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PALESTINE

a history of struggle

Speaker notes ⤵

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PALESTINE

a history of struggle

Speaker notes ⤵

3 of 56

4 of 56

Palestine: a humanitarian crisis

Palestinian vs. Israeli

Palestinians in Gaza after Israeli bombing

5 of 56

Palestine and the Arab Countries

6 of 56

Palestine before Zionist colonization

7 of 56

The Palestinian struggle is against Zionism

and the Zionist State (Israel)

8 of 56

Who are the Jews?

Jews are an ethno religious group �that practice Judaism.

Other examples of ethno religious groups are:

Sikhs (India)
Amish People (United States)
Parsis (India)
Druze (Middle East)

If you want more info google these groups! They are all interesting.

Jewish people

First, who are the Jews? Jews are an ethno religious group that practice the religion known as Judaism. An ethno religion is a group of people that have both ethnicity and religion in common. People from these groups traditionally only marry people from their own group.

Judaism is an open religion - anyone can convert and become Jewish. (This does not happen very often, however.) Judaism is the religion that Christianity and Islam came out of: the Jewish Bible (AKA Old Testament) is the basis of the Christian Bible (New Testament) as well as the holy book of Islam - the Qur’an. Jews have lived in many countries in the last 3000 years, so there are many Jewish ethnic groups: European, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian. So Jews from different areas of the world tend to look different, have different skin color, etc.

9 of 56

The Jewish Diaspora

Jews originated from Judea (now Palestine), but for most of their history, they have existed in diaspora.

Ashkenazi Jews

Lived in Europe.

(Most Jews in the US are Ashkenazi.)

Sephardic Jews

Lived in Spain and Portugal until 1492.

Mizrahi Jews

Lived in the Middle East and North Africa

(Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Palestine)

10 of 56

Two Additional Jewish Groups

Cochin Jews from India

Ethiopian Jews

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Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide of Jews

Jews expelled from medieval Western Europe:

England (1290)

France (1394)

Spain/Portugal (1492)

Germany (1300s-1500s)

Modern Era:

Pogroms in the Russian Empire

(late 1800s-early 1900s)

The Holocaust (6 million killed by the Nazis in WWII)

Jews have a long history of being persecuted and expelled from many countries. Any attempt to remove an entire people from a country is called ethnic cleansing. Many Jews were expelled from Judea (now Palestine) by the ancient Empires that conquered the area. However, the main cause of Jewish dispersion is that many (though not all!) Jews in the ancient world were merchants, and their trading business took their far and wide. This created a form of racism against Jews, which today is known as antisemitism.The reason for this bias against merchants is that agricultural societies are not based on trade and markets (unlike modern capitalist society today, which has markets everywhere), so merchants were seen as “outsiders” and sometimes even “thieves”, even though they don’t actually steal - they just buy and sell. [There are other examples of peoples who were persecuted because of association with trade, such as the Romani and Armenian people. Both of these groups experienced genocide in the 20th century as a result.]

Antisemitism had horrible consequences for the Jews. They were expelled from every country in Europe from the 12th century onwards. In the late 19th century, antisemitism resulted in massacres of Jews (called pogroms). In the 1940s, the Nazis committed a genocide of 6 million Jews known as the Holocaust (the Romani people mentioned earlier were also killed by the Nazis together with the Jews, as were LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities).

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1896

Herzl establishes the modern Zionist movement. The goal: end antisemitism with a Jewish State.

Late 1800s-1940s

Sharp rise in antisemitism, Jews

portrayed in the media as evil plotters.

Antisemitic cartoon in France

Theodor Herzl

Horrified by the persecution of Jews in Europe, Austrian-Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl began to actively organize for the Zionist cause: the establishment of a Jewish state. He believed that Jews were persecuted because they were a minority in non-Jewish countries instead of having a state of their own. He did not care where the Jewish state would be established (he also proposed Kenya and Argentina as options). However, the majority of Zionists voted to establish the Jewish State in Palestine, since they saw it as the original homeland of the Jewish people. However, Palestine had been inhabited by Arabs for centuries. Herzl and the other Zionists understood that the Arabs living in Palestine would not want Palestine to become a Jewish state, so they worked hard to get the support of imperial powers that had influence in the region.

13 of 56

Zionism and the Imperial Powers

1916

Palestine controlled by the British

1917

England declares support for Zionism

1922-1935

Jewish population in Palestine increases

After the First World War France and Britain divided the Middle East between them, and Palestine fell under British control. Both powers were interested in getting cheap access to Middle Eastern oil. The British declared their support for the Zionist cause in 1917, and enabled many Jews to immigrate into Palestine (they would change their policy later). From 1922 to 1935, the Jewish population in Palestine rose from 9% to 27% of the population, displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians through land purchase. This made Palestinians very afraid of Zionism, as they saw their land being taken over by a foreign people. Although most Zionist Jews were not rich, the Zionist movement was so well-organized that they were able to pool resources and raise the funds to buy a lot of land from absentee landlords, which meant they kicked many Palestinian farmers off their land simply by buying it from under their feet.

14 of 56

The Holocaust

Jewish refugees come to Palestine

Although Zionism was not popular amongst Jews in Europe (or the US), things changed when Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. Hitler’s Nazi Party was extremely antisemitic - blaming Jews for all the major problems of the world. Jews suffered from increasing persecution in Hitler’s Germany, and when he began conquering other countries in Europe, the Second World War started, forcing many Jews to flee Europe entirely. Many of those who did not escape were killed in the Nazi Holocaust (1941-1945). Over 200,000 Jews were saved from the Holocaust by escaping to Palestine, since most other countries closed their borders to Jewish immigration. The Zionist movement was critical in allowing so many Jews to immigrate, especially since the British (who still controlled Palestine) imposed immigration quotas in the 1930s and 40s that made it more difficult for Jews to enter. Zionists had to smuggle Jews into Palestine illegally, while fighting British immigration control.

15 of 56

1929 - 1939

The Palestinians fight back

against Zionism

16 of 56

Zionism achieves its goal: a Jewish State

1945

U.S. emerges as world superpower after WWII

November 1947

UN divides Palestine into Arab and Jewish regions

1948

The State of Israel is established.

17 of 56

1947-1949

Arab-Israeli War

Palestinian fighters

Zionist fighters

18 of 56

Over 750,000 Arab Palestinians expelled from their villages.

400 Palestinian villages destroyed.

Israel controls 77% of Palestine.

1948

The Nakba

Ethnic cleansing of Palestinians

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1948-1970s

700,000 Mizrahi Jews expelled from Arab Countries and Iran.

Yemeni Jews in refugee camp in Israel 1950

For over 2500 years, Jews had been living in the Middle East and North Africa. Jews in the Muslim world had suffered from occasional persecution and even violence, though on a much smaller scale compared to Europe. In the 1940s, however, antisemitic violence in the Arab countries and Iran increased as the Zionist movement was picking up speed and nearing its political goal. When Israel was established in 1948, about 260,000 Jews from the Muslim world (Mizrahi Jews) were forced to move to Palestine. Their property was taken by the government and non-Jews were moved into their homes. Historic synagogues were also converted into mosques. This continued up to the late 1970s and totaled about 700,000 people. Today in Israel, Mizrahi Jews still experience discrimination compared to the Ashkenazi (European) Jews.

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1966

U.S. sends $90m to Israel.

1967

Israel attacks Egypt, Syria and Jordan, captures remainder of Palestine.

Israel: an ally of US Imperialism

In 1956 Israel makes a deal with France and attacks Egypt on France’s behalf. The goal was to get rid of Egyptian President Nasser, who was building a movement of Arab unity in order to stop French, British and US control over Arab Countries. Israel invaded the Gaza strip, and in the process committed massacres against unarmed Palestinians. Israel’s attack did not achieve its goal, however: Nasser remained in power. A second attempt occurred in 1967, when the U.S. provided $90 million in military aid to Israel for its attack on Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel won in six days (the “Six-Day War”), and conquered the remainder of Palestine (area shown in brown). Many Palestinians were expelled from the West Bank, some of them for the second time (after the Nakba of 1948). Nasser’s Arab nationalist movement was crushed. Since the 1967 war, Israel has been building settlements in the West Bank, taking more and more land and water from the Palestinians. The Israeli military became an extension of the US Military Industrial Complex. When rich people in a powerful state (like the US) control the economies of less-powerful states, this is called imperialism. The United States is currently the biggest (though not the only) imperialist power, and Israel is its “watchdog” in the Middle East.

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Other US military allies

Western Europe

South Korea

Australia

Saudi Arabia

Taiwan

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1973

Arab–Israeli “Yom Kippur” War.

The U.S. launches the “Peace Process”

1978, 1982

Israel invades Lebanon

Hezbollah is formed

23 of 56

1987-1991

First Intifada

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2000

Second (Al-Aqsa)

Intifada

2006

Second Lebanon War

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The War on Gaza

2005

Israel “withdraws” from Gaza

2007-today

Gaza under siege

2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2023

Israeli attacks on Gaza

In 2005, Israel removed its settlements from the Gaza strip, and built a wall around the area. This blockade tightened in 2007, and Gaza became the largest open-air prison in the world. In December 2008, Israel launched a three-week assault on Gaza, killing over a thousand Palestinians. In 2014, another 7-week assault killed over 2,000 Palestinians. Israel repeatedly targets facilities to demoralize the Palestinians and deprive them of basic necessities. Israel has bombed a COVID testing center, a soccer field, schools, clinics and hospitals, water supply systems, media offices, bookstores, and of course many many homes.

In 2023, in response to a surprise attack by the Hamas which killed over 1000 Israelis, the Israeli army began its largest invasion and bombing of Gaza ever, killing over 14,000 Palestinians in less than two months.

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28 of 56

Venn Diagram

With a partner, please work on the venn diagram about what we have learned about today, focusing on similarities and differences in Jewish and Palestinian history, once you finish organizing your thoughts, we will have a class discussion.

Be prepared to talk about the following questions:

What do Jews and Palestinian Arabs have in common?

In what ways are the histories of oppression of Palestinians and Jews similar and different?

Since Jews experienced centuries of violence and ethnic cleansing, why are Jews in Israel doing the same thing to Palestinians today?

What causes hate and discrimination in society?

How can we move beyond hate and build solidarity?

29 of 56

إلى أرضنا،

وهو القريب من كلام الله،

سقف من الغيوم

إلى أرضنا،

وهو البعيد عن صفات الأسماء،

خريطة الغياب

إلى أرضنا،

وهي صغيرة مثل حبة السمسم،

أفق سماوي… وهوة خفية

إلى أرضنا،

وهو الفقير كأجنحة الطيهوج،

الكتب المقدسة… وجرح الهوية

إلى أرضنا،

وهي التي تحيط بها التلال الممزقة،

كمين الماضي الجديد

إلى أرضنا، وهي غنيمة حرب،

حرية الموت من الشوق والحرق

وأرضنا في ليلها الدموي

جوهرة تتلألأ للبعيد على البعيد

وينير ما هو خارجها..

أما نحن، في الداخل،

نحن نختنق أكثر!

To our land,

It is close to the word of God.

A ceiling of clouds

To our land,

Far from the attributes of names.

A map of absence

To our land,

Like a sesame seed,

A heavenly horizon...and a hidden abyss

To our land,

As poor as the wings of a grouse,

The Holy Books...and the wounds of identity

To our land,

Surrounded by torn hills,

New ambush from the past

To our land, the spoils of war,

A freedom to die of longing and burning

And our land is in its bloody night

A jewel that sparkles far and wide

It illuminates the outside...

And as for us inside,

We suffocate more!

Mahmoud Darwish | مَحمُود دَرْوِيْش

To Our Land | إلى أرضنا

30 of 56

31 of 56

Palestine: a humanitarian crisis

Palestinian vs. Israeli

Palestinians in Gaza after Israeli bombing

32 of 56

Palestine and the Arab Countries

33 of 56

Palestine before Zionist colonization

34 of 56

The Palestinian struggle is against Zionism

and the Zionist State (Israel)

35 of 56

Who are the Jews?

Jews are an ethno religious group �that practice Judaism.

Other examples of ethno religious groups are:

Sikhs (India)
Amish People (United States)
Parsis (India)
Druze (Middle East)

If you want more info google these groups! They are all interesting.

Jewish people

First, who are the Jews? Jews are an ethno religious group that practice the religion known as Judaism. An ethno religion is a group of people that have both ethnicity and religion in common. People from these groups traditionally only marry people from their own group.

Judaism is an open religion - anyone can convert and become Jewish. (This does not happen very often, however.) Judaism is the religion that Christianity and Islam came out of: the Jewish Bible (AKA Old Testament) is the basis of the Christian Bible (New Testament) as well as the holy book of Islam - the Qur’an. Jews have lived in many countries in the last 3000 years, so there are many Jewish ethnic groups: European, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian. So Jews from different areas of the world tend to look different, have different skin color, etc.

36 of 56

The Jewish Diaspora

Jews originated from Judea (now Palestine), but for most of their history, they have existed in diaspora.

Ashkenazi Jews

Lived in Europe.

(Most Jews in the US are Ashkenazi.)

Sephardic Jews

Lived in Spain and Portugal until 1492.

Mizrahi Jews

Lived in the Middle East and North Africa

(Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Palestine)

37 of 56

Two Additional Jewish Groups

Cochin Jews from India

Ethiopian Jews

38 of 56

Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide of Jews

Jews expelled from medieval Western Europe:

England (1290)

France (1394)

Spain/Portugal (1492)

Germany (1300s-1500s)

Modern Era:

Pogroms in the Russian Empire

(late 1800s-early 1900s)

The Holocaust (6 million killed by the Nazis in WWII)

Jews have a long history of being persecuted and expelled from many countries. Any attempt to remove an entire people from a country is called ethnic cleansing. Many Jews were expelled from Judea (now Palestine) by the ancient Empires that conquered the area. However, the main cause of Jewish dispersion is that many (though not all!) Jews in the ancient world were merchants, and their trading business took their far and wide. This created a form of racism against Jews, which today is known as antisemitism.The reason for this bias against merchants is that agricultural societies are not based on trade and markets (unlike modern capitalist society today, which has markets everywhere), so merchants were seen as “outsiders” and sometimes even “thieves”, even though they don’t actually steal - they just buy and sell. [There are other examples of peoples who were persecuted because of association with trade, such as the Romani and Armenian people. Both of these groups experienced genocide in the 20th century as a result.]

Antisemitism had horrible consequences for the Jews. They were expelled from every country in Europe from the 12th century onwards. In the late 19th century, antisemitism resulted in massacres of Jews (called pogroms). In the 1940s, the Nazis committed a genocide of 6 million Jews known as the Holocaust (the Romani people mentioned earlier were also killed by the Nazis together with the Jews, as were LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities).

39 of 56

1896

Herzl establishes the modern Zionist movement. The goal: end antisemitism with a Jewish State.

Late 1800s-1940s

Sharp rise in antisemitism, Jews

portrayed in the media as evil plotters.

Antisemitic cartoon in France

Theodor Herzl

Horrified by the persecution of Jews in Europe, Austrian-Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl began to actively organize for the Zionist cause: the establishment of a Jewish state. He believed that Jews were persecuted because they were a minority in non-Jewish countries instead of having a state of their own. He did not care where the Jewish state would be established (he also proposed Kenya and Argentina as options). However, the majority of Zionists voted to establish the Jewish State in Palestine, since they saw it as the original homeland of the Jewish people. However, Palestine had been inhabited by Arabs for centuries. Herzl and the other Zionists understood that the Arabs living in Palestine would not want Palestine to become a Jewish state, so they worked hard to get the support of imperial powers that had influence in the region.

40 of 56

Zionism and the Imperial Powers

1916

Palestine controlled by the British

1917

England declares support for Zionism

1922-1935

Jewish population in Palestine increases

After the First World War France and Britain divided the Middle East between them, and Palestine fell under British control. Both powers were interested in getting cheap access to Middle Eastern oil. The British declared their support for the Zionist cause in 1917, and enabled many Jews to immigrate into Palestine (they would change their policy later). From 1922 to 1935, the Jewish population in Palestine rose from 9% to 27% of the population, displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians through land purchase. This made Palestinians very afraid of Zionism, as they saw their land being taken over by a foreign people. Although most Zionist Jews were not rich, the Zionist movement was so well-organized that they were able to pool resources and raise the funds to buy a lot of land from absentee landlords, which meant they kicked many Palestinian farmers off their land simply by buying it from under their feet.

41 of 56

The Holocaust

Jewish refugees come to Palestine

Although Zionism was not popular amongst Jews in Europe (or the US), things changed when Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. Hitler’s Nazi Party was extremely antisemitic - blaming Jews for all the major problems of the world. Jews suffered from increasing persecution in Hitler’s Germany, and when he began conquering other countries in Europe, the Second World War started, forcing many Jews to flee Europe entirely. Many of those who did not escape were killed in the Nazi Holocaust (1941-1945). Over 200,000 Jews were saved from the Holocaust by escaping to Palestine, since most other countries closed their borders to Jewish immigration. The Zionist movement was critical in allowing so many Jews to immigrate, especially since the British (who still controlled Palestine) imposed immigration quotas in the 1930s and 40s that made it more difficult for Jews to enter. Zionists had to smuggle Jews into Palestine illegally, while fighting British immigration control.

42 of 56

1929 - 1939

The Palestinians fight back

against Zionism

43 of 56

Zionism achieves its goal: a Jewish State

1945

U.S. emerges as world superpower after WWII

November 1947

UN divides Palestine into Arab and Jewish regions

1948

The State of Israel is established.

44 of 56

1947-1949

Arab-Israeli War

Palestinian fighters

Zionist fighters

45 of 56

Over 750,000 Arab Palestinians expelled from their villages.

400 Palestinian villages destroyed.

Israel controls 77% of Palestine.

1948

The Nakba

Ethnic cleansing of Palestinians

46 of 56

1948-1970s

700,000 Mizrahi Jews expelled from Arab Countries and Iran.

Yemeni Jews in refugee camp in Israel 1950

For over 2500 years, Jews had been living in the Middle East and North Africa. Jews in the Muslim world had suffered from occasional persecution and even violence, though on a much smaller scale compared to Europe. In the 1940s, however, antisemitic violence in the Arab countries and Iran increased as the Zionist movement was picking up speed and nearing its political goal. When Israel was established in 1948, about 260,000 Jews from the Muslim world (Mizrahi Jews) were forced to move to Palestine. Their property was taken by the government and non-Jews were moved into their homes. Historic synagogues were also converted into mosques. This continued up to the late 1970s and totaled about 700,000 people. Today in Israel, Mizrahi Jews still experience discrimination compared to the Ashkenazi (European) Jews.

47 of 56

1966

U.S. sends $90m to Israel.

1967

Israel attacks Egypt, Syria and Jordan, captures remainder of Palestine.

Israel: an ally of US Imperialism

In 1956 Israel makes a deal with France and attacks Egypt on France’s behalf. The goal was to get rid of Egyptian President Nasser, who was building a movement of Arab unity in order to stop French, British and US control over Arab Countries. Israel invaded the Gaza strip, and in the process committed massacres against unarmed Palestinians. Israel’s attack did not achieve its goal, however: Nasser remained in power. A second attempt occurred in 1967, when the U.S. provided $90 million in military aid to Israel for its attack on Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel won in six days (the “Six-Day War”), and conquered the remainder of Palestine (area shown in brown). Many Palestinians were expelled from the West Bank, some of them for the second time (after the Nakba of 1948). Nasser’s Arab nationalist movement was crushed. Since the 1967 war, Israel has been building settlements in the West Bank, taking more and more land and water from the Palestinians. The Israeli military became an extension of the US Military Industrial Complex. When rich people in a powerful state (like the US) control the economies of less-powerful states, this is called imperialism. The United States is currently the biggest (though not the only) imperialist power, and Israel is its “watchdog” in the Middle East.

48 of 56

Other US military allies

Western Europe

South Korea

Australia

Saudi Arabia

Taiwan

49 of 56

1973

Arab–Israeli “Yom Kippur” War.

The U.S. launches the “Peace Process”

1978, 1982

Israel invades Lebanon

Hezbollah is formed

50 of 56

1987-1991

First Intifada

51 of 56

2000

Second (Al-Aqsa)

Intifada

2006

Second Lebanon War

52 of 56

The War on Gaza

2005

Israel “withdraws” from Gaza

2007-today

Gaza under siege

2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2023

Israeli attacks on Gaza

In 2005, Israel removed its settlements from the Gaza strip, and built a wall around the area. This blockade tightened in 2007, and Gaza became the largest open-air prison in the world. In December 2008, Israel launched a three-week assault on Gaza, killing over a thousand Palestinians. In 2014, another 7-week assault killed over 2,000 Palestinians. Israel repeatedly targets facilities to demoralize the Palestinians and deprive them of basic necessities. Israel has bombed a COVID testing center, a soccer field, schools, clinics and hospitals, water supply systems, media offices, bookstores, and of course many many homes.

In 2023, in response to a surprise attack by the Hamas which killed over 1000 Israelis, the Israeli army began its largest invasion and bombing of Gaza ever, killing over 14,000 Palestinians in less than two months.

53 of 56

54 of 56

55 of 56

Venn Diagram

With a partner, please work on the venn diagram about what we have learned about today, focusing on similarities and differences in Jewish and Palestinian history, once you finish organizing your thoughts, we will have a class discussion.

Be prepared to talk about the following questions:

What do Jews and Palestinian Arabs have in common?

In what ways are the histories of oppression of Palestinians and Jews similar and different?

Since Jews experienced centuries of violence and ethnic cleansing, why are Jews in Israel doing the same thing to Palestinians today?

What causes hate and discrimination in society?

How can we move beyond hate and build solidarity?

56 of 56

إلى أرضنا،

وهو القريب من كلام الله،

سقف من الغيوم

إلى أرضنا،

وهو البعيد عن صفات الأسماء،

خريطة الغياب

إلى أرضنا،

وهي صغيرة مثل حبة السمسم،

أفق سماوي… وهوة خفية

إلى أرضنا،

وهو الفقير كأجنحة الطيهوج،

الكتب المقدسة… وجرح الهوية

إلى أرضنا،

وهي التي تحيط بها التلال الممزقة،

كمين الماضي الجديد

إلى أرضنا، وهي غنيمة حرب،

حرية الموت من الشوق والحرق

وأرضنا في ليلها الدموي

جوهرة تتلألأ للبعيد على البعيد

وينير ما هو خارجها..

أما نحن، في الداخل،

نحن نختنق أكثر!

To our land,

It is close to the word of God.

A ceiling of clouds

To our land,

Far from the attributes of names.

A map of absence

To our land,

Like a sesame seed,

A heavenly horizon...and a hidden abyss

To our land,

As poor as the wings of a grouse,

The Holy Books...and the wounds of identity

To our land,

Surrounded by torn hills,

New ambush from the past

To our land, the spoils of war,

A freedom to die of longing and burning

And our land is in its bloody night

A jewel that sparkles far and wide

It illuminates the outside...

And as for us inside,

We suffocate more!

Mahmoud Darwish | مَحمُود دَرْوِيْش

To Our Land | إلى أرضنا