Israel, the State, and the formation of the, Jewish, Israeli State, has attracted varied opinions on the main factors that led to the establishment of the nation as an independent state. Despite the varied opinions, there seems to be consensus on the fact that creating the State of Israel was the best solution for settling the stateless Jewish people, who had roamed the world since history. The world watched the Jews experience popularly and agreed that there was need at least be rewarded with the freedom that came with an independent state. With the varied discussions that influenced the formation of the Jewish state of Israel, it is important to consider these similarities and differences between these varied schools of thought. The articles “Israel affairs” by Evyatar friesel, “the debate about 1948” by Avi Shlaim and “the views of Israeli the on Palestine/Israel land” S. Ilan Troen form the base of this crucial discussion.
According to Shlaim (pg. 228, pars. 1-4), the formation of the state of Israel the efforts of the Zionists and the Jews largely influenced the formation of the state of Israel. The pushed for international support in the United States and Britain to have the case referred to the united nations by Britain supported. Shlaim argues that the efforts of these groups to push for the formation on an independent state in the in the Palestine led by the Ben Gurion, the founder of Israel bore were quite successful (pg.289, par 5). Shlaim notes that although the Jewish accepted the resolution of the United Nations to formations of the independent, the Arabs completely rejected it. This led to the invasion of the newly founded Israel state by six Arab countries armies to destroy the young nation at birth. Israel had no option to go to war to protect their newly acquired state through sacrifice and painful experience against the Arab aggression (pg.291, par 4)
Evyatar has a differing argument of the factors that led to the formation of the state of Israel. He argues that the holocaust experience played a direct contribution to independence of the new state. Over six million Jews had died in the Nazi driven campaign to annihilate the Jews from the face of the world. This was more than the population of Sweden of that time. Such a huge and horrifying experience influenced the sympathetic majority of the world ruling powers at that time to supports the formation of the new state of Israel (pg. 446, pars 1-4). According to Evyatar, the idea formation of the independent state for Jews began as early as before the World War I. However, it did not get the supports and the push that pushed it after the holocaust experience. This was probably due to the interests that the British and the Arabs had in the division of the Palestinian land. It was the mandate of the British to oversee the Palestine, as it was one of her colonies at the time. This included the hostile relationship between the Jews and the Palestinian Arabs residing in the region (pg.447, par 1).
Troen argument also differs from the arguments of Evyatar and Shlaim. In his article on Israeli views to Israel and Palestine land, Troen argues that religious claims backed from the times of the bible justified and contributed to the formation of the independent state of Israel. The influence of the Christianity and bible teaching were spreading in the several countries in Europe and the west and had s significance influence on the views of the formation of the Israel state. The bible claims of the land of the Palestine as God given to the Jews as a covenant in the part of their history. They were therefore entitled to have a state set up in their ancestral homeland that lied right at the heart of Palestine.(pg. 100, par 1-2). The validity of the claim was based on the biblical faith and teaching that the land was the birthplace right of the Jewish and the origin of the bible. According to Troen, the idea of an independent state was justified from the historical considerations of the religious claim. The Jews had lived in the land since the times of the Abraham and it was formerly known as the land of Israel. The romans had renamed the land Palestine to control the rebellious Jews and award the name to the more corporative Palestine’s (pg. 103, par 1).
Despite the differences in the ideas that led to the formation of the of the land of the Israel as demonstrated by the three authors, they agree there was there need to form the state of Israel and settle the Jews who had roamed in the worlds for centuries. All the three ideas had a contribution hand to formation of Israel but are just difficult to gauge which was most influential.it is also interesting to note that none of the three authors disagree on the ideas of each other. There are argument s are interrelated and all drive to the priority of the freedom of the Jews people and their contributions to the independence state that from the Palestine.
The Jews of present times have no different ideas from the founders of their nation in the 1940’s. The Palestine and the Arabs at large are still considered the greatest enemies to the Jews even at present times. For instance, Shlaim (pg. 290-293) notes that Jews leaders emphasized that Israel was faced by two types of wars at the time, the wars on choice and the wars of no choice. The wars of choice were those to achieve the national objectives and interests of the state. The wars of no choice were for instance the Arab Israel war where six countries joined their armies to fight the young Israel nation and strangle its growth right after it was formed. Such ideas are still expressed by the Jewish population of the present times. An example is the current deal between United States, where the Jews feel that granting the Arabs to power to acquire sophisticated weapon directly threatens the existence of Israel ( Iran deal, white house, Web).
In conclusion, every argument is applicable while considering the factors that influenced the formation of the state of Israel. Every author has justified his opinions through substantial facts that back up there claim. Although their ideas take an entirely different perspective, they are all aimed at providing relevance information on the history of the formation of the land of the Israel by reviewing the history, situations that largely contributed to the new state.
“Works cited”
Shlaim, Avi.” The debate about 1948”. New York: Cambridge University Press. Web Accessed from the JSTOR. Pg. 278-304. 1995
Friesel, Evyatar.” On the myth of the connection between the holocaust and the creation of Israel, Israel affairs”. Web. Pg. 446-466. 2008
Troen, S. Illan.” Israeli views of the land of Israel/Palestine”. Center for Israel studies. Yale university press.2003
The white house.” The Iranian nuclear deal: what you need to know about JCPOA” .Web. Accessed from https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/jcpoa_what_you_need_to_know.pdf 0n 6th may 2016.