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Palestine
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PALESTINE |
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| PALESTINE. The region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that was known as Palestine changed its identity in May 1948. At that time most of the territory became the state of Israel. A portion adjacent to and west of the river was taken by Jordan, earlier known as Transjordan, in the 1948 war for Israel's independence. This area later became known as the West Bank. This division between Jordan and Israel reflects modern historical developments. Until World War I and its aftermath, Palestine was also considered to include lands east of the Jordan River. In 1921 Great Britain, which then administered Palestine, partitioned the area, creating the emirate of Transjordan on the east side of the river. It was this region, with the West Bank, that became known as Jordan in 1949. During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel occupied the West Bank, a situation that continues. Palestine's significance has always been far greater than its size. Strategically located at the joining of Africa and Southwest Asia, Palestine was traditionally fought over by great powers in Egypt and Mesopotamia in ancient times. Later Christian crusaders from Europe occupied the area, seeking to remove the region from Muslim control. Finally the Zionist movement sought to restore Jewish rule over the region that was once part of the kingdom of Israel. Zionists gained British aid in these efforts. The new state of Israel is partly the result of both efforts that stemmed from the formation of Zionism as a major political movement in the late 19th century and worldwide horror at the murders of 6 million Jews during World War II. Palestine's geopolitical and historical significance is linked to its position in three major religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The city of Jerusalem is especially significant to these religions. To Jews Palestine is the site of the ancient kingdom of Israel and the land traditionally promised to them by God.Jerusalem is the place where the Temple, the central site of Jewish worship, existed. Christians see Palestine as the site of the life and ministry of Jesus. To them Jerusalem is holy as the place where Jesus died in order to fulfill God's will. For Muslims, certain locations in Palestine are associated with the prophet Muhammad. Jerusalem is a sacred city in Islam, though of lesser importance than Mecca and Medina. Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad, the messenger of God and first leader of Islam, tethered his horse on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on the night of his ascension to heaven. Early History Palestine was settled by Semitic tribes at a very early date. It was then called Canaan. Canaanite tribes controlled the area for more than 1,000 years. About 1500 BC Hebrew, or Jewish, tribes began to enter the area. They later came into conflict with a people of Greek origin known as the Philistines. It is from them that the term Palestine is derived. The Hebrew tribes ultimately defeated the Philistines and established a monarchy in about 1000 BC known as the kingdom of Israel. This monarchy flourished for some 75 years. It then split into two weaker kingdoms: Israel and Judah, which survived for approximately 200 and 400 years respectively. Both kingdoms fell under the rule of more powerful neighbors Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia. At the time of Jesus, Jews still aspired to political independence, but by then the region had become a part of the Roman Empire. After AD 70 the Romans destroyed much of Jerusalem in retaliation for Jewish rebellions. In a particularly brutal response to a Jewish revolt in 132, Julius Severus had more than a half million men in more than 1,000 villages killed. With the conversion of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire to Christianity in the 4th century, Palestine and Jerusalem particularly became centers of Christian pilgrimage under the protection of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople (now Istanbul). Christians formed the majority of the population at the time of the Arab invasions in the 7th century, at which time the region fell under Muslim rule. Except for a century of Christian dominance during the Crusades, Palestine remained under Muslim control either Arab or Turkish from the 7th to the 20th century. It was part of the Ottoman Empire, centered in Istanbul, from 1517 to 1917-18, when British forces took command of the region during World War I. Following the war Britain was awarded the right to administer Palestine under a League of Nations mandate that committed Britain to preparing the population of Palestine for future self-rule. 20th Century Palestine was a unique case under the mandate system. All other areas governed by European powers or the United States were assured that their indigenous populations would ultimately be granted independence after a period of tutelage. With respect to Palestine, Britain assumed the mandate to suit its imperial interests in concert with Zionism, which called for a Jewish state there. The British bound themselves to assist the growth of the Jewish population in Palestine through immigration so that Jews would become a majority and thereby gain self rule. The British commitment had been made in the Balfour Declaration of November 1917, which stated: His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. . . . Most Jewish immigrants came from Eastern Europe. German Jews began to enter Palestine in significant numbers in the 1930s after Adolf Hitler came to power and began to institute laws designed to persecute Jews. Throughout the interwar period Zionists sought to buy land from Arabs and to build a modern economy. The Arabs, who were aware of Zionist political aspirations, opposed these efforts. Serious clashes broke out in the 1920s, when disputes over religious practices at the Western Wall in Jerusalem led to Arab attacks that killed many Jews, especially in Hebron. Jewish immigration increased sharply in the mid-1930s, leading to an Arab rebellion directed against the British that lasted from 1936 to 1939. Funded by donations from abroad, Zionists acquired land and built a modern industrial sector. The majority Arab community had no similar sources of financing and remained in general bound to the land. Although political factions existed within the Zionist movement, the leadership centered in Chaim Weizmann in England and David Ben-Gurion in Palestine proved highly effective. The Arab leadership was unable to agree on a unified policy either to confront Zionism or to come to terms with it. A major stumbling block remained Jewish immigration, which the Zionists considered an absolute right. The question of immigration became especially acute in 1939, when Britain issued a White Paper (an official statement of policy) declaring that Jewish immigration and land purchases would be severely curtailed for five years and then effectively banned. This reversal of policy was seen as a reflection of British wishes to gain Arab cooperation throughout the Middle East on the eve of World War II. The White Paper seemed to guarantee an Arab rather than Jewish state.It came at a time when thousands of Jews were fleeing Nazi oppression in Europe. Many hoped to reach Palestine if only because other countries, including the United States, would not expand quotas to give them entry. The Zionist movement cooperated with Great Britain during World War II because of their common enemy, Nazi Germany, but the Zionists were also preparing to confront the British once the conflict ended. |
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