To the right is a picture of the Western Wall and in the backdrop the Dome of the Rock. The Western Wall (also called Wailing Wall) is the west side of the retaining wall that has lasted since the days of the second temple that Herod built. This wall existed in Jesus' days.
Anyways, I personally have found it necessary to know the history of Israel in order to understand the grounds for the conflict in the Middle East today. All three religions involved--Christianity, Islam, and Judaism-- refer to Abraham in some way as a father figure. So that is where many have found the first seed of the conflict.
Here is how the story goes. Abram of Ur (Iraq) senses this strange God telling him to leave his native country, his familiar environment in order to wander to a distant land God is promising him. He is promised to have as many descendants as the stars in the sky or as many as the grains of sand on the beach. We find God to be a Poet. God tells him:
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. (Gen.12.3)
This statement is crucial to understanding Jewish theology. Israelites always believed that they were God’s chosen people. This theology has not been lost, for the Orthodox Jew population maintain an attitude of “chosen among the races.”
Abram, who became Abraham, had two sons mentioned in detail in the Bible, Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was the son of Abraham and his concubine, Hagar, while Isaac was the miraculous son of Abraham and his barren wife Sarah. Though Ishmael was the first-born, he and his mother were banished from Abraham’s family to die in the wilderness. This was the will of Abraham’s wife, Sarah, who desired Abraham’s inheritance to go to Isaac.
Ishmael and Hagar were abandoned to die, but God kept them alive, promising Ishmael many descendants. Traditionally, Arabs trace their heritage to Abraham through Ishmael. Muslims call Ishmael a prophet. One more interesting note, Ishmael means “God hears.”
The inheritance of Abraham went to Isaac then through to Jacob and his twelve sons. The twelve sons of Jacob, who was renamed Israel, became the twelve tribes of Israel. The family of Israel became the nation of Israel (Genesis). The nation went through four hundred years of slavery then forty years of wanderings (Exodus) before Joshua, the new leader of Israel, was told by God to conquer the peoples of Canaan and populate the land themselves. Their success fulfilled God’s covenant with Abraham. A few hundred years later, in 970 BC, King Solomon stretches the land of Israel farther than it ever was or has ever been since. The reign of King Solomon and his father King David are considered the most glorious times of the history of the Jews (2 Samuel, 1 Kings).
After the death of Solomon, lack of strong leadership, as well as disobedience to God led to the division of Israel through civil war. Israel to the North, Judah to the South. The Assyrian Empire conquered Israel in 722 BC, not only destroying the cities, but forcing the Israelites to scatter, losing every remnant of their culture. This is why citizens of Israel are called Israelis, not Israelites. There is no such thing as an Israelite today because of this event.
However, the people of Judah were able to retain their cultural uniqueness during captivity under Assyria, Babylon, Macedonia, Rome, the Mameluke Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and British occupation, before finally obtaining land in 1948. Truly amazing, huh?
Their story can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. If you have not read their history, I thoroughly recommend it. There is enough material in the story of Israel to make hundreds of movies. Literally. The sub-plots intertwine constantly, a large reason why the conflict today is so complicated. It was never simple for Israel or for the Middle East in general.
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