World History
History of Israel
History of Israel. This site has an essay on the modern history of Israel. No ancient history here as the essay starts with 1948.
The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that Israel is a, "country in the Middle East, located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, to the northeast by Syria, to the east and southeast by Jordan, to the southwest by Egypt, and to the west by the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem is the capital and the seat of government."
From the site:
The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 was preceded by more than 50 years of efforts to establish a sovereign nation as a homeland for Jews. These efforts were initiated by Theodore Herzl, founder of the Zionist movement, and were given added impetus by the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which asserted the British Government's support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
In the years following World War I, Palestine became a British Mandate and Jewish immigration steadily increased, as did violence between Palestine's Jewish and Arab communities. Mounting British efforts to restrict this immigration were countered by international support for Jewish national aspirations following the near-extermination of European Jewry by the Nazis during World War II. This support led to the 1947 UN partition plan, which would have divided Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under UN administration.
On May 14, 1948, soon after the British quit Palestine, the State of Israel was proclaimed and was immediately invaded by armies from neighboring Arab states, which rejected the UN partition plan. This conflict, Israel's War of Independence, was concluded by armistice agreements between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria in 1949 and resulted in a 50% increase in Israeli territory.
In 1956, French, British, and Israeli forces engaged Egypt in response to its nationalization of the Suez Canal and blockade of the Straits of Tiran. Israeli forces withdrew in March 1957, after the United Nations established the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Gaza Strip and Sinai. This war resulted in no territorial shifts and was followed by several years of terrorist incidents and retaliatory acts across Israel's borders.
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Tourists Help Excavate Ancient Holy Land Caves
CNN has this article titled Tourists help excavate ancient Holy Land caves. The article notes, "Tourists like Krewson pay $25 to spend the day working in ancient tunnels in Israel's Bet Guvrin National Park, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem....
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History Of Lebanon
History of Lebanon. This is a brief history of the perpetually troubled middle eastern nation of Lebanon. The emphasis is on recent history.The Encyclopædia Britannica notes, "Officially Republic of Lebanon , Arabic Lubnan , or al-Jumhuriyah al-Lubnaniyah...
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The Lebanon War
THE LEBANON WAR. Israeli perspective on the war against Lebanon and resulting occupation, from the Anti-Defamation League. From the site: In Lebanon, the fragile state of no-war, no-peace, in place since 1973, began to break down as the PLO strengthened...
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The Israel-palestine Conflict Explained
Here's a terrific clip from Vox explaining the Israel-Palestine conflict. ...
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The Middle East: A Legacy Of Wwi
Here are a couple great stories about the origins of the conflict in the Middle East that you might want to book mark for next year when we cover World War I. In the first essay, The Middle East That France and Britain Drew Is Finally Unravelling, John...
World History