Lecture #3: Nationbuilding and the Arab-Israeli Wars

Isabell Schierenbeck, Department of Political Science

Please see powepoints entitled State- and Nation Building and the Arab-Israeli Wars.ppt and Masada.ppt at

http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/RS2235/filuppladdning/browse2.php?dir=Kursmoment%2FLecture+notes+and+ppt

What is nationalism?
- Nationalism is an ideological movement for autonomy, unity, and identity on behalf of a population constituting a nation.
- Examples of national movements include Jewish/ Zionist, Palestinian, Kurdish, and Scottish.
- A nation state consists of one nation occupying a single territory.
- According to French historian Renan, "Getting history wrong is part of being a nation."

National myths
-National myths inspire belief and action amoung their adherents.
-A conflict cannot be resolve without knowledge of a nation's national myths.
- An important Jewish national myth revolves around Masada.
- A common bumper sticker in Israel reads, "Masada shall not fall again!" This slogan means we (the Jewish people) will never give up.

Zionism
-Zionism is a Jewish national movement.
- Early Zionists believed that the establishment of a Jewsih homeland was necessary because of widespread anti-Semitism.
- Palestine was not always seen as the only Jewish homeland but was eventually lifted up to add strength to the cause.
- However, there were internal disputes among Jews and Zionists.
-Aliyah or ascent is Jewish immigration to Eretz Yisrael.
- The Yishuv was the Jewish nation-building institution that exists in Palestine prior to the creation of the state of Israel.

Palestinian Nationbuilding
- Palestinian nationalism was a response to Jewish nationalism via immigration and settlement in Palestine.
- The strength of Zionism soon made it clear that an Arab identity or a Syrian identity was not useful for Palestinians.
- Zionism was a problem that no other Arab population in the Middle East face thus Palestinians had to create an independent national movement to assert their rights and claim their homeland.
- Palestinian identity is founded on territory and purification of culture.
- The first Palestinian resistance movement is called the Great Revolt and occured in Palestine from 1936-1939.
- During the Great Revolt, many Palestinian leaders were killed thus the Palestinian national movement was unable to recover by 1948 to challenge the formation of the state of Israel in Palestine.

Disputed "Facts"
1. Military balance (organization. equipment?)
2. The origin of the Palestinian refugee problem (Arab propaganda or Israeli violence/ harassment?)
3. Israeli-Jordian relations (agreement in 1946-1947?)
4. Arab war aims ("Throw the Jews into the sea"?)
5. The elusive peace (Arab/ Israeli peace initiatives?)
6. Israeli war aims (Was Plan Dalet a "master plan" for the transfer of the Palestinians?)