More than 1900 years ago, an event happened called the Jewish Diaspora. The Romans conquered Judea, the ancient name for present day Israel. The Jews, then homeless, moved and spread out over Europe. Jews were persecuted even in Europe! The Black Plague, the death of MANY people in Medieval Europe, was blamed on the Jews. Jews were persecuted over and over again, something called anti- Semitism. Even massacres began, giving Jews a longing for home, an idea called Zionism. Zionism is an idea (or small religion) that encourages for Jews to return to their holy homeland, Judea. Later on, World War II started, and Hitler took control of the weak German government at the end. Hitler decided to randomly blame the Jews for it, like everyone else had before. He killed 11 million people, 6 million of which were Jewish, in an event called the Holocaust, the climax of anti- Semitism. So, during all of this, a movement called Zionism was still slowly rising and the Holocaust set it off. Jews suddenly relentlessly wanted to return to 'Judea. However, the Palestinians had already settled there! European Jews had no home, and they didn't feel safe anymore in Europe, so what could they do? The only logical answer was what they did: Jews flooded into Palestine, a mandate of the huge superpower Britain. At first, Palestinians thought the Jews would hinder their movement to gain independence, so as a result disliked them. But, they actually helped! So, the Jews and Palestinians finally gained independence. Due to this, Britain left Palestine, letting the Jews and Palestinians create conflicts within each other. So, the UN had to intervene. They decided to utilize artificial boundaries and partition Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state, in an attempt to make a place for both the Jews. This partition extremely angered the Arabs who were already living there. Wars broke out, and Israel had to fight against almost the whole of the Middle East. Those wars drastically changed land area. This event also created a long- standing conflict between the new Israel and the new Palestine. It would result in the death of thousands of people and many, many wars. The 1949 Armistice Agreements created the boundaries between Israel and the West Bank. However, to this day, there are still extremists in every side of the conflict! | Quick Summary:
Definitions: Judea: one of the names of the historic land of Israel Jewish Diaspora: An event in the past (roughly 70 A.D.) when the Romans conquered their land and kicked them out. Partition: To divide or split into smaller parts Anti-Semitism: Racism against Jews Zionism: A movement that encourages Jews to return to their Holy Land Mandate: like a colony of a country but with slightly more freedoms Holocaust: Murder of 11 million people by the Nazis during World War II Artificial Boundaries: Borders that ignore ethnic or religious group Black Plague: a plague that created tender and inflammatory swelling in certain areas that killed a lot of people in Europe during Medieval times. Extremists: people who take their beliefs to a whole different level; such as suicide bombings. Citation: http://www.theocracywatch.org/christian_zionism_israel_forms.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Israel http://www.mideastweb.org/zionism.htm http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3581.htm Written by Team Kobra Erwin Grace Tyler Max |
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Georgia Performance Standards |
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SS7H2 The student will analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East) leading to the 21st century. b. Explain the historical reasons for the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948; include the Jewish religious connection to the land, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and Zionism in Europe. |