
The Israeli government is organized and well-armed (due to US
money) and the per capita income is over $25,000.
Many attempts at peace and today both Israeli and Palestinians
seem to support a two-state solution. However, neither side trusts
the other and they can’t seem to agree on the specifics.
MIDDLE EAST IN
1970’s - 2000
IRAN – Shi’ite
• Reza Pahlavi was Shah of Iran (monarchy)
– enjoyed “special privileges” as he was a friend
of the US (military help, wealth, corruption)
– Ayatollah Khomeini (Shi’ite leader)
1979 ENDED monarchy – Shah flees Iran
NOT a friend to US, universities closed, less
rights for women, religion first
IRANIAN HOSTAGES
• President Carter upset at the overthrow of
their long-standing ally
• Iraq was now anti-Israeli, anti-American
• Khomeini saw the US as “Great Satan”
• Iranian radicals seized US embassy in
Tehran: 52 hostages for 444 days
IRAQ & IRAN
• Saddam Husain leader of Iraq – tried to
topple Iran – afraid of Shi’ite takeover
• Iran had Amerian weapons (Shah days)
ag. Iraq Soviet weapons
• US sent Saddam weapons SECRETLY to
fund the Contra war against Sandinista
government in Nicaragua
IRAQ WAR
• Saddam Husain invades Kuwait
• Kuwait is an ally of US and oil producer
• US gets into conflict in 1991 – wins
• Saddam stays…2003 US goes to war
again: terror groups, defiance of UN, WMD
AFGHANISTAN
• Soviets vs.Afghanistan in 1979…a
communist regime needs support
• US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is paying,
supplying and training ANTI-communist
forces in Afghanistan…early TALIBAN
Afghanistan