1. By: Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
The Roots
of the
Arab-Israeli Conflict
(1890s-1947)
By: Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY

2. The Dreyfus Case, 1894
Capt. Alfred Dreyfus
Emile Zola

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

4. British Promise to the Jews: Balfour Declaration, 1917
His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine…
Sir Arthur James Balfour Br. Foreign Secretary

5. Prince Faisal at Versailles, 1918
Arab Disappointment as B. and F. treat Middle East like territory open to colonial rule

6. The League of Nations Mandates
Middle East (Ottoman)
Class C Mandates:
B: took over area of Palestine, Jordan, Iraq
F: took Syria and Lebanon

7. “New” Countries & Ruling Families Emerge!
Prince Faisal  “ruler” of Trans-Jordan.
Prince Abdullah  “ruler” of a newly-created Iraq [pasted together from three distinct geographic regions].
The House of Saud  put on the throne of the newly-created Saudi Arabia.
The Pahlavi Family  put on the throne of a new Iran.
Mustafa Kemal  leads a military/nationalist movement in Turkey.

8. Oil Discovered - Becomes the New International “Coin of the Realm!”
American oil companies [Texaco & Chevron], gain oil concessions in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia
Now countries have a real interest in the area and Middle East has a bargaining chip!

9. Jews & Arabs in Palestine, 1920
In 1920, there was 1 Jew to every 10 Arabs in Palestine.
By 1947, the ratio was 2 Arabs for every Jew.
The Arabs felt that they were loosing control of their “country!”

10. British Mandate in Palestine Created July, 1922

11. Jewish Settlements: The Kibbutz System
First one founded in 1908.
Communal living.
“Make the Desert Bloom!”

12. IZBAH AL-YAHUD! [“Slaughter All the Jews!”]
1929 Arab Riots
IZBAH AL-YAHUD! [“Slaughter All the Jews!”]
Jewish
1919
1,806
1920
8,223
1921
8,294
1922
8,685
1923
8,175
1924
13,892
1925
34,386
1926
13,855
1927
3,034
1928
2,178
1929
5,249
1930
4,944
Immigration
1931
4,075
1932
12,533
1933
37,337
1934
45,267
1935
66,472
1936
29,595
1937
10,629
1938
14,675
1939
31,195
1940
10,643
1941
4,592

13. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Hussani, with Adolf Hitler.
Palestine Arab Revolt:
Their Goals:
An end to Jewish immigration to Palestine.
An end to the transfer of lands to Jewish owners.
A new “general representative government.”
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Hussani, with Adolf Hitler.

14. British White Paper of 1939
Limited Jewish immigration to Palestine to 75,000 over the next five years.
It ended Jewish land purchases.
Independence for Palestine within 10 years.
It is NOT British policy that Palestine become a Jewish state.

15. Hitler’s “Final Solution”
The Jewish population in each country in 1942.

16. Nazi Concentration & Extermination Camps

17. The Nazi Holocaust
6,000,00 Jews killed by the Nazis [1/2 in the concentration camps.]

18. ARABS & JEWS 1936 – Arab and Jew uprisings with riots and killings
Arabs (Palestinians) angry at Britain over mass immigration by Jews and evictions due to new settlers
British tries to limit immigration – now Jews angry!
Britain cannot handle the problem any longer! UN partition

19. U. N. Partition Plan of 1947

20. Israel Becomes a Nation: May 14, 1948
Chaim Weizmann, 1st President
David Ben-Gurion, 1st Prime Minister

21. War Begins!: May 15, 1948 Palestinians thought land division UNFAIR
WAR – Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan all attack Israel
Israel wins – 700,000 Palestinians become refugees
New Wars!

22. The Palestinian Diaspora begins!
Arab Refugees, 1948
The Palestinian Diaspora begins!

23. 1948 – Syria, Egypt and Jordan rose together to take down Israel
1948 – Syria, Egypt and Jordan rose together to take down Israel. With US help and arms, Israel wins and extends territory – 800,000 Palestinians displaced
1967 – Israel suspects Syria, Egypt and Jordan are plotting and strike first in “Six-Day War”. Israel takes much of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Syria’s Golan Heights.

24. Many consider these illegally-held territories and the UN tries to get Israel to move out with limited success. However, in 2005, the Israeli’s move out of Gaza and the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas groups fight it out for control of the Palestinian Authority

25. For much of their history, Palestinians have no organized government or army. 70% live in poverty and the average family earns just over $1,000 a year
Thus, they are often left to vent their frustration in guerrilla fashion – rock throwing, car bombs and suicide bombings. Now Hamas and Fatah duke it out

26. The Israeli government is organized and well-armed (due to US money) and the per capita income is over $25,000.
Many attempts at peace and today both Israeli and Palestinians seem to support a two-state solution. However, neither side trusts the other and they can’t seem to agree on the specifics.

28. MIDDLE EAST IN 1970’s

29. IRAN – Shi’ite Reza Pahlavi was Shah of Iran (monarchy)
enjoyed “special privileges” as he was a friend of the US (military help, wealth, corruption)
Ayatollah Khomeini (Shi’ite leader)
1979 ENDED monarchy – Shah flees Iran
NOT a friend to US, universities closed, less rights for women, religion first

30. IRANIAN HOSTAGES
President Carter upset at the overthrow of their long-standing ally
Iraq was now anti-Israeli, anti-American
Khomeini saw the US as “Great Satan”
Iranian radicals seized US embassy in Tehran: 52 hostages for 444 days

31. IRAQ & IRAN
Saddam Husain leader of Iraq – tried to topple Iran – afraid of Shi’ite takeover
Iran had Amerian weapons (Shah days) ag. Iraq Soviet weapons
US sent Saddam weapons SECRETLY to fund the Contra war against Sandinista government in Nicaragua

32. IRAQ WAR Saddam Husain invades Kuwait
Kuwait is an ally of US and oil producer
US gets into conflict in 1991 – wins
Saddam stays…2003 US goes to war again: terror groups, defiance of UN, WMD

33. AFGHANISTAN
Soviets vs.Afghanistan in 1979…a communist regime needs support
US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is paying, supplying and training ANTI-communist forces in Afghanistan…early TALIBAN

34. Afghanistan