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The Jews are a people with a multitude of problems. From the Israelite tribes to prosperous modern day Israel, bigotry towards the Jews has been greatly evident. The Jewish race has acted as the scapegoat for many crisis throughout history including the black plague which swept across Europe during the 14 th century. The establishment of Israel was the climax of what the Jewish people had been striving to obtain for centuries. This, however, led to many major conflicts between Israel and the Arab countries. One of the most meaningful of these conflicts was the Six-Day War.
Earlier Jewish events such as the holocaust have also had dramatic effects on world history. For twelve years following 1933 the many Jews in Germany were persecuted by the Nazis, who sought to blame German ruination on the Jews. It began with the boycotting and vandal ization of Jewish businesses. By 1939, Jews were no longer citizens, could not attend public schools, engage nearly any business or profession, own any land, associate with any non-Jew, or visit public places such as parks and museums. The victories of the German armies in the early years of World War II brought the majority of European Jews under the Nazis. The Jews were deprived of human rights.
At first, the Jewish people were forced to live in Ghettos which were separated from the main city. Then they were moved to Concentration Camps, where Hitlers plan of genocide was carried out very efficiently. The total number of Jews killed has been estimated at 5, 750, 000. In Warsaw, where approximately 400, 000 Jews had once lived, the Jewish population was reduced to 60, 000.
They, nearly unarmed, resisted the German deportation order and had held back the regular German troops equipped with flame throwers, armored cars, and tanks for nearly a month. The horrific events of the holocaust have resulted in many problems, but also in giving the Jews more world recognition. After World War II and the holocaust, the number of Jewish followers had greatly declined, and the Jewish people still had problems finding jobs; they essentially had to start their lives over. Almost all of them had lost a close relative or a friend to the gas chambers of the Nazi concentration camps. This put a psychological strain on Jewish survivors as many no longer had family and friends with them for support. However, not all of the results of the holocaust have been bad.
This event has awakened the world to the needs of the Jewish people; it has given them political power and justification for some of their actions. In May of 1945, the end of World War II was seen. Organized Judaism in the European continent was damaged beyond repair. The Jews were only able to concentrate on the preservation of Israel and on bringing Nazi war criminals to trial. There is now a day of commemoration, Holocaust Day, observed in Israel and elsewhere on Nisan (April) 19 and 20. These dates are considered the anniversary of the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
The creation of Israel as a Jewish state on the former territory of Palestine was the central political issue in the Middle East for many years after World War II. A movement was established to reestablish the Jewish national state of Israel. This movement was called Zionism. The Zionists were full of energy, enthusiasm, and skill which led to remarkable accomplishments.
Israel was a modern European state in an underdeveloped area. This was a source of both many problems and many achievements. The Jews received vast amounts of financial and military support from Western governments. The Israelis also benefitted from a highly trained and motivated population which created a unique nation-state. It had taken the Zionists seventy years to purchase 7 percent of Palestine, but many of the nations of world felt that they owed something to the Jews to compensate for holocaust. The UN responded to this feeling by offering the Zionists another 50 percent of Palestine.
This area was some of the most fertile land in the Middle East; it included the citrus groves on which many of the Arabs depended for their living. Because of this, the partition plan was objected to by all of the Arab and Palestinian Arab governments. However, the Zionists accepted the plan and were supported by many Western nations. They were, however, upset that Jerusalem was excluded from the Jewish state. The formation of this new state in Palestine was greatly important to both Jewish history and world history. It had given some Jews a place to seek refuge from the Nazi persecutions.
However, after having fifty percent of Palestine given to Israel, tension between the countries was very high, and sometimes became violent. The Jewish army, called Haganah (defense), was formed to protect Israel from Arab attacks. To this day, that formation has had many effects on all of the Middle Eastern countries, and on other countries throughout the world who have tried to be peacemakers. The Six-Day War of 1967 was caused by Egypt's closure of the Strait of Tiran, Israels main link to the Indian Ocean. This war was focused on the issue of Israels legitimacy.
Withdrawal of UN troops after May 16 had signified to the Israelis that they were responsible for their own defense. War broke out in June. During the war the Jews pushed Jordans boundaries back to the Jordan river, regaining control of Jerusalem. Syria was also pushed back by a frontal assault through northeast Israels that soon threatened Damascus. The United Nation security council executed a cease-fire on June 11 th.
By this time the Arab states had lost much territory, a lot of their productive capacity, and large amounts of revenue. Their mental and political defeat set the tone for the events of the following years. The defeat of the Arab governments also gave power to the Palestine guerrilla movement. The Wailing Wall is one of Judaisms most honored holy places. According to the original United Nations partition it was located in Jordan. The Six Day war returned it to the Israelis.
As is clearly visible from these few examples, modern Judaism has had a very traumatic history. These, however, are only a small piece of all of modern Judaisms problems. War and terrorism are still present, and continue to raise tension between Israel and the Arab countries. During the Persian Gulf War of 1991, Israel was continuously bombed by Iraq.
If Israel had fought back, many more Arab countries would probably have joined with Iraq to eliminate the common enemy. Even with advances such as the Middle East Peace process, it appears terrorism and differences in religion will always create tension and even war between these countriesBibliographHolocaust: the Jewish tragedy Gilbert, Martin, COLLI 198 Israel &# 038; the Arabs: The June 1967 War Facts on file, INC. New York, N. Y. 196 The Holocaust in Historical Perspective Yehuda Bauer University of Washington Press 197324
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