48 votes

When Israel won the Six Day War, did they consider expelling all Arabs from the annexed territories?

There is no evidence they seriously considered expelling all Palestinians. The impracticality, illegality and negative publicity was self-evident, even if fringe elements entertained the fantasy. ...
Semaphore's user avatar
  • 97.6k
28 votes
Accepted

When was the last direct conflict within Israel's boundaries?

"It is the first direct conflict within Israel's boundaries since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War." The statement is certainly technically incorrect. But with some qualifications one can discern ...
Roger V.'s user avatar
  • 3,711
27 votes
Accepted

Why was the "Cave of the Patriarchs" forbidden to Jews?

The ban occurred during Mamluk period. The specifics of why are unclear in the wiki entry but the Jewish Virtual Library helpfully suggests that it's because they turned the location into a Mosque. ...
Denis de Bernardy's user avatar
25 votes
Accepted

Did the Jews move from Palestine to Germany?

The Jews were largely exiled from 'Judea' which Romans then renamed 'Palestina' in 132CE by the Romans, after a rebellion against Roman rule. They dispersed into the Roman Empire, and gradually spread ...
John Dallman's user avatar
  • 31.6k
22 votes

When Israel won the Six Day War, did they consider expelling all Arabs from the annexed territories?

I'm not aware of any evidence that Israel considered mass expulsions from occupied territories in the aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War. As I understand it, the civilian populations would have been ...
sempaiscuba's user avatar
  • 77.6k
20 votes

Between 1948 and 1967, were Arab people in the West Bank in favour of Jordanian rule or opposed to it?

This is a bit brief, but my hunches from the comments can be summarized by these two paras from Avraham Sela's "The West Bank Under Jordan" (chapter in The Palgrave Handbook of the Hashemite ...
Dolphin 613 Motorboat's user avatar
14 votes

What specifically did Einstein have in mind when he called the Israeli Freedom Party fascistic?

Copies of the letter to the New York Times, dated 2 December 1948 are easy enough to find online. It is worth noting that Einstein was not the only signatory to the letter, although his is naturally ...
sempaiscuba's user avatar
  • 77.6k
12 votes
Accepted

Are today's Palestinians immigrants from many nations?

The short answer to your question is "no". The evidence lies in some understanding of the history of the region (which I study as an Arabist) and a look at some of the linguistic aspects. It is ...
joseph.glover's user avatar
12 votes

Was there ever any co-existence (=2 states) solution to peace with Israel that the Arab Palestinian side proposed or said would accept?

In 2002, the leader of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat said he would accept the Taba agreement in the terms put forward by President Bill Clinton 18 months earlier. Back in January 2001, the ...
Evargalo's user avatar
  • 5,883
11 votes

What did Joe Slovo mean by 'collusion' in The War Against Aparthied?

Firstly, the text you cite isn't by Alan Weider, but is actually from the foreword to the book, and was written by Nadine Gordimer, who wasn't an historian but is best known as a " South African ...
sempaiscuba's user avatar
  • 77.6k
11 votes

Is there evidence of a pagan temple on the site of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem that predated the Jewish Temple?

No real evidence, but the area was populated by Pagans prior to 957 BC when David's son Solomon built the first temple. According to the Smithsonian Magazine in What Is Beneath the Temple Mount?; ...
Seabas's user avatar
  • 111
10 votes

Did the Jews move from Palestine to Germany?

It is not clear exactly when Jews first started settling in Germany, but there is evidence of Jewish settlement in the Rhineland communities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz already by the 10th century. ...
Shimon bM's user avatar
  • 3,256
9 votes

Why does the Balfour declaration refer to Palestine, as opposed to the Land of Israel or the Holy Land?

They did so because it was the actual general use of the term. "Palestine" was and is more a geographical designation, since Roman times, while "Israel" was and is a politically ...
LаngLаngС's user avatar
8 votes

Was there the idea of "peaceful Crusades"?

Christendom had got too many bad news for centuries. Muslim conquest, dhimmitude, lost territories, persecuted churches. Arabia Petra, Levant, Jerusalem, Syria, North Africa, Sicily, Crete, Spain, all ...
Luiz's user avatar
  • 4,433
8 votes

When Israel won the Six Day War, did they consider expelling all Arabs from the annexed territories?

Really interesting documents and facts are brought here More pictures and information here Both sources describes people leaving on their own free will as a result of a war, some of it supported by ...
Rsf's user avatar
  • 265
7 votes

When was Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians?

According to our present calendar and the most widely accepted chronology the year was 587. Considering only the date of 607 given by Jehovah's Witnesses: it is quite incompatible with almost ...
LаngLаngС's user avatar
6 votes

Did Palestinians form a distinct ethnically/culturally/linguistically homogeneous group in pre-Mandate period?

On one level, there is a trivial answer to this question. No, there was no Palestinian ethnic identity of major significance prior to the British Mandate. But it's important to emphasize that all of ...
Brian Z's user avatar
  • 19.9k
5 votes

Why couldn't the Arabs invade Palestine before the end of the British Mandate?

I would rephrase your first question as "Primarily, ... invasion from the Arab countries?" And the answer for this one is yes. It would be declaring war against the UK, and the UK was still superpower ...
Moyshe Zuchmir's user avatar
5 votes

What was Palestine before, if not a country?

The other answers are too complicated. Prior to 1947, the area we now call Palestine was a British colony. However, because the British Empire was a little tricky and played games with legalism, they ...
Astor Florida's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

When and how did the concept of posthumous reward and punishment enter ancient Judaism?

The concept the question is referring to is called "Sheol." The word "Sheol" is sometimes translated as "grave," but it's not quite a correct translation. The Sheol ...
Smith's user avatar
  • 2,091
4 votes
Accepted

Why was Oslo I Accord so harsh or controversial?

I think that Wikipedia article has an adequate description of the Oslo accord. The main point was the mutual recognition between Israel and PLA, a promise of PLA to stop violence against Israel, and ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 38.9k
4 votes
Accepted

Land Ownership in Palestine - Big Landlords or Small Peasants?

Land ownership has historically been hereditary and Richard Horsely writes in his book, Covenant Economics, that it was an "inalienable right" for a person to live on and work his father's land. He ...
Paul Rowe's user avatar
  • 1,240
4 votes

When was Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians?

What makes life a wee bit tricky(!) is that the Bible sometimes gives the year of the reign (eg "in the eighteenth" of King Big-Wig) using the Jewish method of reckoning and sometime gives ...
Andrew Shanks's user avatar
4 votes

Did the PLO coordinate with Arab armies during the Six Day War?

The PLO is a political organization. The PLA, however, the Palestinian Liberation Army was the military wing of the PLO and was definitely involved in the Six-day war. There are several books which ...
justCal's user avatar
  • 39.3k
4 votes

Did the PLO coordinate with Arab armies during the Six Day War?

The Wikipedia article on the Six Day War states that Palestinian positions in Gaza opened fire on the Negev settlements of Nirim and Kissufim. This provided the pretext/reason for IDF Chief of Staff ...
sempaiscuba's user avatar
  • 77.6k
4 votes

Did the Jews move from Palestine to Germany?

According to Max I. Dimont's "Jews, God and History" (Simon & Schuster 1962), pp. 210-211: After the conquest of Judah by Pompey, Jews and Romans became "inseparable." Behind the Roman ...
Bruce James's user avatar
  • 5,144
4 votes
Accepted

Where can I learn about Jewish Zealot ideology and history?

If there are other good primary sources I'm unaware of, it would be nice if someone would pipe up with them in the comments here. However, it looks like we only really have 2 primary sources for this ...
T.E.D.'s user avatar
  • 119k
4 votes

Did Palestinians form a distinct ethnically/culturally/linguistically homogeneous group in pre-Mandate period?

until 1970s "Palestinian" meant a "Jew living in Eretz Yisroel" "Palestinian Identity" was invented by the KGB (as reported by General Ion Mihai Pacepa) in 1960-ies and ...
sds's user avatar
  • 27k
3 votes

Why was Oslo I Accord so harsh or controversial?

Oslo was Israel recognising that Palestinians have some rights that the PLO were entitled to negotiate for them, agreeing for the Palestinian Authority to be set up and giving it some autonomy and ...
pugsville's user avatar
  • 2,156

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