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Zionist Movement
28 July 2006 Volume 3, Issue 1 The current crisis in the Middle East is, of course, much in the news all over the world. Here in Great Barrington, as in so many other communities, our citizens debate the question of what each side in the conflict should and should not be doing in retaliation for attacks on its people. In this issue of World History to Go, we thought it would be most fitting to include excerpts from articles that provide background information on the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Zionist MovementZionism is a movement to establish a homeland for Jews who have been scattered throughout Europe. The word Zion refers to the land promised to the Jews by God in the Bible, but the activity of Zionism is almost exclusively political, rather than religious, because of Jews’ understanding that the land is not to be inhabited until the coming of their Messiah. The need for a Jewish homeland began in 70 CE with the destruction of the second Temple of Jerusalem by the Romans. Since that time Jews have lived as a minority group in many countries. Despite the diversity of cultural settings and political regimes during the centuries, they have been able to maintain their ethnic, religious, and linguistic characteristics. Because of their strong nationalistic identity, they have been subjected to prejudice—known as “anti-Semitism”—and even persecution in many of the countries to which they have migrated. As a result, the primary aim of Zionists has been to find a homeland (preferably in the Jewish ancestral home of Palestine) where they can gain political independence, develop Hebrew as the spoken language, and provide a community for Jews who have been dispersed for centuries. [From the article, “Zionism,” by Mark McCallon, in the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History.] Intifada in the Middle East
Inside the Berkshire Encyclopedia:
For more on this subject, try articles such as Arab League, Holocaust, Islamic World, Peace Making in the Modern Era, or Religion and War. Arab-Israeli ConflictThe Israeli-Arab conflict has involved various forms of organized violence. There have been atrocities and terror committed by both sides: open wars (1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973); Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza since 1967; Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982; unarmed Palestinian uprising; armed insurrection and guerrilla war against Israeli occupation; Palestinian assassinations and suicide bombers targeting Israeli soldiers, settlers, and civilians; Israeli targeted assassinations of leaders of Palestinian military, paramilitary, and political organizations thought to be responsible for attacks on Israel; and punitive demolition of homes of Palestinian militants, terrorists, and their relatives. The superpowers were soon involved in the region, for economic reasons such as oil and political reasons such as containing Communism or imperialism (depending on the superpower). Instead of becoming directly involved militarily, the superpowers tried to tip the balance of power by arming their clients. The ensuing arms race made wars very destructive. In the Iraq-Iran war, in which Iraq’s use of chemical weapons outraged the world, some 1.5 million perished. Revolutions and military coups of various types also plagued the region. [From the article “Warfare—Islamic World,” by Gabor Ágoston in the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History.] 
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The intifada (uprising), a movement of 1.3 million Palestinians protesting Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the period 1987–1990, was characterized by nonviolent methods such as protests, strikes, boycotts, noncooperation and civil disobedience, and the creation of alternate institutions. Its leader, Mubarak Awad (b. 1943), had been to India and was influenced by Gandhi. While in the United Sates, Awad was inspired by the work of Martin Luther King Jr. Members of the intifada believed that nonviolence would empower them and demoralize their opponents, unite the Palestinians, and divide the Israelis. Therefore, they put Israel on the defensive. Youth and women played a predominant role. However, the movement had a limited impact because it was intercepted by two events: the Israeli deportation of Awad to United States and the rise of HAMAS—a more fundamentalist organization—in the Gaza Strip. Intifada did not succeed in reclaiming Palestine from Israel. It did, however, empower Palestinians, who were more than ever filled with a sense of constructive nationalism. [From the article “Nonviolence,” by Tara Sethia in the
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