In the Earth and Its Peoples, chapter 25, pp. 592, the authors wrote: “The British made promises to Chaim Weizmann, leader of the British Zionists, that a Jewish homeland in Palestine could be carved out of the Ottoman Empire and placed under British Protection. In November 1917, as British armies were advancing on Jerusalem (that was then part of the Ottoman Empire), Foreign Secretary Sir Arthur Balfour wrote: “His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of that object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”
1. Do you think that Balfour made a mistake by proposing the creation of a Jewish nation in Palestine? Yes or no, please explain your position.
Fast forward 31 years later, Balfour’s promise to create a national home for the Jewish in Palestine was honored with the creation of Israel in 1948. The British did not foresee, that the statement above known as the Balfour Declaration, would lead to conflicts and numerous failed peace deals between Palestinians and Jewish settlers as each party claims Palestine as their country. The long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine has turned the Middle East into a hot spot, therefore bringing powerful Western countries including the United States as arbitrary powers to end the conflict.
Indeed, on January 28, 2020, President Donald Trump unveiled his “Deal of the Century” together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Tuesday. He said: “We are not here to lecture- we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership – based on shared interests and values – to pursue a better future for us all,” the president said, as he unveiled a vision that the White House said is the “most serious, realistic and detailed plan ever presented, one that could make Israelis, Palestinians and the region safer and more prosperous.” President Trump also acknowledges that The United States will recognize Israeli sovereignty over any land that “my vision provides to be part of the State of Israel” and will require the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the Jewish state and agree to solve the refugee problem outside of Israel. The plan also establishes a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem…But on February 23, 2020, Pope Francis disapproves of Trump’s peace deal. Speaking to bishops from countries around the Mediterranean Sea, Pope Francis said: “The international community has been content with military interventions, whereas it should have built institutions that can guarantee equal opportunities and enable citizens to assume their responsibility for the common good. Nor can we overlook the still unresolved conflict between Israelis and Palestinians with the danger of inequitable solutions and, hence a prelude to new crises.”
2. Do you think that Palestine and Israel would one day be two separate nations? If yes or no, explain.
50 words all together. Must be submitted in 5 hours. Use opinions and examples. Dont just make it a brief essay
