Showing posts with label English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English. Show all posts

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Palestinian Authority Versus Al Jazeera News in English

 Nadene Goldfoot                                          


"Al Jazeera English (AJE; is a 24-hour English-language news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is partially funded by the government of Doha, Qatar. " It's the spokespeople for the Arab communities giving English speakers their viewpoints.  

    Mahmoud Abbas, head of PA, and Pope Francis ( Jorge Mario Bergoglio) 

The Palestinian Authority (PA)  officially announced its decision to suspend Al Jazeera’s broadcasts and freeze the network’s operations in PA-controlled territories. The PA accused the channel of violating Palestinian laws by broadcasting "provocative content" characterized by "deception, incitement to rebellion, sabotage and interference in internal Palestinian affairs." 

Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is the first global English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East." I've used them a few times as a reference source when they've had more pertinent information than our own major sources have had.  

Al Jazeera is known for its in-depth and frontline reporting particularly in conflict zones such as the Arab Spring, the Gaza–Israel conflict and others. Al Jazeera's coverage of the Arab Spring won the network numerous awards, including the Peabody Award. It positions itself as an alternative media platform to the dominance of Western media outlets like CNN and BBC, focusing on narrative reporting where subjects present their own stories.

Al Jazeera English and Iran's state-run Press TV were the only international English-language television broadcasters with journalists reporting from inside both Gaza and Israel during the 2008–2009 Israel-Gaza conflict. Foreign press access to Gaza has been limited via either Egypt or Israel. However, Al Jazeera's reporters Ayman Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros were already inside Gaza when the conflict began.                                      

HAMAS LEADERS: (Clockwise top left: Marwan Issa; Khaled Meshaal;
 Mahmoud Zahar; Yehiya Sinwar; Ismail Haniyeh; Mohammed Deif)

Many of Hamas's top leaders have been killed since the group's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, dealing it a severe blow.

The Palestinian Authority, officially known as the Palestinian National Authority or the State of Palestine- as yet an unofficial claim, is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords. 

The Palestinian Authority controlled the Gaza Strip prior to the Palestinian elections of 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, when it lost control to Hamas; the PA continues to claim the Gaza Strip, although Hamas exercises de facto control. 

Since January 2013, following United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19, the Palestinian Authority has used the name "State of Palestine" on official documents, without prejudice to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) role as "representative of the Palestinian people".  So, there is this competition as to who will rule;  PLO or PA.  

Hamas terrorists condemned the PA’s decision, calling it "a blatant violation of press freedom" and accusing the PA of silencing dissent. [Can't make this stuff up!]

Al Jazeera has been banned three times by the Iraqi government, most recently in 2016 where officials accused it of "inciting violence and sectarianism." Iraqi authorities had long perceived Al-Jazeera's media coverage as hostile to Iraq's Shi’ite majority (which follows Iran's Shi'ite community) and too friendly toward the Islamic State. In 2013, the broadcaster was accused by many Iraqi government supporters of backing Arab spring protests in the country.

On December 29, 2013, Egyptian security forces arrested three Al Jazeera English journalists—Australian Peter Greste, Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, and Egyptian Baher Mohamed—at Cairo's Marriott Hotel, accusing them of reporting news damaging to national security.

On 4 May 2024, the Israeli government shut down Al Jazeera in Israel and authorized the seizure of its equipment, after passage of a new law giving the prime minister and communications minister the authority to order the temporary closure of foreign networks operating in the country on national security grounds. On 22 September 2024, Israeli army authorities closed down Al Jazeera's bureau in Ramallah in Central West Bank (Judea/Samaria) north of Jerusalem  in what they called "occupied Palestine". The Board of Directors of the Foreign Press Association reacted: "Restricting foreign reporters and closing news channels signals a shift away from democratic values."

Al Jazeera journalist, Hossam Shabat, has been injured while reporting on an Israeli attack that hit a house in Gaza City. There have been reports of their reporters having been killed while on a story, being in the way of the fighting, usually, hit accidently. It's dangerous work.


We remember On 1 February 2002, Jewish-American journalist,  Daniel Pearl of The Wall Street Journal was decapitated by Al-Qaeda terrorists, nine days after being kidnapped by the group.   Journalists would receive an email with photos of Pearl with a gun to his head and holding up a newspaper. The terrorist group demanded the release of Pakistani terrorists held at the Guantanamo prison camp and the release of a halted U.S. shipment of F-16 fighter jets to the Pakistani government in exchange for Pearl.  

Weeks later, on 21 February 2002, the terrorists released a video entitled “The Slaughter of the Spy-Journalist, the Jew Daniel Pearl,” in which Pearl addresses the camera mere moments before his decapitation. “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish,” declares Pearl, adding, “Back in the town of Bnei Brak, there is a street named after my great-grandfather Chaim Pearl, who is one of the founders of the town.” 

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_English

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67103298

https://www.google.com/search?q=Daniel+Pearl%2C+picture&sca_esv=dfa57c05b4e3cad6&sxsrf=ADLYWIJJcz63NHO1KyiVlv_xtjPna_nfUg%3A1735846107508&source=hp&ei=2-h2Z6TwG9Wb0PEPw-nI-Qo&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZ3b26y

Thursday, August 24, 2023

The Barbarians- But Which Group When The World Was Overrun By Barbarians?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              


The first Barbarians recorded for their barbarity were probably the Germanic Tribes so well done by Netfix.  The Romans considered them the least civilized people they had run across.   The Romans fought them and then tamed them enough to have them fight for them as they had great skills for fighting.  Their story takes place in the 9th century CE. Three people's fates are interwoven in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., during which Germanic warriors  (the Barbarians) halt the spread of the Roman Empire.The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster (LatinClades Variana) by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese from September 8–11, 9 AD, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus. By the way, (CE [Common Era]  is the same as AD {Anno Domini-Latin for "year of our Lord"}.  

      Constantine; 1st Christian emperor of Rome ruling from 312-337 establishing the supremacy of Christianity in his Edict of Toleration from Milan, Italy,  then establishing anti-Semitism.  

Jews had entered and lived in the Rhineland by 321 CE that Emperor Constantine had heard about so sent regulations to the city of Cologne concerning them.  The Germans were still living as tribes then and the Carolingian royal house had adopted a pro-Jewish policy and had encouraged the settlement of Jews in its dominions with the object of developing trade.  Of course, this was left out of the film about Barbarians.  

The Carolingian Royal house was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne , grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century CE.  

     Emperor Charlemagne (reigned as Frankish king in 768; Roman Emperor from 800 to 814) of 9th century -Middle Ages

The Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages (roughly, from the 10th century to the middle of the 15th century) was marked by the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and West Francia (843–987);  Germany's development was definitely behind that of France.  Charlemagne patronized the Jews and encouraged their immigration, granting them security of life and property, freedom of religion, and exemption from excise taxes.  He is known to have employed Jews in  his court and on missions, and various legends were preserved in Jewish lore of favors bestowed by him.  

        King Saul with David playing his harp...

Jews in Canaan had their 1st king, Saul, by 1020 BCE or 11th cent. BCE with David following in 1010 BCE, but only because they wanted to be like others in neighboring lands.  Before kings they had Judges who made decisions.  While their children were reading in school, the Romans were fighting off wolves at their door.  

Greeks were civilized before the Romans. The art of Archaic and Classical Greece illustrates many mythological episodes, including an established iconography of attributes that identify each god. There were 12 principal deities in the Greek pantheon. Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica.  It was a city state situation.  In the summer of 332 B.C.E or the 4th century BC., Palestine was conquered by Alexander the Great of Macedonia (today divided between Bulgaria, Greece , and Yugoslavia). The land and people of Israel were now part of the Hellenistic world of the Greeks .

Persians were civilized in 550 BC. from Egypt to Turkey, Cyrus being King who died in 529 BC or 6th Cent BC. In 538 he had given permission to Jews to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile.        

Romans would have been barbarians to anyone in Mesopotamia who developed so much earlier. Mesopotamia had writing and a civilization with refinement of thought, manners or taste;  with a situation of urban comfort.   Rome was started by a wolf mother who found Romulus and Remus, twins, who founded Rome, as they tell the story.  Rome's history spans 28 centuries. How Many Roman Gods are there? There are many gods that were worshiped in ancient Rome, about 67 in all. That doesn't even account for all the demigods! Thankfully, there were only 12 main Roman gods, much like the 12 Olympians of the Greek pantheon.  While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC or 8th century BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe. The city's early population originated from a mix of LatinsEtruscans, and Sabines.  The most accepted date for the foundation of Rome is 753 BC. The first form of government in Rome was monarchical according to the archaeological findings and the legends.  They were occupying Jerusalem in about 100 BCE. 

Russia:  whose Communism meant to improve life has become the most barbaric...mankind does not benefit at all

Spain was mentioned in the Bible as Sepharad, a land they were familiar with. Jews lived there since the fall of the 1st Temple by the Assyrians in 721 BCE, so it's an ancient culture.  In the years following 410 Spain was taken over by the Visigoths who had been converted to Arian Christianity around 419. The Visigothic Kingdom established their capital in Toledo, their kingdom reaching its high point during the reign of Leovigild.

Ferdinand II   10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516) was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband of Queen Isabella I of Castile, he was also King of Castile from 1475 to 1504 (as Ferdinand V). He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Then they became most savage against the Jews in their Spanish Inquisition of 1492, actually starting earlier.  They were responsible for the tools made for torture, used on Jews meant to cause them to convert to Catholicism.  It was barbaric!  

                       Almost 1,000 Years Later 

England To the Romans, Britannia was a mysterious island lying beyond Oceanus, the great river described by Homer as encircling the entire inhabited world. Britain was therefore seen as a land beyond the limits of civilization.

Britain  was conquered in the Norman Conquest of 1066 and William the Conqueror who was followed by a few Jews who would settle there. Edward the Elder (c. 874 – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924.9th-10th century.   He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. It was Edward's son, Æthelstan, who first controlled the whole area that would form the kingdom of England. Æthelstan's sister had married Sihtric, the Viking ruler of the Northumbrians. When Sihtric died in 927, Æthelstan succeeded to that kingdom.  Which group were the Barbarians here?  The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that a ‘great heathen army’ arrived in 865 and conquered East Anglia (in 869–70), Mercia (in 873–74) and Northumbria (in 874–75). The Vikings then started to settle Northumbria (876), part of Mercia (877) and East Anglia (879–80). They also raided deep into Wessex, but in May 878 Viking forces were defeated by King Alfred the Great (reigned 871–899) 9th century  at the Battle of Edington in Wiltshire. The defeated army eventually settled in East Anglia. The Vikings had imbedded themselves into England's population.                                    

Why did the western Empire collapse in the 5th century? The most common answer is ‘barbarians’. Think ‘Gladiator’: the scene near the beginning of the film where a huge seething mass of hairy warriors attempt to break through the largely clean-shaven, and totally regular ranks of the Roman legions.  ‘Hold the line’ roars Russell Crowe, and the soldiers do as they are told, even though it looks as though they are about to be overrun. Then Crowe gives the order to attack—at which point the barbarian horde is promptly slaughtered. Seems as it the Romans created their own barbarians in their treatment of their gladiators.  In 180 AD, Hispano-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius intends to return home after he leads the Roman army to victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona on the Limes Germanicus. Emperor Marcus Aurelius tells Maximus that his own son, Commodus, is unfit to rule and that he wishes Maximus to succeed him, as regent, to save Rome from corruption and restore the republic. In response, Commodus privately murders his father.                                 

The face of England of today is the picture of culture and refinement, manners with tea-time.  Yesterday is was the example of barbarism, offending standards  of correctness or purity set by others.  They displayed barbaric acts, attitudes and ideas. Acts I find barbaric were belief that Jews performed a ritual murder and drained people of their blood - a belief based on bias in religion, trusting in gossip and not facts as in the case of Hugh of Lincoln in 1255 with attacks on Jews in 1263.  They borrowed money provided by Jews then turned on them and drove them out for 365 years from 1290 to 1655.  Barbaric and nonsensical.  Jews had lived in England for 224 years and that was no guarantee of security, while  here  in the USA we have Nikki Haley 51 and  Vivek Ramaswamy 38 running for president with parents born in India, first generation candidates, very secure as citizens.   

    Stone Age herione, Ayla-made into movie:  Based on the first of Jean M. Auel’s six-book series, the TV project takes place more than 25,000 years ago, when Neanderthals shared the Earth with the first early modern humans and a band of cave dwellers adopt blond and blue-eyed Ayla (played by Mr. Selfridge’s Millie Brady), a child of the “Others” (played by Daryl Hannah on the big screen). As Ayla matures into a young woman of spirit and courage, she must fight for survival against the jealous bigotry of Broud (Love/Hate‘s Johnny Ward), who will one day be Clan leader.
   Many Europeans carry about 2% of their genes from Neanderthals-inheriting genes of protection in many cases

The first Barbarians in the world were probably Neanderthals of the Stone Age of Europe as described to us in the series of novels by Jean M. Auel and her first called "The Clan of the Cave Bear."  She did such an excellent job describing the thinking and life of the natives of Europe who takes us to the dawn of mankind.  She started her research in 1977 and spent most of her time in the libraries reading about the Ice Age, even joining a survival class to learn how to make an ice cave and to live in one.  She learned how to make arrowheads in La Grande, Oregon, and worked for her MBA.  She even traveled to the cities in Europe to gain further facts first-hand.  The problem with this one is that 25,000 years ago, the whole world was full of barbarians.  I doubt very much if there was a civilization to compare it to.  This is the way we all started; quite barbaric.  To be a barbarian, there must be a higher level to compare it to that hasn't been achieved as yet. 

The 2nd Barbarians would have been the "Others" such as the Horites- ancient people from south of the Caucasian mountains who invaded Syria and Israel in the 17th cent. BCE; They lived near Mt. Seir in Abraham's time,  mentioned in the Bible when Esau was attracted to their women and left his clan to marry into them who were not of the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  (When Esau migrated to Seir (verse 8), he essentially went to live with his Horite wife's family, aristocrats of the area (verses 29-30). Many of the 400 men then, were probably Horites, relatives of Esau's wife.) The Edomites destroyed the Horites and settled in their land.

 Also, when Moses took all the slaves held by Egypt on the Exodus no matter who they were, referred to as "the others."    They were intermingled with the family clan and all learned together over the 40 years of a life they were to live that differed greatly from their past 400 years of living most of that as slaves for Egypt.   They were uneducated, had not developed any written skills.  Webster's Dictionary defines barbarian as: as lacking refinement, believed to be inferior to one's own culture;  lacking artistic or literary culture ;  uncivilized man.  Lacking learning, Savage.  

Which brings us to the fact that some people, like in  Mesopotamia, were civilized, but believed inhuman sacrifice.  So it matters as to their peer group and the era,who was barbaric and who wasn't.

Western civilization arose in Europe, and then spread across the world. As it grew geographically scope, it became an increasingly dominant strand in world history – to the extent that the histories of every civilization and region of the world was impacted by it in a profound way.

Its roots lay in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome (which themselves built on foundations laid in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia).  It took shape in medieval Europe, with its Christian religion, feudal society, dispersed power-structures and growing economic dynamism. 

It was in the modern era that Western civilization took flight, however. It spread from Europe to the North and South AmericaAustralasia and much of the rest of the world; it achieved a level of economic power which far surpassed that of any other civilization; it developed the habit of systematic scientific and technological advance; and it evolved a unique set of personal freedoms which gave its culture an utterly different flavor to anything that had come before.  


So, to be really civilized and not like barbarians, 

"We gotta love like we've never been hurtWe gotta rise like we've never been burnedAnd after all of the lessons we've learnedWe're gonna make this a beautiful world."

in the words of Michael Bolton...


Monday, January 23, 2023

Golan Heights in 1923-Up to Date

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

Notice:  The 30 year mandate was given to England from the League of Nations on July 24, 1922.  The map above shows the area of Trans-Jordan which was made up of 92,300 sq Km, in which the reconstitution of the Jewish National Home was to be postponed or withheld.  The territory of Jewish Palestine has been reduced by 77% of the original Mandate.  The promise was broken to the Jewish leaders very quickly after making this promise.  

We see that Trans-Jordan is today's Jordan.  One resource above said it is made up of 92,300 sq. Km, and another said 80,342 sq.Km.  Other countries of comparable size are UAE of 83,600 sq Km,  Israel is made of 20,770 sq Km or 28,766 sq.Km;  an Lebanon is made of 10,452 sq Km.    

Rhode Island is the smallest of the 50 states making up the USA and has only 1,034 sq. miles or 26.04 sq. Km.  Israel has often been compared in size to Rhode Island. 

                             Golan Heights  

The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, about 60km (40 miles) south-west of Damascus and covers about 1,000 sq km. It has a political and strategic significance which belies its size.  An armistice line was established and the region came under Israeli military control. Almost immediately Israel began to settle the Golan. Syria tried to retake the Golan Heights during the 1973 Middle East war. Despite inflicting heavy losses on Israeli forces, the surprise assault was thwarted. Both countries signed an armistice in 1974 and a UN observer force has been in place on the ceasefire line since 1974.


Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights in 1981. The move was not recognised internationally, although the US Trump Administration did so unilaterally in March 2019.

There are more than 30 Israeli settlements in the Golan, which are home to an estimated 20,000 people. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

The settlers live alongside some 20,000 Syrians, most of them Druze Arabs, who did not flee when the Golan was captured.

Syria has always insisted that it will not agree a peace deal with Israel unless it withdraws from the whole of the Golan.

The Golan Heights were until 1967, under Syrian administration.  The status of the administered areas has not changed since June 1967.  That's when Israel was attacked by all the Arab nations and lost and Israel surprised them all by winning  in 6 days, so the war was called the Six Day War.  Pending a peace settlement in which the borders between Israel and its neighbors will be decided, it is that of territories occupied during a war.  East Jerusalem was re-unified in June 1967 with West Jerusalem.   Israel had not annexed any part of the areas, and this was declared in 1973.  

 Druze sector

There are approximately 26,500 Arabs, including at least 24,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites, living in the Golan Heights today. In contrast to 1948-1967, when civilian infrastructure and services were almost completely neglected by successive Syrian governments, Israel has invested substantial sums in either installing or upgrading electric and water systems, in agricultural improvements and job training, and in building health clinics, where none had existed previously. The inhabitants also enjoy the benefits of Israel's welfare and social security programs. Israel has built or refurbished schools and classrooms, extended compulsory education from seven years to ten, and made secondary education available to girls for the first time. The Golan's Druze residents enjoy complete freedom of worship; the Israeli authorities have made financial contributions and tax and customs rebates to the local religious establishments.

Jewish sector

Today, there are approximately 27,000 Jewish residents in 33 communities (27 kibbutzim and moshavim, 5 communal settlements and the town of Katzrin) on the Golan Heights and the slopes of Mt. Hermon. (Katzrin has its own mayor and local council; the other 32 communities form the Golan Heights Regional Council.) There are also parts of the Golan Heights that are uninhabitable because of minefields planted prior to the Six-Day War. 

In Biblical times, the Golan Heights was referred to as “Bashan;” the word “Golan” apparently derives from the biblical city of “Golan in Bashan,” (Deuteronomy 4:43, Joshua 21:27). The area was assigned to the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 13:29-31). In early First Temple times (953-586 BCE), the area was contested between the northern Jewish kingdom of Israel and the Aramean kingdom based in DamascusKing Ahab of Israel (reigned c. 874-852 BCE) defeated Ben-Hadad I of Damascus near the site of Kibbutz Afik in the southern Golan (I Kings 20:26-30), and the prophet Elisha prophesied that King Jehoash of Israel (reigned c. 801-785 BCE) would defeat Ben-Hadad III of Damascus, also near Kibbutz Afik (II Kings 13:17).

At the end of 2021, the government announced plans to double the population of the Golan Heights in the next decade and invest in its development. Approximately $324 million was earmarked to build 7,300 apartments and houses for 23,000 new residents of the Golan Heights. In addition, two new villages (Asif and Matar) will be built with a total of 4,000 apartments. More than $50 million will be spent on improving roads and public transport. Another $53 million  was alloctaed for regional development, including tourism, which was expected to generate about 2,000 jobs in the tourism industry, agriculture, hotels and the commercial sector. Additional funds are being invested to turn the Golan Heights into the technological capital of renewable energy in Israel.

In the early 1920s, British and French control of these territories became formalized by the League of Nations' mandate system, and on 29 September 1923 France was assigned the League of Nations mandate of Syria, which included the territory of present-day Lebanon and Alexandretta in addition to modern Syria.
1923
Britain gives the Golan Heights to the French Mandate of Syria. Arab immigration is allowed; Jewish immigration is not.
The First World Congress of Jewish Women is held 6–11 May in Vienna.

In June 1940, after the Franco-German armistice, the French in Syria announced that they would cease hostilities against Germany and Italy and recognize the Vichy government. Political uncertainty and the growing scarcity of goods and rising prices caused unrest, which was led by one of the prominent nationalists, Shukri al-Quwatli. In May 1941 the Vichy government allowed German aircraft to land and refuel en route to Iraq, and in June, British, Commonwealth, and Free French forces invaded Syria. French troops resisted for a month, but Damascus was occupied on June 21, and hostilities ceased at midnight on July 11–12.

From then until 1946, Syria was jointly occupied by British and French forces. At the moment of invasion, the Free French had proclaimed Syrian and Lebanese independence, and this was underwritten by the British government, which recognized French predominance in Syria and Lebanon, provided France carry out its promise of independence. In the interests of its Arab policy, Britain used its position of strength to persuade the Free French to carry out their undertaking. Elections held in 1943 resulted in a nationalist victory, and Shukri al-Quwatli became president of the republic.

There followed two years of disagreement about the transfer of authority from the French administration to the Syrian and Lebanese governments. A crisis took place in 1945, when the French refusal to transfer control of the local armed forces led to disorders, culminating in a French bombardment of Damascus and British intervention. After long negotiations and discussion in the UN Security Council, agreement was reached on simultaneous British and French withdrawal from Syria and Lebanon. Withdrawal from Syria was completed by April 1946. Syria had already become a founder member of the UN and of the Arab League.

It was 100 years ago that England gave 77% of the promised Jewish Homeland to Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.  "Germany entered World War I on August 1, 1914 when the country declared war on Russia. 11 million German soldiers were mobilized, 100,000 of whom were Jewish. A number of these Jewish soldiers were honored for their service with the Iron Cross. In addition, many German Jews supported the war effort at home along with their neighbors. This service and dedication were soon disregarded, but World War I efforts are an essential part of the German Jewish story."

This was a time when our Jewish leaders discussed the end of WWI, hoping to gain back their own lost land that had been held by the Ottoman Empire for the past 400 years.  That land was the original homeland of the Jewish people, as told about in the Bible. (Old Testament). Jews had been waiting for the past 2,000 years to return.  Now was the time, a first since losing the land to the Romans in 70 CE.  

Resource:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jewish_history
https://israelforever.org/state/Mandate_for_Palestine_Jewish_State/
https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/the-100-smallest-countries-in-the-world/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria/The-French-mandate
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14724842
Facts About Israel, from Jerusalem