1. The History of the Middle East

2. The Ottoman Empire SIX  A Muslim Empire that was SIX times the size of Texas!! (That’s BIG!!)  This empire stretched across present day Turkey, parts of southeastern Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia (the Middle East).  This empire had a lot of problems because it was so big-it is hard for one person (or small group) to be the leader of an area that is so huge and contains so many different cultural and ethnic groups. These different groups of people didn’t get a long often times, which caused a great deal of fighting within the empire.  So, before WW I, it had already lost big chunks of the empire  After WW I, the remaining land was divided up by Great Britain and France, because the Ottoman Empire was on the losing side of the war.

4. Control of Land after WW I France took control of:  Lebanon  Syria The British took control of:  Palestine  Saudi Arabia  Iraq  Present day Jordan ** The problems created by this land division in the Middle East still exist today!!**

5. What’s the Problem??  Great Britain and France came up with these boarders very quickly because:  they wanted immediate control of the land &  they were hoping to make $$ from OIL! NO  They paid NO attention to local cultures and tribes:  Shia and Sunni Muslims were forced together in Iraq-Today, they still fight for power here!!  The Kurds (ethnic group) were split into Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. These countries do not like the Kurds, and try to rule them with an iron fist.

6. Mesopotamia  An area of land in which the boarders often changed over centuries, in ancient times.  The constant changing of boarders ignored local cultures and disrupted tribal unity.  Means “land between the rivers”-this area of land is located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

7. Europe in Charge  France and Great Britain thought they had done a great job in diving the land in the Middle East.  They protected their oil interests.  The Middle Eastern countries were very unhappy though, and did not want Europe in charge of them.  This set the stage for major problems in the coming years….

8. Conflicts over Land and Religion  Conflicts over land and religion are STILL a problem in the Middle East.  There is a lot of tension, or hard feelings, between:  Arabs and Jews  Arabs and Jews &  Different Muslim sects Sunni and Shia (Sunni and Shia)

9.  Sometimes, conflict over land is mixed with religious differences.  When Israel was created in 1948, Palestine forbid Israel the right to exist because the Arabs, who lived in Palestine, wanted no part of a Jewish state.  So, right after Israel was created, the country was attacked by it’s Arab neighbors including:  Lebanon  Syria  Jordan  Egypt  Iraq  Surprisingly, the tiny country won this War of Independence (in 1948) and expanded.  Land has been traded several times in wars between Israel and the countries of the Middle East. Arabs vs. Jews

10. Arabs vs. Jews continued…  Arab nations still do not recognize Israel as a nation!!  Israel lives in isolation from it’s neighboring countries. Gaza Strip  In the Gaza Strip, there is constant conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. (This is a very dangerous area!!)  Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.

11. The Gaza Strip

12. Hezbollah  Means “party of God”  An Islamic group-consisting of Shia mostly Shia Muslims.  This group often attacks Israel from neighboring countries.

13. Conflict between Muslims  Sunni’s and Shia’s dislike each other-the majority of all Muslims are Sunni.  Shia and Sunni Muslims fight over the power in Iraq.  The more aggressive Iraqi Sunnis have also fought with the Shia’s of Iran.  In 1979, fundamentalist Muslims took over the government in Iran and tried to remove all influence of western society (influence from the U.S.) and enforce their strict interpretation of Islamic law on the entire population of Iran.  The Iranian Hostage Crisis took place at this time. 52 American hostages were held here for 444 days. **Let’s discuss the “Iranian Hostage Crisis” article!**

15. Conflicts in the 1980’s and 90’s  These conflicts were based on land disputes  Iraq and Iran had a war for 8 years (beginning in 1980) over an oil rich territory.  There was no “real” winner in that war, but war caused Iraq to struggle financially.  Because of a lack of money, Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, because they were oil rich!  Iraq claimed that Kuwait was part of Iraq dating all the way back to the Ottoman Empire.  This conflict led to the Persian Gulf War.

17. The Persian Gulf War  Took place from 1990-1991.  An international forced, led by the United States, went to Kuwait and forced the Iraqi’s out of their country.  The U.S., Britain, and other countries intervened for political and economic reasons.  America wanted to protect the freedom of Kuwait as an independent nation.  The U.S. also wanted to help Kuwait because this small country provides our country with a large amount of oil!  So, keeping a good relationship with Kuwait was important…..  Iraqi troops were pushed out of Kuwait in 1991.

18. Israel: “A Brand New Old Country”  Jewish people had a religious connection to this land:  Jerusalem  The Western Wall, remains of their ancient temple destroyed in 70 C.E.  For more than 2,000 years, Jews have been fighting to create their own country once again. assimilate  Jewish people did not like to assimilate into the cultures of other countries. They kept their traditions and hoped that one day they could have a country again. (This is why Jews are considered to share a religion and have their own ethnic group)

19. How Israel was created  In the late 19 th century, Palestine (formerly the Jewish homeland of Israel) was still part of the Ottoman Empire.  With help from the Arabs, the British captures Palestine from the Ottoman Empire in 1918.  In 1922, the League of Nations entrusted Palestine to Britain.  Between 1919 and 1939, waves of Jewish immigrants flooded into Palestine to escape from the rising persecution of Jews around Europe. Many of these new immigrants were highly educated, and raised the quality of life in the area.

20. WWII and the Holocaust SIX MILLION Holocaust  During WW II, German leader Adolf Hitler ordered the killing of SIX MILLION Jews. This is known as the Holocaust.  The Holocaust is one of the world’s worst episodes of mass murders EVER recorded.  Hitler’s intent was to rid the world of what he thought was the “Jewish problem.”  Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany losing WW I and he was convinced that Jews were an inferior race. He spread this idea throughout Europe.

22. Hitler’s Power  When Hitler came into power he:  Put an end Jewish employment in government jobs  Removed Jews from public schools  Forbid them to own cars  Took Jewish property  Took citizenship away from Jews  By 1938, most German Jews had left the country.  60% of those who stayed were unable to work because of the government restrictions.

23. Ghettos & Concentration Camps  Nazis soon forced Jews into ghettos and then shipped them to concentration camps.  Ghetto= a section of a city where the Nazis forced all Jews to live.  Concentration Camp  Concentration Camp= a large prison camp used to confine Jews and other undesirable citizens.  The Nazis killed a lot of Jews in concentration camps by forcing them to breathe poisoned gas and burning their bodies in large ovens. 6 MILLION  This continued until the end of WW II. By the end of the war, more than 6 MILLION Jews had been killed. About 25 % of the victims were children.

24. After WW II and the Holocaust  After WW II, about 250,000 Jewish survivors went to camps for displaced persons set up by the Allie powers.  The Jewish people wanted to go to Palestine, but the British stopped the Jews from immigrating there.  As people around the world learned about the events that took place during the Holocaust, they became very angry that the Jews weren’t allowed to immigrate into Palestine!  Great Britain didn’t want to irritate either the Jews or the Arabs (because they were both fighting for the rights over Palestine) so, they asked the United Nations (UN) to resolve the situation.  The UN voted to divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.

25. Modern Day Israel  On May 14, 1948, Israel announced itself as an independent nation.  This was a long time dream for the Jewish people, but this made the Palestinians very angry.  Palestinians were mad because the Jewish people claimed some of the land that they were living on.  In 2 days, armies from all of the surrounding countries attacked the new, small country of Israel. Israel received helped from their allies, and has remained a strong country today.

26. Zionism  Zionism emerged in Europe in the late 1880’s.  Zionism  Zionism= the movement to unite displaced Jews and settle them in Palestine.

27. The British and Zionism  During WW I, Britain worked with the Zionist movement, with the underlying motive that Jews throughout the world support the Allies’ side in the war.  Another one of Britain’s purposes was to gain control of Palestine.  As more Jews immigrated to Palestine, Arabs felt more and more threatened. So, from time to time, they attacked Jewish settlements.  To appease to Arabs, the British backed off from its support of Zionism.

28. Obsessed with Zionism  Different political developments spurred Zionism into an obsession by Jews for a Jewish nation. anti- Semitism.  Europeans had been discriminating against Jews for centuries in a practice know as anti- Semitism.  Anti-Semitism=  Anti-Semitism= prejudice or discrimination against the Jews.  Sometimes differences between groups such as race, ethnicity, and religion, can turn into targets for others’ hatred and prejudice.  Anti-Semitism, or discrimination against Jews has been an important and threatening issue for Jewish people for many years.

29. Consequences of Anti-Semitism  Two reasons that Europeans practiced anti-Semitism were: 1.Many people believed that Jews were an inferior race 2.Some people held Jews responsible for the death of Jesus Christ.  Some European countries did not allow Jews to:  Own property  Restricted the # of Jews who were allowed to attend college  Anti-Semitism grew a lot in Europe during the 1930’s, when the Nazi party came into power in Germany.  One of the Nazi’s first actions was to remove the protection of German law for Jews.  Anti-Semitism spread throughout Europe as Germany forced France, Italy, Poland, and the Ukraine to persecute the Jews.

30. How do we get peace in our world??  Anti-Semitism is still happening today. Some people don’t like Jews simply because of their beliefs and traditions.  Other groups of people, besides Jews, are also being discriminated against today, too.  It is important to understand that peace begins with understanding. We are ALL different. Just because someone is different form you, does not mean he or she should be hated and treated unfairly. Harsh prejudices and unjust discrimination always tear people apart.