Free Custom «Society and Culture on Modern Israel» Essay Paper

Researchers have continued to pose questions as to the events that led to the nation of Israel getting its present land. It is true, however, that various theories have been put forth to explain this notion. Some have touted that the chosen race (Israel, as they were referred to in the olden days) acquired their present land through the popular Zion movement that took place between 1880 and 1948. Aumann Moshe (pg 117), in reflecting about land ownership in Palestine states that the Arab world have put in a great amount in efforts to try and convince people that Palestine is morally and legally part of their own and that the mere speculation with the Jewish community is sheer nonsense. The following analysis will evaluate the journey of the Israelites between 1880 and 1948 through Zionism and the Yishuv, as well as the conflict that followed thereafter.

The Pre- State Period (The Yishuv), 1880-1948

So when can we characterized the revolution of the Zionist settlement? Gidron et al (pg 78), states that 1882, is the ideal year in which this revolution was born and its intent was to regain the land of Israel that had been taken away. In a shift from tradition, those who migrated to the nation of Israel within this period of time were politically motivated (Girdon et al, 2004: 78). Earlier migrations to Israel prior to 1882 had been religious in nature and their intention was to acquire the blessings that were theirs as handed over by their father, Jacob, later named Israel.

 

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It was highly anticipated that the Zionist movement that started the revolution would directly march to the land of Israel and acquire it. Contrary to these expectations, those who migrated created new settlements in the land of Palestine. This according to Aumann Moshe (117) would lay down the foundation for future conflicts between the two nations. The community that was formed as a result of this invasion into Palestine was referred to as the Jewish Yishuv. It was from this point that the Zionist movement started the rebuilding of the nation of Israel and which came into completion in early 1948.

Traditionally, the Jewish community had earlier incorporated the philanthropic organization system into their culture and this stood until the Zionist revolution came into being. For instance, while the Jewish community settled in Palestine, the leaders of the revolution started doing away with the practices and customs that had been earlier observed, which meant that they begun breaking from the tradition. The Jewish community had earlier, prior to the migration into Palestine, been depending on donations from well wishers of Jewish origin in the Diaspora (Gidron et al, 2004). The leadership of the Zionist movement viewed this as overdependence and abolished it.

As a result of their absorption in the land of Palestine, the leadership hierarchy of the Zionist movement established an agricultural system that directed all people to work towards being self reliant unlike depending on assistance from out of the land, which they termed to be productive and able to sustain the immigrants. However, the resources from the Diaspora were never abolished in totality as the Zionist community continued to depend on their financial support. The Zionist settles, however, were strengthen in their relation with the Western Jews whom they enlisted to help with the economical, social and political objectives of their land. New schools were developed in the land through the help of the Educational Committee of Jewish schools in Palestine that was formed in 1914.

The building of the nation was further boosted by the British conquest of Palestine. The new colonizers were intent in ensuring that the land was developed and remained productive to the local people. A shift was later made in the land of Israel through the Balfour Declaration that took place in 1917. One of the greatest achievement that was achieved as a result of this declaration the Jewish Foundation Fund (Keren Hayesod) in 1921 as well as the Jewish Agency for Israel in 1929 ( Girdon et al, 2004: 79). The State of Israel was greatly uplifted by the Jewish Foundation Fund (JFF). As a result of this initiative, the Jewish population in Palestine were encouraged to make contributions to this fund, as a gesture towards contributing tax to the nation.

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The interest of the Zionist movement was therefore represented by the Jewish Agency for Israel, which also bolstered the relationship between the Jews in the Diaspora, non-Zionist Jews as well as the World Zionist organization. In the process of absorption, the composition of the State mechanism was greatly influenced by the Jewish Agency, as it grew stronger and politically active. On the other hand, the sectoral system that was envisioned in the Yishuv period was greatly formed by the second group of immigrants into Palestine around 1904, this was popularly known as the second aliya. The rural settlements in Palestine were later uplifted by the formation of trade unions as well as the district federations.

The establishment of the Labour Unions in 1920 played a significant role in the development of the third sector. The Labour unions came into being as a result of the economic crisis that threatened to split the nation. The third aliya resulted in the nation facing several challenges including how to respond to the growing needs of the numerous immigrants. As a result of the third Aliya, a new relationship was developed that involved the Histadrut and the World Zionist Organization (Gidron et al, 2004: 84). It was this collaboration between the settlements and the Jewish in the Diaspora that strengthen the building of the nation of Israel.

The Conflict in 1880-1948

It is public knowledge about the conflict that has been ongoing for the past decade between the Palestine and the Jewish community over the owner of the land. The conflict dates back to the Zionist revolution in 1882 which caused the Arab community in Palestine to retaliate fearing that the settlement will wash away the already established Arabic link in the region. However, the Arab community were overpowered by the Zionist invasion due to the fact that they received support from the British colonial masters.

It was in the period between 1936 and 1939 that the Palestine Arabs rose to defend what they claimed to be rightly theirs. This was done through a staged nationalist revolt. However the revolt never saw the light of the day as it was defeated by the British who worked in favour of the Jewish community in the land where several Palestine lost their lives as a result (Gidron et al, 2004). It is worth noting that the conflict was developing inwardly with the Jewish community illegally acquiring land from the Palestine illegally and later selling it to the local inhabitants.

The partition that was made in 1947 further dented the relationship between the Jewish community and the Palestine Arabs.  For instance, the Arabs believed that the pact announced did not take into account the illegally owned land by the Jewish community. The Arab community completely rejected the pact terming it as going in favour of the Jewish community. It was in 1948 that the Palestinian community that resided in Jerusalem organized a demonstration in which they sought to clarify that they had been short-changed in land as a result of the partition (Gidron et al, 2004). The situation turned worse with the Irgun as well as LEHI soldiers carrying out an attack on the Palestinians where they were lined up and slaughtered in broad daylight.