Excerpted from "Israel 101", produced by Stand With Us. Click here to download the entire booklet for free.
The Rise and Fall of Empires
In the first century, the Roman Empire defeated the over-1,000-year-old nation of Judea, destroyed its Holy Temple in Jerusalem and exiled hundreds of thousands of Jews. To erase all memory of Judea, Rome renamed it "Palestine" after the Jews' biblical enemy, the Philistines, an Aegean people who had once settled along the coast.1 Afterwards, Westerners referred to the Jewish-Christian Holy Land as Palestine. Arab peoples did not widely adopt the name "Palestine" until the 20th century. Though the name had always been associated with Jews, in the 1960s it became associated with the Arab Palestinian nationalist movement.
For the two millenia after the Roman conquest, no other state or unique national group developed in Palestine, and no ruler chose Jerusalem as its capital. Instead, different empires and peoples came, colonized, ruled and disappeared. Jews remained throughout these changes. Their numbers grew as exiled Jews returned in periodic waves of immigration; their numbers fell when the area's rulers persecuted them.
Between 1517 and 1917, Palestine was an unimportant backwater of the sprawling Ottoman Empire, which, at its height in 1683, covered vast parts of the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe. It was separated into small subdistricts within the large province of Syria (and later Beirut). The Palestine region initially prospered under the Ottomans, but during the Empire's decline, it was reduced to a sparsely populated, impoverished, barren area.2
When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I (1914-1918), its lands were ceded to the victorious Allies. Just as the Allies carved new nations out of Europe's defeated empires, so too they carved nations out of the former Ottoman Empire and created most of the Middle Eastern states we know today, including Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. They also redrew Palestine's boundaries and officially recognized is as the Jewish national home
The Middle East: A neighborhood of young countries
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Israel Reborn
The League of Nations recognized the Jews' deep ties to their historic homeland, admired the thriving community they had been revitalizing since the 1880s and established the Palestine Mandate for a Jewish homeland.
This is modern Israel's story in maps.
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Reprinted with permission from Stand With Us. Click here to download the entire booklet for free. - English USA
Footnotes:
1 Michael Grand, The Jews in the Roman World, 1973, p. 255; Elliott A. Green, "What Did Rome Call the land of Israel . . .," in Midstream, October 1995.
2 League of Nations, "An Interim Report on the Civil Administration of Palestine, during the period 1st July, 1920-30th June, 1921," July 1921. 3 Balfour Declaration, November 17, 1917.
4 Treaty of Sevres, Section VII, Article 94, August 10, 1920.
5 Council of the League of Nations, The Palestine Mandate, Article 6, July 24, 1922.
(11) Steven R. Edelman, December 26, 2010 4:54 PM
Judea and Samaria
The Arabs would make Judea and Samaria empty of Jews. They would also force out as many Christians as they could. However, a whole Israel (including Judea and Samaria) would keep all people, giving them the right to practice as they believe, and participate in their government. Judea and Samaria are aboriginally part of Israel, or (if you would) the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judea.
(10) Anonymous, August 17, 2009 6:14 AM
This e-mail article was so well put together I feel I have to write and congratulate you. It was informative, authoratative, interesting and easy to read. In 1 page it manages to expose those who would destroy Israel either by fanatical doctrine, apathy, stupidity, fear of islamofacism or isolationist self-centered diplomacy. In my opinion the quest for the petrochemical dollar needs to be balanced by ethical macro-management. This article should be part of the curriculum for school children worldwide. Maybe it could replace some of those Saudi school books which were printed and distributed world-wide. I wonder if in retrospect we could then refer to that as part of 'The Protocols of the Elders of Saudi'. Whoops...musn't descend to that level! Thank you
(9) Roger, August 14, 2009 12:26 AM
slight exageration
The Text of the Balfour declaration actually stated "A Jewish homeland IN Palestine" not that Palestine was to be completly a Jewish homeland. It also states "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine" which to me means Palestinians be they Muslem or Christian are also entitled. Sorry but to me the Borders should remain as per the green line 1967 as per international agreements, however if people of any faith choose to live in the west Bank under a Palestinian governemt they should be allowed. But any action by Israel's armed forces or police is my mind an act of War against the palestinains
(8) Wassim, August 11, 2009 3:54 AM
West Bank is a big chunk!
I think the whole "West Bank" should be part of Israel. The problem is what to do with all the people there?
(7) Isaac, August 8, 2009 8:50 PM
was good,I believe u must say more about the history of jews in the holly land of Israel and too say and say to firiendly live between Palestinan Arabs,have same nationality acording the citizen of the holly land,I mean two neigherbood
(6) Hariet, August 5, 2009 4:48 PM
This definitly needs to be put out there in documentary form so the whole world can see. Israel belongs to the Jew's and no matter how much we concede to give they will always want more until we are gone which we all know is their goal. I beleive in peace but would not give 1 blade of grass to the Palestinians
(5) shauwn archer, August 5, 2009 1:01 AM
Wonderful
Do not give a scrap of it away. No to land for peace.
(4) Marilyn Fink, August 4, 2009 6:01 AM
history of Isreal's land
One of the major tv networks should do a documentary of this so people can be aware of the truth. Our government leaders need to read this and realize that appeasement does not work. How quickly they forget the outcome of Chamberlain's appeasement to Hitler. Israel should not be bullied into giving back any of its land.
(3) SHIMON OHAYON, August 3, 2009 2:48 AM
great !!! obama mitchell clinton,blair and the arabs should read this
we the current Oslo or any,so called peace- plans israel dosn,t need any other NEW HOSTILE country(ies) in it,s borders. the Palestinians- who terrorized the whole world for more than 30 years want to be rewarded with a state of their own??? -with TW0 NEW FRONTS(Gaza,and west bank) bordering Israel??? are they insane??? i would give a country first to the Tibetans or the Kurdish-to reward them for their non-violent struggle.if you look at the map of current Israel , and draw a red dot... for every Arab town or village which exist now on the map(including INSIDE israel,and Gaza and west bank -we will see that bitterly NOTHING IS LEFT FOR ISRAEL. the Jews are generous to the the Palestinians -they PALESTINIANS should take now anything that is given to them assuming how they terrorized the world for 30 years- the late king Hussein of Jordan killed at least 10000's of them in the late 70's(black September) because they had a claim on his hasshmite country -the Palestinians CURRENTLY have a state and it,s called JORDAN any other future's humanitarian's help to the Palestinians can be arranged under province,federation,autonomy's concepts etc.
(2) deb, August 2, 2009 7:35 PM
Perfect.
(1) Clinton Luskey, August 2, 2009 4:39 PM
Great!
A very simple, straight forward lesson. Perfect.