ANTH 205 Lecture 16
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Cool video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFMIyrp0TG8
Israel: History and Culture
Formed as result of Zionism: desire to return to holy land and create state.
Small country 8 M people (76% Jewish) borders Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine
Note: One can be Arab (lingustic distinction; speak Arabic) without being Muslim
Hebrew is official language
Jerusalem is Official Capital, but Tel Aviv is considered the "functional" capital
Abraham
Abraham and Isaac: Patriarchs of Judaism
Migrate from Ur in Somalia to form Monotheistic Religion in Canaan
Jacob, Abraham's grandson, has 12 sons, each to become a tribe of Israel:
Judah founds Jewish tribe
Drought and Famine drove 12 sons to Goshen, Egypt
Moses
After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, Moses was chosen by God to lead people back to Canaan
- During Reign of Ramses II (1266 BC)
- Celebrated by Passover
- 40 years of wandering in the desert
- Received 10 Commandments and Torah
- Shavuot — Festival of Giving of Law
- Sukkot — Feast of Tabernacles
Joshua
Joshua led military conquest of Canaan
Inter-tribal conflict → Saul anointed first king of Israelites
Philistines started putting pressure on Israelites
David
David (1004–965 BC) succeeded Saul, took over southern kingdom, and united Israel.
Captured Jerusalem, made it his capital, and named it Zion.
Solomon
Solomon (965–930 BC) succeeded David
Built the first temple.
Also built the palace
Solomon's death fractured Israel into Northern Israel (10 tribes) and Southern Judah (Judah and Benjamin)
Assyrians conquered Israel (10 lost tribes) 740–722 BC
Babylonians (under Nebuchadnezzar) conquered Judah and destroyed temple in 586 BC
Diaspora
Scattering of a people from an ancestral homeland
Adds to cohesiveness of Jewish identity
Majority of Jews lived outside of the Holy Land
Persian King Cyrus the Great allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem in 6th century BC
Temple Rebuilt (520 – 515 BC) in original place
Part of persian empire but allowed to rule themselves
Alexander
Destroyed persian empire in 332 BC
Began around 200 year period of Hellenistic (Greek)
Outlawed Judaism and desecrated temple in 167 BC
Jews rose in rebellion in 166 BC as direct response
- Judah the Maccabee (the Hammer) led rebellion
- Won some battles, purified temple, regained freedom of worship
- Celebrated during Hanukkah
Rome, etc.
Romans Seized Jerusalem in 63 BC
In 37 BC, Herod (not the Herod of Jesus' time), a Jewish convert, made king of Judea in the Roman Senate.
Massive building campaign (like second Solomon) and rebuilt remodeled Temple
Roman rule led to war and destruction of Jerusalem and 2nd Temple in 70 AD. Judea renamed Syria Palaestina
Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, Ottoman, …
Modern Israel
19th migrations from Eastern Europe to Palestine
- Religious reasons
- Escape pogroms
- Economic conditions
Zionism crystallized as a response to anti-Semitism
- Political Zionism = Envisioned a Jewish Homeland as its own Nation
World War I
By World War I, There were 85 K Jews and 600 K Arabs in Palestine.
Britain gained control after WWI and promised the Jews a national home
- Mandate and Jewish Immigration enraged Arab population
- Binational solution?
World War II
1933 - Hitler rises to power 1939 - World War II begins 1941–1942 - "final solution" Holocaust killed 6 M Jews, 12 M total
More people lost their lives in the Crematorium II gas chamber (Auschwitz)
1947 - UN divides palestine in two states: one Jewish, one Arab.
Israel's Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948
Constant Conflict since
Culture
Immigrants, Immigrants, Immigrants
- From 100+ countries
- Almost all Jewish
- Life revovles around Hebrew calendar
Highest ratio of defense spending to GDP of all develop countries
Mandatory military service at 18 (men: 3 yrs; women: 2-3 yrs)