1. Emergent Nationalism in the Middle East
The Struggle for Palestine

2. 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

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

4. During the 19th 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 Jewish state as a solution for anti-Semitism.
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
Why would the British government support a Jewish state in the context of WWI?

5. The conflict over Palestine
Context Question:
What factors led to an increase in Jewish immigration from ?
Factors might include: “national self-determination”; blamed for Germany’s defeat; end of Ottoman control of Palestine; the Holocaust

6. 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 , the Arab population rioted against continued Jewish immigration. As WWII approached, what options did the British have?

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

8. 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

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

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

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

13. 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

14. 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)