Explain the origins of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war - Essay Example

The Crusades soon followed. After the Crusades, again the area came under the Egyptians and Ottomans. This was followed by the emigration of the Arabs and Jews. There were some Jews still living there back then, but they were mostly treated as second class citizens. The Turkish Empire did bring some reorganization. There was immigration of both Arabs and Jews and by 1880; about 24000 Jews were living there. However, various Muslims from other parts of the world especially Ottoman Empire began to come into Palestine.

In a way, during the 19th century, the area was mostly occupied by Muslims with Jews as the areas biggest minority. (Mideastweb.org) However, during these times of misadministration, there were some antagonist feelings that were developing. Originally, the term Zionism is the biblical word “Zion”, and it is synonymous to Jerusalem and Israel. However the ideology is the yearning for the Home Land for the Jews according to Neuberger (1999). Even when the Jews had been forced into exile, these Jews kept returning to the Holy Land.

Various sources state that Palestine remained the center of Jewish worship and a part of the Jewish culture. However, the truth about Zionism is that it is not a religious movement, but more of a nationalist movement. The actual Zionist movement did start in the 19th century. The French revolution had led to the emancipation of European Jews. The more abstract idea of divine providence to the recapture of the Holy Land was refuted by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer who said human endeavor was required to colonize the Holy Land for the Jews as stated by Brenner (2002).

Kalischer also recounted the events of the Europeans which had led to their freedom, and he urged the Jews to follow that example. In a way, the brutal treatment of the Jews by almost every European nation led to the feelings of Zion. Zionist socialism was organized by Moses Hess