1. Arab-Israeli Conflict

2. 2 Peoples Palestinians –religion: Muslim (90%) & Christian (10%) –language: Arabic –supported by Arab countries Israelis –religion: mainly Jewish –language: Hebrew –supported by US and Britain

3. Claims to Land

4. Israelis Palestinians Biblical promise of land to Abraham and his descendants [begets Isaac, begets Jacob a.k.a. Israel] Ancestors lived in area nearly 2000 years ago Jerusalem home to most important Jewish site— Western Wall Need for haven from European anti-Semitism Ancestors have been living in area nearly 2000 years Demographic majority Bible is not a legitimate basis for modern claim to territory Jerusalem home to 3rd most important Muslim site-Dome of the Rock/Al-Aqsa Mosque Claims to the Land

5. Temple Mount

6. Israel: The Western Wall Jerusalem is the site of the holiest site in Judaism, remains of the earliest Temples. “The Western Wall is part of the retaining wall supporting the temple mount built by Herod in 20 B.C. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D., Jews were not allowed to come to Jerusalem until the Byzantine period, when they could visit once a year on the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple and weep over the ruins of the Holy Temple. Because of this, the wall became known as the ‘Wailing Wall.’” (http://www.levitt.com/slideshow/s01 p05.html)http://www.levitt.com/slideshow/s01 p05.html

7. Western or Wailing Wall

8. Dome of the Rock

9. Al Aqsa Mosque

10. Zionism

11. Theodore Herzl 1860-1904  GOALS: The spiritual and political renewal of the Jewish people in its ancestral homeland of Palestine.  Freedom from Western anti-Semitism.  GOALS: The spiritual and political renewal of the Jewish people in its ancestral homeland of Palestine.  Freedom from Western anti-Semitism.

12. Role of the British McMahon-Hussein Correspondence

13. Hussein-McMahon Letters, 1915....Britain is prepared to recognize and uphold the independence of the Arabs in all regions lying within the frontiers proposed by the Sharif of Mecca.... Hussein ibn Ali, Sharif of Mecca

14. Role of the British The Balfour Declaration

15. In 1917 Britain, at the height of World War One, agreed for its own imperial reasons agreed to sponsor the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Palestinians were not consulted, Lord Balfour wrote: “in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country. The Four Great Powers are committed to Zionism. And Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who inhabit that ancient land… In short so far as Palestine is concerned, the powers have made no statement of fact which is not admittedly wrong, and no declaration of policy which, at least in the letter, they have not always intended to violate.”

16. British Mandate

17. How did the Treaty of Versailles change the world map? 1918 - Ottoman Empire is defeated in World War I igniting widespread Turkish nationalism leading to the creation of Turkey. The League of Nations asks Britain to oversea Palestine as a mandate – a territory to be controlled by the League of Nations until ready for independence. T. Loessin; Akins H.S.

18. World War Two and Holocaust

19. The Nazis In 1933 the Nazis came to power in Germany. Immigration exploded as Jews sought to escape Europe. Between 1933 and 1936 140,000 new immigrants arrived. The Palestinians believed they were being swamped.

20. UN Partition Plan 1947

21. UN Plan for Palestine (1947) Partition (separate) the area into 2 countries Israel (Jewish State) and Palestine (Arab State) 55% of land goes to the Jews 45% of land goes to the Arabs Total Population: 1.8 million 1.2 million Arabs living in area 600,000 Jews living in area Jerusalem:“international city” controlled by UN Accepted by Jews Rejected by Arabs No Arab on committee

23. PLO and Terrorist Activities 1967-1971

24. Flag of the PLO-Palestinian Liberation Organisation. By Arabs the PLO were seen as freedom fighters. By Jewish settlers the PLO were seen as terrorists. Yasser Arafat- leader of the PLO from 1968 onwards. The Palestinians (Arabs) set up a more efficient organisation to promote itself in 1964- with the assistance of the Arab League (all the Arab nations). This was the PLO – or Palestinian Liberation Organisation, based originally on the West Bank