Introduction: THE REGION OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

20 questions that might help you solve the presentation of the Israeli-Palestinian issue...

1. Is it in the Near or Middle East? 1. Near East Near + easternEast = derives from the « Eastern question » = the Ottoman lands, viewed from the West, and the dangerosity of Islamic repression onto Christians (Armenian minority slaughtered in 1890s – Hamidian massacres *)Near = proximity of the Turkish power with West Europe

Today, the « Near East », as used in French, refers to the Eastern part of Orient, bordering the Mediterranean sea

2. Middle EastThe ONLY term used in English Means « a junction place » between Europe and Eastern Asia (China) Clearly corresponds to a Eurocentric vision of the world (invented in 1850s by the British India Office)

Mediterranean sea

Golan Heights

Jordan river

Lake Tiberias

Dead sea

Gulf of Aqaba

Red sea

COUNTRIES...

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2. Can you fill in the map with its locations? Locate correctly

...

3. Is it mountainous?Only two narrow strips of low lands (coast + Jordan Valley)

The land of Israel is a narrow strip of land, of the size of New Jersey, between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean.

It is so small that “Moses could view all of it standing on Mt Nebo” in Jordan.

Distances from... to... (in km)

Jerusalem Tel Aviv

Jerusalem Eilat

Jerusalem Tiberias

Jerusalem Dead Sea

Jerusalem Mediterranean

58? 68? 78?

309? 420? 502?

100? 150? 180?

22? 32? 42?

42? 52? 62?

4. How small is Israel?

ISRAELIsraelisIsraeli (adj)

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIESGaza stripWest bankPalestiniansPalestinian

NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES: LEBANON Lebanese

SYRIA Syrians

JORDAN Jordanians

SAUDI ARABIA Saudians EGYPT Egyptians

5. How are Near East inhabitants named?

6. How many Israeli / Palestinian cities do you know?

Where would you locate...

-Nazareth?-Eilat?-Jerusalem?-Tel Aviv?-Hebron?-Gaza?-Ramallah? -Haifa?-Bethlehem?-Ashqelon? -Masada?

Label and mark the main cities

Play with your memory again...

7. How many people live there and where?

All lands

Israel except Palestinian lands Gaza strip

DESCRIBE trends, main

changes, ratios,

measuring method,

resultINTERPRET

Possible causes /

consequences

La confession religieuse (le courant religieux): church, denomination, faith

Jewish enclaves / settlements

300,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.5 million Palestinians

Arab citizens of Israel are the Palestinian Arabs who remained within Israel's borders after the 1948 War, as well as those who had left during the exodus and who have since re-entered as lawful residents (family reunifications)

8. Is Arab citizenship possible in Israel ?

The Druze: Arab-speaking citizens of Israel

Numbered 117,500 (2006)

living in former British Mandate Palestinepersecuted under the Ottomans

became Israeli citizens in 1948some identify themselves as "Palestinian Druze", but most consider as Israeli rather than Arab

Serve in the Israel Defense Forces Are represented in mainstream Israeli politics and business

Israel, being a « Jewish state » (i.e. using Hebrew as the official language), is also a secular place for everyone who wants to be an Israeli citizen...

e.g. The Druze community (whose religion = Ismailism): a mystical and philosophical branch inside of Islam

God is "the whole of existence", rather than "above existence"

9. Why does E. Todd talk about a struggling demography?

How come Jewish populations increased? How come Palestinian populations increased?

« Aliyah » (ascent) Immigration to the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel)# Yerida (descent, emigration)

Ultra-Orthodox birth rates (associated to allowances)

Islamic encouragement

Financed immigration

Child allowances

Fertility rates

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Israel

Jewish people around the world have decided to make their “Aliyah”Here are numbers by country since 1948

From France since 1880s: 51,000 peopleFrom Morocco since 1880s: 271,000 people

The Jewish population growth and the Haredim:

“Once a tiny minority, ultra-Orthodox Jews - also known as Haredim - now make up more than 10 % of Israel’s population and 21 % of all primary-school students. With the community’s fertility rate hovering at more than three times that of other Israeli Jews, demographers project that by 2034, about one in five Israelis will be ultra-Orthodox”.

(Haaretz,2012)