Argumentative Essay On Israel

For a student of international relations, the words “Israel” and “controversy” might seem synonymous. Indeed, few nations have seen such vehement opposition to their very right of existence. Why does Israel hold such a contentious position on the world stage? Perhaps the blame lies on the great regional powers of the Middle East, who adamantly call for Israel’s destruction on grounds sometimes political, often antisemitic. Perhaps the blame lies on the West, who carved a nation from the carcass of the Ottoman Empire, without regard for the surrounding Arab states and the inhabitants of the land they were taking. And still, perhaps the blame lies on Israel itself; an aggressive, defensive, reactionary nation of cultural aliens, Israel has made

From the fall of the Ottoman Empire until just after the Second World War, the land of Palestine rested tumultuously under the British Mandate. So intense was the discontent, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution to break the Mandate into two independent states: Arab and Jewish. This was accepted by a committee representing the region’s Jewish populace, and on May 14th, 1948 Israel declared itself an independent

By launching a surprise invasion of Israel, the Arab states radically upset the Middle East’s status quo. Israel had lost its air of invincibility— despite the fact that it retained a higher-grade military, it no longer possessed the accompanying reputation. When President Carter brought Anwar el-Sādāt and Menachem Begin to the Catoctin Mountain Peak retreat, he was bringing together two deeply suspicious men, acutely aware of the strengths and failings of their respective nations. Despite their differences, however, they came to a compromise. Begin—perhaps hoping to mitigate the effects of his nation’s precarious position—took a conciliatory stance. As a result of the negotiations, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and began the process of recognizing the Gaza Strip and West Bank as an independent