Israel/Palestine

#2

Zionism is, at its core, a belief in the need for a homeland for the Jewish people. The movement, which was formally begun by Theodor Herzl, was originally a response to strong anti-Semitism across Europe and quickly gained support following the Holocaust and became the dominant Jewish political movement.

In 1917, however, this movement became much more significant with the Balfour Declaration, which supported the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This declaration was formulated by the British government and was formally agreed upon by the League of Nations (what would become the U.N.)

Meanwhile, Arabs in Arab Palestinians resisted this declaration from the very beginning. Before World War I, Arab nationalism was relatively moderate and the generally only called for increased autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. However, During World War I, the Arab leader Hussein bin Ali corresponded with the British High Commissioner in Egypt during what is known as the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence. Although this correspondence did not result in a written treaty and the territorial boundaries laid out by the letters were ambiguous, McMahon's promises were seen by the Arabs as a formal agreement between them and Great Britain. At the same time, the Sykes-Picot Agreement was formed between Britain and France which agreed upon the division of the Arab lands between the two powerful countries. This agreement was followed through with, and in the following years, Arab nationalism became focused around anti-British rule sentiments.