Middle East History Flashcards
zionism
international political movement for the establishment of a national/religious Jewish community in Palestine and for the support of modern Israel
- derived from belief one is only safe in their own country
- result of Jews being persecuted in late 19th century
Balfour Declaration
Britain’s declaration in support of zionism
- issued early November, 1917
- “His Majesty’s Government view with favor
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 non-Jewish
communities in Palestine, or the rights and
political status enjoyed by Jews in any
other country.”
1948 War of Independence
- “War of Independence”
- coalition of arab nations (Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon) attacked Israel
- Israel prevailed
Israel
- established in 1948
- David Ben-Gurion = founding father and first Prime Minister of modern Israel
David Ben-Gurion
- founding father of Israel (1948)
-first Prime Minister of Modern Israel
Six Day War
- “The Setback”
- 1967
- where Israel defeated 3 armies, gained more territory, and became the preeminent military power in the region
- between Arabs and Israel
Occupied territories
the land Israel controlled after the Six-Day War that was originally Palestinian territories (Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights)
UN Resolution 242
- “Land for Peace”
- Israel promised to relinquish control of Occupied Territories in exchange for international recognition
- By giving “that for this” Israel would be less likely to have to defend itself from outright war with its
neighbors
Arab revolt of 1936
- longest nationalist rebellion of British mandatory control of Palestine
Suez Crisis
- crisis that occurred when Britain and France attempted to seize control of the Suez Canal from Egypt
Camp David Accords
- peace treaty between Israel and Egypt where Egypt agreed to recognize the nation state of Israel
- U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat (Egypt), and Menchem Begin (Israel) assisted in signing this treaty
Hamas
- Palestinian fundamentalist organization that was formed to fight for Palestinian Independence
- formed in late 1980’s
- terrorist group attempting to replace Israel with an Islamic State
Intifada
- “the uprising” against Israel by some Palestinians
Oslo Accords
- secret peace discussions between Israel and the Palestinians
OPEC
- an organization of countries to agree on a common policy for the production and sale of petroleum
- formed in 1961
Menachem Begin
- leader of Israel who signed peace treaty with Egypt (Camp David Accords)
Gamal Nasser
- leader of Egypt 1956-1970
- nationalized Suez Canal-> led to Suez Crisis
- caused dispute between Egypt, Israel, France, and Britain
- promoted Pan-Arabism (the unification of Arab states in Middle East and North Africa)
Yasser Arafat
- leader of PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)
- initially fought with Israel, and eventually agreed with UN Resolution 242
- goal to destruct Israel
Anwar Sadat
- leader of Egypt 1970-1981
- first to recognize Israel’s right to exist
- Egyptian leader that signed Camp David Accords with Israel
President Jimmy Carter
- from Georgia
- became President
- made peace between Israel and Egypt with Camp David peace Accord
- won a nobel peace prize
- gave control of the Panama Canal to Panama
Yitzak Rabin
- Prime Minister of Israel 1992-1995
- assisted in the Oslo Accords (agreement between Israel and PLO)
- killed in 1995 by Jewish extremists
- agreed to grant the Palestinians their own land
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
- ruler of Iran
- favored the west
- closed ties with U.S.
- used oil for wealth
- redistributed land to peasants
- gave women more rights
- gave Iran’s oil industry over to Western control
Saddam Hussein
- dictator in Iraq
- tried to violently take over Iran and Kuwait for land and resources
- refused to let UN in Iraq to check if the country was secretly holding weapons of mass destruction
Hosni Mubarak
- leader of Egypt 1981-2011
- continued the policy of recognizing Israel’s right to exist started by Sadat
- taken from power as result of “Arab Spring”(uprisings in several Arab nations from end of 2010-mid 2012)
Hezbollah
- islamist militant group and political party based in Lebanon
- seeks to rid Lebanon and ME from western and zionist influences, supported by Iran
Iran
- battled over by Russia and Great Britain (bc of oil control, geography, and resources)
- division among Iranians
- Shah fled during revolution in 1979
- Ayatollah Khomeini ascended to power
- Ayatollah Khomeini was spiritual leader, established theocracy, and was a proponent of muslim fundamentalism
- Ali Khameni succeeded Ayatollah Khomeini
- former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
modern Iran ongoing problems
- 1953: CIA and British authorities engineer a coup to depose president Mossadeq
- the returned Shah (Mohammed Reza Pahlavi) ruled with an iron hand until 1979
Turkey
- successfully integrated modernization of Islam
- established by Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk” …“father of the Turks”
- engaged in political, economic, and cultural reforms that made Turkey modern/secular
- has been moving towards more autocratic chief executive Erdogan
First Gulf War
- August 1990- February 1991
- Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened other countries in the region
Iraq
- led by Saddam Hussein 1979-2003
- First Gulf War
- Desert Storm: coalition of nations, led by U.S., used military actions to liberate Kuwait
- second Gulf War led by second US President Bush
- led to the overthrow and death of Saddam
Hussein - political unrest ebbs and flows
Pan- Arabism
the unification of Arab states in middle East and North Africa
Arab Spring
- uprisings in several Arab nations from end of 2010-mid 2012
PLO
Palestine Liberation Organization
Ayatollah Khomeini
- spiritual leader of revolution of 1979
- Shiite religious leader of Iran
- led 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran
- ordered invasion of U.S. Embassy
- established theocracy
- proponent of muslim fundamentalism
- succeeded by Ali Khameni
Desert Storm
- coalition of nations
- led by U.S.
- used military actions to liberate Kuwait
