The development of the Zionist movement created a powerful Jewish community in Palestine. Zionism describes a type of Jewish nationality. The people from this nationality believe that their survival, both physically and culturally is only possible if they return to their ancestral home. The ancestral home of Zionists is Israel. If they do not return to their homes then, they have scarce chances of surviving in the world. In the beginning, the group was more of a nationalist movement, seeking liberation so that they can go back to the ancestral home (Anita, 67). The movement began as a way of reminding Jews of what they were supposed to be. The movement sought to remake the Jewish people. Various factors led to the formation of the Zionist group. These include the physical injuries they got from east Europe, assimilation of Jews to the west and revival of the Hebrew culture, which contradicted with the Jewish culture and sought to eradicate people who participated in the Jewish culture. It started in specific parts of Russia but later spread as a movement for Jews around the globe. During the First World War, there were some discussions about making Palestine the home to Jews around the world. The discussions looked into how desirable Palestine would be as a home to Jews. The Zionist movement got many supporters during the interwar period. The movement got more than a million supports across the Palestine region. The Palestine Jewish community grew tremendously during this period. The movement also got opposition from various groups. Many Arabs rejected the Zionist movement. British policies were also against the Zionist movement. These policies restricted the Palestine government from absorbing many Jews into the country. There were also some Jews in the Diaspora, who were against the Zionist movement. They did not agree with some of the religious and political concepts of the Zionist movement. After the Second World War, the Zionist movement had a universal support from Jews across the world (anita,82) The mass Zionist support came in handy during the war in Israel. This was in terms of troops and finances. Zionism involved itself with refining the Jewish community (Anita, 82). It was the description of the ideal Jewish community. During the ottoman time, there was a lot of conflict among communities in Palestine. During this time, Zionist leaders put a lot of effort in understanding the situation in Israel. They travelled there constantly and kept a close look at the region. They were mainly concerned about the future home for Jews around the world. These leaders had little concern for the Arabs in the area. The Palestinian Arabs also had little interest about the Zionist Jews in the region. The Zionist movement negotiated with bigger powers such as the British over settlements in Palestine. All along, they did not consider the population that was currently residing in Palestine. The population there was close to half a million people. The Zionist movement considered the people in Palestine as one of the problems in Palestine. Other problems included the ottoman authorities, the climate in the region among other factors. The leaders of the Zionist saw no need of discussing this issue. Most Zionist leaders had no clue about the Arabian culture of the people that resided in Palestine. They thought that the Arab Palestinians would naturally accept assimilation to the Jewish culture. They Jews assumed that they were the most developed country and would, therefore, take automatic lead in the country. This shows how unfamiliar these leaders were with the true Arabian attitudes. They were sure that the Arabs would simply submit themselves for assimilation. The Zionist concluded that since they were like brothers, they would cohabit in a peaceful manner. On the other hand, the Arabs under the Ottoman Empire were sure that the Zionist movement would fail. After the Young Turk revolution, their population grew. Most Arabs under the Ottoman Empire saw Zionists as a threat to them (Anita, 66). A small group among the Zionists however considered the movement as the gateway to modernism in Palestine. The ottomans then wrote documents that validated equal rights for all the Arabs under the Ottoman Empire. They however continued to view Jews as protected people, but not of the same level as they were. This view however changed. They realized that Jews were after their homeland. Jews acquired land and immigration rights into Palestine. This indicated that they Jews wanted to make Palestine their homeland. This factor was a concern for both the Muslims and Christians in Palestine. The Arabs formed a land commission to investigate the sale of land to Jews. The commission protested many times and stopped Jews from buying land for some years. Arab peasant also protested after Jewish landowners mistreated them. To the Arabs, it was disrespectful to throw them out of their land. In some cases, these protests lead to armed attacks between the Arabs and the Jews. There was further opposition from a Jewish clause that stated that the Jews should not hire the Arabs. It also encouraged the Jews to throw out any peasant Arabs that they found on their lands. The Jewish people aimed at creating their own little separate paradise in Palestine. They saw no need of associating themselves with the other groups in Palestine. They openly discussed these issues with the Jewish press. This explains how the Arabs found out about the Jewish plans. Arabs, on the other hand, formed anti-Zionist press (Zionism and Pearson, 55). The Palestinian authorities sought more opposition to the Zionist from the Ottoman Empire. There were two factors to consider in the entire conflict. The Arabs thought of themselves as part of the greater Arab nation. They were not just a separate Arabic entity that resided in Palestine. On the other hand, Zionist thought of themselves as the original homeowners of the region. They based all the demands that they had on historical rights. The conflict resulted from issues concerning the territory. Over time, Arabs in Palestine lost their patience with the Zionist Jews. Initially, they tolerated Jews in Palestine. However, Britain gained control over Palestine and started recognizing the Zionist Jews as owners of Palestine. Britain gave Zionist Jews a right to claim that Palestine was their homeland. In addition, there was an uneven pace of westernization in the area, which favored the Zionist Jews (Zionism ,33)This westernization gave them an advantage in terms of technology. Later, Britain divided Palestine, creating the nation of Israel. The Zionists created a military ground above that of Arabs. They also had a better economic base. The Jews also created alliances with the powerful nations in the world. They practiced segregation in terms of social, cultural, and economic developments.
Works Cited
Anita Shapira. Israel: A History, Brandies University Press, 2012 66-90
David Engel, Zionism, Pearson and Longman, 2009
Israel Bartal's article, "Old Yishuv and New Yishuv" (Article
