Article Questions:
1. has Israel made its mind up whether or not it
will attack?
2 How is the international community currently
punishing Iran?
3. When do we think Israel may attack Iran?
4. Does the U.S. support or oppose an Israeli
attack?
5. How do we think Iran would respond to an
attack by Israel?
6. How would the U.S. be affected if Israel
attacked Iran?
Fast Draw…What’s going on with
Israel and the Arabs?
Use the following link to provide a
brief background history of the
state of Israel prior to 1947.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0
,,720353,00.html
Israel
• Current Pop – 6.8
million
• 81% Jewish
• Claimed by both
Jews and
Palestinians.
Terms and Locations to Know
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Diaspora
Palestine
West Bank
Sinai Peninsula
Arab Israeli War 1948
Abdel Nasser
PLO
Anwar Sadat
Camp David Accords
Hamas
Zionism
Jerusalem
Gaza (Israel withdraws in 2005)
Golan Heights
Suez Crisis
6 Day War
Yasser Arafat
Yom Kippur War
Intifada
Pre-Israeli Creation
• Throughout the early 1900s Britain occupied
much of the Middle East
– Egypt = interest in Suez
– Iran – keep supply lines with USSR open during
WWII
– Syria and Iraq
– Palestine
European Influence through the years
Creation of Israel
• Britain reverses Balfour Declaration in 1939.
(need Arab oil) Decide to create an Arab
Palestinian state.
• Brit basically closes Palestine to Jews.
• 1946 Zionists begin terror war against Brits
• 1947 Britain leaves Palestine to the U.N.
• U.N. votes to create a 2-state solution.
• Jerusalem will be an international city, shared
by all.
• Jews accept the plan but Arabs do not.
2 State Partition
Plan of 1947.
Arab Israeli War 1948
• Israel declares independence in 1948. David Ben-Gurion = 1st
PM
• Arabs are furious.
• U.N. troops withdraw in 1948 and neighboring Arab countries
attack.
• Israel wins in 1949 and gains land.
– Around Gaza (controlled by Egypt)
Around West Bank(controlled by Jordan)
– And in the North
• Palestinian refugee crisis begins: hundreds of thousands are
now displaced.
• Land taken is now settled by Jews…when settlements are built,
people tend not to leave on their own.
Arab Israeli War 1948 Look at the land gained by the Jewish
state after the war (even though it is in a different language)
Jordanian artillery shelling
Jerusalem in 1948
The Suez Crisis 1956 (AKA Sinai War)
• Cold War Time period so remember the U.S. and
USSR are in competition for countries
• General Abdel Nasser = Egyptian President
• June 1956 Britain hands control of canal over to
Egypt.
• Nasser refuses to let Israeli ships through
• Nasser signs arms deal with Czechs (acting for
USSR).
• U.S. counters with deal to help finance an Egyptian
dam.
• Nasser angers U.S. and we withdraw the offer.
Suez Crisis Continued
• Nasser is furious = nationalizes canal
• Brits, Fr, and Israel hatch a plan to retake the
canal. (Nationalization threatens their oil supply)
• Israel invades and takes the Sinai.
• Brit and France come to Israel’s aid. U.S. is caught
off guard by attacks.
• U.N. demands a cease-fire and conflict ends. U.N.
troops are called in to keep the peace.
• Israeli ships are allowed back through.
Suez Canal – connects the
Mediterranean to the Red
Sea and Indian Ocean
Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
Awesome site for information about the 6-Day War. Very easy to understand
Gamal
Abdel
Nasser
6 Day War
• Border disputes arise between Israel and Syria
and Jordan (Golan Heights Region)
• Terror attacks, and disputes over water
escalate the conflict.
• Nasser backs his Arab neighbors and cuts
Israel’s port on the Gulf of Aqaba.
• Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian forces mobilize
• June 5 1967 Israel launches a preemptive
attack.
6 Day War Continued
• Israel takes in 6 days of fighting
– The Sinai Peninsula and Gaza from Egypt
– The Golan Heights from Syria
– The West Bank from Jordan
– East Jerusalem from Jordan who has controlled it
since 1948.
• Many Palestinians lose faith in the ability of
Arab countries to recapture their land.
• In response many turn to terrorism and the
PLO
Israel now controls the Western
Wall, one of its holiest sites.
•
“For some two thousand years the Temple Mount was forbidden to the Jews. Until you came
— you, the paratroopers — and returned it to the bosom of the nation. The Western Wall, for
which every heart beats, is ours once again. Many Jews have taken their lives into their hands
throughout our long history, in order to reach Jerusalem and live here. Endless words of
longing have expressed the deep yearning for Jerusalem that beats within the Jewish
heart..You have been given the great privilege of completing the circle, of returning to the
nation its capital and its holy center...Jerusalem is yours forever.”
–Commander Motta Gur to his brigade upon their recapture of Jerusalem’s Old City and
holy sites
•
I felt truly shaken and stood there murmuring a prayer for peace. Motta Gur’s paratroopers
were struggling to reach the Wall and toudh it. We stood among a tangle of rugged, battleweary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were
moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall,
to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.”
–Chief of Staff Yitzchak Rabin
The Western Wall aka Wailing Wall
Western (Wailing) Wall
• Constructed in 19 BC by Herod the Great
• Wailing wall translated means “Weeping Wall” like crying. Named
this because they cry due to the destruction of The Temple Mount
• The wall basically served as a retaining wall for the hill the temple
was built on.
• The Temple of Solomon was built on the Temple Mount and
destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians.
• A second temple was built in 516 BC but it was destroyed in 70 AD
by the Romans along with the rest of Jerusalem.
• This wall is all that remains of the Holy Temple
• Jews come to the wall to pray because it is the closest they can
come to the “gate of heaven” that was located in the “Holy of
Holies” in the Temple where they believe God resided on Earth.
Men and Women are separated at the
wall due to Orthodox Jewish beliefs
Prayers are
inserted into
the wall on
slips of
paper.
Six Day War
Israel before and after the 6 Day War
Yom Kippur War 1973
• New Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and
Syria plan war against Israel.
• Attack on Yom Kippur – Holiest of Jewish days
• Egypt wants back Sinai and Syria the Golan
Heights held by Israel since 1967.
• Israel is 1st caught off guard but eventually
pushes further into Egypt and Syria.
• All sides now want peace.
Yom Kippur War
More Modern Topics
• Research the Camp David Accords: Explain
what they were and why they were so
important.
• How do you think the Camp David Accords
would have effected the Palestinians?
(opinion)
More Modern Topics
• What was the Palestinian Intifada?
• Why did the Israelis often look like the “bad
guys” during the Intifadas?
More Modern Topics
• What were the Oslo Accords?
• What did they do?
Today
• What is the Palestinian Authority?
• Who is its leader today?
Camp David Accords:
• 1977 Sadat visits Israel and surprises the
world.
• U.S. president Jimmy Carter begins to
negotiate a peace deal.
• He invites Sadat and Israeli President Begin to
Camp David.
• Camp David Accords signed by Egypt and
Israel
• Peace is reached on Israel’s SW border but
not with the Palestinians.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
• Camp David = Peace with Egypt but what about the
Palestinians?
• PLO is the Palestinian political and military wing.
• It is recognized representation of the Palestinians by
the U.S. and U.N.
• Largely made up of Palestinian refugees
• Yasser Arafat was the leader until his death in 2004.
• This group carried out many terror attacks against
Israel and participated in the Intifadas.
• Eventually a peace agreement was reached with the
Oslo Accords.
Is a 2 state solution possible?
• 60 Minutes Video
Palestinian Intifada
• Literally means “shaking” in Arabic
• Violent uprising of young Palestinians against Israelis
over occupied grounds.
• 1st one lasted from 1987 thru 1993. A second one
began in 2000 and went through ? (many say it
ended in 2006)
• An estimated 1,100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli
forces and 164 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in
the 1st.
• Protestors are made up of Palestinian refugees.
• Sometimes it is nonviolent protest, sometimes rock
throwing, sometime rocket launching.
Invasion and Intifada
12-year-old Palestinian Muhammad al-Durrah became an icon of the
Palestinian uprising in 2000 when he was killed on September 30, 2000 after
being caught in a crossfire. Controversies continue over whether Palestinians
or the Israeli Defense Forces killed him, or whether he even died at all
Current Situation as of 2010
• Gaza and the West Bank are currently under the
governance of the Palestinian National Authority
• Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem anger
Palestinians (and are considered illegal by the
U.N.).
• What to do with 4.6 million refugees in Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and Gaza.
• Constant Palestinian terrorism that often prompts
strong Israeli military responses.
• Israel restricts and sometimes cuts off trade into
Gaza and the West Bank
• Still working towards a two state solution.
PNA and Israeli
Flags
POINTS OF
TENSION IN
JERUSALEM
1 Gilo: 850 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Nov 2009
2 Pisgat Zeev: 600 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Jan 2010
3 Sheikh Jarrah: Several Palestinian families evicted in past 18 months to make way for Jewish
settlers after court ruled in ownership dispute
4 Ramat Shlomo: 1,600 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Mar 2010
5 Silwan: Demolition orders on 88 Palestinian homes built without difficult-to-get permits - Israel
planning controversial renewal project
6. West Bank barrier: Making Palestinian movement between West Bank and Jerusalem harder Israel says it's for security
Israeli Military
• Military known as the Israeli
Defense Force (IDF)
• One of the most modern
militaries in the world.
• Compulsory military service for
both males and females
– Males = 3 years
– Females = Less than 2
– Both are fighters
Why are Israel and the U.S. such close
allies?
• Strategic importance = location in the Middle
East…both also actively fight terror and share
intelligence
• Political ties with Jewish businessmen and
Washington
• Share similar values (freedom, free market,
etc. [Cold War ties]) and similar religious
backgrounds.
Great site for summing up the Israeli
Palestinian conflict
Interactive site that explains it all
plus good intro video