Arab-Israeli Conflict Flashcards

0
Q

British high commissioner in Cairo 1915

A

Sir Henry McMahon

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1
Q

McMahon declaration

A

1915; British high commissioner in Cairo promised British support for arab independence within the limits demanded by the sharif of Mecca, if the Arabs rose up against Turkish rule

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2
Q

Sykes-picot agreement

A

1916; Britain and France will split the Ottoman Empire between themselves

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3
Q

Balfour declaration

A

1917; the Zionist federation would pay money towards britain’s war in the Middle East and in turn Britain promises the Jews Israel

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4
Q

The Zionist federation

A

The IS American Jews

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5
Q

British motives in the McMahon declaration

A

To break up the Ottoman Empire

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6
Q

British motives in the Sykes-picot agreement

A

Greater British control/influence in the Middle East

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7
Q

British motives in the Balfour declaration

A

To get financial support to fight the Turks

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8
Q

Zionism purpose

A

Created 1897; Seeks a publicly recognized legally secured homeland in Palestine for the Jews

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9
Q

Arab claim to Palestine

A

Religious: land should have gone to Ishmael
Historical: living in Palestine for more than 2000 years

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10
Q

Jewish claim to Israel

A

Religious: is the “promised land”
Historical: kingdom of Israel was established 1000s of years ago

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11
Q

Contradiction in the Balfour declaration

A

One country (Britain) is promising another country (Israel) the land of a third (Palestine)

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12
Q

Collapse of the Ottoman Empire

A

1916-1918 - Arab forces helped British troops seize control of Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.
October 1918 - Turkey surrendered

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13
Q

Treaty of sèvres

A

1920stripped the Turks of territories in the Middle East and North Africa stating that most of the Middle East would one under jurisdiction if the ‘mandate’ system

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14
Q

Which territories did Britain mandate?

A

Palestine
Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Transjordan (Jordan)

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15
Q

What territories did France mandate?

A

Lebanon

Syria

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16
Q

Why did Arab-Jewish tensions escalate in the 1920s?

A
  • both peoples were disappointed at the way in which Britain had back stabbed them
  • increasing numbers and prosperity of the Jewish settlers in Palestine:
    1918: 60,000 v. 500,000
    1928: 150,000 v. 600,000
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17
Q

British White paper 1930

A

Britain recommended restrictions on Jewish immigration and land purchases, but after protests from zionists in Britain and the USA, it shelved the proposed restrictions

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18
Q

Hitler’s effect on Jewish migration in Palestine

A

1920-1939: Jewish land holdings rose 185% (held 15% of land)

1929-1939: 450,000

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19
Q

The Arab revolt

A

1936-1939; large scale Arab protests erupted in 1936 starting with general strike and continued on through 1939

1938: +1600 Arabs killed, 290 Jews, 69 British soldiers

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20
Q

How did the Jewish community in Palestine respond to the Arab revolt?

A
  • the Jewish agency expanded the haganah to defend the Jewish population
  • the Irgun and lehi were formed
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21
Q

The haganah

A

The Jewish agency secret army

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22
Q

The lehi

A

Aka the stern gang

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23
Q

The Irgun and lehi

A

Terrorist paramilitaries who launched attacks on both the Arabs and the British; disapproved of by the Jewish agency

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24
Q

The peel commission

A

1936-1937; British commission recommending the partition of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states with 20% of the mandate given to the Jews

25
Q

Reaction to the peel commission

A

Jews: divided
Arabs: uniformly against a partition

26
Q

The woodhead commission

A

1938; in response to further violent Arab unrest 1937-1938 Britain recommended another partition

27
Q

Response to the woodhead commission

A

Arabs rejected the idea

28
Q

Palestine on the eve of ww2

A

20,000 British troops were tied down in Palestine in an attempt to maintain order

29
Q

British white paper 1939

A

Created to secure goodwill of Arab oil states:

  • 10,000 Jews max would be allowed to settle in Palestine over the next 5 years
  • 25,000 Jewish refugees would be allowed into Palestine
  • no further Jewish immigration without Arab consent
  • independence of Palestine within 10 years with a joint Arab-Jewish government
30
Q

Reaction to British white paper 1939

A

Zionists were outraged
Arabs were divided:
- extreme Arab nationalists condemned it
- uk’s Arab allies support it and helped keep the Middle East quiet during ww2
- more moderate members of the Arab higher committee who had fled Palestine during the Arab revolt were allowed by the British to return go Palestine and welcomed the paper

31
Q

Why did Palestine remain peaceful during ww2?

A
  1. Moderation shown by the leaders if the two main political groupings
  2. Economic prosperity resulting from US and UK military demand for food
32
Q

Two main political Arab groupings

A

Palestine Arab Party

Istiqlal

33
Q

Ww2

A

Zionists: suspended attacks on UK
Hanagah: prepared for armed struggle in Palestine following the end of ww2
Irgun: continued terrorist attacks on Arab and British targets in Palestine
Lehi: assassinated lord moyne, nov 1944

34
Q

Lord moyne

A

British minister in the Middle East

35
Q

Reaction to the assassination of lord moyne

A

Ben gurion ordered Hanagah to cooperate with British in hunting down members of the Jewish terrorist organza toons

36
Q

David Ben gurion

A

Head of the Jewish agency

37
Q

The biltmore program

A

1942; drawn up as a result of the conference organized between American Jews and called for:

  • establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine
  • unlimited Jewish immigration
38
Q

Establishment of the Arab league

A

1945; 7 Arab states joined together and were jointly opposed to large scale Jewish immigration and to the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine

39
Q

Ernest Bevin

A

The new British foreign secretary

40
Q

Ernest bevin’s policy towards Palestine

A

Implacably opposed to Ben gurion’s demand in August 1945 that 100,000 jewish holocaust survivors be admitted to Palestine as he:

  1. Feared it would result in an Arab revolt
  2. Was intent in maintaining britain’s trusteeship over Palestine to Britain could retain military bases in the east Mediterranean
41
Q

US policy towards Palestine

A

Divided:

  1. State department officials favored securing Arab friendship in prep for the Cold War to prevent soviet influence
  2. Truman was sympathetic towards Jews and aware of the importance of winning the influential Zionist lobbyists. Also wanted the EU Jews to find a home in Palestine v US
42
Q

Truman’s actions August 1945

A

Pressed Britain to admit 100,000 holocaust survivors

43
Q

Britain’s response to holocaust survivors

A

1945-1947 - Britain shipped over 50,000 Jews, who tried to enter Palestine illegally, to internment camps in Cyprus which damaged their image internationally

44
Q

The Anglo-American committee of inquiry

A

October 1945- April 1946; a twelve-man committee which interviewed all sides of the conflict and came up with the following report:

  • immediate admission of 100,000 Jewish survivors of the holocaust
  • an end to restrictions on Jews buying land in Palestine
  • continuation of the British mandate
45
Q

The Morrison-Grady committee

A

July 1946; a plan by Herbert Morrison and Henry Grady:

  • autonomous Arab and Jewish provinces with a single state (still under British mandate)
  • 100,000 immigration certificates within a year of the new state being set up
46
Q

Response to the Morrison-Grady committee

A

Truman rejected it under pressure from the US Zionist lobby

47
Q

Herbert Morrison

A

British Home Secretary

48
Q

Henry Grady

A

US Ambassador

49
Q

The Jewish insurrection

A

1945-1946; united Hebrew resistance movement against British

50
Q

United Hebrew resistance movement

A

Haganah: attacked British military and infrastructure

Irgun and lehi: extreme & indiscriminate use of violence against UK & Palestine

51
Q

British response to the Hebrew resistance movement

A

Operation agatha

52
Q

Operation agatha

A

A round-up of leading figures in the Jewish agency and Hebrew resistance:

  • 2,700 arrested (not Ben gurion)
  • Jerusalem, Haifa, tel aviv sealed off by British forces
53
Q

The king david hotel bombing

A

July 1946; planned a joint operation by the Hebrew resistance:
- haganah: seize the bat galim
- lehi: target PIO in Jerusalem
- Irgun: attack king david hotel
Was eventually called off, but Irgun stilled bombed

54
Q

Result of the king david hotel bombing

A

91 dead

  • Created a rift between the Jewish agency and the Irgun & lehi
  • Jewish agency denounced bombing and suspended haganah attacks on the British
55
Q

The London conference

A

Sep. 1946; British government called for a Palestine conference with Arab and Jewish leaders, but Jews and palestines didn’t attend

56
Q

Truman’s “yom kippur statement”

A

October 1946; announced his support for the partition if Palestine and immediate admission of 100,000 Jewish refugees

57
Q

The London conference reconvenes

A

Feb 1947; Palestinian Arab higher executive attended, but still no representation from the Jewish agency. Proposition:

  • Palestine should rein an under British trusteeship for the next 5 years after which a Palestinian state (compromising Arab and Jewish provinces) would be established
  • 96,000 immigrants be allowed into Palestine over the next 2 years, after which immigration would only be permitted in line with the country’s economic ability to absorb more
58
Q

Reaction to the bevin’s proposal at the London conference reconvention

A

Jews: rejected; wanted unlimited immigration
Arabs: rejected; wanted the immediate declaration of an independent Palestine and an end to immigration

59
Q

Britain’s move following the London conferences

A

Hands problem over to the UN, feb 1947

60
Q

Why did Britain give Arab-Israeli conflict to UN?

A

Britain’s forces and finances were too stretched to deal with the ongoing violence in Palestine:

  • 1/10 of britain’s armed forces were in Palestine costing £40 million
  • British power was in retreat as it prepared to pull out of India and Greece (unless USA paid for them to stay)