Lecture 17: 20th Century Jerusalem

We began our final lecture on 20th Century Jerusalem. Three major periods during this time was the Ottoman administration from 1516-1917, the British Mandate Period from 1918-1948, and finally the Israeli State from 1948-present day. One of the key movements that lead to many later events was the spread of Secular Zionism. Theodore Herzl was a proponent that called for the establishment of a Jewish State. He promoted the idea that Jerusalem itself isn't important but a Jewish State was. Later He was described as "Messiah the Son of David". These Zionists later build Tel Aviv. Alongside Zionism was an increase in European Nationalism and Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitic Pogroms in the Islamic world and Russia brought Jews into Palestine. Hitler's policy of blaming Jews for the problems in Germany also brought an increase in the Jewish population in Palestine. However, one negative repercussion was increased conflicts with the Arabs in Palestine.

World War I helped to further the establishment of a Jewish State. In 1917, British General Allenby conquers Palestine. The creation of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 promised a Jewish National Homeland. One condition the British made for supporting the establishment of a Jewish State was that non-Jewish rights had to be preserved and honored. British occupation of the area lasted from 1918-1948. The British also helped with the Peel plan which was designed to partition the area for Jews and non-Jews. Britain's stance on a Jewish state were vague and were questioned by people in Palestine. The British clarified their stance in the White Paper by Winston Churchill in 1922. They partitioned an area to the west of the Jordan for a Jewish settlement and denied Arabs that an independent nation would be established for Palestinians. The Peel Commission to create both a Jewish and Palestinian state was supported by the Jews but rejected by the Arabs. Later in 1948 there was the Arab Israeli war. A Truce was arranged and later Israel and Jordan signed an armistice. A new Israeli state was established while Jordanians gained control of the west bank.

The new Jewish state defied the international community and made West Jerusalem the Capital of the new Israeli State. When King Abdullah of Jordan came to Jerusalem to pray, he was assassinated by an Arab radical. There were rumors that he came to pray and have a secret peace meeting. The next ruler, King Hussein declared that Jerusalem would become the second capital of the State of Jordan. We also see that the economy within the area began to revolve around tourism. Eventually, 85% of the economy of the West Bank is centered on tourism. Many of the leaders saw that the fighting with the area would decrease the amount of tourist trade and thus decrease profits.