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Dan1138 -> RE: For those that think the end is near. (7/7/2008 10:17:46 PM)
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I will research Isreals' recent history. I thought everyone would recognize the miraculous preservation of a tiny lifeless nation that landed on a soil most desolate. Even Mark Twain marvelled at the vastness of desolation in the promised land during Twains visit before 1948. Did you know that Isreal produces most of the fruit and flowers for Europe today? Many ships ran British blockades of the promised land to get European Jews to the Land. Britain forsaw the conflicts with Arabs and Jews and Britain wanted Arab oil.
The Lord promises in Amos 9:11-15, "I will bring back the captives of My people Israel: They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them: They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be uprooted from the Land I have given them, says the Lord your God.
Ezekiel 37:11-14 (New American Standard Bible)
The Vision Explained
11Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the (A)whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our (B)bones are dried up and our hope has perished We are completely (C)cut off.'
12"Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and (D)cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13"Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.
14"I will (E)put My [a]Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it," declares the LORD.'"
a concise modern history of Israel
1922-48 Britain rules Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq under League of Nations Mandates. France controls Syria and Lebanon.
1929 After the outbreak of violent protests by the local Arab population in 1920 and 1921 and riots in 1929 that take many Jewish lives in Jerusalem and Hebron, the British send an investigating commission to Palestine to determine the reason for the disorders. Britain issues a new report which, in effect, withdraws its earlier approval of a Jewish State.
1936-39 Palestinian nationalist uprising against Britain. Britain proposes partition of Palestine and the expulsion of 250,000 Palestinians.
1939 A new White Paper issued by the British severely limits the number of Jews allowed to arrive in Palestine. This coincides exactly at a time when Jewish refugees are trying to escape the terrors of Nazi Germany.
1939-45 World War II. Holocaust kills nearly six million Jews. Many survivors look to Palestine for refuge. Go here for a timeline of the Holocaust — including what the United States knew, when they knew it and what they failed to do about it.
1944-47 Jewish-British War. Jewish groups in Palestine try to expel Britain from Palestine. Mainstream Jewish fighters under David Ben Gurion are called Haganah. They later become the Israeli army. Two separate military groups [Irgun Zvai Leumi led by Menachem Begin and Lehi or the Stern Gang led by Yitzhak Shamir] resort to assassination and bombings. Many British soldiers and Arab civilians are killed.
1947 Britain decides it cannot bring peace to Palestine and turns the matter over to the UN. On November 29, 1947, in Resolution 181, the General Assembly of the United Nations votes to partition Palestine into Jewish and Palestinian states with an international enclave around Jerusalem; the British Mandate ends. [See map] Arab leaders reject the plan and insist on a united Palestine with a secular government. Fighting begins between Jews and Palestinians. Many Palestinians become refugees.
1948 State of Israel Established. With Britain out, on May 14, 1948, the National Council declares statehood and names the new nation, Israel. On May 15 Israel is invaded [See map] by five Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon) who engage in an escalating war to prevent the partition of Palestine, the creation of a Jewish state, and Israeli expansion into the proposed Palestinian area. Israeli units defeat the combined Arab armies. Ben-Gurion becomes Israel's first Prime Minister and Defense Minister. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) established. This results in the War of Independence (May 1948-July 1949). What the UN had designated as the Arab state is split into three parts: some is taken by Israel and incorporated into their new state; the tiny Gaza Strip is held by Egypt and governed by them; and the largest remaining component -- commonly referred to as the "West Bank" of the Jordan River -- is held by Jordan. The UN had proposed that Jerusalem and other holy places become an internationally-governed entity. But in the fighting, Jerusalem is divided into Israeli west and Jordanian east. The 1948 defeat is a major humiliation for the Arab world. Within a few years, the governments of Egypt and Syria are swept away in military coups and the king of Jordan is assassinated.
1949 Armistice agreements signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon. Jerusalem divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule. [See map] First Knesset (parliament) elected. On May 11, 1949, General Assembly passes Resolution 273 admitting Israel to United Nations as it's 59th member.
1948-52 Mass immigration of Jews from Europe and Arab countries into Israel. But of the 1,200,000 Palestinians living in Palestine at the time of the League of Nations Mandates, more than 725,000 are driven out of their homeland or flee the fighting that accompanies the creation of a Jewish state. Only 160,000 remain in Israel itself. The Israeli government allows only a few to return after WWII is over. By 1950, over one million live in UN-supported refugee camps in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan. The camps become centers of political militancy.
1955 Ben-Gurion becomes Israel's Defense Minister and later the Prime Minister for the second time.
1956 Suez War. Britain, France, and Israel attack Egypt. Israel seizes Egypt's Sinai peninsula. [See map] US and USSR demand Israeli, French, and British withdrawal.
1964 Palestinians form Fatah under Yasser Arafat; the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is formed in 1967 by George Habash. Jordan becomes the main base for guerrilla actions.
1964 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed by the Arab League under Egyptian direction. The PLO Charter calls for a united Palestine under Arab control. Only Jews living in Palestine before 1946 will be permitted to remain.
1967 Six-Day War [in June]. Israel crushes Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel captures the Sinai peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan province from Syria, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan -- Jerusalem is reunited. [See map] Approximately 250,000 more Palestinian refugees flee, or are forced, into Jordan. But, more Palestinians are now under Israeli rule. On November 22, 1967, the U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 242, calling on Israel to concede territory captured in the Six-Day War. Israeli's maintain this resolution implicitly recognizes Israel's 1949 borders.
1970 In September, militant Palestinians try to overthrow Jordanian King Hussein with Syrian help. US and Israel mobilize to help Jordan if necessary. More than 3,000 Palestinians are killed. Palestinian guerrilla bases move to Lebanon.
1972 September 1972, PLO massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich, Germany.
1970-76 Palestinians form "Black September" to carry out revenge assassinations and hijackings. Israelis form "Wrath of God" to assassinate Palestinian leaders. Much bloodshed follows.
1973 Yom Kippur War. Egypt and Syria attempt to regain lost territories on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish year, when they launch a coordinated surprise assault against Israel on October 6, 1973, with the Egyptian army crossing the Suez Canal and Syrian troops penetrating the Golan Heights. Initially, they push Israel back but a massive airlift of US arms to Israel tips the balance. The Israel Defense Forces turn the tide of battle and repulse the attackers, crossing the Suez Canal into Egypt and advancing to within 20 miles of the Syrian capital, Damascus. On October 22, 1973, the U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 338, calling on Israel to concede territory captured in both the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War. Arab oil states proclaim a boycott against all countries helping Israel.
1974 Yasser Arafat speaks to UN. In a major shift in PLO policy, he calls for a united Palestine with a democratic secular government "where Christian, Jew, and Muslim live in justice, equality and fraternity". Arafat also says, "I come to you with an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun; do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." On June 2, 1974, Yitzhak Rabin becomes Prime Minister.
1975 Lebanese civil war begins. By the end of the 1980s, 144,000 Lebanese have died. On November 10, 1975, the United Nations General Assembly adopts Resolution 3379 (XXX), which equates Zionism [the political movement to create a Jewish state] with racism. Vehemently objected to by U.S.
1976 July 4, 1976, Israel rescues hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
1977 May 1977, Menachem Begin becomes prime minister of Israel. His Likud party traditionally advocates a "Greater Israel" including the West Bank and Gaza and perhaps Jordan with unlimited settlement of Jews in Arab-populated areas under Israeli occupation. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat of Egypt goes to Jerusalem to open peace talks between Egypt and Israel in November 1977.
1978 In September, Egypt and Israel sign the Camp David Accords which contain a framework for a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including a detailed proposal for self-government for the Palestinians. Israel invades Lebanon and seizes a "security zone" up to the Litani River. It sets up the pro-Israel government of the Southern Lebanese Army.
1979 Peace Treaty with Egypt. On 26 March 1979, Israel and Egypt sign a peace treaty in Washington, DC, bringing the 30-year state of war between them to an end.
1981 June 1981, Israel disables Iraqi nuclear reactor in Osiraq. October 1981, Anwar Sadat assassinated by Islamic extremists.
1982 Israel invades Lebanon and occupies much of the country up to Beirut, which is subjected to prolonged siege. The US brokers a withdrawal of PLO fighters and Arafat's staff to Tunis. After the massacre of unarmed Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps, US troops return as part of a peace-keeping force but soon begin to favor some Lebanese groups and attack others. Lebanese resistance groups in the Shiite community attack Israeli, US and Western forces and organizations. Also, and pursuant to the terms of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula in April 1982, exchanging former cease fire lines and armistice agreements for mutually recognized international boundaries.
1984 US troops leave Lebanon after a terrorist bomber kills 24l Marines. In September 1984, Shimon Peres becomes Prime Minister.
1985 Hussein-Arafat Accords and UN speech by Israeli Foreign Minister Peres endorse an international conference to negotiate a settlement.
1987 December, the Palestinian Intifada (uprising) against Israeli control begins in the Occupied Territories .
1988 Jordan repudiates its claim to the West Bank; the PLO recognizes Israel, proclaims a Palestinian state, renounces terrorism, and calls for negotiations with Israel; Israeli elections, Yitzhak Shamir returns as prime minister.
1990 August, Iraq invades Kuwait.
1991 Gulf War in Kuwait and Iran from January through February. Scud missiles fall in Israel. In October 1991, negotiations open in Madrid [Madrid Peace Conference] under US and Russian auspices. Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, Syrians, and Lebanese participate. The talks have two parts: bilateral talks between Israel and Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians and multilateral talks on five functional issues: water, refugees, environment, economic development, and security. In December, U.N. General Assembly repeals Resolution 3379 [equating Zionism to racism].
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