Palestine, Phoenicia And Palestine

Mesopotamia, also known as the Fertile Crescent, was located inside the Euphrates and Tigris River. The fertile land was a home to the many city-states. Although the city-states are not unified, they share the same curse/ blessing. All city states are located near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The rivers provide rich soil that is favorable for farming. The

Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem a religious and political center from the ancient Near East time to present day, guiding the footsteps of believers around the world.

Since 1967 the borders between Palestine and Israel have been unfair. The Israeli people have taken a majority of the Palestinians land. This had caused conflict between these two territories for years. The Israel and Palestine conflict has been going on for many decades and nothing seems to be able to solve this issue. All because the Israeli government is very stubborn. They are not willing to make a compromise in this situation. The main issues between the Palestinians and the Israelites are; Israel has been unfair to the Palestinians and have taken the land which used to be their own. Not only has Israel created unfair boundaries but, they are also reluctant to let outsiders into Jerusalem. A place that is not only religiously important to the Jews but also to the Arabs. And above all of that Palestinian people feel as if they have to live in fear from the Israeli people. Israel militia has shot at mothers and children. These problems are still prevalent today; if we can solve the unfair borders, Jerusalem, and security we could have a safer Middle East.

Since the UN partition of Israel and Palestine in 1947, Israel has been placed in many instances of conflict between the Jewish migrants to the region and the Palestinian natives. Several conflicts resulted in open, declared war, such as the First Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. In addition, Israel has been involved in the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of the Gaza Strip. After the last open war, Israel’s occupation of the West Bank has been marked by the military governorate, taking political and institutional control of the region that is ethnically and religiously different than the population that resides in the Jewish state of Israel.

The big question we ask ourselves today is, will Israel and Palestine ever agree to stop fighting? The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been traced all the way back to 1948 through 2005 in The Israel Palestine Land Settlement Problem, written by Charles Rowley and Jennis Taylor. However, this conflict did not end in 2005. This article was written in 2006, so anything within the last 10 years is not included. The conflict between the two counties still continues to this day and still remains a major problem. Israelis and Arabs have been fighting over Gaza on and off for decades now. The three issues laid out in this article are the four major wars that took place, the refugee problem, and the conflict between religions. It concludes with the road map to peace. Throughout his whole book, The Israel-Palestine Conflict, Gelvin speaks of the same historical events that occurred between Israel and Palestine, while the article reveals there are still other conflicts, the land settlement problem has been the major conflict between Israel and Palestine since 1948.

Jerusalem as a sacred dwelling place is reflected though its similarities to the Garden of Eden, where God created the first human beings on earth. In Genesis 2, “God had planted a garden in the east, [and] a river watering the garden flowed from Eden, there it was separated into four

He created a temple in the center of Jerusalem which became a major symbol of their religion. Solomon was known for his wise proverbs and still required high taxes. However, many people were unhappy with Solomon because he forced young men in the north to work in the mines. Therefore, after Solomon’s death, the people in the north rebelled and caused Israel to be divided into two parts: Israel in the north and Judah in the

To begin with, the Bible illustrates that Jerusalem is a special space due to God’s residence in the city. Tweed argues that “differentiated” religious space is sensually experienced locales that are “more or less ‘special’, ‘singular’ or ‘set apart’” in that it can “orient daily life” (Tweed 2011:119). In that sense, Jerusalem in the Bible is differentiated, since God’s presence in the city indeed affected Israelites’ life. With the Ark of the Covenant in the city, people’s life in Jerusalem had been changed as they felt a sense of safety being in a center connecting heaven to earth, and thus being close to the deity; they could from then on

Mesopotamia finds itself situated between two major rivers in the Middle East the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; these rivers create what is called the Fertile Crescent a lush nutrient rich land that is suitable for long term civilization along with an abundant supply of fish for consumption (Mark, 2009).

The Christian religion views Jerusalem of importance because it is the location of “His crucifixion, burial and ascension” and it “symbolizes the new people of God redeemed by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.” Christians view this location as a place of worship because of the important sacrifices and events that occurred within Jerusalem. Judaism believes that Jerusalem is significant because God “spoke of the place that He would choose for His people”. The place that he spoke of was Jerusalem also known as Zion. Two Temples were built and both of them were destroyed, which caused major devastation to the Jews. They continue to pray for those Temples and have a holiday in honor of the destroyed Temples. For Jews, Jerusalem is not just a city of importance “the city itself is holy”. It is prominent and significant to the Jews and it is more than just a city to them. Islam views Jerusalem as an important location but the Mecca is a more significant location to them. Jerusalem is important because the Prophet of Mohammad visited location in Jerusalem such as the Prophet of Ibrahim and the Church of the Nativity. The Prophet of Mohammad is a strong, important figure to the Muslims. Mount Moriah, located in Jerusalem, is one of the holiest locations to the Muslims. It is the “Rock where the as-Aqsa Mosque stands”. Each religion has important landmarks throughout Jerusalem which is a major reason of its importance to each of them. Jerusalem has definite importance among these three religions and remains a holy place for worship for all of

Palestine, a Roman province, faced the birth of the Jesus movement, today known as Christianity. Followers

Historical documents have also showed that ancient Egyptian, Greek, Islamic, Roman and other cultures historical documents show that the Jews were in Jerusalem and had a ownership for the land. For the past 3,000 years, contrary to propaganda put out by people who do not believe the Jews should own the land of Jerusalem, there was always a Jewish presence in the Holy Land. Jerusalem is at the core of Jewish identity and people hood; the land shapes the Jews' self image and character as a community covenanted with God.

I think Phoenicia is the best civilization because of its geography, inventions, and economically. Phoenicia’s geography was good because they were protected by the Mediterranean Sea and Mountains. Its inventions helped them a lot for trade and helped them get around the world. Phoenicia economically was good because they developed many trade routes which helped them get a lot of goods.

The Fertile Crescent name is self explanatory. This is an area in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, that being said, this led to the development of early civilization. At the time, this region provided the population with enough irrigation for the crops. In order to provide for the growing population, water was essential. Both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were able to fulfil those needs. Water was an environmental factor that surpassingly benefited the growth of human civilization.

Jerusalem was the heart of the kingdom of Judah. With its destruction the country lost its political and religious centre. The city had a population of tens of thousands of people at that time, after its destruction and the exile of the urban elite the pattern of settlement completely changed. Jerusalem and its close vicinity has been erased, but other parts of Judah, especially the Benjamin region, the Northern highlands, the Repha’im valley and some parts south of Jerusalem continued to exist.