The two river basin in southern Mesopotamia is one of the three birthplaces of human beings in Asia. The Hebrews originated here. Originally, they lived in ur city in the two river basin. As an emerging force in the Middle East, they once nomadized with the Arabian Peninsula and tossed between many civilizations. Abraham obeyed the command of God and moved to Canaan. He and his son Isaac lived in Canaan, but his grandson Jacob fled to Egypt. After living in Egypt for more than 300 years, the Hebrews finally went to Canaan, the promised land of God, under the leadership of the prophet Moses, because they could not bear the cruel exploitation and oppression of the local Egyptian rulers. In the process of continuous migration, Hebrews formed a national unity and produced a unique cultural system.
The name of the Israelites began to appear during the Hebrew conquest of Canaan. According to genesis, the third generation of Hebrew ancestors was originally named Jacob. One night Jacob wrestled with the angels and won. The angel said, “your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have fought with God and men and have prevailed.” Since then, Jacob took the name of “Israel”, which means “the winner who wrestles with God”. Later, Jacob took a wife and concubine, lived with 12 sons, and developed into 12 tribes, collectively referred to as “Israel”.
By 1025 BC, the Israelites established a unified kingdom. In 933 BC, the unified kingdom was divided, and 10 tribes in the North formed Israel in the north, while Judas and Benjamin in the South formed Judas in the south. In 722 BC, the northern kingdom was destroyed by Assyria, and 10 tribes were either exiled from foreign countries or assimilated by foreign nationalities. It was called “10 missing tribes” in history.
In 586 BC, Jerusalem fell and the southern state of Judah perished. The Israelites became “prisoners of Babylon”. In the process of exile, their living habits, national consciousness and religious feelings are very different from those of the local people. After the Persian Empire destroyed Babylon, Judah was allowed to return home to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Later, Judah became a vassal state of the Greek and Roman empires. Finally, because of the uprising against the Romans, Jerusalem was broken by the Roman army in AD 70 and the temple was demolished. From 135 ad, the Jews were forced to live in exile all over the world.
In 603 ad, Persia began to attack Eastern Rome, and Jerusalem was conquered by the Persians in 614. Of course, it also has the assistance of Jews. After being banned for nearly 300 years, the Jews became its master here. But it didn’t last long. The Jews failed to keep the Persian stronghold in Palestine. In 629 ad, Rome resumed its rule over Jerusalem.
In the 7th century AD, Mohammed established Islam. They spread religion. In just a few decades, they seized Palestine. By the mid-8th century, most Jews had become residents of the Islamic Empire.
Due to the long-term confrontation between Christianity and Islam, Jews began to play the intermediary of East-West trade. From the 10th century to the 11th century, the Jews almost monopolized the foreign trade of the Nordic Christian world. Since then, the Jews have become the leaders in commercial activities and constantly grab wealth.
At the end of the 11th century, Christians began to launch crusades to recapture Palestinian Christian holy signs from Muslims. Immortals fought and others suffered. Jews became victims in the war between Christianity and Muslims. In order to avoid falling into the hands of Christian thugs, many Jews chose to commit suicide. This hatred of Jews has become a daily problem for European civilians. Jewish customs and religious patterns are accused of being evil witchcraft rituals. The situation of the Jews worsened in the 12th century. Christians began to segregate Jews, put labels on their faces, and banned them from holding public office and participating in religious festivals. Some areas began to seize and confiscate Jewish assets. The taxes apportioned under various names need to be forcibly donated in major cases. They drive out the Jews and call them back when necessary, so as to exploit the Jewish property. When the rulers expelled and punished Jews for religious, political and economic purposes, the amount became the Amulet of Jews, and money was used to bribe officials in exchange for protection. In the long-term competition for money interests, they have accumulated a lot of financial experience, making them a unique business nation.
The long diaspora made the Jews deeply feel the bitterness and helplessness of being a “guest”. Therefore, returning to Palestine and rebuilding the country has become the dream of every Jew. When the first World War broke out, Jews thought it was a good time to build a nation and hoped to stand on the side of the victor. Due to the dispersion of Jews, there are “Pro German” and “Pro British” factions in the Jewish camp. The “Pro German faction” led by Franz Oppenheimer encouraged Jewish youth to fight for Germany; The “Pro British faction” represented by Haim weizman believes that the cause of Zionism should aim at Britain. Facts have proved that Haim weizman’s claim is correct. After the first World War, the Ottoman Empire disintegrated, the main body Turkey became a modern regime with the separation of politics and religion, and Jews obtained equal civil rights and religious freedom. The reorganization of international forces also provided opportunities for Jews. The publication of the Belford declaration became an epoch-making event in the history of Zionism, which greatly promoted the development of the cause of Zionism. In 1929, the 16th Zionist Congress adopted the decision to establish a Jewish Agency, whose main responsibility is to manage ishuf (the Palestinian Jewish community before the founding of Israel) and coordinate the relationship between Jews in the world and the trusteeship authority. With the continuous influx of Jewish immigrants into Palestine, the two contradictions gradually became prominent. Zionists began to riot in Jerusalem. In August 1929, more large-scale bloody conflicts broke out between Arab and Israeli sides because of the west wall problem.
After the end of the first World War, German society was faced with the pressure of the defeated countries, coupled with the rise of Zionism, European Christians’ sense of identity with Jews further decreased, in a way and intensity that German Jews had never expected. Hitler’s popular anti Semitic remarks made him German Chancellor. Therefore, in a certain sense, anti Semitism has a mass basis. From beginning to end, Jews are always different in the Christian world. After 1933, the status of Jews in Germany deteriorated, and a large number of German Jews (including Einstein) fled to the United States. In 1939, World War II broke out. Since then, Jews could no longer escape Europe. Hitler’s policy towards Jews changed from dispelling hatred to massacre.
After the end of World War II, the surviving European Jewish refugees became the focus of attention. The Holocaust made the Jewish desire for independent statehood urgent. The Zionists finally chose barbarism and violence. As a trusteeship country, Britain, exhausted, submitted the Palestinian issue to the United Nations.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations adopted resolution 181. Since then, Palestine has been divided into two countries: the Jewish state and the Arab state. On May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence. At the same time, the armies of Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt launched a large-scale military attack on Israel with the support of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Given the size and geographical advantages of these seven Arab countries, Israel seems to have no chance of winning. But by the time of the armistice in March 1949, Israel had taken control of Galilee, the coast, Negev, the road to Jerusalem and West Jerusalem – larger than the territory allocated by the partition plan. Jordan occupied the mountains west of the Jordan River (now known as the West Bank, originally intended for Palestine to establish an Arab state) and East Jerusalem (originally intended for International Co governance), including the old city surrounded by the walls of the Ottoman Empire.