Modern World Civilization
Spring 2009
Map of the Middle East
The Background
Between 1945-51, Egypt
experienced many rebellions, but no revolution.
The reasons for this were many.
Britain no longer appeared as
potent.
Many Egyptians put their faith
in the UN.
The Communists had yet to make
serious inroads in Egypt.
King Farouk and the ruling Wafd
party began to see themselves as Arabs.
This may have been a reaction to
the growing Arab-Israeli problem.
The Birth of the Arab League
Egyptian Problems After
World War II
Concerned about the stationing
of British troops in Egypt.
The failure to include the Sudan
as part of Egypt.
Egypt was being drawn into the
conflict in Palestine.
One reason they were was that
Amir Abdallah of Transjordan was reaping the benefits of his support of the
Palestinians.
When they do get involved the
Jewish settlers make short work of the Egyptians.
Growing Tensions with
Britain
In 1950 the Wafd Party won
elections and Farouks government moved Egyptian troops into the Canal Zone to
draw the British out.
The Egyptian government
abrogated the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936.
In the struggle, the British
killed 36 Egyptians.
To the Egyptians called this
Black Sunday.
Within Seven months Farouk was
deposed by the Army in 1952 and died in 1956.
The Opposition to King
Farouk
A secret society of Army
officers was organized by Muhammad Nagib.
The Coup was Bloodless.
Britain and the United States
did not stop them.
Within three days Farouk
abdicated.
The Government of Egyptian
Colonels
Abolished Political Parties.
Seized the palaces and centers
of political power.
Parliament was dissolved.
Land reform was introduced and
landholding was limited to 200 acres.
All extra land went to the
landless peasants.
In 1954 Nagib was deposed and
replaced by Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser.
The Result of Jewish
Persecutions
Historically could not be
returned to Palestine until the coming of the Messiah.
Some Jewish nationalist wanted
to establish a Jewish homeland in order to avoid the systematic persecutions
they experienced.
Some Jewish writers felt that
Jews were persecuted because they did not have a homeland.
This was was particularly true
in Russia where many Zionist-like Jewish groups were organized.
Theodore Herzl and Modern
Zionism
He was influenced by the Dreyfus
Case.
He felt that if Jews were not
safe in France then where were they safe?
In 1896 he wrote
Der Judenstaat.
Soon his ideas spread of
thousands of German speaking regions.
He organized the first Zionist
organization in Basel in 1897.
The British offered a region in
Uganda.
Map of Palestine
The Russian Revolution of
1905
With the failure of the Russian
Revolution in 1905 it led to a mass migration to Palestine.
This was called the
Second Aliyah.
This set the stage for a new
wave of emigration.
Especially for a Jewish life in
Palestine schools, unions, theaters, etc.
It also led to revival of Hebrew
as a language.
The most famous was the
establishment of the Kibbutz or Collective farm.
The Bedouins often attacked
them.
The Balfour Declaration
The British sought Jewish
support during World War I.
The result was the
Balfour Declaration.
Promising a Jewish homeland in
Palestine for Jewish support during World War I.
It was Zionisms Magna Carta.
This led to growing tensions
between the increasing Jewish settlers and the Arabs.
The British, especially the
authorities in Palestine, supported the Arabs.
At least, that is what the
Jewish immigrants claimed.
Events in Palestine Between
1918-22
April 1920 Arabs rise up and
attack Jewish settlers in Palestine.
1922 The League of Nations
awarded a Mandate to Britain to administer Palestine.
The League required Britain to
implement the Balfour Declaration.
Which required a Jewish National
Homeland.
Establishing a Jewish Agency to
help the British.
The British violated this
agreement by establishing the Emirate of Transjordan 2/3s of Palestine east of
the Jordan River.
The Jewish Response
Established a Jewish Militia to
protect themselves from the Arabs.
This was done by
Vladimir Jabotinsky,
a militant Jewish nationalist.
His views on a Greater Israel
influenced Yitzhak Shamir and Menachem Begin.
The first British Governor, Sir
Herbert Samuel, tried to be fair to both sides.
He appointed Hajj Amin
al-Husayni as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
He was deported in 1937.
The Situation Between
1926-39
1926-1928 Jewish population
doubled.
1929 Wailing Wall Incident
Arabs feared that the Jews were making a move on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Screens were set up to separate
males from females at the Wailing Wall.
The Arabs built a road near the
site to disrupt religious gatherings.
Soon the fighting escalated from
fist fights to full scale civil war.
It intensified the hatreds
between the two groups Arabs and Jews.
Palestine and the Coming of
Hitler
The Rise of Hitler led to
increased immigration to Palestine.
Hajj Amin organized Christian
and Arab opposition.
The British established the
Peel Commission
which advocated a partition with a small section in Nothern and Central
Palestine for the Jews.
This would serve as a home for
Jews refugees
Palestinian Arabs rejected it.
The Peel Commission issues
The White Paper
It said that the British Mandate
should end in ten years.
Jewish immigration was set at
15,000 refugees a year.
After 1944, further immigration
could only continue with Arab agreement.
Selling Arab lands in restricted
in some areas and prohibited others.
David Ben Gurions Position
The Situation after World
War II
After World War II violence
increased in Palestine.
Much of this was the work of two
Jewish terrorist organizations
Irgun and the Stern Gang.
They targeted British military
posts.
In 1946 some groups wanted to
continued the mandate and increased immigration to Palestine by 100,000.
The British government rejected
this plan.
A year later, the British
government declared that they would no longer continue the mandate.
The UN Special Committee on
Palestine in 1947
Recommend that Palestine be
partitioned into seven parts.
Three would be controlled by the
Jews.
Three would be controlled by the
Arabs.
Jerusalem and Bethlehem would be
controlled by the UN.
The idea proved to be
impractical.
Partition was passed by the UN
by a vote of 35 to 13.
The Arabs Plot Their
Strategy
The Arabs began to combine their
forces.
As violence continued, the
British sat on their hands.
Washington even proposed to let
the partition plan rest for ten years in order for both sides to cool off.
Harry Truman was under
considerable pressure to act.
On May 14, 1948, the new state
of Israel was proclaimed.
The Arabs invade Palestine.
Why Did Israel Win?
The Arab Armies were too small.
The Arab States were politically
divided.
The Israelis actually had
100,000 men and women under arms.
The Israelis had superior elan
or spirit.
At the Kibbutz at Yad Mordechai
held up an Egyptian Brigade for six days.
The Kibbutz was defended by 80
men and women.
The Great Powers
USA
and the CCCP recognized Israel.
When the UN Attempted to
Negotiate a Settlement
The Canal Issue
Nasser arranged for the British
to renounce their claims on the canal.
The last British troops left on
June 18, 1956.
This was the first time since
1882 that there was no British presence in the canal zone.
Pan-Arabism was on the rise in
Egypt after this.
Nasser the Man and Political
Leader
He was the son of a postal clerk
in Alexandria.
His mother died when he was
eight.
He was an avid reader.
He admired such men as Caesar,
Napoleon, and Mustafa Kemal.
He joined the Army in 1937.
He soon gathered around him
other patriotic officers.
He disliked the British.
At first he ruled from behind
the scenes.
What is Nasserism?
Pan-Arabism.
Positive Neutralism.
Arab Socialism.
Nasser and the Need for
Weapons
After an Israeli retaliatory
raid on Gaza, Nasser realized he needed a source of weapons.
He approached the West.
Britain and the US refused to
deal with him.
Unless he joined an
anti-Communist coalition.
He would not accept any strings
from the Americans.
Likewise he was upset when Iraq
joined the Baghdad Pact
in 1955.
Nasser and Pan-Arabism
Nasser was influenced by the
Asian nationalists he met at the Bandung Conference in 1955.
He then purchased $200 million
in arms from the CCCP.
He then provided arms to
Palestinian youth called the Fidaiyin who started to conduct
cross border raids on Israel.
Nasser and the John Foster
Dulles
Dulles wanted Nasser to
concentrate on Egyptian internal improvements.
Dulles offered loans to
construct the Aswan High Dam.
Dulles disliked Nassers
Positive Neutralism playing the West and East as well his supports of his
attacks on Israel.
Nasser accepted the American
offer, but Dulles than pulled the offer.
Nasser responded by
Nationalizing the Suez Canal.
Impact of Nationalization of
the Canal
Nasser became a hero in the Arab
world.
Scorn in the West.
The British saw the canal as
vital to protect their interests east of the Suez.
Anthony Eden, the PM, now
compared Nasser to Mussolini.
He wanted Nasser stopped before
the Wests position was seriously damaged in the Arab world.
The Americans disliked him for
his friendship with the Commies and his attack on Israel, but did not want a
military showdown.
The French sided with the
British and opposed the US.
Paris and London Plan
The Egyptians ran the canal with
cool efficiency.
The French and British planned
for a military operation to seize the canal.
The Israelis wanted part of the
action too.
The Israelis saw their chance to
settle with the Fidaiyin once and for all.
And end Egypts blockade of the
Gulf of Aqaba.
The Israelis saw this a
preventive measure.
The UN was listening to
arguments to avoid future trouble.
Nasser felt all this was a
bluff.
Let the Fighting Begin
On Oct. 28, 1956, Israel called
up their reserves and the following day the Israeli Defense Forces crossed the
Egyptian border in the Sinai and Gaza.
While Israeli columns were
gaining speed, London and Paris then issued a joint ultimatum to Cairo and Tel
Aviv to withdraw their forces to ten miles from the Suez Canal.
The ultimatum was directed
against Nasir.
When Egypt rejected the
ultimatum the Anglo-French attacked Egyptian air fields.
The Anglo-French forces then
landed troops at Port Said and at the northern section of the canal.
Snatching Victory from the
Jaws of Defeat
The British and French lost.
They did not drive Nasser from
power and the Army did not rise up and topple him.
Instead, Nasser turned defeat
into a victory.
The
USA
and the
CCCP joined forces and condemned the attack.
The west was also preoccupied
with the situation in Hungary.
Plus the Americans hoped to
curry favor with the Third World.
Nassers stature increase and
Eden was driven from power.
Main Gain for the Israelis
While Israel lost control of the
Sinai and Gaza Strip.
The UNEF did occupy Sharm
al-Shaykh.
Which overlooked the Gulf of
Aqaba.
This arrangement lasted until
1967.
Nasser would not have survived
if it was not for the United States challenging London and Paris.
Now why did they do it?
Support for small nations in the
Cold War.
Especially in light of the
Hungarian Revolt and the need to win support in the Arab World.
The Eisenhower Doctrine
Offered to any Middle Eastern
Nation that was threatened by Communist subversion.
When it was proclaimed in Jan.
1957 it impressed the American public of the importance of the Middle East.
But it received a mixed review
among the Middle East.
Only Lebanon accepted American
help.
Lebanon Accepts American Help
Lebanese President Kamil Shamun
accept Ikes offer.
This was really a way of
placating the key Christian politicians in Lebanon.
And to keep the Arab
nationalists in check.
Even some have contended that
this was a method to rig the next parliamentary elections.
And contributed to the 1958
Lebanese Civil War.
Coup and Revolution in Iraq
The Iraq situation changed on
July 14, 1958.
The Iraqi revolution began as a
coup.
A group of Iraqi army officers
seized the royal palace.
Murdered Faisal II and his
uncle, Abd al-Ilah and then hunted down and murdered Nuri al-Said.
Who was a pro-Western Iraqi
political leader.
Impact of the Iraqi Revolution
Appeared as a victory for
Nasserism in the Arab World.
Also appeared as a victory for
both Arab Nationalism and Communism.
Appeared as a forecast of what
was about to happen in Jordan and Lebanon.
Where the U.S. would not topple
Nasser.
Now Washington and Eisenhower
was concerned.
So when a call was made for
intervention in Lebanon, Ike responded.
America Responds
When Shamun issued a request.
The U.S. sent in the Marines.
Even the British sent troops to
Jordan.
The U.S. would have entered Iraq
too, if there was any hope of restoring the Monarchy.
Any hope of a grand Nasser-like
state would not happen, since the Iraqis realized that they would have to share
their oil revenue with Syrians and Egyptians.
Background to the War
By the mid-1960s Syria was the
most radical of the Arab states.
Syria attempted to cut water
from the Jordan river.
Fired on Israel from the Golan
Heights.
In Feb. 1966 even a more
militant Bathist wing took over in Damascus.
This group belonged to an Alawi
religious sect.
Nasser needed Syria, because he
Egypt was bogged down in the Yemen civil war
Since Nassers relations with
Washington was lower than low.
Syria Round II
Nasser hoped to restrain the
Syrian leadership by proposing a military alliance with Damascus.
In 1967, Syria was involved in
an aerial dogfight with the Israelis and came out second best.
Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
warned his military that war may happen.
He also warned the Syrians to
stop firing on the northern Israel.
Likewise the Saudis kept
taunting Nasser of talking tough with Israel and then hiding behind UNEF.
The Sharm al-Shaykh Problem
Nasser wanted some of the UNEF
troops removed in Gaza and the Sinai.
Amazingly, U Thant removed all
UN Troops.
Egypt then reoccupied the Sharm
al-Shaykh heights.
Imposed a blockade on the Gulf
of Agaba.
The U.S. was bogged down in
Vietnam.
So it offered little help for
Israel.
Which was crucial for Israeli
trade with Southeast Asia.
The Road to War
King Hussein of Jordan flew to
Cairo on May 30, 1968 and signed an agreement with Nasser.
The goal was to established Arab
Military Command.
PM Eshkol and the Israeli
government put the whole nation on a war footing.
Calling up reservists.
Mobilizing the economy.
On June 2, 1968, Moshe Dyan was
made Defense Minister.
This gave Israel hope especially
since he was a hero of the Sinai campaign in 1956.
The Israeli Preemptive Strike
The Israelis conducted a massive
air strike on the Egyptians on June 5, 1967.
Then followed up with another
series of spectacular raids on Jordan and Syria.
Then moved in the Sinai and four
days later were masters of the region.
Israelis then broke the blockade
of the Gulf of Aqaba.
The IDF then took the West Bank
and East Jerusalem.
200,000 Arabs then fled the
fighting.
Then the IDF seized the Golan
Heights.
Reasons for the Israeli Victory
The Odds were in the favor of
the Arabs.
In tanks alone they had 2,700
tanks to Israels 800.
Fighters 800 to 190.
Manpower 25 to 1.
Yet they lost.
Why?
The Endgame
When the fighting ended on 10
June 1967, Israel increased to three times of what she was merely six days
before.
Israel now controlled the Golan,
Gaza Stripe, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Sinai.
No one expected such a quick and
decisive victory.
Most Israelis were relived that
the casualties were kept to a minimum.
Privately many hoped that new
moderate Arab governments would seek peace.
The Arab Position
Thought that a better peace
could come through the UN.
When the Security Council took
up the case, both sides were locked into their positions.
The Arabs were wrong.
Now the Israelis were moving
into traditional Palestinian areas with no intention of leaving.
The result was UN Resolution
242.
U.N. Resolution 242
The author was Lord Careadon.
It was just ambiguous to be
accepted and forever remembered as UN Resolution 242.
It called for:
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