Emergent Nationalism in the Middle East The Struggle

Emergent Nationalism in the Middle East The Struggle for Palestine

OVERVIEW In this lesson we examine: • The background of the Zionist movement • The conflict over Palestine • Long-term effects of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

Background of Zionism • From 990 BCE-597 BCE, the Jews ran the city states of Judah and Israel • After 597 BCE, the Jewish ‘Diaspora’ (exile) spread throughout the Middle East and Europe • During the 18 th century, European Jews attempted assimilation into European society

• During the 19 th century, increased anti-Semitism in European forced many Jews to immigrate to the US or Palestine • In 1896, Theodor Herzl proposed the creation of a Why would the British government support Jewish state as a solution for anti-Semitism. a Jewish state in the context of WWI? • Zionists were able to secure the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by the British government towards the creation of a “national home” for Jews in Palestine

The conflict over Palestine Context Question: What factors led to an increase in Jewish immigration from 1919 -1947?

During the San Remo Conference of 1920, Palestine was handed over to the British as mandate (they would need to run the country until Palestine was in a position to run itself) From 1922 -1939, the Arab population rioted against continued Jewish immigration. As WWII approached, what options did the British have?

Support the Jews Support the Arabs By supporting the Jews, By supporting the British would risk Arabs, the British On what major reasons could losing support from the would be rejecting the Palestinian Arabs have laid claim to theand Arabs, potentially Balfour Declaration territory? threatening their supply lose the support of the of oil and access to India Zionists in Western via the Suez Canal countries

Peel Commission (1937) • The British Government decided that Palestine should be partitioned (divided) between Jews and Arabs • Arabs rejected this decision and fighting between the Arabs and Jews ensued. • There were also attacks made against the British by both the Arabs and Jews • The British wanted to remove their 100, 000 soldiers and leave after their mandate finished

• The Holocaust had increased sympathy for the Jews During and after WWII, the British attempted • Jews illegally immigrated to limit Jewish immigration to Palestine as to Palestine, reaching per the White Paper of 1939. Several factors 600, 000 by 1948 worked against them: • Jewish terrorists (Irgun)attacked British targets in Palestine – Led by Menachem Begin

The UN proposed the following plan in November 1947: • Divide Palestine into two Whystates: would. Israel the Jews approve of the plan and Palestine while the Arabs would reject it? • Jerusalem would become an international city run by the UN

On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was declared. How did neighbouring Arab states react and what was the result?

• Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon launched attacks on Israel • Israel defeated all Arab forces and expanded its territory beyond the partition plan • About 750, 000 Palestinian refugees flooded into neighbouring Arab states

Long-term effects The outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War would be unresolved in several ways: • Arab states would seek vengeance • Palestinian refugees had limited rights in host countries • Israel would begin settlements of territories occupied outside of the UN partition plan * Israel & Palestine are still fighting over territory today (similar to India/Pakistan)