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A Critique of Scientific Naturalism

August 2, 2024 /

Introduction

This paper argues that scientific naturalism makes inaccurate predictions regarding the origin and fine-tuning of the universe, the origin and development of life, and miracles and that Christianity makes correct ones.

Analysis of Scientific Naturalism

Scientific naturalism, or ontological naturalism, assumes that the natural realm is a closed system and that all physical effects have physical causes. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, David Papineau, writes about ontological naturalism: “The ontological component is concerned with the contents of reality, asserting that reality has no place for “supernatural” or other “spooky” kinds of entity.”[1] This view is sometimes called physicalism or materialism. Ontological naturalism differs from methodological naturalism, which assumes that to do science, one must look for physical or natural causes of phenomena but does not deny the possibility of the supernatural.

Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, defines scientific naturalism this way: “Scientific naturalism is the principle that the world is governed by natural laws and forces that can be understood, and that all phenomena are part of nature and can be explained by natural causes, including human cognitive, moral and social phenomena.” [2] Shermer includes methodological naturalism in the category of scientific naturalism, but this is controversial, as theist scientists may also apply methodological naturalism in their research but accept its limitations.

More specifically, ontological naturalism asserts that there is no God and no supernatural. The following specific assumptions follow from this:

  • The universe has always existed and/or is the result of purely natural processes, and its apparent fine-tuning can, in principle, be explained by natural processes.
  • Life on earth arose through natural processes or was planted by an advanced alien civilization, which in turn arose through purely natural processes.
  • Unguided Darwinian Evolution (mutations and natural selection) explains the appearance of design among living creatures.[3]
  • Miracles are impossible, since supernatural intervention cannot occur (no supernatural, no intervention) and natural laws are immutable.
  • Scientific naturalism assumes that there is no purpose (no teleology) in the universe.

Critique of Scientific Naturalism

Description of Theist’s God

Let us begin with an understanding of what the theist’s God is. Stated simply, God is a mind, consciousness, one that has always existed (eternal), is very powerful (omnipotent), and can make decisions (personal). Such a being would not be subject to the laws that govern matter and energy. In fact, such a being would establish those laws. Since the universe as we know it is contingent, that is, it could have been very different, philosopher Keith Ward argues that the simplest reason for our universe to exist as it does is that an immaterial, eternal, powerful, and personal being willed it into existence. All other explanations add a great deal of complexity. And so, it is highly probable that God exists.[4]

Origin of the Universe: the Kalam Cosmological Argument       

But let us get more specific. The Kalam Cosmological Argument[5] uses two premises and a conclusion:

  1. (premise) Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
  2. (premise) The universe began to exist.
  3. (conclusion) Therefore, the universe had a cause.

The nature of the cause had to be external to the universe, that is, it had to transcend space and time. This means it had to be timeless (eternal) and not material. It must be exceedingly powerful to create a universe. It must also be personal, that is, capable of deciding to create a universe. All this is a good description of the theistic God.[6]

            A naturalist counterargument is that the universe has always existed. This was the belief that many philosophers and scientists held from the time of Aristotle. But in the 20th century, the Big Bang model established itself as the Standard Model of cosmology. In this model, our universe began about 14 billion years ago. The evidence for this is very strong: our universe is expanding, which means it had to have been much smaller in the distant past. Also, background microwave radiation, a remnant of the Big Bang, was discovered in the 1960s. Since then, the Big Bang has been almost universally accepted.

            But naturalists have not given up. One proposal is the oscillating universe, in which the universe expands up to a point, but then, due to gravity, collapses in on itself. This is followed by a new Big Bang, then another Big Crunch, forever. But there are two big problems with this. The expansion of the universe appears to be accelerating, in which case it will not collapse. Also, the second law of thermodynamics states that, in a closed system (such as the universe), entropy (disorder) will increase. What level of entropy would have been necessary at the “beginning” (and there would have been no beginning!) of the process?

A more recent theory is that the universe has always existed in the form of a quantum vacuum. In this vacuum, particles randomly come into existence and then disappear again. The theory is that these random fluctuations would somehow be pulled together by “quantum gravity” (which is not well understood) to form the precursor of the Big Bang. But is this a reasonable argument? The amount of matter and energy in our universe is huge. How could enough random fluctuations occur for quantum gravity to pull together and cause the Big Bang? Moreover, why do we not observe new universes popping randomly into existence?

Fine-Tuning of the Universe

Another problem from a naturalist perspective is that the universe appears to be designed – fine-tuned – to permit life. Cosmologist Paul Davies calls this the “Goldilocks Factor”.[7] Physics tells us four fundamental forces govern matter and energy: the strong force, which binds quarks into protons and neutrons and holds the nucleus together; the weak force, which governs radioactive decay and, more specifically, governs the fusion of hydrogen into helium; the electromagnetic force, which governs the attraction between differently charged particles (such as protons and electrons) and the repulsion between same-charged particles (e.g. electrons and electrons); and gravitational force, which governs the attraction between particles and larger objects. All of these consist of variables and a constant. For example, the gravitational force is described as F = G(m1m2)/R2, where m1 is the mass of object 1, m2 is the mass of object 2, R is the distance between them, and G is the gravitational constant. These constants are critical values, and we do not yet understand why they have the values that they do.

            John Lennox notes that if the ratio of the strong force constant to the electromagnetic force constant had been different by 1 part in 1016, no stars could have formed.[8] If the ratio of the electromagnetic force constant to the gravitational force constant had been greater by 1 part in 1040, only small stars could exist.[9] Decrease the ratio by the same amount, and only large stars can exist. But both types of stars are essential for life: large stars produce the elements that the universe needs, and only small ones burn long enough to permit life to develop. There are other critical ratios as well, such as the ratio of the expansion forces and contraction forces at the Planck time (10-43 seconds after the origin). If the ratio of the expansion forces to the contraction forces had been greater by 1 part in 1055, the early universe would have expanded too quickly, and no stars or galaxies would have formed. If the ratio had been smaller by 1 part in 1055, the early universe would have immediately collapsed. These improbabilities, as great as they are, are dwarfed by the entropy calculation. Sir Roger Penrose, a Nobel laureate mathematical physicist, has estimated that the probability of the universe having a sufficiently high entropy at its origin to explain its current entropy is 1 part in 10 to the power of 10123.

            There are, of course, naturalistic counterarguments. One is that these constants are somehow determined by more fundamental principles, such as may someday be discovered in M Theory or String Theory. That, of course, cannot be ruled out. But it seems to be the mirror of the well-worn “God of the gaps” argument. Here, it would be a “naturalism of the gaps” – even if we do not understand it, there must be a naturalistic explanation. This is circular reasoning, not logical inference. Another possibility trumpeted more recently is the multiverse. If there are an infinite number of universes, there will have to be at least one in which the variables fall within the necessary range to support life. And sentient life would have to be in that universe. There is no evidence for a multiverse, but it is theoretically possible. Still, there are problems with this theory. A major objection is that a universe with just the right conditions for intelligent life would be far more probable if it was very small, even as small as can be filled by a single brain (the Boltzmann brain objection).[10]

Origin of Life on Earth

Naturalism assumes that life on Earth arose through natural processes. Inorganic molecules formed by chance into organic molecules, such as amino acids, which then formed into living cells with RNA (a different type of molecule altogether) and DNA. Scientists have been conducting origin-of-life research for many decades. They have not yet succeeded in creating even a very simple form of life. Philosopher of science Stephen C. Meyer has calculated the odds of getting a single functional protein of 150 amino acids by chance alone at one chance in 10164.[11] And one functional protein is a far cry from a living cell. DNA (and its companion RNA) are information storage molecules that form the genetic code of living cells. Meyer asks how the functionally specified information in DNA could arise. Our uniform experience is that functionally specified information comes from intelligent beings, not from chance.

Some naturalists propose that life on earth was “planted” from outer space. Indeed, some meteorites have been found to contain organic (that is, carbon-based) compounds, but no functional proteins. Still, even if life on earth originated from meteors or aliens, that would raise the question of how life arose on their planet of origin, so it would only push the question backward. Philosopher and former atheist Antony Flew credits his conversion to deism to the immense unlikelihood of life arising strictly by chance.[12]

The Design of Living Creatures

Naturalists, such as Richard Dawkins, admit that living creatures have the appearance of design. But, he argues, this appearance is fallacious.[13] Instead, natural selection guides purely natural processes, such as random mutations, to create living beings with apparent design. The deleterious mutations are weeded out and the beneficial ones are kept. We see this process at work in the natural world – at least at the sub-species level. Bacteria, for example, develop resistance to antibiotics through random variation and natural selection. It is, of course, a massive extrapolation to conclude that this alone explains how living creatures went from simple one-celled organisms to complex human beings. Still, the fossil record shows conclusively that the world of plants and animals today is very different from what it was millions of years ago. If we define “evolution” as change in characteristics of living things over time, then evolution clearly has occurred.

But is the Darwinian model of natural selection working on random mutations sufficient to explain this change? Mathematical analysis suggests it is not, according to Stephen C. Meyer. He cites David Axe as having estimated that, for every short functional protein fold of just 150 amino acids, there are 1077 nonfunctional combinations. Over the course of life on the earth, there have been an estimated 1040 individual organisms. If we take the number of individual organisms as the number of trials and divide it by the number of possible sequences, we still have 1 chance in 1037. Those are very low odds! And, of course, one functional protein is not enough to create a living cell: we still have the problem of information. It is highly improbable that the functionally specified information present in the DNA of even the simplest single-celled organism could have arisen by chance.[14] Meyer also discusses the Cambrian explosion of animal life, in which new forms of animals appeared over a relatively short period of time. This would have required a simultaneous explosion of information. A fair conclusion is that unguided evolution, defined as natural selection working on random mutations, is inadequate to explain the apparent design of living creatures.

A further problem for the Darwinian model is irreducible complexity. The Darwinian model is based on numerous small changes that accumulate over time to make large changes (changes in species and higher taxonomic classifications). But numerous organs display irreducible complexity. These consist of multiple components that have no function except in combination with other components. Michael J. Behe explains the concept with the example of a mousetrap, which has only five components: a platform, a spring, a hold-down bar, a hammer, and a catch. Each of these components is useless by itself, but working together, the components form an effective system.[15]  Behe identifies some systems that display this kind of complexity: the cilium, bacterial flagellum, and blood clotting cascades.[16] The human eye is also often cited as an example of irreducible complexity. The concept of irreducible complexity is not universally accepted. Darwinists have launched severe counterattacks on it as well as on the entire field of Intelligent Design, of which it is a part. This is unfortunate. Science advances when scientists challenge existing dogma. The sharpness of Darwinists’ attacks on Intelligent Design reminds one of the Roman Catholic Church’s attacks on Galileo in the 17th century (it has now admitted that Galileo was right).

Miracles

Since David Hume made his famous argument in the Enlightenment, naturalists have been confident that miracles are so unlikely that ANY alternative explanation is more credible than an account of a miracle. Hume defined a miracle as a violation of a natural law, and argued that our uniform experience is that natural laws are never violated. Accordingly, no account of a miracle can be credible. But C.S. Lewis disagrees. “I use the word Miracle to mean an interference with Nature by supernatural power.”[17] Even if we assume that natural laws cannot be violated, this broader definition allows for miracles to occur. A simple example should suffice. The law of gravity predicts that, if I drop a coin, it will fall to the ground. I drop a coin and it lands in my outstretched hand. Did the coin violate the law of gravity? No, I simply intervened in the process. God, if he exists, can certainly intervene in the process of natural laws, which then absorb and continue with the intervention. For example, when Jesus turned the water into wine, that was a divine intervention. But if people then drank too much of it, they would have gotten drunk, as the laws of nature would predict.

There is good reason to believe that miracles can and still do occur. New Testament scholar Craig Keener has written a two-volume scholarly work on miracles and a one volume follow-on book for the general public. Both works are carefully documented. This does not mean that all reports represent real examples of divine intervention – readers should come to their own conclusions. Perhaps the most convincing accounts are those of miraculous healings that contain the testimony of medical records before the healing and after. Some of these healings might have been spontaneous (cancer remission) or the healing of psychosomatic illnesses in response to prayer. But some are simply hard to explain.

One example is the story of Brielle Bratun, who was born with abnormally short arms. In church, her mother prayed, and Brielle’s arms grew. This case is medically documented.[18] Another case is that of Jeremiah Wiederhold. While in his mother’s womb in the third trimester, an ultrasound revealed a tumor in his heart, which would likely cause mental problems and multiple seizures daily. His parents prayed fervently. When Jeremiah was born, the doctors found no tumor, even though the ultrasound clearly showed it had existed. This case, too, is medically documented.[19] Dalia Knox was injured in a car accident and was confined to a wheelchair for more than 22 years. Her healing in a revival service was captured on video.[20] Church leaders and members vouch for her paralysis and healing.[21]

Purpose

The discussion so far does not cover all criticisms of scientific naturalism. Many could be added, such as the nature of human consciousness, morality, rationality, and the Ontological Argument. Nor has direct evidence of God and the supernatural been discussed, except for miracles. This evidence includes spiritual experiences, near death experiences,[22] demonic possession, and parapsychological phenomena, many of which have been scientifically investigated and documented. But one final, more personal critique of naturalism seems appropriate here: it assumes that there is no purpose in the universe. If the universe has no purpose, life is meaningless and absurd. Our lives will end at death, and even the universe will eventually end. It is hard to understand how anyone can find this attractive.

Defense of Christianity

The defense of Christianity has already been implied in the critique of scientific naturalism, as theism in general, and Christianity in particular, is the only reasonable alternative to it.[23] Christianity has no difficulty with the objections to naturalism raised in the critique. At the core of Christianity is the claim that God and the supernatural exist, and that God is active in the affairs of the world. This God is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and personal and can easily have created the universe. Likewise, Christianity predicts that the universe would be fine-tuned to permit life, as the creation of life, and of human beings in particular, would be at the core of God’s purpose. God would not have chosen to make a universe that could not support life.[24] Similarly, the God of Christianity would have no difficulty creating life on earth, by whatever process he chose, without being constrained by random processes. Similarly, Christianity easily and directly explains the design of living creatures. God could, of course, have used mutations and natural selection to develop life, especially to ensure that all creatures fit together well in the environment. But God would not be constrained by Darwinism’s limited processes. Regarding miracles, Christianity records them in the Bible and predicts that miracles can occur if God chooses to do them.[25]

Finally, with Christianity, life has meaning, because a benevolent God has created the universe with a purpose. Our purpose as human beings is to know, love, and serve God and love our neighbor as ourselves. If Christianity is true, believers survive physical death and enjoy eternal life. Could anything be more meaningful?

Bibliography

Behe, Michael J. Darwin’s Black Box : the Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. New York: Free Press, 1996.

Craig, William Lane. Reasonable Faith : Christian Truth and Apologetics. Third edition. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2008.

Dawkins, Richard. Outgrowing God : a Beginner’s Guide. First U.S edition. New York: Random House, 2019.

Flew, Antony, and Roy Abraham. Varghese. There Is a God : How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind. 1st ed. New York: HarperOne, 2007.

Habermas, Gary R., and James Porter Moreland. Immortality: the Other Side of Death. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1992.

Keener, Craig S. Miracles Today : the Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2021.

Lennox, John C. Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix? London: Lion Hudson, 2021

Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples). Miracles : a Preliminary Study. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.

Meyer, Stephen C. Return of the God Hypothesis : Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe. First edition. New York, NY: HarperOne, an imprint of HaperCollinsPublishers, 2021.

Papineau, David. “Naturalism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

Shermer, Michael (2017) “Scientific Naturalism: A Manifesto for Enlightenment Humanism”, Theology and Science, 15:3, 220-230

Ward, Keith, Why There Almost Certainly Is a God : Doubting Dawkins. 1st ed. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2008.

[1] David Papineau, “Naturalism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

[2] Michael Shermer (2017) “Scientific Naturalism: A Manifesto for Enlightenment Humanism”, Theology and Science, 15:3, 220-230

[3] Dawkins, Richard. Outgrowing God : a Beginner’s Guide. First U.S edition. New York: Random House, 2019.

[4] Keith Ward, Why There Almost Certainly Is a God : Doubting Dawkins. 1st ed. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2008.

[5] William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith : Christian Truth and Apologetics. Third edition. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2008. p. 111 ff.

[6] Craig, ibid. 152

[7] Paul Davies, The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life? Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008, e-book. Note, this book is catalogued in the U.S. as Cosmic Jackpot.

[8] John C. Lennox, Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix? London: Lion Hudson, 2021 p. 149

[9] Lennox, ibid. p. 149

[10] Craig, ibid. p. 150

[11] Meyer, Stephen C. Return of the God Hypothesis : Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe. First edition. New York, NY: HarperOne, an imprint of HaperCollinsPublishers, 2021 p. 175

[12] Antony Flew and Roy Abraham. Varghese. There Is a God : How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind. 1st ed. New York: HarperOne, 2007.

[13] Dawkins, ibid.

[14] Meyer, ibid.

[15] Michael J. Behe, Darwin’s Black Box : the Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. New York: Free Press, 1996.

[16] Behe, ibid.

[17]  C.S. Lewis, Miracles: a Preliminary Study. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. p. 5.

[18] Keener, Craig S. Miracles Today : the Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2021. P. 46

[19] Keener, ibid. p. 41

[20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNg7GWnXV_c&t=580s Accessed on Sep. 9, 2023, 2:30 p.m. (CET)

[21] Keener, ibid. pp. 51-54

[22]   Habermas, Gary R., and James Porter Moreland. Immortality: the Other Side of Death. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1992.

[23] A discussion of why Christianity is superior to other theistic worldviews, such as Zoroastrianism and Islam, would focus on the Resurrection of Jesus, but that is outside the scope of this paper.

[24] Craig, ibid.

[25] Lewis, ibid.

Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

November 27, 2023 /

1917  Balfour Declaration by the British Government, supporting a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.

1917 – 1948  British Mandate in Palestine. British take Palestine from the Ottomans. In 1919, the newly established League of Nations gave the British a mandate over Palestine and a separate mandate over the area east of the Jordan River.

1917    Expelled Jews allowed to return.

1919 – 1923  Third Aliyah. 40,000 Jews immigrated.

1921  Jaffa riots. Arab mobs violently attacked Jewish population.

1924 – 1928  Fourth Aliyah. More than 80,000 Jews immigrated.

1929 – 1939  Fifth Aliyah. 225,000-300,000 Jewish immigrants.

1929  Palestine riots. Arab mobs attacked Jewish population centers. Triggered by a dispute over access to the Western Wall of Temple Mount.

1936 – 1939  Arab revolt. Arabs revolted against British, calling for independence and an end to Jewish immigration as well as Jewish land purchases.

1947  Approximately 630,000 Jews and 1.2 million Arabs lived in Palestine.

1947 (Nov. 29)  UN General Assembly approves a partition plan for Palestine.

1947-48  Civil War between Jews and Arabs

1948 (May 14)  State if Israel announced on the eve of the end of the British Mandate.

1948  Arab-Israeli War. Arab armies from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq attack the new State of Israel on May 15. The war lasts until 1949, ending with a series of armistices (Egypt: 24 February, Lebanon on 23 March, Transjordan on 3 April, and Syria on 20 July). The armistice lines, called the Green Line, formed the borders of Israel until the 1967 war. Israel greatly expanded its territory. Jordan annexed the West Bank and Egypt the Gaza Strip.

            Around 750,000 Arabs fled or were expelled (Nakba, or catastrophe). Surrounding Arab countries put them in camps and refused to assimilate them. 156,000 Arabs remained in Israel and became citizens. Jordan expelled Jewish residents from the Old City of Jerusalem.

1948-1972  Large-scale Jewish emigration from the Muslim world (much of it forced). Between 800,000 and 1,000,000 Jews emigrated; 650,000 settled in Israel.

1948-1951  700,000 Jews immigrated to Israel, including 300,000 from Muslim countries.

1956  Suez Crisis. Israel, the United Kingdom, and France attack Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. pressured the parties to withdraw.

1964  Palestine Liberation Organization founded with the goal of establishing an Arab state over all of the former Mandate of Palestine, eliminating the State of Israel. Also, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was established

1967  (June 5 – 10)  Six Day War. In May, 1967, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, cutting off Israel’s southern port, Aqaba. It mobilized its troops and demanded that the UN withdraw peacekeepers from Sinai. Israel struck launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt on June 5, destroying its air assets on the ground. It attacked the Gaza Strip and Sinai, which it seized. Jordan attacked Israel, assisted by Iraq, and Israel counterattacked, seizing East Jerusalem and the West Bank. On Day 5, Syria joined the war. Israel countered by seizing the Golan Heights.

            This was followed by a war of attrition between Egypt and Israel, in which each side shelled the other side’s military positions across the Suez Canal.

            The result: Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and Sinai, Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank. Between 200,000 to 250,000 civilians fled the West Bank (out of a total population of 1,000,000). Between 80,000 and 110,000 Syrians fled the Golan Heights.

June 19, the Israeli government decided to return Sinai (but not the Gaza Strip) and the Golan Heights in return for a peace agreement and demilitarization. In September at the Khartoum Arab Summit, the Arab countries rejected it, under the motto “no peace, no recognition and no negotiation with Israel”. But starting in 1971, Egypt began making overtures through the U.S., offering peace if Israel returned the Sinai and other Arab territories.

On June 25-27, Israeli incorporated East Jerusalem into a united Jerusalem municipality, effectively annexing it.

Gush Enunim launched a settlement program in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and now there are hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers (no longer in Gaza), which is an obstacle to a peace solution.

1968   The PLO and PFLP  began a campaign of international terror, primarily directed at hijacking El Al flights. The PLO also began to attack Jordanian interests.

1970    Black September. Jordan fights and expels PLO from Jordan. PLO moves to Lebanon.

1972    Munich Olympics Massacre. Palestinian terrorists, assisted by German Neo-Nazis, capture then kill 11 members of the Israeli Olympic Team.

1973    Yom Kippur War, October 6 – 25. Egypt and Syria, helped by expeditionary forces from other Arab countries, Cuba, and North Korea, launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 6, Yom Kippur, a high Jewish holiday. Israel was taken by surprise and suffered initial losses. It counterattacked and drove the Syrians from Golan and pushed the Egyptians back. It then crossed the Suez Canal and encircled the Egyptian Third Army.

            After the ceasefire, Egypt and Israel agreed to disengage, with the Israelis returning back across the Suez Canal but retaining most of the Sinai. A disengagement agreement was made with Syria in 1974, with Israel returning to the ceasefire line of 1967.

1975    Lebanese civil war begins, at first between Christian militias and Palestinians (PLO). Soon other Lebanese groups joined in. Fighting lasted until 1990.

1977    Egyptian president Sadat visits Israel and speaks before the Knesset.

 1978   Peace talks between Egypt and Israel, hosted by U.S. President Carter. Called the Camp David Accords after the venue, resulted in a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Israel withdrew from Sinai but retained the Gaza Strip. In 1981, Sadat was assassinated by angry military officers, but his successors have maintained peace with Israel.

1981    Palestinian Islamic Jihad founded. It calls for the military destruction of Israel and rejects a two-state solution. Its military wing is the Al Quds Brigade (Al Quds is the Arabic designation of Jerusalem).

1982-1985   Israel invades Lebanon to defeat PLO forces in southern Lebanon, which had been attacking northern Israel. It continued its advance to Beirut, where the PLO had its headquarters. The PLO received help from Syrian forces. Israel drove the Syrians out to the Bekaa Valley and besieged Beirut. In August and September, 14,000 PLO fighters evacuated to Tunisia, where they established their new headquarters. In 1982, US Marines landed in Lebanon as part of the Multinational Force supervising the truce between Israel and the PLO. October 23, 1983, Shia suicide bombers drove into the French and American military barracks, killing 241 Marines and 58 French paratroopers. In June 1985, Israel withdrew to a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Conflict with the Lebanese Shia militia Hizbollah began.

1987-1993  First Intifada in the occupied territories. Much of it consisted of non-violent political actions, but there were also violent actions, and the first suicide attacks began. 160 Israelis and 2,162 Palestinians were killed, including 1,000 Palestinians killed by other Palestinians under the accusation of being collaborators. It ended with the Oslo Accords.

1987    Hamas founded as an explicitly Islamic resistance movement. The founding charter of Hamas mandates the killing of Jews, the destruction of the state of Israel, and advocates for the establishment of an Islamic state in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

1993 – 1995    First Oslo Accord (Declaration of Principles) agreed on in Washington on September 13, 1993. The PLO recognized the existence of Israel and Israel recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The Second Oslo Accord, negotiated in Taba, Egypt in 1995, established the Palestinian Authority and a stepwise withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and the West Bank. The West Bank was divided into three areas: A, B, and C. The Israeli military remains in areas B and C. Negotiations on a final status agreement were supposed to begin. Israeli prime minister Yitshak Rabin was assassinated by a far-right Israeli settler  in 1995.

2000    U.S. president Bill Clinton hosted the Camp David Summit between Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat. Israel offered a Palestinian state initially on 73% of the West Bank (that is, 27% less than the Green Line borders) and 100% of the Gaza Strip. In 10–25 years, the Palestinian state would expand to a maximum of 92% of the West Bank (91 percent of the West Bank and 1 percent from a land swap). Israel would keep a swath of land between Maale Adumim (7 km east of Jerusalem) and the Jordan River and would also control the border between Jordan and the West Bank. The Palestinians said this would divide their state into 3 sections on the West Bank. Palestine would also have sovereignty over the Temple Mount but not the Western Wall. An elevated highway would connect Gaza and the West Bank. The right of return remained a sticking point – the Israelis rejected it and the Palestinians insisted on it. The parties failed to reach agreement, and in 2001 hawkish Ariel Sharon replaced Ehud Barak. The discussions surrounding the Camp David Summit were perhaps the last best chance to reach an agreement.

2000-2005  On September 28, 2000, Ariel Sharon’s led a Likud delegation to visit the Temple Mount. The Second Intifada began the next day, with Palestinians throwing rocks at Jews worshiping at the Western Wall. The Intifada lasted at least until 2005. Approximately 1000 Israelis and 4800 Palestinians were killed plus an additional 577 Palestinians by other Palestinians.

2004    Yassir Arafat died on November 11.

2005    Mahmoud Abbas elected president of the Palestinian National Authority (later also State of Palestine).

2005    Israel, under right-wing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, dismantles 21 settlements and withdraws completely from the Gaza Strip. It also evacuated 4 settlements from the northern West Bank. Israel instituted a partial blockade of Gaza to prevent military and dual use supplies from entering the Strip. The next three years saw a sharp rise in rocket attacks against Israel.

2006    Hamas won legislative elections and formed a government under Ismail Haniya.

2006    Hamas raided Israel from Gaza and abducted Corporal Gilad Shalit. Israel responded with Operation Summer Rains, which consisted of increased shelling and ground incursions, with the goal of stopping rocket attacks and rescuing Corporal Shalit. Israel also destroyed Gaza’s only power station.

2006-8            Negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. On September 16, 2008, Olmert offered a plan that was more generous than the 2000 plan offered at the Camp David Summit. The West Bank would not be divided and there would be a tunnel between it and Gaza. Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem would be under the PA’s authority, which would make it possible to establish a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem. Small, isolated Jewish settlements would be dismantled. Large ones annexed by Israel, but land given to Palestinians in compensation. No right of return (only 1000 per year for 5 years), but a fund to help compensate refugees. Abbas rejected the offer, because he was not given the opportunity to study a detailed plan of Jerusalem.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ehud-olmert-s-peace-offer and https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/92894-151119-abbas-says-he-rejected-olmert-peace-offer-in-2008-over-unseen-map

2007    Battle of Gaza, June 10-14. Armed Hamas militants violently seized PA facilities in Gaza and dismissed all non-Hamas officials. President Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led Haniya government, replacing it with a government led by Salam Fayyad.

2008-9            On February 27, Palestinian militants fired more than 40 rockets from northern Gaza. Israel responded with Operation Hot Winter, launching air attacks against militants and government facilities in Gaza. A ceasefire was negotiated. Israel broke the ceasefire on November 4 in response to finding a tunnel on the border, which it said would be used to capture more Israeli soldiers. Hamas responded by launching rocket attacks. Israel began an offensive on December 28 called Operation Cast Lead and began a ground invasion on January 3. An estimated 1,116-1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died.

2011    On August 18, Palestinian militants launched cross-border attacks on civilian and military targets.

2012    On March 9, Israel carried out a targeted air strike in the Gaza Strip killing Zohair al-Qaisi, the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). Israel said it was a preemptive attack to prevent a massive cross-border attack that al-Qaisi was planning. Militants responded with a massive wave of rocket attacks. Israel’s response was Operation Returning Echo. Israel bombed targets connected with Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees. In October, Israel targeted Ahmed Jabari, chief of the Hamas military wing.

2014    Gaza War. Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8 in response to Hamas rocket attacks. On July 17, Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip. This war killed 2,205 Palestinians and 71 Israelis plus 1 foreign national.

            Jerusalem Unrest on the West Bank, especially in July. Sometimes called the Third Intifada. More than 150 attacks. On November 18, the synagogue massacre, in which two Palestinians attacked worshipers with knives and axes, killing four plus a responding police officer.

2015-6 “Intifada of the Individuals” on the West Bank. Uncoordinated attacks in response to the Israeli Agricultural Minister’s public prayers on the Temple Mount. Period of unrest lasted well into 2016.

2017    Temple Mount crisis. July 14, three armed Israeli-Arabs shot and killed two Israeli police officers guarding an entrance to the Temple Mount. Israel responded by setting up metal detectors, which triggered a wave of unrest in which 11 people died. The metal detectors were removed on July 27.

            December: “Day of rage”, including protests and clashes throughout the West Bank, after President Trump announces decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

2018    Gaza border protests, including clashes with Israeli border troops.

2019    Multiple clashes between Israel and Gaza militants.

            November 26, “day of rage” on the West Bank and Gaza after U.S: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that Israeli settlements were not illegal.

2021    Rocket attacks on Israel, followed by air attacks on militants in Gaza.

2022    Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza.

2023    April-May. Militants fired rockets into Israel. Israel responded with airstrikes.

            October 7, Hamas launched a well-prepared ground attack on southern Israel as well as simultaneous rocket attacks. Some 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were murdered and 240 taken hostage. Israel responded with air attacks and, since October 27, a ground offensive called Operation Swords of Iron, which is ongoing. Israel’s goal is the return of all hostages and the destruction of Hamas.

Discussion of Resignation Letter by Craig Mokhiber

November 27, 2023 /

By Greg Rampinelli

Craig Mokhiber was Director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He resigned on October 28, 2023, due to what he calls the UN’s failure in Gaza. The letter can be found here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24103463-craig-mokhiber-resignation-letter.

Mokhiber’s Accusations

In the letter, he accuses Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and of seizing and reassigning homes in Jerusalem based solely on race. He also says violent settler pogroms are accompanied by Israeli military units. Moreover, he claims that Apartheid rules “across the land”. In addition, he accuses “western corporate media” of continuously “dehumanizing Palestinians to facilitate the genocide, and broadcasting propaganda for war and advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence.”

Accusation: Israel is committing genocide

Mokhiber does not mention the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, in which Hamas fighters brutally murdered some 1400 Israelis. It was this which triggered the Israeli counterstrikes and invasion of Gaza.

Article II of the Genocide Convention defines genocide as follows.

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

  1. Killing members of the group;
  2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
  3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
  4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
  5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

To qualify as genocide, the intent to destroy a group, in whole or in part, is essential. Mokhiber provides no evidence that Israel is trying to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza. It is trying to destroy Hamas, an organization recognized as terrorist by much of the world. There are, of course, enraged Israelis who would contemplate that. Hamas, by the way, still wants to destroy the State of Israel and establish an Islamic state “from the River to the Sea”. What that would mean for the 7 million Jews in Israel is easy to imagine.

Israel is conducting air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip to root out and destroy Hamas. Israel claims it is targeting military targets only. Urban warfare is very bloody, and Gaza is densely populated. In the battle for Mosul against ISIS, between 9000 and 11000 civilians died, according to the Associated Press. Those civilians who have not fled northern Gaza, where fighting is currently concentrated, are in danger of being killed in the military operations. While the civilian losses are horrific, they are not evidence of genocide.

The letter accuses Israel of genocide, not of war crimes. Mokhiber would stand on firmer ground if he had accused Israel of war crimes. Crimes occur in all major wars. Civilized countries try to avoid them and punish the perpetrators when discovered. But is Israel committing war crimes?

The International Committee of the Red Cross states these principles of International Humanitarian Law, which commanders must ensure are followed:

Distinction: You must always clearly distinguish between combatants and civilians or the civilian population as such. Combatants may of course be attacked unless they are out of action, i.e. they are hors de combat. Civilians are protected from attack but lose that protection whenever they take a direct part in hostilities for the time of their participation.

Proportionality: When military objectives are attacked, civilians and civilian objects must be spared from incidental or collateral damage to the maximum extent possible. Incidental damage must not be excessive in relation to the direct and concrete military advantage you anticipate from your operations.

Military necessity: “the only legitimate object which States should endeavour to accomplish during war is to weaken the military forces of the enemy” and that “for this purpose it is sufficient to disable the greatest possible number of men.” It allows for whatever reasonable force is necessary, is lawful and can be operationally justified in combat to make your opponent submit. 

Limitation: Weapons and tactics that are of a nature to cause unnecessary suffering or superfluous injury are prohibited. It applies, for example, to weapons designed to cause injuries that are impossible to treat or that result in a cruel and lingering death.

Good faith: The military should show good faith in their interpretation of the law of armed conflict. Good faith must also be observed in negotiations between opponents and with humanitarian organizations.

Humane treatment and non-discrimination: All people must be treated humanely and without discrimination based on sex, nationality, race, religion or political beliefs. Those who are out of action (hors de combat), such as surrendering combatants, air crew parachuting from downed aircraft, the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, prisoners of war and other captives and detainees, must be identified as such and treated humanely.

Regarding civilian infrastructure, Hague IV states:

Article 25: The attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited.

Article 26: The officer in command of an attacking force must, before commencing a bombardment, except in cases of assault, do all in his power to warn the authorities.


Article 27: In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps must be taken to spare, as far as possible, buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not being used at the time for military purposes.

It is the duty of the besieged to indicate the presence of such buildings or places by distinctive and visible signs, which shall be notified to the enemy beforehand.[2]

Hospitals, schools, and the like must be spared unless they are being used for military purposes. If a school is used to store large amounts of ammunition, for example, it becomes a legitimate military target. Power stations are legitimate military targets if enemy forces are drawing power from them. The principles of proportionality and military necessity apply, but these are judgment calls.

Israel’s military operations are clearly causing massive civilian casualties. Israel is not carpet-bombing Gaza: It selects its targets based on its understanding of military necessity. But in an urban environment, “collateral damage” is inevitable. If civilians share an apartment block with a Hamas commander, Israel can attack the commander, which will cause civilian casualties. This is not a war crime, unless it is militarily unnecessary or collateral damage is unproportional, which is subjective. We will probably not know until after the war whether Israel committed war crimes, but war crimes are common in such wars, and are not genocide.

Mokhiber also accuses Israel of seizing and reassigning homes in Jerusalem based solely on race. He gives no specifics, but he might be referring to cases such as that of Ghaith-Sub Laban. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-jerusalem-old-city-evictions-east-c53ae70f2fa76e4b1f4b528bca4ff35e

Her apartment used to belong to Jews, who were forced to flee when Jordan conquered East Jerusalem in 1948. Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the Six-Day War in 1967, and decided to return property to Jews who were expropriated in 1948. Germany did something similar after reunification in 1991. Of course, this principle does not apply to Palestinians who were forced out of their homes in Israel in 1948, who are not allowed to return, so it seems unfair. But it’s not genocide.

Mokhiber claims that settler pogroms are accompanied by military units. He gives no specifics. Israeli settlers in the West Bank have attacked Palestinian civilians, and Palestinian civilians have attacked them. It is a problem, but violence is not one-sided. Jewish settlers have also attacked Israeli soldiers https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-palestinians-jewish-settlers-storrm-town-pepper-spray-soldiers-rcna53240. If Mokhiber has specific cases of Israeli settlers being accompanied by Israeli military units when attacking Palestinians, he should cite them.  

Accusation: Apartheid rules “across the land”

Does Israel practice Apartheid? If we define Apartheid as in South Africa (or the U.S. South under Jim Crow), it does not practice Apartheid in Israel itself. Arab Israelis are citizens and have essentially all the rights that Jewish citizens have. There are currently nine Arab members of the Knesset plus one Arabic-speaking Druze member. As there are 120 members of the Knesset in total, Arabs are underrepresented, but they are present. An Israeli Arab, Khaled Kabub, was appointed to Israel’s Supreme Court in 2022.

As of March 2023, Israel’s population stands at approximately 9.73 million. Jews make up the majority at 73.5% (about 7.145 million individuals).[3] The Arab community, spanning various religions excluding Judaism, accounts for 21% (around 2.048 million). An additional 5.5% (roughly 534,000 individuals) are classified as “others”. This diverse group comprises those with Jewish ancestry but not recognized as Jewish by religious law, non-Jewish family members of Jewish immigrants, Christian non-Arabs, Muslim non-Arabs, and residents without a distinct ethnic or religious categorization.[4] 

Regarding education, more and more Arab-Israelis are attending college, both in absolute terms and proportionately.  In 2021, they were about 17% of all students in Israel, somewhat less than their 21% share of the population. https://che.org.il/en

Israeli Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, can serve in the Israeli Defense Force, but are not subject to conscription.

Israel is an explicitly Jewish state, established to be a homeland for Jews worldwide, so there is some discrimination, especially regarding immigration. Israeli Arabs may very well experience discrimination in employment and housing, which is a common experience of minorities everywhere, but this is improving. This is not Apartheid.

If Mokhaber is referring to the West Bank, he could make a much stronger argument. The West Bank is still occupied, and its residents are not Israeli citizens, except for the settlers. Israel considers them an unfriendly, possibly enemy population, and keeps them under control for security reasons. The solution is to end the Occupation, but this requires a peace agreement. Ehud Olmert’s proposal of 2008 was the best chance yet to achieve this.

Western “corporate media” continuously dehumanizes Palestinians

Is he talking about Fox News?

In my opinion, much of the western media is very sympathetic to the plight of Palestinian civilians, but not to Hamas. The media outlets I watch try to present both sides and are somewhat skeptical about Netanyahu and the Israeli military’s account. This is a matter of perception, of course. Both sides accuse the media of bias toward the other side.

Here’s an interesting anecdote about an NBC journalist who took Hamas’s side in the October 7 attacks: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/nbc-journalist-arrested-by-israeli-police-for-cheering-on-hamas-during-horrific-terror-attack/

Mokhiber’s Solution

To remedy the problem, Mokhiber recommends the following:

  • One state based on human rights
  • Return and compensation for Palestinian refugees
  • Disarmament of Israel’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons

One-state based on human rights

The UN in 1948 established a Jewish state and an Arab state in the British Mandate of Palestine west of the Jordan River. Since the Balfour Declaration of 1917, Palestine was supposed to become a homeland for the Jews, where they could be safe. The Holocaust showed that a Jewish state was essential. Jews have been safest in western Europe and the U.S., but even there, anti-Semitism is rising. A Jewish state is needed now as much as before.

The conflict between Arabs and Israelis prior to 1948 showed that a unitary state would be filled with conflict: One side would dominate and oppress the other. This is what Mokhiber accuses Israel of doing. If the unitary state were dominated by the Arabs, would they suddenly treat the Jews fairly? Recent history shows they would not!

As for “based on human rights”, where do we find that in the Arab world? That is totally unrealistic. A unitary state in Palestine would turn the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into an internal one, a civil war. Is that a good solution?

Many Palestinians want a unitary state because they believe they would dominate it. According to the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., the estimated number of Palestinians at the end of 2021 was about 14 million: 5.3 million in the State of Palestine (3.2 million in the West Bank and 2.1 million in the Gaza Strip), 1.7 million in the 1948 territories, and nearly 7 million in the diaspora (6.3 million live in Arab countries and 750,000 in foreign countries). https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/brief-report-on-the-population-of-palestine-at-the-end-of-2021.

There are 7 million Jews in Israel. Even if none of the Palestinians in the diaspora returned, the number of Palestinians would equal the number of Jews in a unitary state. Israel/Palestine would no longer be a Jewish state and would not be safe as a homeland for the Jews.

Far-right Israelis also want a unitary state “from the river to the sea”, but they want it to be Jewish, with the Arabs expelled.

Both Jews and Palestinians have legitimate historical claims to the land. Palestine “from the river to the sea” was the land of Israel in biblical times. Even after the Bar Kochba revolts in 136 A.D., Jews remained the majority of the population. Eventually, the land became Arab and Muslim, but Jews maintained a significant presence in the land. Palestinians, of course, have also lived there for centuries. If they cannot live together in peace in a unitary state, a two-state solution is best, as the UN envisioned in 1948. Ehud Olmert’s plan of 2008 would have been a good solution, but the Palestinians rejected it.    

Return and compensation for Palestinian refugees

During the 1948 War, 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled Israel. Since the surrounding Arab countries refused to assimilate them but insisted on return, the descendants of the original refugees are also considered to be refugees. Accordingly, about 5 million Palestinians are considered refugees. If they all returned to Israel, it would no longer be a Jewish state and not a safe homeland for the Jews.

At the end of World War II, millions of Germans fled eastern Europe to what remained of Germany. They were assimilated. Do they have legitimate claims to return to their ancestral lands?

Reasonable compensation of Palestinian refugees would be appropriate, and Israel has offered that as part of a peace agreement, but a right of return, if fully exercised, would destroy Israel.

Disarmament of Israel’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons

Israel has never admitted to having nuclear weapons, but it is very likely that it has them. Israel probably does not have chemical or biological weapons, although it could make them. As long as Israel is threatened, by Iran, for example, it will not voluntarily give up its nuclear weapons. That would be national suicide. The United Nations realistically cannot make that happen.

Conclusion

Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, was horrific. It murdered some 1400 peaceful, unarmed civilians in shockingly brutal ways. And given the chance, it will do it again. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation on October 24, 2023: “We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it again and again. The Al-Aqsa Deluge [the name Hamas gave its 7 October onslaught – ed.] is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth. Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs.”

For the peace of Palestine and the security of Israel, Hamas must be destroyed, just as the Nazis had to be destroyed in World War II.

An opinion poll of Palestinians conducted by Birzeit University, Ramallah (West Bank) showed that some 75% of Palestinians support the Hamas-led slaughter of Oct. 7. Likewise, 75% of Palestinians seek the annihilation of Israel. They want a Palestine “from the river to the sea.” This position is distinct from a position of supporting a Jewish-Arab state from the river to the sea, or the so-called “one-state solution,” which only 5.4% of Palestinians support. Another 17.2% support the two-state solution.

Right-wing Israelis cite this to support their own preference of a Jewish state from the River to the Sea, but that would require the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their ancestral home, which is morally unacceptable. The current situation in the West Bank is morally unacceptable and will continue to breed terror attacks. Palestinians need a greater degree of self-rule so they can develop economically and socially. But they need to give up their dream of driving Israel into the sea.

One option would be for Egypt to take over the Gaza Strip and Jordan the West Bank. Israel would probably welcome that, but neither the Palestinians nor Egypt and Jordan want that. The most feasible solution is a two-state solution with a demilitarized Palestinian state subject to some kind of outside monitoring. Prime Minister Olmert’s proposal in 2008 would have been a fair solution. Perhaps it can be resurrected.

If Mokhiber really wants peace in Palestine, he should support a negotiated two-state solution. In the meantime, he and other “human rights activists” should try to be more even-handed. Israelis don’t consider the United Nations a neutral actor. In that, I believe Israel is right. If the UN cannot condemn the Hamas atrocity of October 7, 2023, without reservation, it has lost all moral authority.

Brief History of the Jews in the Holy Land Up to 1917

November 27, 2023 /

Abraham (ca. 2000 B.C.) “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:18-21)

“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” – Exodus 23:31–33

Israel ultimately conquered this territory under King David, but never occupied it completely – that would have required them to live in Syria and Lebanon as well.

Ca. 1445 to 1405 B.C. Exodus (alternative: 1245-1205 B.C.).

Ca. 1405 B.C. to 1385 B.C. Conquest of Canaan

Ca. 1385 B.C. to 1050 B.C.Wars of the Judges (including Samuel)

Ca. 1050 B.C. Monarchy established

722 B.C. The Assyrians sent the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom into exile. The ten northern tribes were then lost to history.

The remaining inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom are probably the forerunners of the Samaritans, who considered themselves the descendants of Israel and worshipped on Mount Gerizim. The Jews did not consider them true descendants of Israel, and there was enmity between the two peoples.

608 – 538 B.C. Babylonian Exile (alternative: 586 – 516 B.C.).

516 B.C. Rebuilt Temple dedicated

445 B.C. Walls of Jerusalem completed

332 B.C. Alexander the Great conquers Judea

167 B.C.  Antiochus Epiphanes, the Seleucid (Greek) King of Syria, bans Jewish religious practices and dedicates the Jewish Temple to the Greek god Zeus. Maccabees rebel.

165 B.C. Maccabees retake Temple.

152 B.C.  Hasmonean dynasty established.

67 B.C. Romans under Pompey conquer Syria and Judea.

37 B.C.  Herod the Great appointed King of the Jews

66 – 73 A.D. First Jewish rebellion. Romans destroy the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

132 – 136 A.D. Bar Kochba revolt. Judea and Galilee devastated. Jews barred from Jerusalem.

From 4th century A.D. Christianization. Jews remain a significant minority (possibly a majority)

438 A.D. Eastern Roman Empress Eudocia removes ban against Jews praying at the Temple site.

5th century A.D. Increased Christian immigration due to collapse of Wester Roman Empire.

614 A.D. Sassanids (Persians) conquer Jerusalem with Jewish help.

628 A.D. Byzantine Emperor Heraclius retakes Jerusalem with Jewish assistance. He reneges on his promise of restoring Jewish rights and carried out a massacre of the Jewish population, devastating Jewish communities of Jerusalem and Galilee. Jews flee the area or hide in mountains.

638 A.D.  Arab/Muslim conquest. Gradual Arabization of the population (many remained Christian). Jews allowed back into Jerusalem and maintained a significant presence in the region.

720 A.D. Jews banned from worshiping on the Temple Mount. Ban remained for 1000 years.

Subsequent centuries: Jewish emigration due to discrimination and persecution. Jews remained a significant minority.

1099 – 1291 A.D.  Crusades. Jews often fought on the side of the Muslims. Multiple massacres of Jews.

1187 A.D.  Saladin conquers Jerusalem and Palestine. Lets Jews return to Jerusalem.

1260 A.D. Egyptian Mamluks take control. Mamluks oppressed Jews (and Christians) and destroyed coastal cities, where many Jews lived. Despite this, there were waves of Jewish immigration to Palestine over the next centuries.

1517 A.D.  Ottomans conquer Palestine and make it part of the province of Syria. About 5000 Jews in Palestine, many in Safed in Galilee.

17th century  Decline in Jewish population due to economic and security problems.

1834 Peasants revolt in Egypt. Looting of Safed and Hebron massacre.

19th century Ashkenazi Jews immigrated from Eastern Europe and Sephardic Jews from Bulgaria, Turkey, and North Africa.

1880   The Jewish population of Palestine numbered around 20,000 to 25,000, of whom two-thirds lived in Jerusalem. About 10% of the total population.

1881-1903  First Aliyah. About 25,000 to 35,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine.

1896  A majority of the population of Jerusalem is Jewish.

1904 – 1914  Second Aliyah. 35,000 Jews immigrated, mostly from Russian Empire.

1909  Tel Aviv established as a modern Jewish city.

1914-1918  Ottomans deported many Jews as enemy aliens.

1917 Deportations of all Jews from Jaffa and Tel Aviv

1917  Balfour Declaration by the British Government, supporting a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.

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