Moving into Modernity

In passing thought World War I and World War II are very eurocentric. Impacts on the rest of the world seem to be secondary at first glance. Additionally, the Ottoman Empire is frequently viewed as a Mid-Eastern force. As Armstrong outlined in Chapter 17 World War I begins to lay the foundation for the conflict we are seeing today. Up until this point, we have been studying the religious history and ancient history of Jerusalem. Many of those events have been used as evidence in the current conflict over the land. However, we do not see the current debate take form and solidify until this period. Armstrong's chapter helps us to bridge the gap between ancient and modern history and the east and the west.

As we have discussed throughout class the Ottoman Empire had an expansive reach which included Jerusalem. The map to the right shows the expansion of the Ottoman Empire over time. In Chapter 15 Armstrong describes the successes of the Ottomans in Jerusalem. In comparison to the many other conquerors, the Ottomans were relatively gracious and progressive. They also allowed for significant development in various aspects of life including architecturally and academically. Additionally, relations between religions was more harmonious than it was in other empires.

World War I saw the end of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were part of the Axis Alliance that lost World War I. This ended the Ottoman Empire which led to the distribution of the lands within their empire through the Treaty of Versaille. Chapter 17 of Armstrong's book describes how Israel became a British Mandate.  Having a concentration in Middle East studies means I have spent a significant amount of time studying the Treaty of Versaille which allowed for this British Mandate. A map of the partitioning of the Middle East can be seen on the left. This partitioning has had a number of significant impacts in the region and on Jerusalem. First, this leads directly to the creation of Israel by the World War II victors after the Holocaust. The second major impact of the creation of this new map was the creation of nations with little context of cultural context on the ground. This has created a whole host of cultural conflict within nations that we see today. The new map has similar impacts in Israel in Jerusalem that influences the conflict we see today.

Just as World War I and World War II are very closely connected so are their aftermaths and Israel serves as a very good example of that. After World War II the British Mandate became modern-day Israel. Jerusalem, however, was on a different path. As Armstrong described in pages 385-389 efforts were made to hold Jerusalem as a sacred space separate from the conflict in the greater Israel. Jerusalem was an international zone with a high UN peacekeeping presence. This era and the decisions made in post-war reconstruction deeply impact the conflict we see today in Israel as well as the literal makeup of Jerusalem.