History of Israel-Palestein conflict -as and how lightly my small brain process it.
Hell this history is damn sickening and making me dizzy.But I an keen to know what is it that makes this whole region and conflict an unresolvable one.So,this is my understanding of what I read over days and days and days..phew..Please do correct if I go wrong and share your thoughts..
Once upon a time,there was a place named Judea,whose human settlement can be traced back to stone age.This place is believed to be dwelling and burial place of personalities mentioned in Torah.
Later,Romans conquered this land.According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judea, in the early years of Roman rule. Roman rulers drove the Jews out of Jerusalem and named the land Palastina.Many Jews migrated to far away lands-Alexandria,Europe etc etc but there was never complete abandonment of Jews from the land.Palestein was later conquered and inhabited by Ottomans for over thousand years.
During the seventh century Muslim Arab armies moved north from Arabia to conquer most of the Middle East, including Palestine. Jerusalem was conquered by the Caliph Umar (Omar) who gave his protection to its inhabitants. Muslim powers controlled the region until the early 1900’s. The rulers allowed Christians and Jews to keep their religions. However, most of the local population gradually accepted Islam and the Arab-Islamic culture of their rulers.Now this made the Christians in Europe irritated and agitated.This land,Jeruselem was holy for them too and they were afraid of Islam’s wide spread acceptance..
Now starts the time of Crusaders (1095-1291). The Crusades originated from a strong sense of religious piety . A crusader would, after pronouncing a solemn vow, receive a cross from the hands of the pope or his legates, and was thenceforth considered a “soldier of the Church”.The aim was to retake the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Holy Land included Jerusalem (where the death, resurrection and ascension into heaven of Jesus took place according to Christian theology) and Antioch (the first Christian city). Further, they believed that by retaking Jerusalem they would go straight to heaven after death.
The Jews and Muslims fought together to defend Jerusalem against the invading Franks(predominantly French-speaking Western Christians). They were unsuccessful though but later the crusaders entered the city.Again, they proceeded to massacre the remaining Jewish and Muslim civilians and destroyed mosques and the city itself. There were eight crusader peroids and you can read a short description here ,from a jewish source.
When the Crusaders opened up transportation routes from Europe, pilgrimages to the Holy Land became popular and, at the same time, increasing numbers of Jews sought to return to their homeland. After the overthrow of the Crusaders by a Muslim army under Saladin, the Jews were again accorded a certain measure of freedom, including the right to live in Jerusalem. Although the Crusaders regained a foothold in the country after Saladin’s death, their presence was limited to a network of fortified castles. Crusader authority in the Land ended after a final defeat by the Mamluks, a Muslim military class which had come to power in Egypt.
Gosh…are you bored???
These Mamluks were defeated by Ottomans .When Napolean entered the scene,most Arabs and Jews left the land in search of better lives.Later,when things started settiling down,both Arabs and Jews started to come back to their homeland.
Then started the rise of Zionism(establishment of Jewish nation) and more and more Jews started migrating to Palestein. By 1914, the total population of Palestine stood at about 700,000. About 615,000 were Arabs, and 85,000 to 100,000 were Jews.
During the first world war, Ottoman Empire joined Germany and Austria-Hungary against the Allies.After the war, Britain and France planned to divide the Ottoman holdings in the Middle East among themselves . After the war, the League of Nations divided much of the Ottoman Empire into mandated territories. The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 called for part of Palestine to be under British rule, part to be placed under a joint Allied government, and for Syria and Lebanon to be given to the France. Britain offered to back Arab demands for postwar independence from the Ottomans in return for Arab support for the Allies and seems to have promised the same territories to the Arabs,as the land promised to Jews. The Arabs claimed that Palestine was included in the area promised to them, but the British denied this.
In November 1917, before Britain had conquered Jerusalem and the area to be known as Palestine, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration. The Arabs opposed the idea of a Jewish national home, considering that the areas now called Palestine were their land. The Arabs felt they were in danger of dispossession by the Zionists, and did not relish living under Jewish rule. The area granted to the mandate was much larger than the area sought by the Zionists.
During 1921-1929,in opposition to the Balfour declaration and fears that the Arabs of Palestine would be dispossessed, Arab nationalists opposed to the Balfour declaration, the mandate and the Jewish National Home, instigated riots against Jews .The Arabs claimed that Jewish immigration and land purchases were displacing and dispossessing the Arabs of Palestine. The British tried to stop Jewish immigration ,otherwise further Jewish immigration would infringe on the position of the existing Arab population.But this was highly criticized by Zionists and later Pm Ramsey clarified that they don’t intend to control immigration and in the subsequent years, Jewish immigration to Palestine increased significantly.
Then happened the Holocaust.From my reading I understand that Nazism refers to “National Socialists” and they hated German Jews,because they believed that Germany lost the first World war due to back stabbing from Jews within the country.Due to the oppression of Naiz and also as British had tried to control immigration to Palestein,Jews formed “Institution of Illegal Immigration” and started moving to Palestein.
Late World War 2, The US and other countries brought pressure to bear on the British to allow immigration. The Arabs brought pressure on the British to block such immigration. The British found Palestine to be ungovernable and returned the mandate to the United Nations, successor to the League of Nations.lol..(sorry for laughing,I find all this sick 🙄 )
In 1947 – The United Nations Special Commission on Palestine (UNSCOP) recommended that Palestine be divided into an Arab state and a Jewish state. The commission called for Jerusalem to be put under international administration. The Jews accepted the UN decision, but the Arabs rejected it. The resolution divided the land into two approximately equal portions in a complicated scheme with zig-zag borders. The intention was an economic union between the two states with open borders. At the time of partition, slightly less than half the land in all of Palestine was owned by Arabs, slightly less than half was “crown lands” belonging to the state, and about 8% was owned by Jews or the Jewish Agency. There were about 600,000 Jews in Palestine, almost all living in the areas allotted to the Jewish state or in the internationalized zone of Jerusalem, and about 1.2 million Arabs.
The scheme did not work. Mutual antagonism would make it impossible for either community to tolerate the other. The UN was unwilling and unable to force implementation of the internationalization of Jerusalem. The Arab League,declared a war to rid Palestine of the Jews. In fact however, the Arab countries each had separate agendas. Abdullah, king of Jordan, had an informal and secret agreement with Israel, negotiated with Golda Meir, to annex the portions of Palestine allocated to the Palestinian state in the West Bank, and prevent formation of a Palestinian state. Syria wanted to annex the northern part of Palestine, including Jewish and Arab areas.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr I am sick..The rest of history, where we see how unfair things turned out to a particular section of population.. This is all the background one needs to know when trying to understand the conflict in the region. Without this information, we will be just watching drama from the halfway.
p.s :
Web is a web with lot of biased information from both sides..I tried to get info from seemingly unbiased sources.If I seem wrong,pls correct.It took me 5 hours to write this. ***faints***
Ya..you are more or less correct…my information is pretty much equal to yours on this issue….It took me a really long time and the collective efforts of my family and friends to make me understand the Jew-Palestine conflict…!!!
Bad Faith is a movie you must see if you want some lighter light on this conflict……
Yeah,it is indeed complicated friend..thanks for the link..Will watch it ..Good day -Nimmy
oopssss…not Jew-Palestine…Israel-Palestine!! 😦
🙂 It is not a mistake..Infact,most people have this line of thought..Do you think most of the people around us know history of this conflict? And do you think current Israel-Palestein conflict can be understood without understanding the history of that region,as to why Jews and Arabs went awya,then went back etc etc etc -Nimmy
Dear Nimmy,
first of all congrats on finishing the task of understanding the complex Arab – Israel issue.
also for writing about it in an unbiased manner.
I would recommend you read a novel called Exodus by Leon Uris, it might interest you a lot.
One small piece of information that you seem to have missed is the strategic location of that small strip of land called Israel/Palestine. it will tell you why the world is so intrested in that region. Its not religion at all its power and politics to blame.
Thanks for adding informattion to the thread Pinku..But can you please shre how this place is geographically important?I never read about that.. -Nimmy
I agree with Pinku that it is more politics than religion. Which is why the two countries will not be allowed to find a solution on their own, I feel.
I do not pretend that I understand all the history of this conflict. You have studied it and presented it so well.
I do feel, though, that a solution will not likely be found in the past. It will depend on how far each is willing to come back from their rigid position and make some compromise.
So true..But sadly nobody is wiling to make a step back,atleast for the sake of normal citizens of both nations,abd this realization makes me feel that the conflict si never to end any day -Nimmy
Nimmy, I am inclined to agree with Pinku and Manju – that a lot of this is political. And the past is not a place to find a solution in. Each side has to compromise – if they really care about their people.
Even I am of the same opinion Smitha..My point was that it is sad that some/many people associate this more of as a religious Jew-Muslims studd than the Isreal-Palestein..Tell me sMityha,how many around us are aware of the history?Without knwing the history,how can the make opinions on this? And do you think that atleast 50% of people who maeke statements on this have any least idea of what has ahppened in the past?
Agreed that past is gone..But here,do you think that there will be a solution without taking into consideration the history,the plight-of both Jews and Palestenians?… -Nimmy
Hey Great write up..
Wanted to research myself about this topic but you’ve done a great job..
good to know so much stuff 🙂
Thankd Sandeep..This was hell confusing and I felt on top of the world when I finally understood it,so shared it here 🙂 Yeah,it is good/highly necessar y to know the facts ..Otherwise,people can easily brainwash us and delude us into believing wrong ‘facts’..Good day..Thanks for coming 🙂 -Nimmy
Nimmy the land called Israel/palestine is the tip from where entire west asia and africa can be monitored. Thats the reason america finds it useful to fund and back Israel completely ensuring the presence of their own fleets and military might in the zone.
Also this much publicized issue keeps the world’s gaze away from the issues like backwardness, development, education, women’s plight in the neighbouring countries.
Do I make myself understood?
thousands die in Somalia but it doesnt stir our conscience as do the deaths in Plaestine. that is because we have been taught to react in this way.
Yeah,i get you Pinku..I need to read more on this..Thansk for sharing.And i agree with you that the issue of Palestenians is an over hyped one..Why are we not talking and acting somthing towards giving h\back homes to Kashmiri pundits who had to leave their land..Nobody is interested in domestic matters… -Nimmy
If you want it a bit more detailed
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ngo/history.html
has links to a full four part history of the conflict.
UN source, so we can assume it to be neutral 🙂
PS : Ever read about the golden age of Judaism in Muslim Spain ? 🙂
Thanks for the link Khalil..Welcome to my blog.. Will read on the last point you mentioned..Do come again when possible 🙂 -Nimmy
Thankyou for this insight. I was trying to find out from the past many days, a single link which could give the the history.
Its surprising to know that initially both the Arab and Jews were together in the fight against the crusaders. How tables turn!!
From my reading,I understand that it is after the Crusaders that the Arab/muslim community in general started having the stereotypical hatred or closemindedness towards the West.They started to relate anything and everything from the West as an intrustion or an attaempt to destry their reliigon,as the Crusaders did..Even now,the Western interference in the middle east is seen as an attempt to as like the Crusaders.This information was a great insight to me ,bcoz i always wondered why the typical anti-west attitude was there among some muslims..From the start of Crusades,muslims closed doors to education and stuff from the West and this made them left behind ..Read more..
http://www.everything2.net/e2node/The%2520Counter-Crusade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade
Nimmy
Good attempt Nimmy, but you did not narrate the recent history. I will try to post something on this line with emphasis on post 1950 period.
lol..I got dizzy and sick by writing till this.Pls do write the rest fo history..It is really hard to be unbaised-Nimmy
Hi Nimmy,
Gosh! I can’t believe you spent 5 hours writing this. Sounds like alot of effort.
I read like 1/5 of it and yea kind of got bored. lol. I was just sort of curious about Isreal and Palestine that’s all =)
But thanks for your effort ! ^_^
lol..Thanks for your words..do come back and read some other time..Its all a sequence of going in and out,that it will be incmplete if i cut short and miss out any invasion..I enevr thoguht i would learn any history ever since my high school.Keep coming ..Good day -Nimmy
Don’t look back
The time has come
All the pain turns into love
We’re not submissive, we’re not aggressive
But they think we can’t defend
Stand up, join us, modern crusaders alive
We have the power to face the future
Cause we are the fighters
Just fighting for our rights
They’re accusing, like always without knowing
What is just fiction or what is the truth
They have no mission, they have no passion
But they dare to tell us what’s bad and what’s good!
Stand up, join us, modern crusaders alive
We have the power who’ll face the future
Cause we are the fighters
Just fighting for our fights
est affectus
et defectus
semper in angaria.
drive on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
quod per sortem
sternit fortem,
mecum omnes plangite!
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!
nunc obdurat
et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem,
egestatem,
potestatem
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty,
power
Stand up, join us, modern crusaders alive
We have the power who’ll face the future
Cause we are the fighters
Just fighting for our fights
Stand up, join us, modern crusaders alive!
Copy pasted from??? 🙂
Nevermind,sorry to say,i can’t follow some of the words..Seem like Italian or French 🙂
So you are talking about modern crusaders…Any idea of what they were? Anyways,good luck.But make sure you don’t ruin urself by crusading others..So,are you going to throw us in ovens?Or in hot pots?? Good day -Nimmy
The Palestine territory has always been ambiguous & the present area termed as Palestine is only a small part of it , the major area being divided by Egypt, Syria & Jordan – now only the area that was re-inhabited by Arabs & Jews in the 1900’s is termed as Palestine in the political context,
Israel is great. We support Israel. 🙂
lol..Good for you..To each its own..-Nimmy
This was a good synopsis of the whole israel/palestine conflct. Thanks for putting together this information. Have you read, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” by Jimmy Carter..it’s supposedly one of the finest books written on this conflict. Once my very good Lebanese friend recommended a book on this whole conflict which he thought was best on this subject…Iam just forgetting the name now..you have any idea?
It’s really unfortunate what happened during the past weeks in Gaza…this problem is getting murkier day by day and only god knows what’s gonna happen..
Dev,honestly speaking,i am not an avid reader… 🙂 I read on a topic when it comes to my mind.I ahven’t read the book you emntioned..Thanks for reading..lol..I got crazy towards the end and i am happy atleast a few will read it 🙂
Yes,the situation there will only worsen day by day..I felt sad when i saw pictures of women,kids and men sittting in between broken bulidings,without any extra clothing..Its too cold there and they ahve no means to keep themselevs warm,not even a blanket..Not to talk about deficiency of food and medicine and water..Sad,lets pray it all ends soon,afterall they are human beings liek you and me,no matter to whihc race they may belong to..
The only solution is see is to vacate the reagion,nuke the area,destroy all holy traces and then let in the people..The place is holy to all religions,Judaism,Islam and Christinaity and hence they will keep fighting till the end of world..At times i feel that religion is the cause of all problems.. -Nimmy
“The only solution is see is to vacate the reagion,nuke the area,destroy all holy traces and then let in the people”
You have pretty interesting solutions..:)
I find it pretty cool and also quite funny the way you deal with some obnoxious readers’ comments here.. saying good day in the end. lol
🙂 I said so bcoz there is no sight of peace,either by sword,or by word..So better do as i said so that no religious aspect will come into scene..
Regarding the comments,well people like Harshad probably have no life outside internet and thye are looking for places where they can spent time throwing mud at each other..I am not interested nor do i have time to waste on people like him..The best way to get rid of people like this is to be polite to them so that they will get bored of me and leave on their own 🙂 -Nimmy
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