WAYNESBORO – Dr. Brian Ulrich, professor of history at Shippensburg University, offered a look at the historical underpinnings of the current situation in the volatile Mideast region at the recent meeting of the Waynesboro Rotary Club.
He traced events back to the growth of European nationalism and antisemitism in the 19th century, which strengthened the Zionist movement and the Jewish desire for a homeland in Israel.
Other factors contributed, including the Balfour Declaration of 1917, stating British support for the idea of a homeland. As the British ruling mandate from 1920-1948 was ending, a U.N. partition plan for the division of the Palestine region was accepted by the Jewish-Israeli settlers, but rejected by Arabs, Ulrich explained.
The result has been a series of wars and violent incidents ever since. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel took over the Arab territories of Sinai, the West Bank, Golan Heights and Gaza. Sinai was eventually returned to Egypt. The Palestinian Authority lost control of Gaza to Hamas. Dr. Ulrich said he is not optimistic about a two-state solution or any other type of peace accord in the Mideast, given the enmity between the two sides.
