Geography 1002

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Geography 1002 World RegionsIsrael and Her
Neighbors

• Joseph Naumann

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ISRAEL
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ISRAEL

• ZIONISM
• POLITICAL MOVEMENT
• FOUNDED BY THEODOR HERZL (1897)
• OBJECTIVE SECURE HOMELAND FOR JEWISH PEOPLE
• BALFOUR DECLARATION (1917)
• SUPPORTS CONCEPT OF A JEWISH HOMELAND
• WWI ALLIED (BRITISH) PROMISES TO ARABS REVOLT
  AGAINST TURKS - GET INDEPENDENCE
• JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO PALESTINE
• 1922 BRITISH MANDATE TO GOVERN PALESTINE
• RISING CONFLICT BETWEEN ARABS AND JEWS

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British Mandate

• After World War I, Ottoman Empire was
  dis-membered.

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British Partition in 1946

• Palestine primarily for Jews
• Arabs in Palestine are disturbed at the prospect
  of a Jewish state

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2 Sided Conflict Little Compromise

• Israeli Position
• God gave us the land holy places
• Balfour promised a homeland
• Holocaust proved we need a country a theocracy
• Weve made a desert into a productive land
• We wont give up land taken until we have a
  guarantee of safety

• Arab Position
• Weve lived here for centuries they left
• WWI promises of independence if we rebelled
  against Turkey
• We have holy places here
• Jewish immigration was making us a minority in
  our own land had to stop it
• Want an Islamic theocracy

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UN PARTITION PLAN FOR PALESTINE

• DIVISION INTO JEWISH AND ARAB AREAS
• BRITISH EVACUATE PALESTINE IN 1948
• PROCLAMATION OF ISRAEL AS A STATE (14 May 1948)

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1948 ARAB INVASION (WAR OF INDEPENDENCE)

• ARMISTICE (1949)
• 900,000 PALESTINIAN REFUGEES NOT ALLOWED TO
  RETURN REFUGEE CAMPS
• Israel possessed more land than the U.N.
  partition had given it.

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ARAB ISRAELI CONFLICTS

• 1956 SUEZ WAR (Israel returns captured land)
• 1967 SIX-DAY WAR ISRAEL GAINS CONTROL OF
• GAZA STRIP
• SINAI PENINSULA
• WEST BANK OF THE RIVER JORDAN
• EAST SECTOR OF JERUSALEM
• GOLAN HEIGHTS IN SYRIA
• 1973 YOM KIPPUR WAR
• ISRAEL THROWN BACK INITIALLY
• AURA OF ISRAELI INVINCIBILITY OVERCOME

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OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

• Golan Heights
• West Bank
• Gaza Strip

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ISRAEL
Blue triangles Israeli settlements in the West
Bank
The West Bank
Likelihood of a 100 pullout of the Israeli
security presence? Peace talks ended for all
practical purposes in 2001-2002 outlook is
bleak.
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STRUGGLE FOR JERUSALEM

• HOLY TO JEWS, CHRISTIANS, AND MUSLIMS
• JUDAISM CAPITAL OF JEWISH KINGDOM 3000 YEARS BP
  FAITH TOOK FORM IN THE FIRST TEMPLE-DESTROYED BY
  BABYLONIANS IN 586 BC REBUILT AS SECOND
  TEMPLE-DESTROYED BY ROMANS IN AD 70 Wailing
  Wall is all that is left
• ISLAM PROPHET MUHAMMAD ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN 7TH
  CENTURY AD (Dome of the Rock site)
• CHRISTIANITY BASED ON THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
  CHRIST CRUXIFICTION ASCENT
• Many sites in Jerusalem are considered sacred by
  Christians

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STRUGGLE FOR JERUSALEM(CONTINUED)

• 1947- UNITED NATIONS DID NOT INCLUDE JERUSALEM
  AS PART OF ISRAEL
• 1947- PALESTINE PARTITION RESOLUTION DESIGNATED
  JERUSALEM AS AN OPEN CITY
• 1948-49- WAR AND TRANSFER OF ISRAELI GOVERNMENT
  FROM TEL AVIV TO JERUSALEM
• 1967- WAR AND AFTERMATH CHANGED BOUNDARIES AGAIN
• 1980- JERUSALEM REAFFIRMED AS THE CAPITAL OF
  ISRAEL
• SUGGESTION FOR AN INTERNATIONAL, OPEN CITY WITH
  ACCESS TO ALL HOLY SITES REJECTED

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JERUSALEM
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CULTURAL DIVERSITY
E.J. PALKA
E.J. PALKA
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Wailing Wall foundation of the Temple
Dome of the Rock (Holy Islamic Shrine)
Jews praying at the wailing wall
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Interior of the Dome of the Rock Mosque
Rock where where he stood when Muhammad was taken
up to see heaven.
E..J. PALKA
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E..J. PALKA
DOME OF THE ROCK
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Christian Holy Places
Protestant location for Golgotha
Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
Catholics believe it is built over both Golgotha
and the tomb.
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Catholic view of the site
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E..J. PALKA
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER
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Obstacles to Real Peace

• Arabs want return of land seized in 1967
• Israel wants security from attack
• Israeli settlements in the occupied land are
  considered illegal by the Arabs
• Israel wants Jerusalem as the capital of a
  theocratic State of Israel see it as a
  God-given right!
• Muslims want access to their holy places in
  Jerusalem, as do Christians
• Both sides pay back violence with violence and
  escalate the problem

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Evil of Terrorism
Palestinian suicide bombers kill Israelis
indiscriminately and so do Israeli retaliatory
strikes at the Palestinians.
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The victims of terrorism could be Arab
Palestinians or Israeli Jews both sides have
done terrible things in the name of their God
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Negotiation Difficulties
Can they get over hating each other? Can there
ever be trust?
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Israel and Her Neighbors