Arab Israeli Conflict Essay Research Paper History

Arab Israeli Conflict Essay, Research Paper

History Coursework: Assignment 2- The Arab Israeli Conflict 1.

The author in source A appears to take a relatively neutral view in commenting on which side caused the war. Doing so he has looked at both how Israel caused it and how the Arabs caused it, thus leading to the conclusion that neither side caused the war. The author shows the Israelis felt that they had to go to war because they were ‘too small and vulnerable´. The source mentions that the Israelis felt under threat from Arab aggression and feared for their own existence, thus giving the Israeli´s the excuse that the Arabs were to blame for them releasing their pre-emptive strike. However, the author also gives us the view that Israel went to war so as to save its economy and to keep political stability. Also it mentions that Israel knew that by going to war it would bring in money from the USA and also cure the unemployment problem. This therefore gives the suggestion that the Arab aggression that was feared by Israel was just an excuse to go to a war that would boost Israel´s economy and power. As a result the author has just stated the opinions of both sides and not his own view. The fact he does give both views suggests that both side are to blame for starting the war. 2.

Source B is from an Arab Newspaper and shows Israel being surrounded by Arab states. Cannons represent these Arab states and this shows that the Arabs are being aggressive towards Israel. In the cartoon is an Israeli and this is Israeli is being forced out along a blank towards the sea by the Arab cannons. This is therefore showing both that the Arabs want to get rid of Israel from ‘their´ land and also the problem faced by Israel. It shows that Israelis were under severe threat to their existence as a nation and with their backs to the sea had no other option than to release a pre-emptive attack. The cartoon is therefore saying that the Arab people want rid of the Jewish Israelis, implementing them for being the aggressors and leaving Israel having to attack first due to their vulnerable position. 3.

These sources certainly suggest that other countries must take some of the blame for the 1967 War. Source C should be relatively unbiased as it is from a British magazine, which is a neutral country. This cartoon suggests that there was trouble ‘brewing´ in the Middle East but that both USA and USSR contributed to concocting the troubles and used the Middle East to show their power and influence. However the fact that the source is a cartoon means that their actual influences and role are exaggerated, which means that it is impossible to say that USA and USSR are solely to blame. Source D blames the failure to act by the League of Nations. However it is impossible to blame the war on the removal of UN troops because if there were no other factors then the war would not have started. The UN troops were there for maintaining peace in an area that was in high tension so obviously their withdrawal made it easier for war to start but we cannot say that the war would not have started when they were there because the tension between the two sides was growing. Another limitation to both sources, especially source D, is that they were from after the war and so they aren´t reliable in showing what the Arab and Israeli leaders felt at the time. Both sources put partial blame on other countries for causing the war but the limitations with dates and provenance and the fact we know that there were other dimensions not mentioned make it impossible to say that other countries caused the war. 4.

Source E claims that the Israeli´s are to blame for causing the war due to their constant acts of aggression towards Syria and its Arab people under the urging and

backing of USA. By comparing this source with sources F and G it is clear that there are two conflicting Arab views. These two sources both show that the Arabs felt strong hatred towards Israel and declare that they want to see the destruction of the Israeli sate. This is saying that the Arabs were being aggressive towards Israel but source E puts the blame on Israeli acts of aggression. These sources do probably show that Source E is false because they are from one year before and from the start of the war and should be reliable in showing the Arab view because they are messages to the Arab people. The claim that Israel are the aggressors is therefore probably wrong because two more reliable views from the same side disprove it and also Source E has several limitations to it. It is made by the deputy commander of the Egyptian army to his people and so is overtly biased because the commander will be using the speech as propaganda to motivate his troops by blaming Israel, so as the International community hears that Egypt are going to war so as to protect Syria, thus making sure that the International community doesn´t go against them. Source E is propaganda and so isn´t the true view of the Arabs which is shown by the other sources which show Arab aggression. 5. Both these sources are of some use. Source H is useful for a historian because it is what an Israeli felt at the time. It should therefore be useful as his fears should be genuine and reliable and therefore why he went to war is reliable and of use to. It is useful in showing the Israeli situation of being poorly def