1. Shifts of Power in the Middle East

2. Include intro on page 439

3. Insert this land is my land video

4. The Arab-Israeli Conflict A major source of tension in the Middle East has been: Arab-Israeli dispute over land Israel’s right to exist Questions about Palestinian statehood Struggle for resources and maintain security

5. The Roots of the Conflict Both Jews and Palestinian Arabs have historic claim to the area in the Eastern Mediterranean known as Palestine, which Jews call the Land of Israel.

6. Jewish Ancestry For Jews, this piece of land is the place promised by God to their forefather, Abraham, as well as the land that Moses had delivered the Israelite people to after their exodus from captivity in Egypt. God’s Promise to Abraham 1.A great nation shall spring from Abraham 2.His descendants will inherit this land 3.His descendants will be numerous 4.His descendants will bless the world

7. Invasions by the Assyrians and Babylonians during the 7 th and 8 th centuries BC led to the fall of the Israel and began the DIASPORA, the historical exile and dispersion of Jews from this region.

8. Yet, despite being relocated to parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe Jews managed to hold on to the customs and religion and maintain small tight communities in foreign lands. A small number of Jews were able to remain in the land, though they would be greatly outnumbered by Arabs.

9. Palestinian Ancestry Exact Palestinian origins in the land are harder to determine. Some claim that their ancestry goes back to the Canaanites, who were the people living in this area before Abraham arrived. This claim is extremely hard to validate as the Canaanites were either killed or relocated to foreign lands.

10. Others claim that Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, the first son of Abraham. Muslims believe that Muhammad came from the same blood line as Ishmael.

11. What is so special about this tiny piece of land?

12. Abraham & His Two Sons According to both the Jewish Talmud, the Christian Bible, and the Islamic Quran there lived a good man named Abraham, who God made a special covenant with. In doing so, God promised Abraham and his descendants a special piece of land in which his people would live.

13. At this time, Abraham was already an old man and had no children. The news that he would father a child and that through that child a great nation would form was a huge shock to Abraham.

14. More than a decade went by and still Abraham and his wife, Sarah, had no children. Sarah then convinced Abraham to turn to one of his slave women, and she bore him a son named Ishmael. However, after another decade Sarah did in fact become pregnant and their son Isaac was born.

15. God had promised that the son of Abraham and Sarah would be the one through which God fulfilled his covenant and they would be the rightful heirs to promised land.

16. As both boys grew older, Sarah began to resent Ishmael and his slave servant mother. She had Abraham send both of them away. Isaac had a son named Jacob (renamed Israel), who had 12 sons, one of whom was named Judah. It is from Judah that all Jews trace their lineage.

17. Ishmael also had sons of his own who would multiply, and a great people would grow out of Ishmael’s line. Though some Arabs could certainly trace their lineage back to Ishmael, the claim that all Arabs are descendants of Ishmael is false. Arabs today are descendants from many different peoples who lived in the region before Ishmael arrived.

18. Muslims claim that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is a direct descendant of Ishmael. Due to inconclusive genealogical records, this claim is difficult to verify.

19. However, because both Jews and Muslims trace their lineage back to Abraham’s two sons they both claim an inheritance with the covenant that God made, which included the land in which the current nation of Israel resides. They differ on which son is the rightful heir to this claim

20. Even though the modern tensions over this region stem from disputes over who the land belongs to, the foundations of the dispute are religious and wrapped in deep-seeded beliefs.

21. From the time of the Jewish Diaspora (around 600 BC) up to the late 1800s AD, the region was sparsely populated with some Jews, but mostly Arabs. Islam was founded by Muhammad in the 7 th century AD and this empowered Arabs in the region.

22. Although small bands of Jews never left the region, by the 19 th century, many Jews were living outside of Palestine, in communities throughout Europe and the Middle East. By the end of the 1800s, Zionism had developed in Europe.

23. Zionism The national movement of Jews and Jewish culture that supports the creation of a Jewish homeland in the territory defined as the Land of Israel.

24. The Zionist movement grew in the late 1800s and more and more Jews migrated back to their ancient homeland.

25. This are had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, but with the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, the British took control of the region. The British supported the creation of Jewish settlement in their historic homeland and more and more Jews left their homes around the world to resettle in Palestine.

26. The Balfour Declaration In 1917, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration, announcing its support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” The Balfour Declaration reflected the growth of Zionism, which is a nationalist movement that called for Jews around the world to move back to their ancient homeland.

28. During World War II, Jews fled to Palestine from Europe to escape persecution from the Nazis. Shocked by the Holocaust, many nations began to support the idea of a modern state for Jews in their historic homeland.

29. In 1947, the UN approved a plan for the partition of Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. Both sides were dissatisfied with this plan.

30. The states were small and fragmented. Arabs would not accept any Jewish state and were upset that the Jews, who only made up 35% of the population, would receive more than half of the land.

31. Jews were upset that more than half of the land allocated to them was arid dessert. They also felt it unfair that their state was being reduced when 80% of the original Palestine Mandate had been closed to them with the creation of Tranjordan.

32. Arab nationalism also developed in this time, which created more anger over the creation of a Jewish settlement in the region. Eventually, Jews supported the UN partition plan, but Arabs refused.

33. On May 14, 1948, the British moved out of the region and Israel declared itself an independent nation.

34. The following day, the armies of five Arab nations – Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq – invaded Israel. However, these armies were poorly trained and equipped and by January 1949 Israel had won a decisive victory.

35. After the war, Egypt and Jordan controlled most of the land that the UN had set aside for the Palestinians, and so no Palestinian Arab state was established. During the fighting, more than 700,000 Palestinians fled to nearby countries.

36. Tensions remained high between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The Arab states refused to recognize the state of Israel or its right to exist.

37. The 2 nd Arab-Israeli War In 1956, President Nasser of Egypt seized the Suez Canal from Britain and France and began to blockade Israeli shipping, which was considered an act of war.

38. The British and French backed Israel in this campaign, but the United States convinced them to back down due to fears of Soviet intervention.

39. The 3 rd Arab-Israeli War The third war, also known as the Six-Day War took place in 1967. Egypt’s president Nasser viewed Israel as a threat. He moved troops into the Sinai and closed the Gulf of Aqaba, which was Israel’s access to the Red Sea. He made military alliances with other Arab nations and declared his goal to destroy Israel.

40. Israel took Egypt’s actions as well as pressure from Syria and Jordan as a threat to its existence. It sent fighter jets to destroy airfields in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and then launched quick ground attacks. In just six days, Israel had won a resounding victory.

41. After the war, Israel controlled all of the territory that had once been divided between Israel and Palestine, as well as parts of Egypt and Syria. About 200,000 Palestinian refugees fled to Jordan.

42. The 4 th Arab-Israeli War Six years later, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. They managed to catch Israel off guard and captured a little of their land back.

43. A UN ceasefire ended the fighting, but did not bring a formal peace.

44. The Struggle for Peace After the war, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat began to work for peace with Israel. In 1977, he stunned the world by visiting Jerusalem and speaking before the Israeli parliament. In that speech, he announced, “Today I tell you, and I declare it to the whole world, that we accept to live with you in permanent peace based on justice.” In exchange, Sadat called on Israel to respect the Palestinian rights and return Arab lands taken before the 1967 war.

45. In 1978, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin met for peace talks at Camp David in the United States. These talks led to the Camp David Accords, in which Egypt agreed to recognize the nation of Israel and Israel promised to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. A peace treaty the following year ended three decades of war between the two nations.

46. Three years later, Sadat was assassinated by a Arab fundamentalist who was unhappy with Sadat making peace with Israel. Other Arab nations were furious with Sadat for making peace with Israel.

47. Meanwhile, Palestinians took up the conflict with Israel. They resented Israel’s control over the West Bank and Gaza, which were originally part of the Palestine assigned area. Some still called for the destruction of Israel.

48. The main group supporting this cause was the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Yasir Arafat.

49. PLO The PLO waged a political campaign to win support for a Palestinian homeland, but it also engaged in violence and acts of terrorism in Israel and elsewhere. Israel responded by bombing suspected PLO strongholds and invaded Lebanon in 1982 in order to strike PLO bases there.

50. A new phase of the conflict began in 1987 with a popular uprising called the Intifada. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza held strikes and demonstrations to protest Israeli policies. Youths hurled stones and bottles at Israeli soldiers. The PLO helped organize the uprising and supplied Palestinians with firearms. Israeli authorities cracked down by arresting, beating, and sometimes killing protestors and suspected terrorists. The Intifada went on for six years and finally prompted peace talks between Israelis and the Palestinians.

51. The Oslo Accords In 1993, Israel and the PLO negotiated the Oslo Accords, in which the PLO agreed to recognize Israel in return for Palestinian self-rule in portions of the West Bank and Gaza. Many on both sides were unhappy with the accord because they felt that their side had given too much to the other side.

52. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzkah Rabin’s role in forging the Oslo Accord agreement led to his assassination two years later by an Israeli extremist.

53. The peace process was slow after the Oslo Accords. Palestinians gained some self-rule, but the handover of land was slower than expected. Though the PLO denounced violence, Palestinian attacks on Israelis continued.

54. In 1987, at the beginning of the Intifada, a Palestinian terrorist group known as Hamas was established and launched terrorist attacks on Israel. In the fall of 2000, violence increased once again in what became known as the Second Intifada.

55. To bolster security, Israel built a barrier wall across the West Bank to prevent terrorists from being able to enter Israel easily. But the barrier also isolated some Palestinian towns. Israel also continued to build permanent settlements in the West Bank, which further angered Palestinians.

56. The ultimate goal of the peace process remains a two-state solution, but five key issues continue to hinder a peace agreement: Many Arabs reject Israel’s existence and right to exist as a Jewish state Israel’s control of land taken in the 1967 war The demand that Palestinian refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to land in Israel (known as the “right of return”) Control over Jerusalem Control over scarce water resources in the Jordan River Valley.

58. Nationalism in Egypt As a young army colonel in the 1940s, Gamal Nasser was troubled by political corruption and foreign influence in Egypt. In 1952, he helped lead a military coup that toppled the government. Two years later, he had taken charge of Egypt.

59. Nasser resented US and Western influence around the world and forge ties with the Soviet Union and Communist China. He carried out social and economic reforms in his country, aiming to build a state-run economy.

60. One of his biggest goals was to build a large dam on the Nile River to control flooding and create hydroelectric power. The US hoped to loan Egypt money to build the dam, but Nasser formed tighter bonds with the Soviet Union and China.

61. In 1956, Nasser then nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been controlled by the British and French. The British and French launched an invasion into Egypt, assisted by Israel, who Egypt had imposed a trade blockade upon.

62. This invasion led to outcries of imperialism, and fearing that Egypt would turn to the Soviet Union for help, the US pressured the invaders to withdraw. Egypt kept control of the canal, and Nasser became a hero across the Middle East.

63. Nasser’s other main goal was to promote the cause of Pan-Arabism, which would unite all Arab countries around common goals. He took control of the Arab League, hoping to mold the league into his own interests.

64. Syria joined Egypt in 1958 to form a new Arab state, the United Arab Republic. The plan was flawed from the start as Egypt was much more powerful than Syria and dominated the UAR. Syria pulled out of the league three years later, and Nasser’s image as an Arab leader suffered.

65. Nasser also allowed Egypt to get involved in a civil war in Yemen that turned into a quagmire. The biggest blow to Nasser’s reputation, however, came in the Six-Day War with Israel, in which Israel handily defeated Egyptian and other Arab forces.

66. The presidents who followed Nasser largely abandoned his policies. President Sadat, who took over in 1970, made peace with Israel and developed close relations with the West.

67. Perhaps include youtube video on arab spring Hosni Mubarak continued Sadat’s foreign policies after his assassination. He ruled Egypt with an iron-fist, holding on to power for three decades until public protests finally drove him from office in 2011, in what became known as the Arab Spring – a broad, regional uprising against dictatorship that spread across the Middle East.

68. Revolution in Iran Nationalism surged in Iran after World War II, and in 1951 the Iranian people democratically elected Mohammad Mossadeq.

69. Among Mossadeq’s chief policies was to nationalize Iran’s oil, which had been pumped and refined by British companies for nearly half a century.

70. The loss of oil revenues, led Britain to boycott Iranian oil. With the economy weakening, several Iranian conspirators aided by British MI6 and American CIA overthrew Mossadeq’s government and returned the shah to power.

71. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled for the next 26 years. He pursued a policy of modernization and created close ties with the West. He expanded the infrastructure with large building projects and increased the rights of women, but he also ruled with an iron-hand, using his fearsome secret police – the SAVAK – to crack down on dissent.

72. Though the economy flourished in the beginning, due to oil revenues, the shah was known for living opulently, and by the mid 1970s, Iran’s economy was collapsing due to overspending, mismanagement, and corruption.

73. The Shah had also greatly westernized Iran, by allowing alcohol and gambling, increasing women’s rights, and decreasing the role of Islam within the government. This greatly angered the religious and student populations.

74. The main critic of the Pahlavi dynasty was Ayatollah Khomeini who had been exiled from Iran for his speeches against the shah and his government.

75. By the mid 1970s, Khomeini had grown extremely popular with the people and the shah became a detested figure due to a failing economy and his close ties with America.

76. The shah was force to abdicate his throne and flee the country. Khomeini soon returned from exile and took over as Iran’s supreme leader.

77. The Iranian Revolution had just begun, however. The new regime established a strict Islamist theocracy – a state governed by religious leaders. It imposed Islamic law in the courts and Islamic teachings in schools. It enforced a Muslim code of conduct in public places. Women lost many of their civil rights. Critics of the regime were arrested or executed.

78. Khomeini held a deep hatred and mistrust for the United States, who had long supported the shah. He also hoped that an Islamic revolution would spread to other countries as well.

79. In October 1979, the shah, who was dying of cancer, was allowed into the United States for treatment and asylum. This infuriated the Iranian revolutionaries who wanted him to face a trial for what they deemed as crimes against the people.

80. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students supporting the revolution stormed and seized the US embassy in Tehran and held 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage for 444 days.

81. Start 0:38 End 3:10

82. During this time, war also broke out between Iran and Iraq. Most of the people in Iran and Iraq are Shi’a, but Iraq was led by Sunni Muslims. Fearing that Khomeini’s revolution might topple the Sunni power in Iraq, Iraqi leaders invaded Iran, starting a bloody war that would last for eight years.

83. Since then, Iran has remained a volatile presence in the Middle East. It has embraced the Palestinian struggle against Israel. It has supported Lebanon’s Hexbollah guerillas, a Shi’a terrorist group that regularly attacked Israel. It continues to seek to develop nuclear weapons.

84. Iran has rejected these charges and has accused the United States and other Western nations of trying to block its legitimate rise to power.

85. Oil and Power in the Persian Gulf Iran and Iraq are both part of the Persian Gulf region, which has played a major part in world events in past several decades – in large part because of oil. The countries of the Persian Gulf region possess a major share of the world’s oil reserves. Oil has brought great wealth to the region, but it has also contributed to conflict.

86. Oil States Oil production began in the Middle East in the early 1900s, but the region became a major oil supplier after World War II. Iran and Iraq were the first important oil producers, but they were soon eclipsed by Saudi Arabia, which is home to the largest oil fields in the world.

87. At first, Western oil companies controlled all oil production, but over time, these nations took more control of their own oil. They did this by forming their own companies and working together to negotiate new contracts.

88. OPEC In 1960, major oil producers formed the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in order to regulate oil prices and production levels so that they received a larger share of oil revenues.

89. In 1973, during the 4 th Arab-Israeli War, the members of OPEC placed an embargo on oil exports to countries that supported Israel. The Arab oil embargo lasted six months and caused oil shortages in the West and sharp increases in price.

90. As an effect, the Persian Gulf nations grew wealthier and more powerful. They used this wealth to develop their nations by building roads, schools, airports, powerplants, and other infrastructure that modernized their society. Some nations, like Saudi Arabia, became a financial powerhouse.

91. Some countries, however, became too dependent on oil revenues and a fall in oil prices had a major impact on their economy. Some nations also used oil revenue to buy weapons and build their military, which fueled tensions in the region.

92. Iraq under Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein came to power in Iran in the late 1960s and sought to expand Iraq’s power in the region. He saw his main threat to power came from the revolutionary Iran, which had called to overthrow the Iraqi government.

93. Believing that Iran was weak and that a military victory would boost his reputation in the Arab world, Hussein invaded Iran in September 1980. What he thought would be a quick victory for Iraq turned into an eight-year bloody stalemate.

94. Toward the end of the war, Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on the Iranians as well as Iraqi Kurds (a large ethnic group in northern Iraq). In 1988, both countries declared a ceasefire. Nearly a million people had been killed or wounded and the economic damage was enormous.

95. The Persian Gulf War To recoup his losses and restore his image from the long struggle with Iran, Saddam Hussein launched an invasion into the small, oil-rich nation of Kuwait, which Iraq had long claimed as part of Iraq.

96. Led by the United States, a UN coalition of forces from many countries, including Britain, France, and several Middle Eastern nations was assembled to force Iraq out of Kuwait.

97. When Saddam Hussein refused to leave Kuwait by the deadline of January 15, 1991, coalition forces launched a massive aerial attack on Iraq. Five weeks later, ground forces moved in and within four days the fighting was over. Iraq agreed to a ceasefire and abandoned its claim to Kuwait.

98. Despite a crushing defeat and economic sanctions, Saddam’s regime survived. When Iraq’s Shi’a and Kurdish populations rose up in revolt, Saddam carried out a brutal campaign of repression. More than 100,000 people were killed.

99. Saddam held onto power until 2003, when another U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq and overthrew his dictatorship. Iraq moved to establish a democratic government, but violence continued as Iraqi insurgents battled US troops that were left behind to ensure stability in the country. The United States finally pulled out in 2011.