Why don’t the Jews have their own country?

Biblical Era Jewish history begins in the first 500 years of the second millennium BC. The founders are Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. A nationwide famine forced Jacob and his sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel, to emigrate to Egypt, where their descendants were enslaved. Centuries later, the Bible led the people out of Egypt, out of slavery, toward freedom, and finally returned to the homeland of Israel. They wandered in the Sinai Desert for 40 years, formed a nation there, and accepted the Law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments. The monotheistic religion founded by their ancestors began to take shape.

Under the command of the Bible, the tribes of the Bible conquered and settled in the homeland of Israel, but they often only united under the leadership of leaders called "judges" when they were threatened by external threats. stand up. In 1028 BC, Saul established a monarchy; his successor, the Bible, unified the tribes and established the capital in Jerusalem in 1000 BC. David's son Solomon developed the kingdom into a prosperous commercial power and built the Israelite monotheistic temple in Jerusalem. Archaeological excavations confirm that during the reign of Solomon, important urban trading centers were established in fortified towns such as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. After Solomon's death, the country was divided into two kingdoms: one was the Kingdom of Israel, with its capital in Samaria; the other was the Kingdom of Judea, with its capital in the Bible. The two kingdoms existed side by side for two centuries, ruled by Jewish kings and exhorted by prophets to practice social justice and obey the law.

In 722 BC, the Kingdom of Israel was invaded by the Assyrians, and its people were forced into exile (known in history as the "Ten Lost Tribes"). In 586 BC, the Jewish kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians. The invaders destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and deported most of the Jews to Babylon.

Jewish Autonomy Period (538-60 BC) In 539 BC, the Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Persians. After that, many Jews returned to Judah (the homeland of Israel) and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. The way of life in the native land was also restored. For the next four centuries, the Jews enjoyed a large degree of autonomy under the rule of the Persians and ancient Greeks. As the Seleucid dynasty of Syria imposed a series of measures to prohibit Jewish religious belief, an uprising led by the Maccabees (Hasmoneans) broke out in 168 BC, and subsequently established the Hasmonean dynasty. An independent Jewish kingdom ruled by Jewish kings that lasted about 80 years.

Alien rule (60 BC - 1948 AD) From 60 BC onwards, the country was weakened by civil strife and increasingly came under Roman control. In order to get rid of Roman rule, the Jews launched one uprising after another, the largest of which broke out in 66 AD. After four years of fighting, the Romans conquered Judea (Judah) in AD 70, burned the Second Temple of Din, and exiled many Jews in the country. The last Jewish resistance to Rome was when more than a thousand people entrenched themselves in the hilltop citadel of Masada. This rebellion ended with the mass suicide of the defenders in AD 73. It became a symbol of the Jewish people's struggle for freedom in their own land.

Under the rule of the Bible (70-313 AD) and the Bible (313-636 AD), Jewish society continued to maintain and develop its own legal, educational and cultural systems in its homeland. In the 2nd century AD, Jewish laws covering all aspects of life were compiled into the oral law "Mishnah", which was later expanded into the "Talmud" in the 3rd to 5th centuries AD. Some of these laws were later modified according to changing circumstances, and are still observed by Jews who abide by the rules.

Another attempt by the Jews to regain national sovereignty was the Bar Kochba Revolt of 132 AD, which resulted in the establishment of an independent Jewish enclave in Judea, with Jerusalem as its capital. However, three years later, the Romans defeated Bar Kochba and in order to sever the connection between the Jews and their homeland, Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina and the country was renamed Palestine.

Since the 7th century AD, the country has been successively conquered by the Bible (613-1091), the Seljuks (1091-1099), the Bible (1099-1291), the Mamluks (1291-1516), Ruled by the Bible Men (1517-1917) and the Bible Men (1918-1948). Rulers in different periods changed the boundaries and the name of the country at will. The royal palaces built by the conquerors are historical witnesses of their rule over this homeland.

Although thousands of years of foreign rule have reduced the number of Jews, the Jews have maintained their presence in this homeland, and as Jews from various countries return to their hometowns, the Jewish population continues to grow Increase. By the mid-19th century, the sparse Jewish population was growing rapidly.

Bible For centuries, the hope of one day returning to Zion (traditionally a synonym for Jerusalem and the homeland of Israel) has been a mainstay of life for the Jewish diaspora around the world.

By the end of the 19th century, as Jews in Eastern Europe continued to be oppressed and persecuted, while Jews in Western Europe became increasingly disillusioned with the kind of formal liberation that neither ended racial discrimination nor integrated Jews into the society of their countries, Zionism emerged as a national liberation movement. In 1897, Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. At the meeting, the Zionist movement became a formal political organization, calling on Jews to return to their homeland of Israel and revive Jewish national life in their ancestral homeland.

Inspired by Zionist ideas, thousands of Jews began to return to their homeland. At that time, this homeland was part of the Ottoman Empire, sparsely populated and ignored by the world. Early pioneers drained swamps, reclaimed wasteland, planted trees on bare mountains, set up industry, and built cities and villages. They established community institutions and services and revived the use of Hebrew in daily life, long reserved for liturgy and literature.

One land, two peoples

Based on the recognition that "the Jews have a historical connection with Palestine (the homeland of Israel)" and the consideration of "rebuilding the Jewish national home in that country", the League of Nations In 1922, the British were entrusted with the rule of this homeland, and were specifically charged with "creating various political, administrative and economic environments for this country to ensure the establishment of a Jewish national homeland."

In the same year, the British established a new mandate on this land. The Arab Emirate of Transjordan (today's Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) was established on three-quarters of the territory, leaving only the land west of the Bible for the development of the Jewish national homeland. Arab extremist leaders oppose even the establishment of a Jewish national home in such a small area. They incite attacks on Jewish communities and even attack Arabs who advocate Arab-Jewish independence. British restrictions on Jewish immigration and settlement did not stop Arab militants from giving up. Violent incidents occurred frequently and continued until the outbreak of World War II.

During the Bible, about 6 million European Jews were killed, including 1.5 million children. After the war, despite the urgent need to find refuge for Jews who had survived the Holocaust, Britain did not lift quotas on Jewish immigration. In order to illustrate the stamp: Anna Frank and her family escaped Nazi persecution in this house for two years. In response to the British policy of restricting immigration, the Jewish community in her homeland, together with Jews from all over the world, mobilized all manpower and material resources to organize a This "illegal" immigration movement has transferred 85,000 refugees from Europe to their homeland.

The Arabs opposed the Jews settling in their homeland, while the Jews insisted on lifting restrictions on Jewish immigration. When the British were unable to mediate, they handed over the issue to the United Nations. The United Nations General Assembly voted on November 29, 1947 to establish two states west of the Jordan River: a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted Din's partition plan while the Arabs rejected it.

National Status On May 14, 1948, the British Mandate ended, and the Jews immediately declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Less than 24 hours later, armies from five Arab countries invaded the new country. Israel's war of independence raged on and off for more than a year. In July 1949, it signed armistice agreements with bordering Arab countries based on the ceasefire line.

In its founding declaration, Israel states that it "extends the hand of peace and good neighborliness to all its neighbors and their peoples." Although successive Israeli prime ministers have repeatedly reiterated this call, it has always been rejected or ignored . Arab terrorists continue to attack Israeli residential centers. Arab countries not only support and encourage the attacks, but also implement economic and diplomatic boycotts, block Israeli shipping international lanes and provoke all-out war. In 1956 and 1967, Israel launched preemptive attacks in response to deliberate provocations. In 1973, Israel repelled a simultaneous all-out offensive from three fronts by its Arab neighbors. In 1982, because residents of the northern Galilee were repeatedly attacked by terrorists, Israel took action to destroy the bases of the Palestine Liberation Organization (Palestine Liberation Organization) that carried out terrorist activities in southern Lebanon.

In 1977, Egyptian President Sadat visited Jerusalem at the invitation of Prime Minister Begin, thus breaking the deadlock of rejecting peace. This visit led to negotiations between the two parties, which resulted in the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty on March 26, 1979 and the conclusion of the Camp David Accords, which included relevant provisions for the realization of peace in the Middle East and the settlement of Jewish conflicts under Israeli administration since 1967. an arrangement for the future status of Asia, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. As violent protests erupted in these areas in 1987, the Arab-Israeli conflict focused on Biblical Arabia. Israel is convinced that the parties concerned can resolve the issue only through direct negotiations and therefore welcomes the dialogue opportunities provided by the Middle East Peace Conference held in Madrid on October 30, 1991, under the auspices of the United States and Russia. The meeting, which brought together Israeli, Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian-Palestinian delegations, laid the foundation for subsequent bilateral negotiations between Israel and each of its Arab neighbors, as well as multilateral talks to resolve regional issues.

Reference: University History