Israel

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Israel

• Israel is a small but developed country on land
  to the East of the Mediterranean sea.
• It has its own religion Judaism- and is a
  recently formed country-1948.
• It is surrounded by Muslim (Arabic) countries on
  three sides-Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan,
  and Syria.
• It has a powerful friend in the USA.
• There are major cities- Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel
  Aviv.
• The land has a long history of war and bloodshed.

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• What is Israel?
• When was it created?
• Why was it created?
• What nations supported the creation of Israel?
• (p. 1284)What was the cause of the Suez War and
  how was it resolved?
• When and why was the Iran-Iraq War fought?
• Why did OPEC stop selling oil to the US in 1973?
  What effect did this have on the US?
• Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan? How
  long did this invasion last? Why did the Soviets
  pull out?
• p. 1401 - 1402
• Why did the US continue to ally with Israel?
• Who are the PLO? Why was America in Lebanon in
  1983? What happened on Oct. 23, 1983?

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Jerusalem
Jerusalem is an ancient city that has been fought
over for thousands of years. Importance for
Christians, Muslims and Jews.
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So what is the problem?

• The land called Israel is also a land called
  Palestine.
• British controlled land after WWI.
• The local people of this land were Muslim Arabs.
  They were called Palestinians because the land
  was called Palestine.
• After WWII, Jewish people stepping straight out
  from Hitlers death camps from Europe sought
  refuge in the land of their ancestors- Judea.
• Jewish people started to migrate to Palestine
  (Judea) in large numbers.

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• The Jews claimed Palestine as their own territory
  by religious right renaming it Israel.
• The Palestinian Arabs were pushed out of their
  land. They turned to their Muslim neighbors for
  help.
• The Israelis turned to anyone who might help
  them- and found the USA sympathetic and willing
  to support.

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• The two sides were now set up for war- and have
  been sparring ever since.
• On one side is a well-equipped, modern,
  conventional Israeli army. On the other side is a
  modern, not so well-equipped but innovative
  Muslim terrorist army Hamas.
• The fight claims military and civilian deaths
  regularly on both sides.

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Hamas-the Arabic Palestinian terror army or
Palestinian freedom fighters?
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Bus bombers and sniper
These people are in disguise so that they, and
their families, wont be targeted by Israeli
security forces.
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U.S. Dilemma

• Israel being the largest recipient of US aid from
  1976 to 2004
• Some in the United States question the levels of
  aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue
  that a US bias toward Israel operates at the
  expense of improved US relations with various
  Arab and Muslim governments. Others maintain that
  Israel is a strategic ally, and that US relations
  with Israel strengthen the US presence.

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