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The Cold War and the middle east

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The Cold War: Containment the best defense strategy agreed upon by American officials against the Soviet threat by the time World War II ended.

Containment-

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 The

Cold War: The Atomic Age

Arms

Race - American officials encouraged the developments of atomic weapons like the ones that had ended World War II. In 1949, the Soviets tested an atom bomb of their own. In response, President Truman announced that the United States would build an even more destructive atomic weapon: the hydrogen bomb, or "superbomb." 3/12/12

 The

Cold War: The Red Scare

the

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began a series of hearings designed to show that communist subversion in the United States was alive and well.

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 The

Cold War Abroad

the

first military action of the Cold War began when the Soviet-backed North Korean Peoples Army invaded its proWestern neighbor to the south. Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 missile crisis

The

Cuban

Vietnam,

where the collapse of the 3/12/12 French colonial regime had led to a

 The

Close of the Cold War

President

Richard Nixon (1913-1994) began to implement a new approach to international relations.

After a trip in China (1972), began to

establish diplomatic relations with Beijing. At the same time, he adopted a policy of "dtente""relaxation"toward the Soviet Union. 1972, he and Soviet premier Leonid

In 3/12/12

 Despite

Nixons efforts, the Cold War heated up again under President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).
He worked to provide financial and military

aid to anticommunist governments and insurgencies around the world. (Reagan Doctrine)

Soviet

Union was disintegrating.

Premier

Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-) took office in 1985 and introduced two 3/12/12

 In

November of that year, the Berlin Wallthe most visible symbol of the decades-long Cold War was finally destroyed

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Superpower Alignments in the Middle East

BACKGROUND
There

were TWO superpowers: United States and Soviet Union

United States- Western World Soviet Union- satellite states that constitute the Eastern Bloc

Marshall Plan and Economic Assistance) Formation

Warsaw 3/12/12

COMECON (Council for Mutual

of NATO and Warsaw Pact

NATO- military alliance

Pact- mutual defense treaty between communist

Middle East

The region lay directly south of the Soviet Union, who traditionally had great influence in Turkey and Iran. The area also had vast reserves of oil which would be essential for American allies in Europe and Japan

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 The

original American plan for the Middle East was to form a defensive perimeter along the north of the region. Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan signed the Baghdad Pact and joined CENTO (Central Treaty Organization

Turkey,

The

Eastern response was to seek influence in states such as Syria and Egypt. Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria made arms deals to Egypt and Syria, giving Warsaw Pact members a strong presence 3/12/12 in the region.

Suez Crisis
In

1956, General Gamal Abder Nasser drove out British forces in his campaign to nationalize the Suez Canal.
This was a major victory for the Soviet Union because

Egypt was a former British protectorate. protectorate

The same goes for Syria which was a former French

The Suez Crisis ensues- UK and France

launched an Israeli invasion of Egypt to regain Western control of the region and to remove Nasser from power 3/12/12

 Nasser The

was greatly respected and admired globally and by the Arab world Western powers attack was viewed as acts of imperialism while the Soviet Union was portrayed as defenders of the Third World Eventually, the US persuaded UK and France to retreat

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Thesis Statement
In the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the Israelis are the aggressor.
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INTRODUCTION
Significance of the topic
The

Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the worlds longest-standing conflicts. The differences between the two groups have caused wars and violence that claimed countless lives from both sides.

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Additionally, this is also a considerable source of political instability in the world. The Israeli-Palestinian have significantly contributed to Arab and Muslim grievances against the West in general and the US in particular. Failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may further fuel extremism throughout the Middle East.

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Why the topic is argumentative

The

world is divided on this issue. On one hand, some people are saying that the Palestinians are extremists and tyrants. While on the other hand, the Israelis are accused of being usurpers and landgrabbers.

This

report is argumentative insofar as it challenges and questions the actions of Israel. 3/12/12

Definition of Terms
Palestinians:

Arabic-speaking people who have lived in Palestine, the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan river. Currently, they occupy Gaza Strip and parts of West Bank. Predominantly Muslims. inhabitants of the modern state of Israel with the Israeli Jews as the largest ethnic group.

Israelis-

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Definition of Terms
Imperialism-

characterized by expansionist and mercantilist policies

Mercantilist control of foreign trade Primarily has been applied to Western political and

economic dominance in the 19th and 20th centuries.

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Argument # 1:

PALESTINE: One Land, Two Communities

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Explanation:

The West Bank and the Gaza Strip became distinct geographical units as a result of the 1949 armistice that divided the new Jewish state of Israel from other parts of Mandate Palestine. From 1948-67, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was ruled by Jordan, which annexed the area in 1950 and extended citizenship to Palestinians living there
v

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Israel invaded the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 and has occupied it since. The occupation is illegal according to international law. It is also illegal, under international law, for Israel to build settlements and populate occupied territory with its own civilian population.

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Number of Settlements and Outposts Since 1967, Israel has built 120 settlements in the West Bank, and 12 settlements in East Jerusalem. The Interior Ministry calls them communities, though some settlements land boundaries are not contiguous.

In addition to the settlements, Israelis have built 100 socalled outposts that dont have the status of settlements in the Interior Ministrys eyes but do enjoy the same protection from the Israeli military, the same funding from Israeli nationals and the same special treatment from Israeli authorities, such as roads, utilities and schools for the exclusive use of settlers. 3/12/12

Population of the Settlements Jewish rate of population growth in the settlements, at 5.8%, is far higher than in Israel proper (1.8%), leading to a rapid rise in settler the population. In 2009, some 300,000 Israelis lived in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem.

The

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Israel's Separation Barrier in the WestBank

Security Fence or LandGrab?

Israel's Separation Barrier in the West Bank: Security Fence or Land Grab?

Israel began building the planned 425-mile separation barrier in the West Bank in June 2002.

official

purpose was to reduce 3/12/12 suicide bombings in Israel, which

 was

also a recognition on Israel's part that Israeli public opinion supports a two-state solution taking shape as both a physical barrier and a psychological separation that literally sums up in concrete and barbed wire the many dead ends of the peace process.

is

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 But

the barrier has created a set of new Palestinian resentments.

The barrier does not follow the boundaries of

the Green Line (the unofficial border delineating the West Bank from Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War). Rather, Israeli security forces are building it well inside the West Bank and in circuitous patterns that in places surround entire Palestinian communities.

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Argument # 2:

Israel: A Colonial Imperialistic Project

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Explanation:
"His Majesty's Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing nonJewish communities [over 90% of the inhabitants] in Palestine" 3/12/12

In an era of European colonialism, which in 1918 controlled 85% of the globe, the British Empire could dismiss the rights of local populations around the empire. Lord Balfour wrote in a letter of August 1919, "In Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country."

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The arrogance of the British Government (His Majesty's) was challenged by an official

American report from the King-Crane Commission which in 1919 reported to President Woodrow Wilson.

Wilson, as the present President Bush, had dreams of democratizing the world - the world should no longer be dominated by European colonial powers.

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 The American

democratic vision was rejected by the Imperial-Colonial powers of Europe and as a consequence the League of Nations in 1920 assigned the responsibility (mandate) for Palestine to Great Britain.

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Argument # 3:

Israel: A Christian-Zionist Project

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Explanation:
What

is Zionism?

Zionism

is a totalitarian ideology that aims to control the religious, social and political life of mankind in all its aspects -- the life of its followers without qualification, and the life of those who follow the so-called tolerated religions to a degree that prevents their activities from getting in the way in any manner.

The

term "Zionism" itself is derived from the 3/12/12 word Zion (Hebrew: ,Tzi-yon),

 The

term "Zionism" was first introduced in 1893 by Nathan Birmbaum, but Theodor Herzl, an Austrian Jew born to a prosperous, emancipated Budapest family, is recognized as the founder of the Zionist ideology when he published his book in 1896, "The Jewish State", where he declared that the cure for antiSemitism was the establishment of a Jewish state. As he saw it, the best place to establish this state was in Palestine. 3/12/12

 Herzl

stated in his diary:

It is essential that the sufferings of Jews.. . become worse. . . this will assist in realization of our plans. . .I have an excellent idea. . . I shall induce antiSemites to liquidate Jewish wealth. . . The anti-Semites will assist us thereby in that they will strengthen the persecution and oppression of Jews. The anti-Semites shall be our best friends.
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 Benny

Morris (the Israeli Historian), described how Herzl foresaw how antiSemitism could be "HARNESSED" for the realization of Zionism. He stated:

"Herzl

regarded Zionism's triumph as inevitable, not only because life in Europe was ever more untenable for Jews, but also because it was in Europe's interests to rid the Jews and relieved of anti-Semitism: The European 3/12/12

What is Christian Zionism?

Christian

Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, the nineteenth century movement for theRestoration of the Jews to the Holy Land, which had both religiously and politically motivated supporters. The term Christian Zionism was popularized in the mid-twentieth 3/12/12

Christian Zionist Philosophy and Its Influence on Various Events in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

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The Philosophy
John

Nelson Darby, father of contemporary visions of Armageddon, believed that Gods involvement in history was exhibited in the seven different epochs or dispensations, beginning with the creation and ending with Christs thousand year reign of peace.

He

posited that the nation of Israel, destroyed by the Romans in 70-135 3/12/12

The restoration of Israel will prepare history for the two comings of Christ:
First, he will appear in the heavens and

the born again Christians will be swept up to meet him in the heavens (The Rapture).

torment (The Great Tribulation) wherein two thirds of the Jews will die, Christ will return a second time to reign on Earth. In this reign the remaining Jews will accept 3/12/12 Jesus as Lord and Savior reign with

Then after seven years of chaos and

Influences on Events in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Lord Balfour, author of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, was a member of the Brethren, a Christian community deeply influenced by Darbys philosophy. Not only did he accept this view of the Bible, but Lord Balfour was determined to help God make it happen.

American

Christian Evangelical Fundamentalists fully supported Israel with the belief that only a Jewish state 3/12/12

 Fundamentalist

leaders like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson claimed to speak for millions as they advocated a fanatic support of Israel by the U.S.A. In reward for this political and financial support the Prime Minister of Israel, Menachen Begin, gave Rev. Jerry Falwell the Jabotinsky Award from the government of Israel. US President George Bush is a

Former 3/12/12

 Christian

Zionism terrorizes contemporary Palestinian Christian People who are committed to nonviolent struggle against Israels injustice.

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 On August

22, 2006, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Episcopal Bishop of Jerusalem and the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land in "The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism" stated: "We categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching that corrupts the Biblical message of love, justice and reconciliationWe are committed to 3/12/12

CONCLUSION:

In the on-going Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the Palestinians simply defended their homeland that has been usurped and occupied by Israeli foreigners. Moreover, the war will continue until Israelis learn to cooperate with their Palestinian neighbors in developing a prosperous state rather than an oppressed one. Lastly, the Jewish State, along with its superpower supporters, firmly believe that the events that occurred in the bible is still relevant to the 21st century issue; when for in fact, it only served as a justification for the waged war against Palestine. It therefore follows that the aggressors are not the Palestinians, but the Jews.

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