Poli 347 Midterm Flashcards

Question

# Introducing the Conflict How has the dispute been called?

Answer 1

- The territory in dispute has been referred to variously as Palestine; Israel- Palestine; Greater Israel; Israel, Judaea and Samaria; or Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (the West Bank, and Gaza) this is loaded

Answer 2

- Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (the West Bank, and Gaza) - This term is geographically and historically more accurate because it acknowledges the military occupation of Palestine

Answer 3

- The solution created ungovernable states - Land itself was already riddled with violence and solution would not stop it - Palestine was made into an archipelago (series of islands) which does not take into consideration the contiguous territory. - Even those who were committed to peace (left leaning) continued the construction of settlements in the West Bank by Israel never stopped

Answer 4

- Not all states in the Arab league are hostile - Jordan had tried to resolve the issue however, the king was assassinated - 22 states ultimately hate Israel - We must also think about the roads not taken because of failed negotiations.

Answer 5

- Some trace the conflict between Jews and Arabs to the Biblical rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael, sons of Abraham - Hebrew tribes crossed Jordan River in the 13th and 12th Century BCE - They ruled over hilly areas of modern-day West Bank: Hebron, Nablus, Jerusalem, from 1250 BC-135 CE - This was known as ancient Judaea and Samaria - Many of the 250,000 (approx.) Jewish Israeli settlers in the West Bank today see themselves as fulfilling a return to this land and regard the entire territory as theirs by divine right

Answer 6

- Philistines, a seafaring people, settled along the coast in the 12th Century BC in present-day Gaza, Ashkelon, and Jaffa - Philistines ruled the coastal plain along the Mediterranean Sea from 1150 BC- 586 AD, and fought frequent skirmishes with the Hebrews - In 586 AD, the Babylonians conquered the entire region; the Hebrews and Philistines were exiled - Hebrews returned under Persian King Cyrus, who defeated the Babylonians - The area was then conquered by the Greeks, and then by the Romans

Answer 7

- After crushing a 2nd Century AD Jewish revolt, the Roman occupiers re-named the Land of Israel “Palestina” derived from Philistia, to de-Judaize it

Answer 8

- Following this the diaspora of Judaism began - The area was conquered by the Prophet Muhammad and his Caliphs in the 7th century; Muslims formed the majority until the 20th Century - About 7% of Palestinians are Christian - Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, 15-17-1917 - Under the rule of the British Mandate 1920-1948

Answer 9

- As the Prophet Muhammad began first wave of conquests in 7th Century, Jewish tribes in Mecca and Medina refused to submit to Islam, and were conquered - Islamic rule extended outward across most of the Middle East and North Africa

Answer 10

- Jews living under Islamic rule, from the Prophet’s time until the fall of the Ottoman Empire, were denied full rights but, with Christians, enjoyed certain protections – they were known under Islamic law as dhimmi (“protected persons”) - They believe in the “same God” due to Abrahamic lineage therefore Jews were extended rights

Answer 11

- Under the Ottoman Empire (1517-1917), Jewish and Christian communities were granted some local autonomy under the millet system

Answer 12

- Zionists believe in and support the quest by Jews to ‘return to Zion’ (i.e., Jerusalem and the Holy Land); in the modern period, this implied also support for the creation of a Jewish state in that area” (Caplan, p.4).

Answer 13

1. Context: Modern nationalism surged across 19th century Europe after the French Revolution of 1789 2. Nationalism: groups should unite around a common identity and seek territorial sovereignty and political independence within a nation-state

Answer 14

- Politically oppressed communities embraced this idea as emancipatory; by 1848, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania had gained independence from Ottoman Empire and Russia

Answer 15

- The basic premise of Zionism was the same as for other nationalisms: territorial sovereignty and political independence - Zionism tends to view Judaism as an ethnic identity as well as a religion - But were the Jews a nation? And where could a Jewish state be established? - Ethnic identity comes a nation, “imagined communities” - It is a normative statement, the Jews “ought” to have a nation

Answer 16

1) Labour 2) Revisionist 3) Religious

Answer 17

- Emphasized a secular Jewish nationalism, tending to promote coexistence with Palestinian Arabs

Answer 18

- Emphasized a militaristic approach to the conquest of Palestine; did not value or seek coexistence with Palestinians

Answer 19

- Prioritized Jewish settlement in the Biblical Land of Israel as a fulfillment of the divine promise to the Jewish people

Answer 20

- The use of the term can recall the anti-Semitic forgery, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” (Caplan) - Idea that Jews are behind the scenes pulling the strings so things go there way. - In 1975, the United Nations overwhelmingly passed a motion equating Zionism with racism- rescinded in 1991 - In some contexts, the term “Zionist” implies that Israel is supported by “the mythological powers supposedly available to world Jewry” (Caplan, p.6) - Post-Second Intifada, “Zionist” (or “Zio”) has often been deployed as a slur outside the Middle East

Answer 21

- In small numbers, Jews had been emigrating to Palestine from Europe and the Middle East for centuries for religious reasons - The four “holy cities,” Hebron, Safed, Tiberias, and Jerusalem, had Jewish populations dating back to antiquity - Jews in Palestine numbered approx. 10,000 in 1880, about 7% of total the population - By 1880s, Jewish emigrants fleeing anti-Jewish pogroms in Eastern Europe established settlements and sought to buy land from Arab neighbours - **Hovevei Zion (“Lovers of Zion”) settler movement was established**

Answer 22

- It was in Basle, Switzerland

Answer 23

- Affirmed that Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law.

Answer 24

1) The promotion by appropriate means of the settlement in Palestine of Jewish farmers, artisans, and manufacturers 2) The organization and uniting of the whole of Jewry by means of appropriate institutions, both local and international, in accordance with the laws of each country 3) The strengthening and fostering of Jewish national sentiment and national consciousness

Answer 25

- It declares “**claims of historical ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood**. - Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own; they are citizens of the states to which they belong” (in Caplan, p.18)

Answer 26

- Yet Judaism in its text, prayers and traditions preserved a connection to the biblical Land of Israel - And Jewish communities, especially in Europe, faced systematic discrimination which often turned deadly-full citizenship was impossible.

Answer 27

- An Austrian journalist, Herzl covered the 1894 trial of French Army officer Alfred Dreyfus, wrongly convicted of spying for Germany - French mobs demanding Dreyfus’ execution chanted “Death to the Jew!”

Answer 28

- Anti-Semitism in a modern European democracy convinced Herzl that Jews would never live free of oppression in Europe - Early Zionists considered various options, including Jewish settlement in Argentina or Uganda, but Palestine resonated more

Answer 29

- In 1896 he wrote Der Judenstaat (“The Jews’ State”), envisioning the creation of a Jewish homeland

Answer 30

- At the beginning of the 20th Century, Arab nationalism began to emerge, reflecting - European notions of nation-states rooted in national identity - Not a direct revolt against the West but towards the Ottoman Empire

Answer 31

- Note, that zionism emerged as a backdrop

Answer 32

- Arab resentment of the Ottoman Empire grew after the 1908 “Young Turk” revolution sought to centralize Ottoman rule - Wanted to reassert power of the Ottoman Empire (modernize bring empire to the 21st century)

Answer 33

- The Arab Revolt (1916-17) against Ottoman rule helped to crystalize a sense of Arab nationalism based on a vision of self-determination - Formed on the basis of revolts - Ottoman Empire contract but failed

Answer 34

- By the early 20th Century, some Arab nationalists foresaw a clash with Zionism - Arab rebels love the British -> even prior though they knew Zionism would create a us versus them mentality

Answer 35

- The years 1917-23 proved critical for the formation of a distinct Palestinian national identity - Once independent= develop narrative centralized of its history -> helios foster national identity

Answer 36

- The lack of a Palestinian nation-state has proved critical in shaping overlapping “historical” narratives, rather than an official one - It has also prevented the emergence of a linear historical narrative culminating in successful statehood - The Palestinian narrative is “intimately intertwined” with that of Israel and the Jewish people (Khalidi, p.146) - Having collective history = important for identity building

Answer 37

- Muslims and Christians alike viewed Palestine as the Holy Land - The Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates and the Protestant Episcopate of Jerusalem all included all of Palestine - Qua Palestine its own with pre existing ruling - Palestine is referred to as the Holy Land directly in the Qur’an

Answer 38

- Muslims fought Christian Crusaders over control of the Holy Land and Jerusalem, underscoring its value - Local Arab resentment of European (Christian) imperialism reached back centuries - People were aware, immediate threat (conscious resent of European Imperialism)

Answer 39

- Before WWI, elements of national identity were present: “Arabism, religious sentiment, higher levels of education and literacy” - Many Arab inhabitants of Palestine felt strong local attachment and pride to their city or village of origin - Possessed a consciousness of belonging to the territory

Answer 40

- The British Mandate brought Arab residents to “imagine” themselves as part of a single community - The British asserted control over Palestine bringing a sense of Palestinian identity - Urbanization, wage labour, the spread of the printed press and education, all contributed to this - How identity became fortified contributing to a sense of modern nationalist Palestinian identity

Answer 41

- Predicting “momentous conflict” between Zionism and Arab Nationalism - They knew that Zionism was a threat - ‘Azuri advocated for Palestine to be a separate province of the Ottoman Empire - Many Arabs already envisioned Filastin as its own entity by then - Its own nation/country - Palestinian newspapers warned of an emerging Zionist threat by 1914 - Coexistence not a solution or option - Contest with Zionism could become existential

Answer 42

- As British fought Ottoman Turks, Sharif - Husayn of Mecca wrote to the British High Commissioner in Cairo, Sir Henry McMahon - Setting in motion events that would have a very fateful impact on the region. - Central to talking about the emergence of independent states

Answer 43

- Husayn expressed the national aspirations of Arab peoples and sought British support for their independence struggle - The British are natural allies and send weapons

Answer 44

- McMahon resisted Husayn’s territorial claims but committed Great Britain to assisting Arab peoples - The British wanted to encourage a general Arab revolt against the Turks to assist their war effort - They hoped to safeguard the Suez Canal - Suez Canal is a valuable strategic conduit - Plays a role continuously

Answer 45

1) Subject to the above modifications, Great Britain is prepared to recognize and support the independence of the Arabs 2) Great Britain will guarantee the Holy Places [i.e., Mecca, Medina also Jerusalem?] against all external aggression 3) Great Britain will give to the Arabs her advice and will assist them to establish suitable forms of government in those various territories 4) It is understood that the Arabs have decided to seek the advice and guidance of Great Britain only

Answer 46

- As the Ottoman Empire fell, the UK and France made a secret pact to carve up their respective spheres of influence in the Middle East - This is key to understanding the McMahon-Husayn Correspondence - The Ottoman Empire had not even fallen yet, but the territory had been divided

Answer 47

- This reflected British and French colonial expansion worldwide - The French wanted Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey (did not get Turkey because of Turkish revolts)

Answer 48

- Palestine came under British control, - The UK was given control over Palestinian ports Haifa and Acre

Answer 49

1) Proclaimed British and French readiness to “recognize” and “protect” independent Arab states, separately or in a confederation 2) Opened up the Middle East as a market for British and French goods, to be imported via ports (Haifa, Basra) and railways (the Baghdad line) 3) Committed both countries to prevent any other power from pursuing strategic interests in the region 4) Acknowledged Russian and Italian interests in the region 5) Designated Palestine as an area of joint British, French, and Russian control (Jerusalem is an international city)

Answer 50

- The result of Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann negotiating with the British government - Represented a turning point for Zionist aspirations

Answer 51

- It made Zionism political - “Up until the Balfour Declaration, Zionism‘s main function was cultural-psychological: it sustained the faith of its believers but was of no political importance” (Lacqueur, p.590) - Stood no chance of some sort of independent state

Answer 52

- Key British policymakers debated whether the Balfour Declaration contradicted promises made in the McMahon-Husayn agreement - Afterward, Husayn himself called upon the Arab population to “welcome the Jews as brethren and cooperate with them”

Answer 53

- At the Versailles Peace Conference, Sharif Husayn’s son the Emir Faisal demanded independence for Arab peoples

Answer 54

- Faisal also agreed that “Palestine should be given separate status as the prescribed area of the Zionist Jews” - Faisal called Arabs and Jews “cousins in race” and said “the Jewish movement is national and not imperialist”

Answer 55

- Faisal met with Weizmann; corresponded with World Zionist Organization representative Felix Frankfurter - These peaceful ideas were mainly expressed in letters written in English, which Faisal could not read - In 1929, as King of Iraq, Faisal denied having ever said these things

Answer 56

- In keeping with the broader aim of promoting self-determination worldwide, the Versailles Conference addressed the Palestine question through the King- Crane Commission - It determined that a European power should govern Syria (including Palestine) as a “sacred trust” under the League of Nations, pending its eventual independence

Answer 57

- After meeting with Zionist leaders, the Commission concluded: “the Zionists look forward to the complete dispossession of the present non-Jewish inhabitants of Palestine, through various forms of purchase” - The Commission found: “the extreme Zionist Program must be greatly modified” and recommended limiting Jewish immigration

Answer 58

- WWI brought economic and cultural upheaval to Palestine, as Ottoman Turks fought the British - Jerusalem fell to British forces in November 1917 - Palestinians became aware of Sykes-Picot Agreement (made public by Trotsky) and British support for Zionism

Answer 59

- They stood in solidarity with Arab nationalism as the British and French took over from the Ottomans across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine

Answer 60

- British seizing control and saw the fulfillment of the Sykes Picot Agreement - British had control of a vast territory

Answer 61

- The League of Nations awarded the trusteeship of Palestine to the British at the San Remo Conference, 1920; it came into operation in 1923

Answer 62

- The Mandatory government was given “full powers of legislation and of administration” - Even though Zionist and Palestinians Nationalists had institutions they were minimal intermediaries and did not have much power - Used violence to maintain power

Answer 63

1) It aimed to safeguard the “civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine” 2) Aimed to establish such “political, administrative, and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home” - Overt intention to gain control of Suez Canal - Showdowns seen at the outset

Answer 64

- With the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence, Sykes-Picot Agreement, and Balfour Declaration, the British made a series of contradictory promises to different parties - “These competing wartime promises led to exaggerated and incompatible expectations among Arabs, **Palestinians, and Zionists alike, aggravating already existing tensions and mutual suspicions**” (Caplan, p.59)

Answer 65

- As the British established their rule and Zionist political organization became centralized, the Palestinians developed their own organizations

Answer 66

- The Palestine Arab Congress and Supreme Muslim Council were founded in the early 1920s

Answer 67

- These served as intermediaries with the British, and sent delegations abroad

Answer 68

- There were thus two “states within a state” - There are the Zionist institutions and Palestinian institutions - Not air tight entities but they are national institutions

Answer 69

- There were frequent tensions between Zionist settlements and Arab villages in the Galilee region; each side had its armed militias

Answer 70

- In the context of the 1920 Franco-Syrian War, Arab militias suspected the Jews of siding with the French - As Arab militias insisted on searching Jewish settlements for French spies, clashes broke out - On 1 March 1920, 8 Jews and 5 Arabs were killed in a clash at the Jewish settlement of Tel Hai, which was then burnt down

Answer 71

- On 4-7 April 1920, rioting killed 5 Jews and 4 Arabs and injured hundreds during the Palestinian Nebi Musa festival (“the Jerusalem Riots”) - The Franco-Syrian War took on regional dimensions -> French loved the Zionists (disproven) - **British troops did not intervene, undermining Jewish and Arab trust in them**

Answer 72

- From a Palestinian perspective, the British Mandate favored the Zionists and advanced Britain’s own imperial aims by promoting them - Zionists regarded the British as unreliable, and often pro-Arab

Answer 73

- 1922 Churchill White Paper specified that “a Jewish national home in Palestine” did not encompass control over all of Palestine, but rather, the ”further development of the existing Jewish community” of 80,000

Answer 74

- To assuage Arab fears, UK govt. pledges to “foster the establishment of a full measure of self-government in Palestine” - If promises made in the agreements were conflictual, the British continued to play both sides to get the Mandate established.

Answer 75

No: - Episodes of inter-communal violence continued throughout the 1920s - Zionist leadership pressed ahead with immigration, land purchase, and military preparedness

Answer 76

- Zionists argued that they were helping to develop the land, bringing benefits to all its inhabitants; Arabs rejected this notion

Answer 77

- Disputes escalated over Jews praying the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, adjacent to the Al-Aqsa mosque - Note: for a long period there was coexistence between the two

Answer 78

- Fear and loathing between Jews and Arabs was exacerbated by inflammatory statements and publications on both sides

Answer 79

- This culminated in the violence of August 1929: Arab rioters attacked Jewish neighborhoods and settlements across Palestine; Jews retaliated; British police intervened , mainly on Jews’ behalf - 67 Jews killed in Hebron (ending the Jewish population there); 18 in Safed; Arab neighbors rescued hundreds more Jews (first mass violence) - In all, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs were killed; hundreds more were injured

Answer 80

- The Arab feeling of animosity and hostility towards the Jews consequent upon the disappointment of their political and national aspirations and fear for their economic future.

Answer 81

The feeling as it exists today is based on the twofold fear: 1) Of the Arabs that by Jewish immigration and land purchases they may be deprived of their livelihood 2) Time passes under the political domination of the Jews.

Answer 82

- As a result of the 1929 violence, the British government issued a “White” (policy) paper limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine - It imposed restrictions on the Jewish purchase of Arab property, finding that this disenfranchised Arab peasants - The British government “clarified” the White Paper in a letter to Chaim Weizmann, which Arabs derided as the “Black Letter”

Answer 83

- Following mass immigration of Jews fleeing Nazis, various clashes broke out as Jews made up more of the population - There were violent interactions, general strikes and increased British presence and not absence in taming the conflicts - Approximately 5,000 Palestinian dead and 10,000 injured

Answer 84

- 1937 Peel Commission: Found the Mandate to be unworkable and recommended partition of the land between Arabs and Jews

Answer 85

- Arab leaders and organizations rejected the idea unanimously - Zionist leaders were more receptive to partition, as it brought them closer to an Israeli state

Answer 86

- 1939 White Paper: Called for the establishment of an independent Palestine within ten years; limited Jewish immigration to 75,000 over 5 years; further immigration would be subject to Arab veto - No country wanted to accept Jews due to possible of prosecution

Answer 87

- Hajj Amin Husseini rejected it; moderate Palestinian Arab leaders accepted it; Jewish leadership rejected it unanimously - Met with Hitler: Protocol of the meeting: "The Fuehrer replied that Germany stood for uncompromising war against the Jews and that naturally included active opposition to the Jewish national home in Palestine."

Answer 88

- 1882: Born in Jableh, Syria - 1916-1920: Supported Libyan rebellion vs. Italians, led Syrian rebellion vs. French - 20/11/1935: Killed by British forces after a manhunt

Answer 89

- Moved to Palestine after French victory - Organized armed bands striking at British, Jewish targets - He is the face and legacy of the Hamas group

Answer 90

- After the 1936-39 revolt, both sides became increasingly militarized

Answer 91

- The main Zionist militia was the semi-clandestine Haganah (Defense) - A well-organized force that gained strength with the return of Jewish soldiers from the British 8th Army

Answer 92

- No, Smaller extremist Zionist militias, the Irgun (IZL) and Stern Gang, perpetrated terror attacks against Arabs and British - Example: 1938 Jaffa bombings, 1946 King David hotel bombing)

Answer 93

- Zionist political institutions- the Jewish Agency (Sokhnut) and the General Federation of Jewish Labour (Histadrut) formed institutional structure

Answer 94

- These were more unified than their Palestinian Arab counterparts, the Arab Executive Committee and Arab Higher Committee

Answer 95

- In 1938 at the Evian Conference, world powers agreed to do nothing in response to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution

Answer 96

- 1946-7: Britain restricts Jewish immigration from Europe with a naval blockade, interns Jewish refugees in Cyprus

Answer 97

- 1945: The Shoah (Holocaust) was a turning point, bringing international sympathy to the Zionist cause and creating massive Jewish refugee flow

Answer 98

- 15 May 1947: UN creates United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), sends delegation to Palestine to investigate; boycotted by the Arab Higher Committee

Answer 99

- Various states gained independence

Answer 100

- 1941-48: anti-Jewish riots, many motivated by anti-Zionist sentiment, kill hundreds in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen

Answer 101

1) 29 Nov. 1947: Based on UNSCOP plan, UN recommends partition of Palestine between Arab and Jewish populations 2) Recommends an economic union, as well as protections for minority rights

Answer 102

- The plan allocated 56% of land to the Zionists, although Jews owned 6% of land and comprised 33% of Palestine’s population at that point

Answer 103

- The Jewish Agency accepted the plan; Palestinian Arab leaders and organizations, as well as Arab states, rejected all partition

Answer 104

- 1948: Jewish population of Palestine (the Yishuv) reaches 650,000 (37% of population)

Answer 105

- 14 May 1948: The British Mandate set to end;David Ben-Gurion declares Israeli independence, becomes PM - 15 May: Armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and irregular Arab Liberation Army launch an invasion – forces total 23,500

Answer 106

- No - Arab armies undermined by lack of unity, mutual suspicions - Haganah forces, numbering 16,000, are poorly armed

Answer 107

- Both Zionist,Palestinian and Arab militias took part in a variety of attacks - Certain Jewish communities objected to the action of Zionist militias however, Arabs did not accept sympathies - Egypt was a powerful source however, Jordan took possession of West Bank

Answer 108

- Arab Liberation Army blocked Jerusalem (forces evacuation and kills Jews) - Jewish communities did not initially react, Egypt thought they could win the war in two weeks - Jordan takes most of West Bank

Answer 109

- Initial Israeli objective was to survive war vs. combined Arab armies

Answer 110

- No, Israel used the ceasefire to Israel procures weapons shipment from Czechoslovakia; improves soldiers’ training; centralizes army command; plans next phase of war

Answer 111

1) Actively took control of designated Palestinian land: Dec. 1948, Haganah (now the Israel Defense Forces - IDF) controls entire area designated for Jews under UN Res. 181, plus 60% of Palestinian areas – British threaten to intervene 2) Expelled and caused Palestinians to flee: Around 700,000 Palestinians flee or are expelled, most to refugee camps in Jordan, Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon Engaged in ethnic cleansing : Historians debate whether IDF “Plan D” aimed at systematic ethnic cleansing or expulsion of Arab communities that took up arms

Answer 112

- UN Resolution 194 affirms refugees’ “right of return”

Answer 113

- The 1948 Armistice agreements left Israel and Arab states in state of war - Israel now sought to preserve the status quo – esp. its Jewish demographic majority (716,000 Jews and 92,000 Arabs in 1949) - This began the framing Israeli-Arab conflict in question of Palestine

Answer 114

- 1949: UN sponsored negotiations b/w Israel and Arab states at Lausanne –went nowhere

Answer 115

- Palestinians are refugees with not much voice on the international scene making Israel's wantingness to have a religious ethnic graphic state more predominant.

Answer 116

- 1949-1951: Israel and Transjordan negotiate– Israel willing to allow Jordanian corridor to Mediterranean, Jordan willing to recognize Israel - They were not successful though because it ended with Abdullah’s assassination on 20/7/51 (made sure no settlement was made)

Answer 117

- In early 1950s, Israel and Syria also undertook serious (but unsuccessful) peace talks

Answer 118

- Israeli leadership divided: seek security through territorial control (PM Ben Gurion militarization) or through acceptance abroad (FM Sharett international image). Note: this characterizes the trajectory of Israel's policies 1948 onward

Answer 119

Conflict switches from inter-communal to inter-state - 1950-56: cross-border raids into Israel by Fedayeen (loosely-organized Palestinian militants) from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, mainly on civilian targets) - Israel launches retaliatory cross-border raids - 1953 IDF assault on West Bank town of Qibya kills 69, mainly women and children, draws UN, US condemnation

Answer 120

- They supported early on the creation of Israel - Smuggled arms to Israel - It was the first time the United States blatantly took sides

Answer 121

- Into the 1950s, the Cold War and Arab-Israeli conflict both intensified - The rival superpowers US and USSR competed for allies across the world

Answer 122

- 1952: a coup by army officers overthrows Egypts King Farouk; Neguib is named President (Nasser was involved) - 1956: Gamal Abd-el Nasser formally becomes President

Answer 123

- Nasser promoted pan-Arabist ideology, a secular Arab nationalism that was very influential through the Middle East (primarily Christian Arabs) - He viewed Arab monarchies with ties to the West such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, Iraq, Morocco, as ideological adversaries

Answer 124

- 1954-55: Nasser conducts secret dialogue with Israel, concludes that peace is impossible – views Israel as “expansionist” and disdainful of Arabs - Nasser also fought in combat and noticed that unity was required - 1955: In response to Fedayeen raid, Israel attacks Egyptian army base in Gaza, inflicting heavy losses - Fearing Israeli military power, Nasser doesn’t retaliate

Answer 125

- 1950: US, UK, and France sign Tripartite Declaration agreeing to preserve 1949 borders in the Near East and refraining from big arms sales to region

Answer 126

- Nasser thought Egypt needed to be able to match Israeli military; Eisenhower wouldn’t sell him weapons - Nasser concluded a deal with Czechoslovakia (stand in for Soviets) for over $250M worth of Soviet weapons: tanks, jet fighters, bombers, transport planes, armored vehicles, artillery (Soviet made) - Egypt became the strongest military power in the Arab world, and the most important Soviet client outside of Warsaw Pact

Answer 127

- The deal set off an arms race in the Middle East, and started a pattern of great power arms sales to Global South clients in conflict zones Nasser was emboldened to assert Egyptian power, especially over Suez Canal

Answer 128

- Israel’s main weapons suppliers were UK and France - Israel saw Egypt as an existential threat; began preparing for war - Britain feared threats to its interests in the region

Answer 129

- 1950: Egypt blocked Suez Canal to Israeli shipping - This is grounds for war under international law (casus belli)

Answer 130

- 26 July 1956: Nasser announces decision to nationalize Suez Canal, owned and operated by UK-French consortium; blocks Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping

Answer 131

- France also resented Egyptian support for rebels in Algerian War - The UK, France and Israel made a secret plan to attack Egypt

Answer 132

- 29 Oct. 1956: Israeli troops advanced into Sinai Peninsula - 31 Oct. UK and French planes bombed Egyptian airfields - Israeli forces rapidly advanced, capturing Sinai Peninsula British and French forces landed in Port Said, secured it by 7 Nov

Answer 133

- US President Eisenhower was furious with British, French and Israeli adventurism, and feared Arab states’ reactions if he stayed silent- - Eisenhower helped build an electric dam to help modernize - Threatened to sink UK economy by selling off UK government bonds - Forced immediate withdrawal by all 3 armies

Answer 134

- The United States voted with USSR on UN resolution condemning the invasion, demanding withdrawal, and creating a peace-keeping force, UNEF (UN Emergency Force)

Answer 135

- Khrushchev’s USSR condemned the attack, threatened a nuclear response (Paris and London)

Answer 136

- Marked a decline in British power - Nasser’s popularity rose in Egypt and throughout Arab world for standing up to European powers

Answer 137

- Israel regained shipping lane through Straits of Tiran

Answer 138

1) USSR became far more influential in the region 2) USSR became Syria’s superpower patron and weapons supplier 3) Israeli-French relations strengthened: France became Israel’s main weapons supplier and secretly provided Israel with key nuclear weapons technology 4) Regional arms race escalated -> represents key step in escalation 5) Cross-border skirmishes continued between Israel and Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan with weapons from Soviets

Answer 139

- States have incomplete information about each other's capabilities and motives

Answer 140

- In the absence of perfect information, states are forced to fear the worst about each other’s intentions: Launch surprise attack and they have to prepare troops for the best, prepare for the worst - This causes them to prepare for the worst-case scenario: War - This explanation is based on perception of decision makers: whatever the objective reality it is the subjective perception that matters more - Hobbes: even the weakest opponents can defeat you

Answer 141

- States usually prepare for war for purely defensive purposes (only rogue states go to war)

Answer 142

- Yet their adversaries may perceive their defensive moves as being offensive due to lack of information - You never know what potential rival is planning for - Statements and continual caution - Neither side trusts the other, or knows the other’s intentions; both sides prepare for war

Answer 143

- This can trigger a war even when neither side wanted one - Rational choice theory: try to predict the opponent's next move, and then decide which strategy is the best with the least sacrifice

Answer 144

- In weeks before June 1967 Arab- Israeli war, both sides took steps to escalate tensions: - Egypt sent army divisions to the border with Israel; closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping; Israel mobilized its army - Fearing heavy losses if forced to defend, Israel attacked first

Answer 145

- Using waterways to weaken Israel - Armed invasions - Aerial battle - Israel was going to strike regardless - Egypt joined up with Jordan (Arab unity) - False information (USSR) - Overreaction due to lack of information: USSR tells Egypt that Israel is concentrating 11 to 13 brigades on Syrian border

Answer 146

Parker suggests several reasons: 1) Soviets wanted Nasser to challenge Israelis, deter them from attacking Syria 2) The Israelis spread disinformation to scare Syria; Soviets believed it and warned Egypt Other scholars: 1) USSR feared Israel’s nuclear program and sought to provoke Israel into war (Ginor and Remez 2008) 2) USSR was wrong about Israeli mobilization but correct that Israel was planning war with Syria (Popp 2006)

Answer 147

- “The Jews threaten war; we tell them welcome, we are ready for war” - “We felt we are strong enough, that if we were to enter a battle with Israel, with God’s help, we could triumph.... The battle will be a general one and our basic objective will be to destroy Israel” - He maybe did not wanted it but acted as though he did

Answer 148

- Egyptian generals believed their numerically superior forces would beat Israel (James) - Nasser and his advisors saw Israel as a creature of the US, helpless on its own - Nasser saw escalation as win-win: Egypt would either win at war or gain a strategic advantage if peace held - Much of his propaganda was that Israel was Britains and the Americans bitch

Answer 149

- As tensions mount, French President De Gaulle warns Israel against attacking first

Answer 150

- US President Johnson tells Israel it “would not be alone unless it decides to go it alone” - 24 May: Chief of Mossad (Israeli foreign intelligence service) secretly flies to Washington and gets ”amber light” from Johnson, implying that Israel can attack first but the US won’t join if Soviets intervene - Pivotal because it needs US permission

Answer 151

- There were diplomatic attempts to avoid war however, mistrust in the “kind” actions of Israel (security dilemma) led to a conflict spiral.

Answer 152

- Israel, despite its efforts to avoid war were the most aggressive. - Mass airstrikes - Targeting Palestinian territory - Refuses ceasefire (ulterior motive) Israel forces others to cease