The Origins of Israel and Mankind by Brendan Stannard

Much of the conflict in recent years has centered around who is occupying the following areas: It contains the Temple Mount, which includes the holy sites al-Aqsa Mosque, the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and more. The complex hostility between the two groups dates all the way back to ancient times when they both populated the area and deemed it holy.īoth Jews and Muslims consider the city of Jerusalem sacred.

Throughout Israel’s long history, tensions between Jews and Arab Muslims have existed. The British controlled Palestine until Israel, in the years following the end of World War II, became an independent state in 1947. Arabs vehemently opposed the Balfour Declaration, concerned that a Jewish homeland would mean the subjugation of Arab Palestinians. The Balfour Declaration and the British mandate over Palestine were approved by the League of Nations in 1922. When World War I ended in 1918 with an Allied victory, the 400-year Ottoman Empire rule ended, and Great Britain took control over what became known as Palestine (modern-day Israel, Palestine and Jordan). The British government hoped that the formal declaration-known thereafter as the Balfour Declaration-would encourage support for the Allies in World War I. In 1917, at the height of the war, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submitted a letter of intent supporting the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The Balfour Declarationįrom 1517 to 1917, what is today Israel, along with much of the Middle East, was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.īut World War I dramatically altered the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. In 568 B.C., the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the first temple, which was replaced by a second temple in about 516 B.C.įor the next several centuries, the land of modern-day Israel was conquered and ruled by various groups, including the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians, Mamelukes, Islamists and others. In about 931 B.C., the area was divided into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south.Īround 722 B.C., the Assyrians invaded and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel.

His son, who became King Solomon, is credited with building the first holy temple in ancient Jerusalem. King David ruled the region around 1000 B.C. The word Israel comes from Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, who was renamed “Israel” by the Hebrew God in the Bible. According to the text, Israel’s origins can be traced back to Abraham, who is considered the father of both Judaism (through his son Isaac) and Islam (through his son Ishmael).Ībraham’s descendants were thought to be enslaved by the Egyptians for hundreds of years before settling in Canaan, which is approximately the region of modern-day Israel. Much of what scholars know about Israel’s ancient history comes from the Hebrew Bible.

The Origins of Israel and Mankind by Brendan Stannard