User:Jimmy slevin

Israel is in a situation unlike any other country around the world. Israel has been fighting for its survival since it became a country in 1948. It is surrounded by hostile nations that want to destroy or at least diminish it. There is tremendous tension between the Palestine Liberation Members and Israeli officials and citizens. There have been peaceful rallies and bloody bus bombings. People in Israel today are unsure about proceeding with peace negotiations or standing firm in stopping present day terrorist activities. Protests, shouting matches, and violent disputes between Israelis are common occurrences. No one person is sure that their solution to these life and death problems is the right decision.

On Friday, May 14, 1948, after much deliberation the modern state of Israel was voted into existence by the United Nations. Finally the Jews around the world had a country to call their own. Unfortunately, the road ahead of them was not an easy or peaceful one.

There are many organizations that have dedicated their existence to destroying the people and country of Israel. The leader in this battle against Israel is Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement. Hamas uses many tactics to achieve its goals of terrorism. These tactics include intensive educational, propaganda programs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas. Suicide bombings, riots, rock throwing, car bombings, stonings, and many other destructive terrorist activities are also used periodically to gain news attention to their radical fundamentalist beliefs. Since its formation in 1988 Hamas has vowed to do anything possible to halt the peace process which they feel is unfair to Palestinians and other Arabs. The group is not condoned by the Palestine Liberation Organization, yet very little concrete action has been taken to stop this group. The philosophy of Jihad, or holy war, is the basis for Moslem actions to obliterate all Jews from this area.

To the contrary, there are many Israeli organizations that have dedicated their existence to preserving Israel and never letting it be conquered. On the surface, the reason for the conflict over this small piece of land in the Middle East seems simple: two groups of people, Jews and Palestinian Arabs, have been competing for the same piece of historical land. What has made the conflict so harsh and emotional is the fact that the land being fought over was sacred to both sides. For Jews, the establishment of the state of Israel represented a return to their biblical homeland after 2,000 years of exile and persecution, and the near extinction of the Jewish people in the Nazi Holocaust of WWII. For Palestinians, who had lived in the area they had called Palestine for 1,000 years, the land was also a spiritual home for their Islamic religion.

Since 1979, there has been a movement towards peace in the Middle East. After winning in many armed conflicts between their two countries over the years, Israeli President Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar- el- Sadat signed an unprecedented peace treaty at Camp David, Maryland in 1979. Israel agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in exchange for recognition as a country and an agreement for peace between the two nations. This was called the Camp David Agreement and it was signed with the aid of the United States President Jimmy Carter.

Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in lands captured by Israel during several wars, however, were not affected by the Camp David Agreement. They remained very frustrated by what they considered Israeli occupation and started a movement called the Intafada in 1987. This uprising generally consisted of Palestinian boycotts, demonstrations and throwing rocks at Jewish citizens in the occupied areas. Israeli police and soldiers often fought back. These rock throwing activities and the use of armed Israeli soldiers to put down the revolt drew tremendous criticism around the world.

The peace process continued. In 1993 Israeli Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasir Arafat signed a peace accord. The PLO agreed to recognize Israel's right to exist and Israel gave the Palestinians self rule in the West Bank town of Jericho and the Gaza Strip. In 1994 Jordan and Israel formally ended their hostilities and began trade and economic exchanges. Even though the peace process was continuing, not all Israeli citizens believed in giving up land that had been won during wars for peace. As the peace process, led by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Yassir Arafat moved at a slow but steady pace, an Israeli extremist murdered Yitzhak Rabin at a peace rally on November 4, 1995. The assassin was a Jewish - Israeli citizen who was opposed to changing borders. This shows the tremendous strain that all people in this area face.

As of right now after a ten month halt to all conversations, President Obama’s, peace envoy, George Mitchell, has tried to resume talks between the Israeli’s and Palestine’s. The Israeli’s are ready to talk, but as of now the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has not been convinced to resume the talks.

If and when Iran gets nuclear weapons it would set off a global nightmare. Most obviously, Iran could use nuclear arms to attack Israel. It’s easy to say that Iran’s leaders would be cautious, but what if ideology, error, or an extremist faction decides to wipe the Jewish state off the map, even a 10-percent chance of nuclear holocaust is terrifying. And if Israel decides its existence is at risk, it would launch a defensive attack that would also produce a big crisis. Once Iran has nuclear weapons, every Arab state, with the exception of Iran’s ally Syria, would also be imperiled. Those countries would beg for U.S. protection. But could they depend on America, under the Barack Obama administration, to go to war especially a nuclear one, to shield them. Uncertain of U.S. reliability, these governments would rush to calm Iran. To survive, the Arab states will do whatever Iran wants, which would come at high cost for America; alliances would weaken and military bases would close down. No Arab state would support peace with Israel. But Arab states wouldn’t feel safe with just appeasement. An arms’ race would escalate in which several other countries would try to buy or build nukes of their own. Tension, and chance for nuclear war, whether through accident or mistake, would rise. The United States would eventually have to get dragged in. European allies would also be scared. As unwilling as they are to help America in the Middle East, that reduction would get worse. As willing as they are to appease Tehran, they would go far beyond that. Meanwhile, a bold Iran would push to limit oil and gas production and increase prices. Other oil producers would feel obligated to move away from their former, more responsible practices. Consumers’ fears would push up the prices further. There is worse though, flush with a feel of victory, Iran and its allies; Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iraqi insurgents, would recruit more members to its cause. These terrorist groups would interpret the retreat of more moderate Arab countries and the West as signs of weakness and use it to increase more aggression. Such a terrible situation is likely even if Iran never actual uses a nuclear weapon on another country. This new era in the Middle East would bring risks and the probability of war for America that would lessen all the region’s current troubles and the crises faced by the United States in the whole world. And that’s why it’s so important to avoid Iran getting nuclear weapons in the first place. The main issue I believe is though is how to stop or make sure Iran will not use their nuclear weapons against Israel or other nations. One way that I believe to do this is to pass sanctions or institute a trade embargo on Iran. This is because if Iran gets their nuclear weapons nations around would be at their feet. Therefore, I would say Americans and the United Nations will have to do something to stop Iran’s nuclear weapon developments http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/palestinianisraeliconflict1.htm http://www.science.co.il/arab-israeli-conflict.asp http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/ http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/is/Israeli-Palestinian_conflict http://www.mideastweb.org/briefhistory.htm http://www.mideastweb.org/nutshell.htm http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html http://www.merip.org/palestine-israel_primer/toc-pal-isr-primer.html http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story725.html http://contemporarycondition.blogspot.com/2010/04/israel-palestine-no-more-honest-brokers.html http://www.economist.com/world/middle-east/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15330582 http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/even-if-iran-gets-nuclear-weapons-israels-power-of-deterrence-will-suffice-to-dissuade-any-iranian-ruler-from-even-contemplating-launching-nuclear-weapons-against-it/ http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/may/18/what-will-america-do-when-iran-gets-nuclear/ http://chinaconfidential.blogspot.com/2009/05/if-iran-gets-nuclear-weapons.html http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/31/palin-warns-of-second-holocaust-if-iran-gains-nuclear-weapons/ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/weekinreview/14sanger.html http://www.eqna.org/19382/what-will-happen-when-iran-gets-nuclear-weapons http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4031603.stm