Look at early history of the Israel & Palestine conflict.

1. Conflict in the Middle-East
The Nation of Israel is Born;
Palestine Disappears

2. Objectives
Debate issues centered around Palestine/Israel
conflict.

3. Vocabulary
Balfour Declaration: Statement by British official that
offered support of a national home for Jewish people in
Palestine territory.
Zionist: People who favored a Jewish homeland in
Palestine.
West Bank/Gaza Strip: land taken from Israel and given
to Palestine refugees for self-rule in 1994.
Camp David Accords (1979): Negotiated peace
between Egypt and Israel that officially recognized
Israel as a legitimate state.

4. Balfour Declaration
1917 - Many Jews have fled to Holy Land from Europe
Movement of Zionist who wanted to establish a
homeland for Jewish people in Palestine
Controlled by UK - Balfour Declaration: official
statement that seemed to support both Zionist ideas
and Palestinians
Wanted support during WWI
No definitive decision until after WWII
Immigrant problems

5. Aftermath of WWII
Before WWII there was limited immigration to
Palestine - many fleeing Holocaust
After WWII - pressure by US and other UN nations to
give safe haven to Holocaust victims and establish
permanent homeland for Jewish people
By 1948 - enough
pressure to
officially declare
Israel a new nation

7. Arab Outrage
Within a week of declaration - Egypt, Iraq,
Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria invade
Israel
First of several wars Israel fights with
neighboring Arab nations
Captured territories by Egypt and Jordan -
Become refugee areas for Palestinians
Gaza Strip & West Bank

9. Decades of Wars - Peace
possible?
1956 - Suez Crisis - Egypt
1967 - Six Day War - Jerusalem
1973 - Yom Kippur War - Arab
attack
1979 - Camp David Accords -
peace talks negotiated by US
President Jimmy Carter at Camp
David between Israel and Egypt

10. Jerusalem
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/
middle_east/03/holy_sites/html/

11. Journal #5
Why did the UN create the state of Israel in
1948? Describe at least 2 factors that you think
were most important in deciding in the favor of
the Zionists when they only owned less than
10% of the land and represented only 34% of the
population of the region.