Arab-Israeli Conflict
One of the most lasting and volatile of all the world's conflicts is the struggle between the Israelis and the Arabs. Although the conflict began around the turn of the 20th century, Christian theologians believe that the conflict actually started with Abraham (known as the father of the Jewish nation) who had two sons, Isaac with his Jewish wife Sara; and Ishmael with Hagar who was Sara’s Arab handmaid. Essentially, Sara was too old to bear children and allowed Abraham to lay with Hagar. As a result, Hagar became pregnant. Consequently, Sara became jealous and brought her great affliction. Many years later Sara became pregnant and ordered Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away as she is not willing to allow the son of her handmaid to be an heir to Abraham’s possessions. Although this is a biblical story not proven fact, one could assume that the overtones of hate, fear and jealousy resonate in today’s events in the Middle East. The overall goal of this essay is to demonstrate the history of the conflict along with the United States’ involvement with the Middle East; specifically, the geographical, historical, economical and diplomatic relationships with Israel, Palestine and Iraq.
Jewish claims to this land are based on a few principles – the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants; on the fact that this was the historical site of the Jewish kingdom of Israel (which was destroyed by the Roman Empire); and the need to dwell where they are separated from European anti-Semitism. However, Arabs' claims to the land are based on continuous residency in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic majority. Essentially, they reject the idea that a biblical-era kingdom constitutes the basis for a valid claim today. However, if the Arabs engaged in a biblical argument, they would argue that since Abraham's son Ishmael is the forefather of the Arabs, then God's promise of the land to the children of Abraham includes Arabs as well. Overall, they do not believe that they should surrender their land in order to compensate Jews for the crimes that Europe has committed against them. Probably the most important document affecting the conflict was the Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration was simply a letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, the leader of the Zionist organizations. The basis of the letter stated the British support of Jewish homeland in Palestine. However the Zionist interpreted the letter as permission to proceed. Consequently, neither they nor the Arabs were satisfied with World War I peace settlements regarding the disposition of the territories. Consequently, the Arab Kingdom of Syria was mandated by the French via the League of Nations. The British setup governance over Palestine and attempted to balance Jewish aspirations and a self-governing Arab nation. However, in 1947 the British h
Some topics in this essay:
Zionism Arab,
Kuwait Israel,
Roman Empire,
West Bank,
History Conflict,
League Nations’,
Hagar Ishmael,
Suez Canal,
Arabs Overall,
Israelis Arabs,
israel invaded,
war israel,
claims land based,
middle east,
united nations,
jordan river,
balfour declaration,
arab nationalism,
land divided,
history conflict,
claims land,
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Approximate Word count = 1157
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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