What is the most important issue in the Modern Middle East? Is it the Israel-Palestinian (also called the Arab-Israeli Conflict)

* 10 pages, typed, double-space. Show you have read the books by quotes and references

Answer by comparing and contrasting 1) the relationship between Israeli Zionists and the Arabs of Palestine from the 1880s to 2015, with 2) the relationship between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims from 1979 to the present.

Using Bunton’s The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and Shavitt’s My Promised Land, analyze the relationship between Israel and its Arab neighbors. What kind of conflict is it? What is the CORE ISSUE? Why has Zionism been a success? What is the tragedy of the Palestinians, and why does it go on and on? Is it a “100 Years War”? HOW DID the Six Day War of 1967 change the situation. Did 1979 MARK A TURNING POINT? What did the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty accomplish? –and fail to accomplish? CAN A FINAL PEACE BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES BE ENVISIONED? DESCRIBE IT. What “final status” issues need to be settled?—BE SPECIFIC. Why is it so difficult to agree? Is a peace deal possible, say, in the next 10 years? If the conflict continues, what is likely to be the next change in the relationship? IS THIS CONFLICT SOLVABLE, OR NOT? IS the ISRAELI – PALESTINAIN CONFLICT THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN TODAY’S MIDDLE EAST?

Using Nasr’s The Shia Revival and Caryl’s Strange Rebels 1979, analyze the changes in the relationship between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims since 1979, what is old and what is new? Describe the traditional relationship between these 2 branches of Islam (how did it begin). How did the Iranian Revolution in 1979 change the situation? What did Ayatollah Khomeini do that made the Shia Revival so revolutionary? How did the Sunnis react? What event shook up Saudi Arabia that produced what Nasr calls the “Battle of Islamic Fundamentalisms” between Iran and Saudi Arabia and their clients? How did the Russian invasion of Afghanistan stir up the Sunnis? Where did Al-Qaeda and the 9-11 (2001) come from? How did the American invasion of Iraq (2003-) affect the relationship between Sunnis and Shia? How did the Syrian uprising that started in the “Arab Spring” of 2011 lead to a region-wide civil war that is being called “the mother of all proxy wars.” What is ISIS (the Islamic State)—also called “Daesh”. IS THE SECTARIAN CONFLICT BETWEEN SUNNI AND SHIA—and the states that champion each—THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Begin with a thesis statement. Give summaries of both issues. Make comparisons, and make contrasts. Come to a clear conclusion, wrapping up everything you have proven in your paper. Restate the thesis in a new, clearer, more empathic way (show you are confident in your argument).

What is the most important issue in the Modern Middle East? Is it the Israel-Palestinian (also called the Arab-Israeli Conflict)

* 10 pages, typed, double-space. Show you have read the books by quotes and references

Answer by comparing and contrasting 1) the relationship between Israeli Zionists and the Arabs of Palestine from the 1880s to 2015, with 2) the relationship between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims from 1979 to the present.

Using Bunton’s The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and Shavitt’s My Promised Land, analyze the relationship between Israel and its Arab neighbors. What kind of conflict is it? What is the CORE ISSUE? Why has Zionism been a success? What is the tragedy of the Palestinians, and why does it go on and on? Is it a “100 Years War”? HOW DID the Six Day War of 1967 change the situation. Did 1979 MARK A TURNING POINT? What did the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty accomplish? –and fail to accomplish? CAN A FINAL PEACE BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES BE ENVISIONED? DESCRIBE IT. What “final status” issues need to be settled?—BE SPECIFIC. Why is it so difficult to agree? Is a peace deal possible, say, in the next 10 years? If the conflict continues, what is likely to be the next change in the relationship? IS THIS CONFLICT SOLVABLE, OR NOT? IS the ISRAELI – PALESTINAIN CONFLICT THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN TODAY’S MIDDLE EAST?

Using Nasr’s The Shia Revival and Caryl’s Strange Rebels 1979, analyze the changes in the relationship between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims since 1979, what is old and what is new? Describe the traditional relationship between these 2 branches of Islam (how did it begin). How did the Iranian Revolution in 1979 change the situation? What did Ayatollah Khomeini do that made the Shia Revival so revolutionary? How did the Sunnis react? What event shook up Saudi Arabia that produced what Nasr calls the “Battle of Islamic Fundamentalisms” between Iran and Saudi Arabia and their clients? How did the Russian invasion of Afghanistan stir up the Sunnis? Where did Al-Qaeda and the 9-11 (2001) come from? How did the American invasion of Iraq (2003-) affect the relationship between Sunnis and Shia? How did the Syrian uprising that started in the “Arab Spring” of 2011 lead to a region-wide civil war that is being called “the mother of all proxy wars.” What is ISIS (the Islamic State)—also called “Daesh”. IS THE SECTARIAN CONFLICT BETWEEN SUNNI AND SHIA—and the states that champion each—THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Begin with a thesis statement. Give summaries of both issues. Make comparisons, and make contrasts. Come to a clear conclusion, wrapping up everything you have proven in your paper. Restate the thesis in a new, clearer, more empathic way (show you are confident in your argument).