Article Questions:1. has Israel made its mind up whether or not it will

attack?2 How is the international community currently

punishing Iran?3. When do we think Israel may attack Iran?4. Does the U.S. support or oppose an Israeli attack?5. How do we think Iran would respond to an attack by

Israel?6. How would the U.S. be affected if Israel attacked Iran?

Fast Draw…What’s going on with Israel and the Arabs?

Use the following link to provide a brief background history of the

state of Israel prior to 1947. http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0

,,720353,00.html

Israel

• Current Pop – 6.8 million

• 81% Jewish• Claimed by both

Jews and Palestinians.

Terms and Locations to Know• Diaspora Zionism• Palestine Jerusalem• West Bank Gaza (Israel withdraws in 2005)• Sinai Peninsula Golan Heights• Arab Israeli War 1948 Suez Crisis• Abdel Nasser 6 Day War• PLO Yasser Arafat • Anwar Sadat Yom Kippur War• Camp David Accords Intifada • Hamas

Pre-Israeli Creation

• Throughout the early 1900s Britain occupied much of the Middle East– Egypt = interest in Suez– Iran – keep supply lines with USSR open during

WWII– Syria and Iraq– Palestine

European Influence through the years

Creation of Israel• Britain reverses Balfour Declaration in 1939.

(need Arab oil) Decide to create an Arab Palestinian state.

• Brit basically closes Palestine to Jews.• 1946 Zionists begin terror war against Brits• 1947 Britain leaves Palestine to the U.N.• U.N. votes to create a 2-state solution.• Jerusalem will be an international city, shared

by all.• Jews accept the plan but Arabs do not.

2 State Partition Plan of 1947.

Arab Israeli War 1948• Israel declares independence in 1948. David Ben-Gurion = 1st PM• Arabs are furious.• U.N. troops withdraw in 1948 and neighboring Arab countries attack.• Israel wins in 1949 and gains land.– Around Gaza (controlled by Egypt)

Around West Bank(controlled by Jordan)– And in the North

• Palestinian refugee crisis begins: hundreds of thousands are now displaced.

• Land taken is now settled by Jews…when settlements are built, people tend not to leave on their own.

Arab Israeli War 1948 Look at the land gained by the Jewish state after the war (even though it is in a different language)

Jordanian artillery shelling Jerusalem in 1948

The Suez Crisis 1956 (AKA Sinai War)• Cold War Time period so remember the U.S. and USSR

are in competition for countries • General Abdel Nasser = Egyptian President• June 1956 Britain hands control of canal over to Egypt.• Nasser refuses to let Israeli ships through• Nasser signs arms deal with Czechs (acting for USSR).• U.S. counters with deal to help finance an Egyptian

dam.• Nasser angers U.S. and we withdraw the offer.

Suez Crisis Continued• Nasser is furious = nationalizes canal• Brits, Fr, and Israel hatch a plan to retake the canal.

(Nationalization threatens their oil supply)• Israel invades and takes the Sinai.• Brit and France come to Israel’s aid. U.S. is caught off

guard by attacks.• U.N. demands a cease-fire and conflict ends. U.N.

troops are called in to keep the peace.• Israeli ships are allowed back through.

Suez Canal – connects the Mediterranean to the Red

Sea and Indian Ocean

Suez Crisis

Suez Crisis

Awesome site for information about the 6-Day War. Very easy to understand

Gamal Abdel Nasser

6 Day War• Border disputes arise between Israel and Syria

and Jordan (Golan Heights Region)• Terror attacks, and disputes over water

escalate the conflict.• Nasser backs his Arab neighbors and cuts

Israel’s port on the Gulf of Aqaba.• Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian forces mobilize• June 5 1967 Israel launches a preemptive

attack.

6 Day War Continued

• Israel takes in 6 days of fighting– The Sinai Peninsula and Gaza from Egypt– The Golan Heights from Syria– The West Bank from Jordan– East Jerusalem from Jordan who has controlled it

since 1948.

• Many Palestinians lose faith in the ability of Arab countries to recapture their land.

• In response many turn to terrorism and the PLO

Israel now controls the Western Wall, one of its holiest sites.

• “For some two thousand years the Temple Mount was forbidden to the Jews. Until you came — you, the paratroopers — and returned it to the bosom of the nation. The Western Wall, for which every heart beats, is ours once again. Many Jews have taken their lives into their hands throughout our long history, in order to reach Jerusalem and live here. Endless words of longing have expressed the deep yearning for Jerusalem that beats within the Jewish heart..You have been given the great privilege of completing the circle, of returning to the nation its capital and its holy center...Jerusalem is yours forever.” –Commander Motta Gur to his brigade upon their recapture of Jerusalem’s Old City and holy sites

• I felt truly shaken and stood there murmuring a prayer for peace. Motta Gur’s paratroopers were struggling to reach the Wall and toudh it. We stood among a tangle of rugged, battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.” –Chief of Staff Yitzchak Rabin

The Western Wall aka Wailing Wall

Western (Wailing) Wall• Constructed in 19 BC by Herod the Great• Wailing wall translated means “Weeping Wall” like crying. Named this

because they cry due to the destruction of The Temple Mount• The wall basically served as a retaining wall for the hill the temple was built

on.• The Temple of Solomon was built on the Temple Mount and destroyed in 586

BC by the Babylonians.• A second temple was built in 516 BC but it was destroyed in 70 AD by the

Romans along with the rest of Jerusalem.• This wall is all that remains of the Holy Temple• Jews come to the wall to pray because it is the closest they can come to the

“gate of heaven” that was located in the “Holy of Holies” in the Temple where they believe God resided on Earth.

Men and Women are separated at the wall due to Orthodox Jewish beliefs

Prayers are inserted into the wall on

slips of paper.

Six Day War

Israel before and after the 6 Day War

Yom Kippur War 1973

• New Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Syria plan war against Israel.

• Attack on Yom Kippur – Holiest of Jewish days• Egypt wants back Sinai and Syria the Golan

Heights held by Israel since 1967.• Israel is 1st caught off guard but eventually

pushes further into Egypt and Syria.• All sides now want peace.

Yom Kippur War

More Modern Topics

• Research the Camp David Accords: Explain what they were and why they were so important.

• How do you think the Camp David Accords would have effected the Palestinians? (opinion)

More Modern Topics

• What was the Palestinian Intifada?• Why did the Israelis often look like the “bad

guys” during the Intifadas?

More Modern Topics

• What were the Oslo Accords?• What did they do?

Today

• What is the Palestinian Authority?• Who is its leader today?

Camp David Accords:• 1977 Sadat visits Israel and surprises the world.• U.S. president Jimmy Carter begins to negotiate

a peace deal.• He invites Sadat and Israeli President Begin to

Camp David.• Camp David Accords signed by Egypt and Israel• Peace is reached on Israel’s SW border but not

with the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)• Camp David = Peace with Egypt but what about the

Palestinians?• PLO is the Palestinian political and military wing. • It is recognized representation of the Palestinians by

the U.S. and U.N.• Largely made up of Palestinian refugees• Yasser Arafat was the leader until his death in 2004.• This group carried out many terror attacks against

Israel and participated in the Intifadas.• Eventually a peace agreement was reached with the

Oslo Accords.

Is a 2 state solution possible?

• 60 Minutes Video

Palestinian Intifada• Literally means “shaking” in Arabic• Violent uprising of young Palestinians against Israelis

over occupied grounds.• 1st one lasted from 1987 thru 1993. A second one began

in 2000 and went through ? (many say it ended in 2006)• An estimated 1,100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli

forces and 164 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in the 1st.

• Protestors are made up of Palestinian refugees.• Sometimes it is nonviolent protest, sometimes rock

throwing, sometime rocket launching.

Invasion and Intifada

12-year-old Palestinian Muhammad al-Durrah became an icon of the Palestinian uprising in 2000 when he was killed on September 30, 2000 after being caught in a crossfire. Controversies continue over whether Palestinians

or the Israeli Defense Forces killed him, or whether he even died at all

Current Situation as of 2010• Gaza and the West Bank are currently under the

governance of the Palestinian National Authority• Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem anger

Palestinians (and are considered illegal by the U.N.).

• What to do with 4.6 million refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and Gaza.

• Constant Palestinian terrorism that often prompts strong Israeli military responses.

• Israel restricts and sometimes cuts off trade into Gaza and the West Bank

• Still working towards a two state solution.

PNA and Israeli Flags

1 Gilo: 850 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Nov 20092 Pisgat Zeev: 600 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Jan 20103 Sheikh Jarrah: Several Palestinian families evicted in past 18 months to make way for Jewish settlers after court ruled in ownership dispute4 Ramat Shlomo: 1,600 homes approved for publication and planning objections in Mar 20105 Silwan: Demolition orders on 88 Palestinian homes built without difficult-to-get permits - Israel planning controversial renewal project6. West Bank barrier: Making Palestinian movement between West Bank and Jerusalem harder - Israel says it's for security

POINTS OF TENSION IN JERUSALEM

Israeli Military

• Military known as the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)

• One of the most modern militaries in the world.

• Compulsory military service for both males and females– Males = 3 years– Females = Less than 2– Both are fighters

Why are Israel and the U.S. such close allies?

• Strategic importance = location in the Middle East…both also actively fight terror and share intelligence

• Political ties with Jewish businessmen and Washington

• Share similar values (freedom, free market, etc. [Cold War ties]) and similar religious backgrounds.

Great site for summing up the Israeli Palestinian conflict

Interactive site that explains it all plus good intro video