The document presents two opposing narratives of the history of Israel/Palestine: 1) The Israeli narrative argues that Jews have historical and religious ties to the land dating back thousands of years. It views the establishment of Israel as a necessity after the Holocaust and Arab rejection of the UN partition plan led to war. 2) The Palestinian narrative argues that Arabs have lived in the region for far longer and Jews were a small minority until recent immigration. It views the establishment of Israel as illegitimate and involving ethnic cleansing and oppression of Palestinians. Both sides claim historical and moral justification for their claims to the land, but ultimately present two very different interpretations of the events that led to the current conflict.

1. Two Tales of
One City
Classic Israeli vs
Palestinian narratives

2. Disclaimer:
1. I might be wrong about some things.
2. I am unavoidably biased, but I’m trying really really hard to be neutral.

3. “facts”

4. Ancient Times
● Israelites lived here from 1000-500ish BCE
● The Jewish people have a right to the land
religiously, legally, and historically
● Jews have always prayed toward Zion
(Jerusalem)

5. Ancient Times
● Palestinians have lived on the land since before Israelites
● Israelite presence was short in the 12,000+ year history of Palestine
● Judaism is a religion of revelation, and has no tie to a particular land

6. 1900ish - rise in Zionism
● Palestine was 86% Muslim, 10% Christian, 4% Jewish - all living in peace under
the British Mandate
● 1900ish: rise in Zionism → increased Jewish immigration
● Britain backed the Zionists, and punished Palestinians harshly
○ Led to riots against the British/Zionist alliance and immigration

7. 1900ish - rise in Zionism
● Zionist economic success attracted Arab immigrants as well
● “Palestinian” population was just Arabs from neighboring countries
○ “There were no such thing as Palestinians” - Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir
● Riots were instigated by Arab leaders

8. Holocaust
● Culmination of centuries of persecution
● 6 million Jews died
● Jewish refugees had nowhere to go...
→ need for a homeland

9. 1947: UN Partition Plan
● British Mandate was about to expire
● Recommended independent Arab and Jewish states,
with a special zone for Jerusalem
● Civil war broke out immediately after adoption of the
plan

10. 1947: UN Partition Plan
● Plan gave 55% of Palestine to a
Jewish state, even though Jews were
only 30% of the total population and
only owned 7% of the land
● Illegitimate plan because of “self-
determination”

11. 1947: UN Partition Plan
● Israel accepted the resolution - it was the Arab
community that rejected this effort towards peace
● War was forced onto the Yishuv (Jewish community)

12. 1948 Arab-Israeli War
● Palestinian guerillas started a civil war by attacking Jewish settlements and
neighborhoods
● After the Israeli Declaration of Independence (May 15, 1948), Egypt, Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded Israel
● Israel fought 7 Arab armies - it’s a miracle they survived at all!

13. 1948 Arab-Israeli War
● The Yishuv planned for the war and had a strict
advantage the whole time
● Arab armies had:
○ half as many people
○ very little infrastructure
○ very little military training
○ very little cooperation
● Left Israel with 78% of Palestine - more than the
UN plan had given them

14. Palestinian refugees - Nakba (catastrophe)
● Ethnic cleansing systematically
conducted by Israeli forces
● 10-70 massacres were committed
● Israeli forces forced entire villages to
leave their homes
● 750,000 Palestinian refugees in
neighboring Arab countries, who are
still barred from their homes

15. Palestinian refugees
● Palestinians generally fled on their own, b/c rumors and Arab leaders
● Israel only decided to prevent refugees from returning, so that it would not be
destroyed by a hostile Arab internal majority
“A land without a people for a people without a land”

16. Today
● Continued refusal by Arab states to recognize Israel as a Jewish state
● Constant struggle for survival → necessary security measures
● Israel has tried to make peace:
○ offered new homes to refugees
○ peace resolutions rejected by Arab nations, not by Israel

17. Today
● Occupation of Palestinian territories is oppressive
● Gaza is an “open-air prison” - a humanitarian crisis
● Israel is building illegal settlements in the West Bank
● Separation barrier ignores the 1949 Armistice Line, and has severe economic
consequences

18. tl;dr
This is historically our land, and we need
a homeland.
We’ve always wanted to make peace. It’s
the Arabs who don’t.
We live here now, and we are now a
bastion of democracy in a sea of Arab
countries.
This is our land.
The Jews took over, with Western
backing, and violently pushed us out of
our homes.
We are now subject to an oppressive
Israeli regime.