ISRAEL-PALESTINE

History of Israel-Palestine and power struggle

History of Israel-Palestine and power struggle

As I research about the history of this imprudent and holy land, I have found out that the Zionist movement has led to the domination of Israel. The land that once belonged to Palestine through the years has evolved into one of the most terror filled regions in the world. There is constant terrorism from the Palestinians and repression from the Israelis. To better understand the Zionist movement and changes of this land, I will explain its' history.

Historically, the land of Palestine was populated by a people known as the Palestinians. Palestinians have always been religiously diverse, with the Muslim majority maintaining friendly relations with their Christian, Jewish, and Druze neighbors.

The ancient Jewish kingdoms of Israel and Judea had been successively conquered and subjugated by several foreign empires, when in 135 CE the Roman Empire defeated the third revolt against its rule and consequently expelled the surviving Jews from Jerusalem and its surroundings, selling many of them into slavery. The Roman province was then renamed "Palestine". (Talhami, 2000)

After the Arab conquest of Palestine in the 7th century the remaining inhabitants were mostly assimilated into Arab culture and Muslim religion, though Palestine retained Christian and Jewish minorities. It was ruled by several Arab empires until 1516, when it became part of the Ottoman Empire(Gil, 1997).

In the late 19th century Zionism arose as a nationalist and political movement aimed at restoring the land of Israel as a national home for the Jewish people. Zionism called for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. During this time, increasing numbers of Jewish Europeans immigrated to Palestine, causing the Jewish population to grow from a tiny minority to 35% of the population(Walid , 1984). Tens of thousands of Jews from Eastern Europe and Yemen migrated to Palestine. Zionism saw national independence as the only answer to anti-Semitism and to the centuries of persecution and oppression of Jews in the Diaspora. Zionism basically was a secular movement, but it referred to the religious and cultural ties with Jerusalem and ancient Israel, which most Jews had maintained throughout the ages. Most orthodox Jews initially opposed Zionism, as did most Marxist and assimilated Jews, but ongoing pogroms and the Holocaust made many of them change their minds. Zionists are made up of Labor, Liberal, Nationalist, and religious Zionism . Labor Zionists had come from Eastern Europe. They believed that the Jewish image was very weak and despairing. These Zionists wanted to strongly change this image. These Zionists were the major influence in the British Mandate outcome. Liberal Zionism were for human rights and advocated free rights to trade. The Nationalist Zionism were very strong headed people, and they were the ones that found the Israel National Army. They took a tough stance on creating a National land for the Jewish People. The religious Zionists were very political and sought to create ideals and traditions for the Jewish people(Haim, 2003). 

During World War I Great Britain captured part of the Middle East, including Palestine, from the Ottoman Empire. In 1917 the British had promised the Zionists a 'Jewish national ...