The Thoughts of Wesley son of Cornelius

Prior to WWII Jewish immigration to Palestine increased. This increase was due to the rebirth of anti-Semitism in Europe, primarily Germany, and the Zionist movement. The increase in Jewish population in the region created much Arab resentment. In 1936-1939 the Great Uprising (or Arab Revolt) took place. Both sides would take part in violent acts such as marketplace bombings. The revolt died down with the beginning of WWII. The Arabs’ mistrust of the Germans prevented any close alliances. However, the Holocaust created an even larger immigration of Jews into the British Mandate of Palestine. The British eventually forbade entry into the region from fleeing Jews. WWII in Europe came to an end in May 1945. A few months later, two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan, ending the war. As an aside, these nuclear bombs were envisioned and developed through the science of many Jewish scientists: the most notable being Einstein, Bohr, and Oppenheimer.

In 1947 the United Nations passed a resolution to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The Greater Jerusalem area would be under international control. The British government and the United Nations failed to implement this plan. This failure was mainly due to the rejection of the Palestinian Arabs. Shortly after the resolution, Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq attacked the Israel State. The Jewish forces proved to be militarily stronger than the Arabs expected. The British terminated the British Mandate of Palestine on May 15, 1948. On May 14 the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel was publicly read before the official expiration on the next day. The United States recognized the independence moments after the reading. The Arab-Israeli War lasted until 1949 when the badly beaten Arabs called for a truce. Due to the war, Israel claimed 50% more land than originally given and several Palestinian refugees were left with no where to go.

Since the creation of Israel, the state has not seen any rest. From the War of Attrition to the Lebanese Civil War to the Gulf War and now the Israel-Lebanon conflict, a once uncommon anti-Semitism in the Arab world has become their trademark.

We have now covered 2000 years of Jewish history and ended up in the present with you sitting in front of a computer screen reading this blog. Now I ask the hard question: are the Jews God’s people?