The Role Of Politics In Israel

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the one of the world’s oldest conflicts, and it is still an ongoing problem in the world. Zionists and Arabs: two groups with conflicting beliefs who both claim Israel as their own. In wake of the Holocaust the U.N decided to gift the Jews a homeland for the lives lost in the genocide. In 1947, the U.N Partition divided the land of Israel (Historic Palestine) into two separate states: Arab and Jewish. Since then, the state of Israel has been the center of conflict between the Arabs and the Zionists. As time passed the Zionists gained more land from winning the Six-Day War, and consequently the Palestinians had to live as refugees in other Arab countries. Additionally, more than 75% of the land belonged to

As of recent years, with the rise of right-wing, nationalistic politicians in Israel, the hunger for settlement of Palestine has increased. Seeing the land as theirs to take, more and more Jewish settlements have been improved and expanded on in the West Bank, culminating and high profile confrontations between the new Jewish settlers and the Palestinian

Before anyone can comprehend the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one must understand the theory of Zionism. Theodor Herzl was the first Jew to have the idea of creating Israel. He was a witness of the Dreyfus affair, in which a Jewish officer was accused of treason, solely because he was Jewish. Herzl also witnessed mobs of people shouting “Death to the Jews”. This was the last straw for Herzl. Herzl decided that there needed to be a change so he made it one of his life goals to create a successful movement in which Jews founded a Jewish state. One of his main arguments was that discrimination against Jews could be eliminated if they had their own Jewish State, and so modern Zionism was formed. The idea of modern Zionism is so pertinent to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because much of the reason for Israel becoming a Jewish state is behind the fact that Jews were perpetrated throughout the years before Zionism even came into play of the situation.

For the America, maintaining the “special relationship” with Israel is in line with its interests. First, due to the special geography, Israel can serve as an important backing for the U.S. to preserve its dominance in the Middle East. Second, a powerful Israel with strong military capacity can help the U.S. fight against Islamic extremists and terrorists. Third, supporting Israel is in accord with the broadest conception of the American national interest --- supporting like-minded societies, because US-Israel relationship is based on moral obligation, shared cultural and political values and common strategic interests. Therefore, Israel constitutes “the most enduring and the most immediate interest” (Pollock

Back in 1948 when Israel was founded, World War II was over, and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was just beginning. This paved the way for the United States to make a strategic move that has shaped the course of American policy to this day. In order to attempt to keep communism from spreading to the volatile region that is the Middle East, the United States created an unwritten alliance with the only country in the Middle East that was willing to do so: Israel. Fast forward to present day and the Cold War is no longer relevant to the purpose of “special relationship” between the US and Israel, but many new benefits have arisen that make the alliance worth maintaining. Critics of the alliance cite the idea that Israel receives more in aid than the United States get in return in benefits and that having Israel as an ally is more of a burden than it is worth. The three main categories in which the United States receives benefits from its alliance with Israel are political, economic, and military. Although critics of the United States’ alliance with Israel believe it is much too burdensome, the political, economic, and military benefits outweigh the negatives and make maintaining the alliance valuable in the future.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has a long and storied history. Israel was created in response to European anti-Semitism, with the ethno-nationalist vision of a Jewish territory of their own. By 1948, approximately 522,000 Jews had migrated to Palestine, most arriving during Hitler’s reign of terror that against Jews. Largely, Palestinians resented being expelled from their lands and bearing the burden of the persecution of European Jews. Consequently, the 1947 UN partition sparked aggression between Jewish and Palestinian militias, which escalated following Israel’s independence in 1948. This marks the beginning of conflict between two distinct populations seeking self-determination. Since then, numerous wars, uprisings and terrorist

Bob Hawke once said; “Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.” Perhaps Hawke put into a few simple words one of the most complicated issues within our world today, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Israel continues to strip the Palestinians of their land and fears it’s very existence because of the Palestinians terrorist acts, there seems to be no solution in sight. The world appears to be split and all over the place when it comes to this matter. According to The Middle East Institute for Understanding approximately 129 countries recognize Palestine as a state while many others do not. Over all the political matters within this issue not only affect Palestine and Israel but the world as a whole, as the Middle East and the West seem to disagree. This has had and will continue to have an enormous impact on many political affairs all over the world particularly in the current fight against terrorism. Personally I feel that the Israeli Palestinian conflict while being a very complicated matter has a simple solution. Within this issue I am a firm believer that the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces is extremely unjust and must come to an end. Once this is achieved a two state solution will be the most effective way to bring peace to the area. The occupation of the West Bank violates political and legal rights, human rights, and illegally forces Palestinians

Israel is one of the smallest countries in our world. Its role in the world’s affairs, however has been large since its independence from British rule in May 1948. They say if you ask 100 people what culture is to them you will get 100 different answers. I believe E. B. Tylor said it best: "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society"(E. B. Tylor).

The United States was the first country to recognize Israel as a state in 1948. Since then, Israel has become and will remain America’s strongest and most reliable ally in the Middle East. The United States and Israel are bound closely by military and economic assistance as well as strategic cooperation; Israel’s contributions have helped the United States military advance to counterterrorism and homeland security. As President Barack Obama states “The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and greatest friend”.

The State of Israel was founded in 1948 as a Jewish state. At the time of Israel’s founding, Jews made up only 32% of Palestine (Yiftachel, 58). In order to accomplish the goal of creating a Jewish state, it was imperative

George W. Bush once said, “We will stand up for our friends in the world. And one of the most important friends is the State of Israel. My administration will be steadfast in support Israel against terrorism and violence, and in seeking the peace for which all Israelis pray.” This quote sums up our relationship with Israel very accurately. However, when discussing Israel two questions are always not far away. These questions are is this relationship beneficial to us and why do we even have this relationship with Israel? In this week’s readings, Chapter 5 of McCormick and Chapter 8 of Hook and Spanier, It discusses the aftermath and problems the United States inherited as the leading world power after the Cold War. One topic that both of these

After World War II, Israel fought to defend its existence, and they benefited from foreign aid. Most of the initial Israeli leaders were immigrants. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants immigrated to Israel, and with this came population growth and a variety of skills in business and manufacturing. Israel soon became one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. The Middle East region has probably suffered more rivalry and conflict than any other part of the world and in the early 2000's there was an escalation of violence in parts of the Middle East. Past tensions between Palestinians and Israelis fueled wider tensions, which helped engender wider efforts by Islamic terrorists.The Islamic region holds about 60% of the world's

All of Israel and Israel’s allies have something in common. United States shared values with Israel are finical and military assistance, and diplomatic support. Germany is now one of Israel’s reliable allies; Germany helps Israel with railways, roads, and public buildings. India and Israel have grown in economic, military, agricultural and political levels. Israel has suffered in many ways because of the Arab countries terrorism to their country, but Israel also terrorized the Arab nations. In conclusion The Arab-Israel conflict still continues

While the two-state solution is dreaded by Israel’s government and people, becoming a binational state with Palestine is more concerning to Israelis. Having a two-state solution would mean a loss of land and control for Israel, but a one-state solution would require the Israeli government to grant citizenship and voting rights to Palestinians. If this option was implemented, “voting rights would give Palestinians access to the Israeli Knesset, where decisions regarding their lives are really made” (Rumley and Tibon 2015, 82). With differing cultural and religious views, combining Israelis and Palestinians into one state would change the amount of power each would have over their personal lives, as well as their politics. “The country would have to deal with approximately 4.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza asking not for land of their own but for a voice and a role inside Israel itself” (Rumley and Tibon 2015, 82). This concept of no longer being a Jewish state is so unappealing and unacceptable to the Israeli government, that if Palestinians

After more than 50 years of war, terrorism, peace negotiation and human suffering, Israel and Palestine remain as far from a peaceful settlement as ever. The entire Middle Eastern region remains a cauldron waiting to reach the boiling point, a potent mixture of religious extremism, (Jewish, Christian and Islamic), mixed with oil and munitions.