Who owned the land before World War II where Israel now stands? Why did the UN or whoever put it where it is?

Question

And did the Arabs/Palestines hate the Jews before this point, or was sticking them right next door to Palestine the deciding factor? AND if there was ill feeling for putting Israel where it is, why did they choose there?

Just wondering.

Answer 1

Here is the history of that land:

From 1517-1917 Turkey's Ottoman Empire controlled a vast Arab empire, a portion of which is today Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. During World War I (1914-1918), Turkey supported Germany. When Germany was defeated, so were the Turks. In 1916 control of the southern portion of their Ottoman Empire was "mandated" to France and Britain under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab region into zones of influence. Lebanon and Syria were assigned (mandated) to France... and "Palestine" (today's Jordan, Israel and "West Bank") was mandated to Great Britain. Because no other peoples had ever established a national homeland in "Palestine" since the Jews had done it 2,000 years before, the British "looked favorably" upon the creation of a Jewish National Homeland throughout ALL of Palestine. The Jews had already begun mass immigration into Palestine in the 1880's in an effort to rid the land of swamps and malaria and prepare for the rebirth of Israel. This Jewish effort to revitalize the land attracted an equally large immigration of Arabs from neighboring areas who were drawn by employment opportunities and healthier living conditions. There was never any attempt to "rid" the area of what few Arabs there or those Arab masses that immigrated into this area along with the Jews!

In 1923, the British divided the "Palestine" portion of the Ottoman Empire into two administrative districts. Jews would be permitted only west of the Jordan river. In effect, the British had "chopped off" 75% of the originally proposed Jewish Palestinian homeland to form an Arab Palestinian nation called Trans-Jordan (meaning "across the Jordan River"). This territory east of the Jordan River was given to Emir Abdullah (from Hejaz, now Saudi Arabia) who was not even an Arab-"Palestinian!" This portion of Palestine was renamed Trans-Jordan. Trans-Jordan and would again be renamed "Jordan" in 1946. In other words, the eastern 3/4 of Palestine would be renamed TWICE, in effect, erasing all connection to the name "Palestine!" However, the bottom line is that the Palestinian Arabs had THEIR "Arab Palestinian" homeland. The remaining 25% of Palestine (now WEST of the Jordan River) was to be the Jewish Palestinian homeland. However, sharing was not part of the Arab psychological makeup then nor now.

Encouraged and incited by growing Arab nationalism throughout the Middle East, the Arabs of that small remaining Palestinian territory west of the Jordan River launched never-ending murderous attacks upon the Jewish Palestinians in an effort to drive them out. Most terrifying were the Hebron massacres of 1929 and later during the 1936-39 "Arab Revolt." The British at first tried to maintain order but soon (due to the large oil deposits being discovered throughout the Arab Middle East) turned a blind eye. It became painfully clear to the Palestinian Jews that they must fight the Arabs AND drive out the British.

The Palestinian Jews were forced to form an organized defense against the Arabs Palestinians... thus was formed the Hagana, the beginnings of the Israeli Defense Forces [IDF]. There was also a Jewish underground called the Irgun led by Menachem Begin (who later became Prime Minister of Israel). Besides fighting the Arabs, the Irgun was instrumental in driving out the pro-Arab British. Finally in 1947 the British had enough and turned the Palestine matter over to the United Nations.

The 1947 U.N. Resolution 181 partition plan was to divide the remaining 25% of Palestine into a Jewish Palestinian State and a SECOND Arab Palestinian State (Trans-Jordan being the first) based upon population concentrations. The Jewish Palestinians accepted... the Arab Palestinians rejected. The Arabs still wanted ALL of Palestine... both east AND west of the Jordan River.

Our Palestinian Cousins started the '48 war, and in so doing released the warlike appetites of a nation of survivors, a people with no place to run, who had repressed their rage for millennia, and had now earned full title to it!

On May 14, 1948 the "Palestinian" Jews finally declared their own State of Israel and became "Israelis." On the next day, seven neighboring Arab armies... Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen... invaded Israel. Most of the Arabs living within the boundaries of the newly declared "ISRAEL" were encouraged to leave by the invading Arab armies to facilitate the slaughter of the Jews and were promised to be given all Jewish property after the victorious Arab armies won the war. The truth is that 70% of the Arab Palestinians who left in 1948 -- perhaps 300,000 to 400,000 of them -- never saw an Israeli soldier! They did not flee because they feared Jewish thugs, but because of a rational and reasonable calculus: the Jews will be exterminated; we will get out of the way while that messy and dangerous business goes forward, and we will return afterwards to reclaim our homes, and to inherit those nice Jewish properties as well.

They guessed wrong; and the Arab Palestinians are still tortured by the residual shame of their flight. Their shame is so great because in their eyes running from Jews was like running from women. So much for the blatant lie about Jews throwing out all the [Palestinian] Arabs! The remaining 30% either (1) saw for themselves that these Jews would fight and die for their new nation and decided to pack up and leave or (2) were driven off the land as a normal consequence of war.

When the 19 month war ended, Israel survived despite a 1% loss of its entire population! Those Arabs who did not flee became today's Israeli-Arab citizens. Those who fled became the seeds of the first wave of "Palestinian Arab refugees."

The Arab propagandists and apologists almost never mentioned that in 1948, Arab armies launched a war against a one-day-old Israel. Instead they focus on the main consequence of that war: the creation of Arab refugees, stating that Israel "short of genocide" expelled 800,000 of them. This not only disagrees with UN estimates of a bit over 400,000 refugees but also ignores the fact that most of the Arabs/Palestinians were encouraged to leave by the Arab World itself!

Answer 2

Hallelujah! At last people are starting to look at the situation in the Middle East with a critical eye. The Western world thought the creation of Israel was a good idea, due to our misplaced guilt over the Holocaust. (Not that we could have done much about it) But the remedy is worse than the illness. Before the establishment of the State of Israel, Jews lived in the region (Palestine) in relative peace with their neighbours. (Arabs) The problem started when they (Israelis) became the majority. Their inherent arrogance (all this baloney about being the 'Chosen People') quickly polarised the region, and there hasn't been peace since. Let's be honest, if a people (the 'Palestinians') have been living in a land for 2,000 years it is theirs. And if 'foreign powers' then give your land to a minority, (to salve their collective consciences') you fight to regain what is yours! Israel has been provoking it's neighbours for decades, and when they retaliate, the Israelis shout: Look what these damn 'terrorists' are doing to us! (with the loudest screamers in the halls of power of the US) This 'problem' will not go away until the whole world looks at, and solves the central problem in the Middle East, which is the 'imposition' of Israel on the region. I am not suggesting the destruction of Israel, we cannot turn back history, but Israel must be made to stop it's subversion in the area. To the answerer above: Quote: The analogy is more like if you are a property owner and grant your property to someone, but the people living in the house decided they didn't like your decision, whether you owned the property legally or not, and decided to fight the new owners. This was the situation the new owners of Palestine found themselves in and have found themselves in since their independence in 1948. Unquote. The British were also the 'owners' of many other countries, e.g. Nigeria, Australia, South Africa, India, New Zealand, et al. Imagine what would have happened if they decided to 'grant' a portion of these countries to the Jews? I'll tell you, exactly the same as what is happening in the Middle East now! Instead, these countries are independent. One country cannot 'own' another, much less 'grant' it to a people! It's been tried throughout history, (The Roman and British Empires, The USSR, etc) and has always failed!

Answer 3

The most important thing to bear in mind is that there is no such place in the world as Palestine. Except for a city in Texas.

The actual word "Palestine" came from the Romans, not the Arabs, and there has never been an independent country or state of Palestine, nor a Palestinian rule. Yet we are led to believe that there are Palestinians and then there are Arabs.

In August 11, 1919 in a memorandum to Lord Curzon, Lord Balfour stated that "whatever be the future of Palestine, it is not now an 'independent nation,' nor is it yet on the way to becoming one". Professor of history Reverend James Parkes wrote in Whose Land that "before 1914, ... the mass of the population [in Palestine] had no real feeling of belonging to any wider unit than their village, clan or possibly confederation of clans". He stressed the point that "up to that time it is not possible to speak of the existence of any general sentiment of nationality".

There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands. Israel represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass.

As long as the Arabs refuse to accept a Jewish state in the Middle East, the conflict will remain unresolved. Israel must completely and totally defeat the Arabs, so that a peace treaty can be signed and enforced.

Answer 4

The British controlled the land where israel now is. This was the jewish homeland from the time of the bible. Before israel was established, the jews in palestine were under attack from the arabs. An Arab excuse for the violence is that the land israel is located in is their land, even though they hate the jews no matter what.

Answer 5

it was called Palestine. some of it was part of Syria. The British put the Israeli (jews) people in Israel after the second world war. interesting point to make it was prophecies that Israel would get their land back with help from great maritime nation(Britain) in the bible. The Balfour treaty that was created by the British prime minister in 1900 mentions putting the Israelis back in Israel.
so blame us Brits!!! problems regarding jews and arabs go back to bible times, thousands of years.

Answer 6

Arabs have inherent hate and distrust for Jews.That is the major factor causing terrorist attacks on israel.

The british had administrative control of palestine and surrounding area when the jews were returned to the land of the israelites that existed long before palestine or arabs.

The land was derelict and of no interest to the palestinians before occupation.

The disputed territory is the excuse arabs use for attacks on israel,even though most of the terrorist activity is funded by syria and iran that have no geopolitical interest there.

The propaganda works quite well.Many misinformed liberal left of western society have been lead to believe that the conflict is geopolitical.This ,together with inherent anti semetic feelings lends great support to palestinian and syrian terrorists.

Answer 7

The Jews travelled there via Egypt in The Exodus under the guidance of Moses, cant put my finger on a date but it was at least 1500bc. the Persians were already in the land at that time but they were not under one ruler so strictly no one owned the land at the time. Alexander the Great met the Jews on his way to Egypt and was taken by thier view of one God

Hopefully that helps

Answer 8

The jew originally lived in Israel - they wandered through the desert for 40 years to find their homeland. They were dispersed though all over the world because of lots of wars over who owned the land (suprise, suprise). Israel was given back to them after ww2 because of all the terrible things that happened to them. This is partly why America keeps getting involved over there, they have to help the jews after they gave them the land.

Hope this helps a bit, i learnt it in my RE GCSE lesson at the start of term. It doesn't realy answer all your questions - sorry!

Answer 9

The land where Israel is now belonged to the Palestines. The UN just took it from them to give something to the jews after world war II. So, you can imagine the Palestines were not entirely happy about that.

They choose that particular piece of land because it has Jerusalem and Bethlehem on it. The jews believe that the land historically belongs to them.

Answer 10

It was Palestine before WW II.

They were broght there by the imperialist UK and USA.
Why?
Because they (UK and USA) needed some place to dump it garbage. The Palestenians were weak and they were strong thefore they dumped their garbage in Palestine