History Coursework: The Arab-Israeli Conflict

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James Cotton 11Q1

History Coursework: The Arab-Israeli Conflict

1) Which of these factors have contributed to the current Arab-Israeli conflict and assess which have been most significant?

    In 1948 the Jewish state of Israel was created out of the land of Palestine; the homeland of many Arabs who have lived there since the middle ages. Since then there has been continual conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis.

   

From about 1500 BC, the Jewish people have lived in the land of Palestine. In the first century AD, Palestine was controlled by the powerful Romans. In AD 70 and again in AD 135 the Jews revolted against their Roman Rulers. The Romans crushed both the revolts severely and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, which included most of the temple, and expelled them from their lands. The Jews fled to all corners of the Roman Empire over the next two hundred years and many became wealthy and even gained high positions in the governments of the new lands in which they lived. But during the middle ages, the Jews were expelled from Western Europe and many settled in the East, in Russia and Poland. But they were still persecuted. Nearly all Europeans were Christian and in many countries, they forced the Jews to live in separate areas. They were not allowed land or allowed to vote. Such anti-Jewish behaviour is known as anti-Semitism.  

    But in the nineteenth century the Russian Tsar was assassinated in 1881, there were many anti-Jewish riots. Then the new Tsar’s government encouraged the persecution of Jews. Many Synagogues were burnt down, Jewish homes were attacked and thousands of Jews were killed. Most of the Jews fled back to Western Europe and the United States. But even there, they felt they were not treated as equals.

    By the beginning of the twentieth century, an increasing number of Jews were demanding a Jewish homeland. By 1914 these Jews decided that it would have to be in Palestine. This land was known to the Jews as the “Promised Land”, so called because the Jews believed God promised it to them. The Jews (or Israelites) had lived there nearly 2500 years before and where several thousands still remained. However it was not all Jews who wanted to have their homeland, the majority of Jews, who lived in Western Europe and the United States were happy where they lived, it was only a small number, mainly from Russia who desired this “Promised Land”. So between 1880 and 1914, 60 000 Zionists, so called because Zion is the Jewish name for Jerusalem, settled in Palestine. There they bought land and started to farm and build houses. At this time, Britain needed America to enter the First World War, so they told the Zionist leaders in America (which had a high Jewish population) that if America entered the war they would support the creation of a Jewish state. So America entered the war. The trouble had begun.

    The Arabs had been in Palestine and the Middle East since the seventh century AD when they swept across the Middle East and North Africa from their homeland. In their empire they spread their new found religion of Islam by force and settled.

    Then in the sixteenth century the expanding Turks, who were Muslims but not Arabs, conquered much of the Middle East. The native Arabs were forced to pay taxes and provide soldiers for the Turkish army.

    The First World War was a turning point for both the Arab and Israeli struggle. Turkey had decided to take the side of the Axis against Britain and its allies. Britain became afraid that it’s much needed oil supply from Persia (or modern-day Iran) would be cut-off by the Turks. Therefore the British decided to encourage the Arabs to rebel against their Turkish rulers and seek independence. The British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Herbert McMahon exchanged several letters with Hussein, the Sharif of Mecca who was an important Arab Muslim figure. McMahon promised that if the Arabs fought against the Turks then Britain would be “prepared to support the independence of the Arabs”.

    An Arab army was raised and led by Prince Faisal, the son of the Sharif of Mecca. The army successfully blew up Turkish trains and disturbed the Turkish military supplies. The Arabs believed they now deserved their independence and complete self-government only to be angered when they heard that Britain and France had secretly agreed to carve up Turkey’s Arab lands after the war between themselves. This was known as the Sykes-Picot agreement.

    The Peace of Versailles confirmed the Arab fears. Both Britain and France were given mandates to govern countries in the Middle East until the Arab people were considered ready to govern themselves. France was given a mandate over Syria and Lebanon, and Britain was given a mandate over Iraq and Palestine. Both countries sent administers and troops to take control soon afterwards.

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   As well as being angry over not gaining their independence, the Palestinian Arabs were being further frustrated by the increasing Jewish immigration into Palestine. This caused many violent riots to break out in Palestine where many Palestinians, Jews and British died and Britain was accused by the Palestinians of being Pro-Zionist.

    Meanwhile in Europe, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, bringing strong anti-Semitism. Thousands of Jews were driven out of Germany. By 1939 there was almost 450 000 Jews in Palestine. The already existing tension in Palestine grew yet stronger as the Palestinians became ...

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