Week Six - Nationalism - 1 How did Jewish Arab and Palestinian nationalism come to be Nationalism teaches that it is terribly wrong to be governed by

1. How did Jewish, Arab, and Palestinian nationalism come to be? Nationalism teaches that it is terribly wrong to be governed by foreigners. When foreigners try to occupy a country, it gives rise to the nationalism of that country which is their sense of identity and unity. This sense of unity is often exaggerated during times of conflict and focused at foreigners. By administering different people as one unit and educating them in a common language and culture, these peoples will develop a sense of unity and belonging and then come to resent the desires and attempts of foreigners to come in and govern. A key event in the Jewish nationalism, which is known as Zionism, came during the Dreyfus Affair in which a Jewish French officer was wrongly convicted of treason. A journalist at Dreyfus’s trial, Theodor Herzl witnessed the anger and violence directed at the Jewish people and was inspired to write the Jewish State (Der Judenstaat). He became the driving force behind the push for Jewish people to have a country they could call their own. His efforts in no small part led to Israel being named a state in 1948. Arab nationalism also has its roots in religion, Islam. From as early as the seventh century, Islam was spread along with the Arab language and culture. It enjoyed widespread favor up until the thirteenth century when Christianity took hold and an invasion by Mongol weakened the Arab civilization. When Portugal bypassed Arab traders by going around Asia to Africa, Islam turned from tolerant to reactionary. In the nineteenth century, Europe’s