israel and palestine center of conflict. objectives identify israel on a blank map. describe the...

Israel and Palestine

Center of Conflict

Objectives

• Identify Israel on a blank map.

• Describe the physical geography of Israel.

• Identify at least two important religious sites in Jerusalem.

• Tell which religious groups are in conflict in Israel.

• Discuss the problems surrounding the West Bank.

• Discuss the problems surrounding the Gaza Strip.

Terms and PeopleJerusalem is the capital city of Israel and a holy city to Muslims.

The West Bank is the eastern part of Israel, where Muslims don’t want Israelis to settle. The Gaza Strip is a small Muslim country to Israel’s west.

The Wailing Wall is all that’s left of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Zionism is the belief that Jewish people ought to have their own country.

Dome of the Rock is one of the most sacred Muslim sites.

Palestine is what the Muslims call Israel.

The Jordan River runs from the hills in the north down to the Dead Sea.

Jordan River

The Jordan River forms Israel’s border with its neighbor to the east,

a country called Jordan.

Jordan

The Jordan River is not a large river.

The Jordan River empties into the

Dead Sea.

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is so full of salt nothing lives in it.

The salt makes it so dense that people float easily in it.

Low mountain ranges lie both east and west of the steep Jordan River

Valley.

The population of Israel lies the lowlands along the Mediterranean

Sea and in the north.

The southern portion is desert.

Although Israel is a small

country in the Middle East, it

is very important.

Israel doesn’t fit in with the

other countries in the Middle

East.

Most of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula

are united by a common language - Arabic.

1

They don’t speak Arabic in Israel; they

speak Hebrew.

People who are members of Islam are

called Moslems.

Islam is the main religion of this area.

Iran

Saudi Arabia

Oman

EgyptLibya

2

Israel is not a Muslim state. It is a Jewish

state.

They don’t speak Arabic in Israel; they

speak Hebrew.

Oil, or petroleum, is a very important resource in the

Middle East.

3

They don’t speak Arabic in Israel; they

speak Hebrew.

Israel has no oil.

Israel is not a Muslim state. It is a Jewish

state.

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

It is a city of three faiths.

Moslem

Christian

Jewish

Three thousand years ago, the Jews built a temple in Jerusalem.

They built it high on top of an elevated place called “The Temple Mount.”

Later, the temple was destroyed, but not the

Temple Mount.

The Jews had to flee. They were gone for over

1000 years.

While they were gone, the Muslims built a mosque on

the Temple Mount.

This is the Dome of the Rock. It is the second most sacred site for Moslems.

It is in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.

Moslems believe that it marks the spot from which Mohammed went to Heaven.

This is the Wailing Wall, the only part of the Temple Mount still standing.

Jews from all over the world come here to pray.

Mediterranean Sea

Israel became a country after World War II.

Many Jews were already living here.

Under the ideal of “Zionism”, Jews had been

moving back their ancestral home since the 1800s.

Israelis are multiethnic.

The Jews that live in Israel have come from Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Russia and Ethiopia.

The two Muslim areas are the Gaza Strip and the

West Bank.

The term “West Bank” refers to the west bank of

the River Jordan.

The nation of Jordan once seized the West Bank, but when Jordan attacked Israel, Jordan lost the war, and Israel

took over the West Bank.

Many Israeli people are now settling in the West Bank.

Many Moslems feel that the Jewish Israelis are taking over their land.

The settlers make up less than 10% of the population there.

The Gaza Strip lies on the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt.

Folks in the Gaza Strip have fired thousands of

rockets into Israeli cities.

To keep the Israelis from blasting back at them, they

have fired these from apartment buildings,

schools, and hospitals.

In response, Israel has built a great wall between their

countries.

The Gaza Strip is impoverished. Peaceful

Palestinians used to work in Israel, but now it’s closed off.

Egypt has also built a wall separating themselves from

the Palestinians. The Gaza Strip’s government is violent and doesn’t improve the lives of ordinary people

much.

In addition, Israel has sometimes searches through ships entering Gaza looking

for rockets.

This makes the Palestinians there feel like they are under

siege.

Population of the Gaza Strip

Rocket Attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip

Israel knows that it is small and is surrounded by many enemies.

Every young person serves in the military.

Young women too

Israel is America’s closest and truest ally in the Middle East.

Which is the nation of Israel?

A

B

C

D

E

Israel

Which is the area known as the West

Bank?

Wes

t B

ank

Which is the nation of Jordan?

JordanEgypt

Syria

Which is the nation of Gaza?

Gaza

To which group is the Wailing Wall a sacred place?

Jews

Muslims

Bedouins

Christians

To which group is the Dome of the Rock a sacred place?

Jews

Muslims

Bedouins

Christians

In what city are both the Dome of the Rock and the Wailing Wall?

Jerusalem

What river flows down a deep valley in this area?

Jordan

What deep and salty body of water is at the end of the Jordan River?

The Dead Sea

Please read “Israel: Economics and Cultures.” World Studies: Asia. Pearson-Prentice-Hall, 2005. pgs. 195-199

And “Three Religions” and “Diverse Cultures” and “Recent History.” World Studies: Asia. Pearson-Prentice-Hall, 2005. pgs. 105 -109