The ENTIRE History of Israel (Documentary)

0:01 The history of Israel has always been a battleground of faith,

0:05 power, and survival.

0:07 Once a land of prophecy and promise, it became the obsession of empires,

0:11 the birthplace of religions, and the spark of endless conflict.

0:15 The Egyptians enslaved its people, the Babylonians burned its temples,

0:19 and the Romans sought to erase its identity.

0:22 Yet, no conqueror could truly claim it.

0:25 Revolts shattered empires, exiles fueled resilience,

0:28 and generations fought to reclaim what was lost.

0:31 But with each victory came new enemies, and with each rebirth, new struggles.

0:37 But what happened next in the history of Israel?

0:42 To understand the wars, the faith, and the unbreakable will of its people,

0:47 we must go back to the very beginning.

0:59 The story starts on the eastern coast

1:01 of the Mediterranean Sea known as the Levant, more specifically in Canaan.

1:06 Bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River in the east,

1:10 Canaan has left a lasting legacy on today's world

1:12 since it is settled at a crossroads of civilizations.

1:16 On the west, the sea connected it with Europe.

1:18 On the south there was the Arabian Peninsula.

1:21 On the east there was Mesopotamia and on the north Canaan

1:25 was connected with the old civilizations in Anatolia and the Cauasus region.

1:30 And that crossroad could lead on many sides.

1:32 Phoenicians became skillful traders who gifted the world with a phonetic

1:36 language known as the alphabet that is still used today.

1:40 During the late Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods,

1:43 life flourished in this part of the world.

1:45 With a lot of fertile plains, highlands, and most importantly, coastal access,

1:50 it was natural that the prehistoric people would settle in Canaan.

1:54 The main center and one of the earliest continuously inhabited cities

1:58 in the world was Jericho in the valley of the Jordan River.

2:01 Archaeological discoveries show that people living

2:04 in Jericho even had defensive walls and towers.

2:07 Almost 11 millennia old, Jericho still exists today,

2:11 which makes it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

2:16 During these millenniums, many different tribes lived in these lands.

2:19 But the emergence of Canaanites in the 3rd millennium BC changed everything.

2:24 Very soon, these Semitic people founded

2:27 city states and trading began to flourish.

2:29 Their states, including Jericho, Megado,

2:33 and others communicated with Mesopotamian states and Egypt.

2:37 Being the crossroads of these civilizations,

2:39 these Canaanite states accepted some foreign cultural customs,

2:43 but also spread theirs.

2:45 And the ancient Canaanites also worshiped

2:47 multiple deities like their neighbors in Egypt.

2:50 But in this crossroad that was destined to become the Holy Land,

2:53 something soon changed.

2:55 And the stories of the founding of the world's first monotheistic religion.

2:59 These stories cross the thin line between ancient history and mythology,

3:03 mystifying even more the origins of Judaism.

3:07 It all started with Abraham, a man born in of the Chaldes in Mesopotamia.

3:12 The myth further says that he received a message

3:14 from God to travel to Canaan and spread God's word.

3:18 Abraham left the safety of his father's home and he was promised

3:21 that the land of Canaan would become

3:23 his and his family's along with God's blessing.

3:27 His journey was full of obstacles like

3:29 weather conditions and long wandering through inhospitable lands.

3:33 Stories of his adventures are incoherent

3:35 and some even state that he visited Egypt.

3:38 Jacob later had 12 sons who became the founding fathers of 12 tribes of Israel.

3:44 Jacob also introduced the name Israel,

3:46 but circumstances like the 7-year famine and especially finding his son Joseph

3:51 made him relocate to Egypt where he was greeted by the Pharaoh himself.

3:55 With Jacob, the period of the patriarch was concluded

3:58 and the Israeli people entered the new era in Egypt.

4:02 The one who started the era in Egypt was Joseph.

4:05 Sold in slavery by his brother,

4:07 Joseph quickly broke his shackles and became wellresected

4:10 by Pharaoh who trusted Joseph to interpret Pharaoh's dreams.

4:14 Moses' story begins in the shadows of the greatest oppression.

4:18 After that, he fled Egypt to Midian

4:20 and the history of the people of Israel was changed.

4:24 One day, a burning bush caught his attention, and from that bush,

4:28 God spoke, appointing Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt's oppression.

4:33 Moses confronted the new Pharaoh with God's command to let my people go.

4:38 After a negative response, Moses unleashed a series of plagues upon Egypt.

4:42 The one that made the Pharaoh allow them to leave

4:45 was the angel's killing of all firstborn Egyptian children, including Pharaohs.

4:50 The Pharaoh soon changed his mind and ordered the army to kill the Israelites.

4:54 But Moses spread the Red Sea with his stick, saving his people.

4:59 The sea later drowned the Egyptian army.

5:01 In this Exodus, Moses became not only a leader,

5:04 but also a preacher, receiving the Ten Commandments at top Mount Si.

5:09 Although there were some hard times and choices,

5:12 Moses led his people through decades of wandering in the desert.

5:16 As they neared the promised land, his journey came to an end.

5:19 Forbidden to enter Canaan himself, he climbed Mount Nebo,

5:22 where he saw the land from afar.

5:25 There he died, leaving behind a legacy as one of history's greatest leaders.

5:30 After Moses' death, the Israelites, led by Joshua, entered the promised land.

5:35 Since there were already Canaanites there,

5:37 the settling of the promised land turned into conquest.

5:40 Jericho was one of the first cities to fall under their rule.

5:44 However, their unity soon fractured and the era of the judges began.

5:48 These leaders who were both warriors and prophets rose during times of crisis.

5:54 These people brought temporary stability.

5:56 But the cycle of faithfulness, sin, oppression,

5:59 and redemption marked this period for generations.

6:03 But everything changed in the 11th century BC when from the ashes of chaos rose

6:08 a dynasty that united the tribes and carved

6:10 their names in the Israeli national identity.

6:13 [Music] To study closely the period of the unified kingdom of Israel,

6:26 we once again must consult the Old Testament.

6:31 Although it is not a very reliable source

6:33 in the lack of any other, we must turn to it.

6:38 The kingdom of Israel is said to have been formed in the late 11th century BC.

6:43 Then the 12 tribes of Israel scattered across the land

6:46 of Canaan finally unified under the rule of Saul.

6:51 There are a few reasons why the tribes did that and the main

6:54 one was protection from external threats mostly from the Philistines.

6:58 The Philistines were a very powerful people with a formidable navy

7:02 in that time and they often raided the southern coastal regions.

7:08 Now the first real state could finally

7:10 resist their attacks and Saul was in charge.

7:13 Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, like Moses before him,

7:16 was reluctant to unify the tribes and become a king,

7:19 although anointed by the prophet Samuel.

7:22 It is uncertain when this exactly happened,

7:24 but some historians give us the year 1,20 BC.

7:28 Saul proved himself in battles against the Ammonites and Philistines.

7:33 But the problem was that during his reign,

7:36 Saul didn't work according to God's plan

7:38 and God didn't accept him as king anymore.

7:41 Saul became too disobedient and the punishment soon arrived.

7:46 Somewhere around the year 1,000 BC, Saul lost a battle, his army,

7:51 and his life in the battle at Mount Gilboa

7:54 against the Philistines when he intentionally fell on his sword,

7:57 aware of inevitable defeat.

8:00 Three of Saul's sons also perished in the battle and after two years of turmoil,

8:05 David, his son-in-law, became the new king.

8:09 David had modest origins.

8:12 Although when God rejected Saul as king,

8:14 the prophet Samuel selected David, his life didn't change.

8:19 The youngest son in his household and a humble shepherd,

8:22 David had little chance for any notable life before he encountered Goliath.

8:28 Goliath was a Philistine warrior of imposing size.

8:32 Although the height of 9 ft was clearly exaggerated,

8:35 Goliath was a giant and the greatest weapon of the Philistine army.

8:39 No one was brave enough to challenge him.

8:42 David had come to the battlefield only to deliver food to his brothers.

8:47 There he heard Goliath cursing God.

8:50 And that is when David lost sight of Goliath's size.

8:54 He was sure God was on his side

8:56 and even refused any weapons except for five stones.

9:00 While approaching Goliath, David taunted him and aimed with his sling.

9:05 One shot in the forehead was enough to beat Goliath,

9:08 whom David beheaded with his own sword.

9:11 Israel won, and David became very respected and King Saul's son-in-law.

9:17 Soon, they became enemies.

9:19 Although unaware of David's destiny,

9:21 Saul was afraid of David's influence and possible power and wanted him dead.

9:27 Saul's attempts to kill him forced David to flee,

9:30 leading to years of living as an outlaw.

9:34 After Saul's untimely death,

9:35 David was initially accepted as king only by his own tribe,

9:40 Judah, ruling from Hebron for 7 years.

9:43 As time passed, David managed to consolidate power and became king of Israel,

9:48 supported by all tribes.

9:50 It was he who established a new capital around 993 BC.

9:56 This new capital, Jerusalem, is one of the most important cities,

10:00 if not the most important of all time.

10:04 Living his life according to God's wishes,

10:06 David's reign was prosperous and is still

10:09 remembered as the golden age of Israel.

10:12 The state was centralized and the old enemies like the Philistines

10:15 and Moabites lost some of their land in Israel's favor.

10:20 Yet, there were some problems, especially in his personal life.

10:25 David's affair with Ba Sheeba and the murder

10:28 of her husband were scandalous and even led to some rebellions.

10:32 Because of the bloodshed,

10:34 God didn't allow David to construct a monumental temple in Jerusalem.

10:38 That task was left to his son from Ba

10:41 Sheeba Solomon who inherited his father somewhere around 970 BC.

10:47 Unlike his father, Solomon's rule was marked by peace and building projects.

10:53 The state of Israel was rapidly developing.

10:56 Following David's death, his son Solomon inherited the throne,

11:00 and the first temple in Jerusalem was finally completed around 957 BC.

11:08 Built on Mount Mariah, the temple became the spiritual heart of Israel.

11:13 Almost immediately after the construction was finished,

11:16 the temple became home to the Ark of the Covenant.

11:19 The luxury of the temple clearly showed

11:21 how wealthy Solomon and Israel had become.

11:25 Still, by the end of his rule, Solomon wasn't universally loved anymore.

11:30 Heavy taxation needed to finance his projects turned the people against

11:34 Solomon and forced labor on these projects made them hate their king.

11:38 He wasn't one of them anymore.

11:41 He became distant.

11:43 Also, many foreigners moved to Israel and Solomon declared religious

11:47 tolerance which was one more thing the Israelites didn't like.

11:52 an already unhappy kingdom completely fragmented after Solomon's death because

11:56 his son Rehoboam refused to reduce taxes and forced labor.

12:01 Although there were not many projects anymore,

12:04 this led to open mutiny and 10 northern tribes formed the kingdom of Israel

12:08 with Jeroboam I as the king while

12:11 Rihoboam retained control over Judah in the south.

12:15 These two kingdoms of the same people became rivals,

12:18 though both much weaker than a once united nation.

12:22 Soon, both kingdoms became prey for powerful empires in their neighborhood.

12:27 In 722 BC, the kingdom of Israel fell

12:31 to the Assyrian Empire after a 3-year siege.

12:35 People were forcibly deported and scattered across the empire.

12:39 Today they are known as the lost tribes

12:41 of Israel and their fate is still unknown.

12:46 The southern kingdom survived the Assyrian Empire

12:49 but in 586 BC the Babylonian Empire conquered Jerusalem.

12:55 The Babylonians burned the city,

12:57 destroyed the first temple and exiled many important figures to Babylon.

13:03 This loss of independence and another period of exile really

13:07 represented a challenge for the Israelite people and their faith.

13:12 However, the Jewish community in exile stuck to their faith

13:15 and continued practicing their traditions only without the temple.

13:20 There were even new prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah.

13:24 Returning to the homeland was the dream they achieved

13:27 in 539 BC after almost 50 years of exile.

13:32 The one who saved them was another conqueror.

13:36 Only this time it was the Persian ruler who conquered Babylon.

13:42 They came back home.

13:43 But their world was forever changed and the Israelite

13:46 people needed to come to terms with that.

13:55 For the Jewish people,

13:56 the Persian conquest of Babylon was actually a liberation.

14:00 The moment the Persian king Cyrus the Great entered Babylon meant

14:04 the world for all the people forcibly exiled into Babylon, including Jews.

14:11 Interestingly, even the Babylonian elite had little problems with foreign rule.

14:16 For Israelis, it was a return to their old ways of faith.

14:20 Words of prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah turned out to be true.

14:25 They promised that their suffering would end

14:27 and that a return to Zion was just around the corner.

14:31 Cyrus the Great proclaimed tolerance and he allowed

14:34 the Jews returning from exile to rebuild their temple.

14:38 Among those who journeyed back was Zerubbabel,

14:41 a descendant of the Davidic line who took up

14:43 the leadership in the formidable task of rebuilding the temple.

14:48 Imagine the scene.

14:50 caravans winding their way through deserts and valleys,

14:53 carrying not only supplies, but also the hopes and prayers of scattered people.

14:58 The challenges were difficult to overcome,

15:00 similar to those when the Jewish people first arrived.

15:03 Hostility from neighboring peoples, resource shortages, and internal doubts.

15:09 But the vision of a restored Zion was above everything.

15:15 The second temple's construction began in 516 BC.

15:21 This new temple, though less luxurious than Solomon's,

15:24 symbolized a new beginning and resilience of the people of Israel.

15:28 The prophet Hagi spoke passionately to the people,

15:31 urging them to complete the work despite their hardships.

15:36 Is it time for you to live in your houses while this house lies in ruins?

15:42 The return to Zion was not merely physical

15:45 as it was deeply spiritual and cultural as well.

15:49 During this period, the foundation of Judaism

15:51 as we know it today began to take shape.

15:56 The Pentatuk or Torah was compiled and canonized,

16:00 finally giving a written form to the oral

16:03 traditions that had sustained the Jewish people through exile.

16:06 During this era, besides the temple that was being built,

16:10 believers started to construct synagogues as centers for worship and learning.

16:15 The development of synagogues later proved very important

16:18 for the survival of Judaism in later centuries.

16:24 One figure who stands out during this transformative period is Ezra the writer.

16:30 A scholar and priest, Ezra led a second wave of exiles

16:34 back to Jerusalem decades after the temple's reconstruction.

16:37 His mission was clear to reestablish the laws

16:40 of Moses as the most important for Jewish life.

16:44 One of the first things Ezra did when he arrived in Jerusalem

16:48 was to gather people on the square and read the Torah.

16:53 These words from the sacred text were a reminder

16:56 to the people who they were a renewal of identity.

17:01 From that moment, the Torah was no longer a distant relic,

17:04 but a living guide for the community.

17:08 In that way, during the uncertain times for the temple,

17:11 Judaism became the fate more turned to the sacred

17:14 texts rather than to the one special sacred monument.

17:19 And Ezra still influences the Jewish community because he founded the great

17:23 assembly where 120 leaders gathered to codify all the Jewish customs.

17:29 Under Ezra's guidance, the great assembly formalized prayers and blessings

17:33 and also added public readings of the Torah.

17:38 that helped the teachings to reach the community.

17:41 Ezra's dedication to the Torah was above all else.

17:44 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord

17:47 and to do it and to teach its statutes and rules in Israel.

17:51 The scriptures note,

17:54 Ezra's efforts once again awakened Jewish religious identity.

17:58 With public reading of the Torah,

18:00 Ezra brought all people to the only righteous path,

18:03 and that gave him the nickname father of Judaism.

18:06 His reforms were not without controversy.

18:09 Marriages with non-Jewish populations had become common,

18:12 and Ezra's insistence on strict obedience

18:15 to the Torah created tensions within the community.

18:18 That period of Persian rule was full of respect for local

18:21 customs and religions that allowed

18:23 for a relatively harmonious coexistence of cultures.

18:29 The Jews as loyal subjects thrived under

18:32 Persian patronage while maintaining their distinct identity.

18:36 They also had a degree of autonomy under

18:38 the governance of high priests and local leaders.

18:40 But that time didn't last forever.

18:43 The return to Zion and religious tolerance were not the end of the story.

18:47 Something was changing and soon their world

18:49 would be overwhelmed by an unknown power.

18:52 The fragile piece of the Persian era would

18:54 give way to the storm of wars and conquests,

18:57 setting the stage for a new chapter of survival of Jewish people.

19:05 In 336 BC, a new threat from the west emerged.

19:11 Greece was finally united under Macedonian rule

19:14 and the new young king wanted to even

19:16 the score with Persia more than 100 years after Persia attacked the Greek world.

19:24 His name was Alexander and this name will

19:27 remain in the echoes of history for eternity.

19:31 Besides conquering Persia, Alexander the Great influenced Israel in many ways.

19:36 First, once again, these people got new foreign masters.

19:40 But this one also wanted to change the culture of many

19:43 nations that he ruled over and blend them into one nation.

19:48 Born in Macedonia, Alexander was tutored

19:51 by Aristotle and raised in Greek traditions.

19:54 From a young age, he believed he was destined for greatness.

19:59 Alexander was a military genius and very ambitious in his quest for glory.

20:04 Still, he was surprised that something that had

20:06 begun as a mere Greek campaign to avenge earlier

20:09 Persian invasions soon became something monumental that changed

20:13 the course of history in this part of the world.

20:17 From Greece, Alexander led his armies across Asia Minor, Syria,

20:21 and Egypt before striking deep into Persia

20:24 and eventually reaching as far as the Indis Valley.

20:27 And among all those places was Israel.

20:32 And that's how the hellistic period began where Greek language,

20:35 art, and philosophy influenced societies from Egypt to India.

20:40 This influence also affected Judea, but with significant resistance.

20:45 Although some Jews accepted this blending of Greek and Eastern cultures,

20:49 others fiercely defended their traditions,

20:52 openly opposing the Macedonian rulers.

20:56 The highlight of this tension happened almost two centuries after

20:59 Alexander when his empire was already divided by his officers.

21:04 Seucid king Antiochus IV epiphanies decided to completely unify

21:09 his kingdom through helenization although

21:12 his predecessors had tolerated Jewish faith.

21:15 Antiochus forbold Jewish religious practices and even desecrated the temple

21:20 in Jerusalem where he put an altar dedicated to Zeus.

21:24 In a matter of days, the whole of Judea rose to revolt.

21:30 The revolt began in the town of Modian where the authorities

21:33 demanded that the Jewish priest Matathias sacrificed to a pagan god.

21:38 Matathias refused and killed both the officer and a Jewish collaborator.

21:44 Soon he led the guerilla resistance.

21:48 After Mattathias's death in 166 BC during the second year of the revolt,

21:54 the leadership passed to his son Judah Makabe,

21:58 also known as Judah the Hammer for his ferocity in battle.

22:02 This Makabian revolt got its name from this leader.

22:06 Judah Makabe was a skillful military leader who masterfully

22:09 used guerilla tactics to attack the stronger Seucid forces.

22:14 Rebel forces grew stronger by the day,

22:16 strong enough to attack fortified cities and even

22:19 liberate Jerusalem after the battle of Bethzour.

22:23 This wellorganized ambush in64 BC allowed the Mcabes to liberate

22:29 their capital and once again restore the temple to its original purpose.

22:34 That victory is marked by the festival of Hanukkah,

22:37 still celebrated today among the Jewish community.

22:41 Sadly, the revolt was also partially a civil

22:44 war between anti-Greek and Greek friendly Jews.

22:48 Although Judah Makabe perished in 160 BC,

22:52 the revolt did not end with his death as his brothers took over.

22:57 Eventually, this revolt secured fragile autonomy followed

23:01 by occasional skirmishes between the Mcabes and Seucids.

23:05 During this period, Simon Thasi, one of the brothers,

23:08 was recognized as both the high priest and ruler of Judea.

23:13 He established the Hasminian dynasty.

23:17 But one new power also took part in this Jewish struggle.

23:21 The Roman Republic used diplomatic means to help Judea against

23:25 the Seucids and in doing so gained influence in this semi-independent state.

23:32 Still, this was a rare period of self-ruule for the Jewish people.

23:37 But like it always happened before,

23:39 internal divisions swed the seeds of downfall, and Rome also helped.

23:44 For decades, Rome had been expanding eastward,

23:47 eventually conquering the Seucid Empire.

23:50 In the 70s BC, two brothers from the Hasminian dynasty,

23:54 Hercanis II and Aristobulus,

23:58 claimed the throne and both factions turned to Pompy for support,

24:02 practically inviting Rome to establish influence.

24:08 Pompy saw the opportunity to bring Judea under Roman control.

24:13 Initially attempting diplomacy,

24:15 he was met with resistance when Aristobulus fortified Jerusalem.

24:19 Pompy marched on the city leading to a brutal siege.

24:23 After 3 months, the city walls fell and bloodshed followed.

24:27 From that moment, Judea became a client kingdom

24:30 ruled by Roman controlled figures like Herod the Great.

24:35 His reign showed that the fire shines the brightest before the end.

24:40 Grand projects like the expansion of the second temple, the fortress at Msada,

24:44 and the port city of Cesaria Maritima stand as proof of this.

24:49 Yet his heavy taxation and allegiance to Rome made him hated among his subjects.

24:56 After Herod's death in 4 BC, the kingdom was divided among his sons who couldn't

25:01 control the state and Rome annexed Judea in 6 AD.

25:05 Roman rule in Judea was fraught with tension

25:08 as the Jewish people resisted another foreign domination.

25:13 Although some governors like Pontius

25:15 Pilate occasionally cooperated with Jewish leaders,

25:18 it all led to open rebellion in the following decades.

25:23 In 66 AD, the first Jewish Roman war started due to heavy taxation.

25:29 At first, the Jewish rebels surprised

25:31 the Romans and achieved significant success.

25:34 Led by groups such as the Zealots and the Sakari, they even liberated Jerusalem.

25:40 For four years, they defied Rome's might,

25:43 but their ultimate defeat brought unprecedented punishment.

25:47 The Romans won the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD by starving

25:51 the city and breaching the walls of its severely weakened defenders.

25:56 The punishment was the destruction of the second temple,

25:59 the most devastating event any Jew had to witness and endure.

26:03 The only part still remaining is the Western Wall,

26:07 today known as the Whailing Wall, probably the most sacred place for any Jew.

26:13 Before being destroyed,

26:14 the temple was robbed and its treasures were carried off to Rome.

26:18 The Arch of Titus, who led the Roman army and later became emperor,

26:23 clearly depicts these events.

26:26 The Jews scattered across the empire.

26:28 However, they once again rebelled four decades later during the Kos War.

26:33 But the Roman response was even harsher

26:35 and Emperor Trajan quickly suppressed the rebellion.

26:39 Yet the Jewish people were not done resisting.

26:42 In 132, under the leadership of Simon Bar Kokba,

26:47 they launched another desperate revolt against Rome.

26:50 Initially successful, Bar Kokba's forces even reclaimed Jerusalem.

26:55 However, the Romans methodically destroyed fortresses one by one.

27:00 The last one standing was Betar,

27:03 where Bar Kokba met his end in a brutal massacre.

27:07 After this revolt, Rome erased Judea's name,

27:10 renaming it Syria Palestina and banned Jews from Jerusalem.

27:16 The Jewish population was forcibly dispersed throughout the Roman Empire.

27:20 From that moment on, Jewish history continued beyond Israel,

27:24 shaping the diaspora legacy.

27:28 Eventually, Rome fell and new nations arose on its ruins.

27:33 In the neighborhood of Judea,

27:35 a new religion and a new strong nation decided to make its mark.

27:39 What came next was not merely the continuation of history,

27:43 but the beginning of a transformative new chapter for humanity.

27:54 In the next few centuries, Jerusalem stood as another proud Roman city,

27:58 Alia Capalina, with pagan temples standing where the Jewish temple once was.

28:05 For the remaining Jews in Palestine, life became a quiet struggle to preserve

28:09 their traditions in the ruins of a shattered society.

28:13 Soon, they became a minority.

28:16 Jewish villages still existed in Galilee and other rural and far-reachable areas

28:21 where small communities tried to rebuild

28:23 lives centered on agriculture and local trade.

28:27 They gathered in small synagogues clinging to their faith and shared history.

28:34 As the centuries passed, Rome paved the way for the Christian Bzantine Empire

28:39 and Jerusalem was also a holy city for Christians.

28:43 This new religion, a state religion, represented a new challenge for Jews

28:48 and some new restrictions for them were imposed.

28:52 They were forbidden to work in administration

28:54 and the construction of synagogues was strictly limited.

28:58 In Jerusalem, Christian leaders reinforced the ban on Jewish entry,

29:02 turning the city into a symbol of exclusion,

29:05 blaming Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

29:09 By the 6th century, emperors, especially Justinian the Breurst,

29:13 added harsher measures, including interference in Jewish religious practices.

29:19 This made many more leave their homeland.

29:21 In exile, Jewish life evolved in remarkable ways.

29:26 Once again, they found peace under Persian rule,

29:29 especially in Babylon, where they had religious freedom.

29:33 There, rabbis compiled the Babylonian Talmud,

29:36 further codifying religious practices.

29:38 Elsewhere in the Mediterranean world,

29:40 Jewish communities adapted to their circumstances.

29:46 In Egypt, North Africa, and parts of Europe, Jews worked as merchants,

29:51 artisans, and scholars,

29:52 contributing to the economies of the cities they inhabited.

29:56 But their safety was never guaranteed.

29:59 The arrival of Islam and the Muslim conquest of Judea in the 7th

30:03 century changed the landscape of Jewish life in the Levant and beyond.

30:08 When Muslim armies swept through Palestine,

30:10 they ended Bzantine rule and started a new era.

30:15 Once again, the change of foreign masters influenced

30:18 the remaining Jews in Palestine and improved their position.

30:22 Under the Rashidun and Umayad caliphates,

30:25 Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem.

30:28 Although they paid a special tax, they were protected as people of the book,

30:33 which was much better than under the Byzantine Empire.

30:37 In cities like Tiberius and Saf, Jewish communities began to revive.

30:42 Galilee became a hub for Jewish mysticism and study

30:46 with scholars interpreting ancient texts and preserving traditions.

30:50 Still, this period of relative calm was not without its challenges.

30:56 Whenever there were problems under the Abbassad caliphate,

30:59 economic hardship, increased taxes,

31:02 and occasional persecution disrupted the fragile balance

31:05 between Muslim rulers and their Jewish subjects.

31:10 Diaspora, on the other hand, experienced much harsher anti-semitism,

31:14 but in some places unprecedented freedom.

31:20 In Spain, under Muslim rule,

31:22 Jewish communities experienced the golden age of cultural flourishing.

31:26 Jewish poets, philosophers,

31:28 and scientists became integral to the intellectual life of Alandaloo.

31:34 In Christian Europe, anti-semitism prevailed.

31:38 As medieval Christendom solidified its power,

31:41 Jews found themselves increasingly marginalized.

31:44 Restrictions on professions, accusations of heresy,

31:48 and violent outbreaks were common.

31:51 Blood liels, false accusations that Jews use the blood

31:54 of Christian children in rituals spread fear and hatred,

31:58 setting the stage for centuries of persecution.

32:03 And that persecutions maximally increased at the end of the 11th century.

32:08 The series of wars nobody expected shook the Holy Land.

32:11 And although the Jews didn't directly participate,

32:14 they were very important pieces in the puzzle of history.

32:23 Western Europe survived the dark ages stronger and more devout,

32:26 which heavily influenced the Jewish people, not in a good way.

32:29 The pope in Rome became the main political force in Europe.

32:33 On the false pretext of helping the Bzantines,

32:36 Pope Urban II decided to show his might.

32:39 His goal became Jerusalem,

32:41 now the holy city for all three major religions under Muslim fatimid control.

32:46 The crusader call to arms promised liberation of the holy land,

32:50 though only for Christians, and the people responded.

32:53 Christian fanatics even went on foot even though they were not soldiers.

32:57 As this so-called people's crusade marched through the Rhineland,

33:01 these mobs turned against Jews who were massacred.

33:04 Some Jews chose martyrdom over forced conversion.

33:07 It was just a sinister prelude to what followed.

33:09 When the crusaders finally captured Jerusalem in 1099,

33:13 they started slaughtering randomly.

33:15 Tens of thousands of Muslims and Jews were killed.

33:17 In one of the city's synagogues,

33:19 Jews who had taken refuge were burned alive by the invaders.

33:23 Jerusalem, once the hope of restoration,

33:25 became a city of death for its Jewish inhabitants.

33:28 The kingdom of Jerusalem was established

33:30 alongside other crusader states like Antioch, Tripoli, and Adessa.

33:35 Christian knights governed a population that included Muslims and Jews.

33:39 At times, trade and cultural exchange flourished,

33:42 but occasional violence was always a possibility.

33:45 The first one to fall was Adessa less than 50 years after the Crusade,

33:49 which led to the new one.

33:51 This one was a complete failure,

33:53 but the second crusade also included a campaign in Iberia,

33:56 where they captured Muslim-held cities like Lisbon and Alriia,

34:00 severely limiting any rights of the Jewish population.

34:03 Under crusader rule,

34:05 Jerusalem was transformed into the heart of the Latin Kingdom.

34:08 Governed by feudal lords and defended

34:10 by military orders such as the Knights Templar,

34:13 it was a real embassy of Western Europe in the east.

34:16 While Christians celebrated their dominance,

34:18 the city's Jewish and Muslim populations faced oppression.

34:22 Jews were once again expelled from the city

34:24 and stripped of religious freedoms while Muslims

34:26 endured heavy taxation and the desecration of sacred

34:29 sites like the Dome of the Rock.

34:31 The lack of any resistance from the Jews

34:33 showed the desperate situation they were in.

34:36 But nothing lasts forever.

34:38 By the mid12th century, Muslim unity began to crystallize under strong

34:42 leaders who sought to reclaim the Holy Land.

34:44 Among them, Nure Alin Zeni played a crucial

34:48 role in consolidating power in Syria and northern Iraq.

34:51 His successor, Saladine, expanded this legacy dramatically.

34:55 An intellectual who could have possibly become a scholar if he wanted to.

34:59 A charismatic and devout leader, Saladine became the Sultan of Egypt and Syria,

35:04 uniting much of the Islamic world under his banner.

35:07 He was the best thing that could have happened

35:08 to the Muslim world at the time of the Crusades.

35:11 Righteous and a military genius,

35:13 Saladine prioritized the religious and strategic importance of Jerusalem

35:17 as both a political goal and a sacred duty.

35:20 The crusader states, meanwhile,

35:22 were suffering from deep internal problems and external threats.

35:26 The kingdom of Jerusalem was weakened by a succession

35:29 crisis and a lack of strong leadership.

35:31 King Baldwin IV suffered from leprosy which limited his ability to lead.

35:36 After his death in 1185, the rivalry for succession began.

35:40 This disunityity made the kingdom

35:41 increasingly vulnerable to Saladine's expanding power.

35:45 After a dominant win in the Battle of Hatton in 1,187,

35:50 Saladine launched a campaign against the crusader states.

35:53 During the battle, the crusaders were surrounded,

35:56 exhausted, and without access to water.

35:58 Most of the crusader army was either killed or captured.

36:01 Saladin followed this victory with a series of attacks,

36:04 capturing Jerusalem in October of the same year.

36:07 He was much more merciful,

36:09 allowing the Christians to leave the city unharmed after paying ransom.

36:12 This led to the third crusade led by the king of England, Richard the Lionheart.

36:17 After he arrived in Acre, Richard wanted to conquer Jerusalem,

36:21 but eventually decided to secure Jaffa where after a few battles,

36:25 he signed the Treaty of Jaffa.

36:27 There they decided that Jerusalem would remain in Muslim

36:29 hands while Christians had open access to their churches unarmed.

36:33 Jews were not mentioned in this arrangement, but something was changing.

36:37 Something that would ignite a new age of exploration, trade, and conquest.

36:41 The world was about to be overwhelmed by an unknown

36:44 power and the age of empires was just beginning.

36:50 After the Crusades, the Holy Land was depleted.

36:54 Since it was a battleground for so

36:56 many decades with slaughtering and massacres that followed,

36:59 many villages basically disappeared from the face of the earth.

37:03 Still, Jerusalem was the spiritual heart of three great religions,

37:07 and no one wanted to give up.

37:10 Christians still had their small and weakened crusade

37:13 states while the Muslims were on the rise.

37:16 The Jews, on the other, had only had a dream.

37:19 A dream of their city once again in their possession.

37:22 A dream that was more than a thousand years long at that point.

37:26 The crusader states continued to weaken,

37:29 losing territories in favor of Muslim rulers.

37:32 By 1291, the last stronghold, Acre, fell,

37:36 marking the end of crusader rule in the Holy Land.

37:41 and how expelled them.

37:42 Once enslaved soldiers from the Caucasian region who were probably

37:46 Turks rose and became leading figures in many Muslim states,

37:50 especially in the Iubid Sultanate in Egypt.

37:53 They were known as the Mamlukes and they managed

37:56 to overthrow the Iubid dynasty in 1250 creating the Mamluke Sultanate.

38:01 They were a strong military state that even managed to fight with the Mongols.

38:06 After consolidating their power in Egypt,

38:09 the Mamluks turned their attention to the remaining crusader states

38:12 and in 1291 finally destroyed the last political legacy of these wars.

38:18 This victory was more than just

38:20 a military triumph as it represented Islamic dominance

38:23 in a region that had been a battleground

38:25 between Christian and Muslim forces for two centuries.

38:29 But three decades before the expulsion of the crusaders,

38:32 Mammlukes took control of Jerusalem when they entered the city

38:35 after the victory in the battle of Ain Jalut.

38:38 The period between 1230 and 1260 was particularly unstable

38:43 and Jerusalem had few sieges and even a brief Christian rule.

38:48 The Mamlux triumph brought an era of stability since

38:52 the Mammluks ruled their possessions with a firm grip,

38:55 constantly being afraid of rebellion.

38:58 However, this era had many bright sides for Jerusalem and its population.

39:03 It was during the Mamluke rule that the important defensive

39:06 project of the fortification of Jerusalem's walls was being done.

39:10 Also, the Islamic rule in these centuries could be considered

39:14 as much more prosperous than the European with the Mluks encouraging trade,

39:18 learning and architectural development.

39:21 But there were some downsides also.

39:24 The Mamluk's encouragement of trade didn't include

39:27 Jerusalem and it became only a religious center

39:29 where people of other religions had to pay

39:32 special heavy taxes other than the Muslims.

39:35 Also, the persecutions in 1267 and forcible conversions in the 14th

39:40 century didn't help the Jewish community in the city.

39:44 The region remained restless with tensions between Muslims,

39:47 Christians, and Jews.

39:49 Although the Mamluks tried to establish the time of peace,

39:53 for the time being they imposed strict Muslim rule.

39:57 But as their nation started to weaken,

39:58 the new Muslim nation wanted their territory, including Jerusalem.

40:04 The Ottoman Empire, now firmly in control

40:07 of the Balkans and most of Panonian plain,

40:10 still wasn't considered the Muslim powerhouse nation.

40:13 And Sultan Salem, oh, I decided to change that.

40:19 Also known as Salem the Grim, he was very ambitious and ruthless.

40:24 The most important thing during his rule was

40:26 his authority imposed by harsh measures if needed.

40:30 The other important trait was Salem's deep devotion to religion

40:33 and he viewed himself as a protector of Sunni Islam.

40:37 Also, he was a brilliant military leader offended by some Mamluk's actions.

40:42 His answer was swift.

40:44 Selim lured the Mammluks to the battlefield at Marge Dabik and in one

40:49 decisive battle effectively ended the existence of their nation in 1516.

40:57 The Ottomans took control of Palestine including Jerusalem.

41:01 The fall of the Mammluks and the Ottoman

41:03 takeover changed everything in this region.

41:07 The Ottomans brought with them new administrative structures,

41:10 architectural designs,

41:12 and a shift in governance that would have a lasting impact on the region.

41:16 One thing though didn't change.

41:19 The holy city was still under Islamic rule.

41:23 Unlike the Mamlukes, the Ottomans were careful to respect

41:26 the religious significance of Jerusalem to Jews,

41:29 Christians, and Muslims, at least in the beginning.

41:32 This would allow the city to maintain its status

41:34 as a center of pilgrimage for all three Abrahamic faiths.

41:39 Under Ottoman rule, the region experienced a period of real stability because

41:44 for the first time since being a part of the Roman Empire,

41:47 Jerusalem was in the hands of one of, if not the mightiest nation in the world.

41:52 The Jews still had to pay the protection tax,

41:54 but were allowed to practice their faith freely.

41:57 And the Jewish community flourished,

41:59 especially after the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal.

42:03 These people who left Europe mostly settled

42:05 in Thessaloniki or back home in Jerusalem.

42:09 The Ottomans focused on developing the infrastructure and constructed roads,

42:13 bridges, and markets.

42:15 Sultan Sullean once again repaired the walls.

42:18 Still from time to time there were periods of hardship for the Jews

42:22 and the city itself faced economic decline starting from the early 17th century.

42:28 But other Jewish centers progressed at least in a religious way.

42:33 Cities like ST or Tiberius also

42:36 had strong religious leaders and groups particularly

42:38 in Saft where Cabala the mystical interpretation

42:42 of the Torah began to take root.

42:45 As the centuries progressed, the Ottoman Empire started to lose

42:49 the technology race against the European powers.

42:52 That also led to their military defeats.

42:55 Once mighty empire became a battleground for the European powers looking

42:59 to establish influence and take as much wealth as possible from the Ottomans.

43:04 Also, these European powers became very interested in the Holy Land.

43:09 Britain, France, and Russia began to fight for influence in Palestine,

43:13 using religious and political alliances to further their agendas.

43:18 This foreign interest had a direct impact on the region's

43:21 Jewish population as it led to an increase in Jewish immigration.

43:25 Although many Jews already returned

43:27 from all across Europe in previous centuries, as the Ottoman Empire weakened,

43:32 Jews from Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire began to rush to Palestine,

43:36 seeking to build new lives in the land they considered their home.

43:40 The weakening of Ottoman control over Palestine, unsettled local populations,

43:44 particularly the Jews and Arabs, who began to seek greater autonomy.

43:49 But what happens next will change the Jewish world forever.

43:55 Only Jews themselves could fight for their cause.

43:57 And the spark came from the most unexpected place.

44:07 After so much destruction and devastation in Judea,

44:10 particularly under Roman rule,

44:12 Jewish communities were scattered across the globe

44:14 in what became known as the Jewish diaspora.

44:18 For centuries, they lived as minorities in foreign lands.

44:22 sometimes tolerated but often persecuted.

44:25 By the 19th century, their longing for a homeland had not vanished.

44:29 It remained a quiet undercurrent in Jewish life,

44:32 a memory passed through generations.

44:35 And then came a turning point.

44:38 The 19th century was the age of nationalism.

44:42 Across Europe, multithnic empires ruled over diverse populations,

44:47 and many of these groups began demanding self-determination.

44:51 The checks, the Poles, the Hungarians, the Serbs,

44:55 nations without states started to rebel against imperial rule,

44:59 asserting their right to form independent homelands.

45:02 But they weren't alone.

45:04 The Jews, though scattered and stateless,

45:06 also felt the stirrings of national revival.

45:10 In this era, people began to define

45:12 themselves not just by religion or local identity,

45:16 but by language, shared history, and the dream of nationhood.

45:21 For Jews, however, things were far more complex.

45:24 Living as a minority in every country with no territory to call their own,

45:29 they were often regarded as outsiders, suspect, alien, and sometimes dangerous.

45:36 In many nationalist movements, anti-semitism was not an accidental feature.

45:41 It was a defining element.

45:44 Anti-semitism was spreading rapidly across Europe.

45:47 And it was no longer just confined to old religious prejudices.

45:51 It took new racial and political forms.

45:54 It wasn't just about social exclusion or legal restrictions.

45:59 It turned violent.

46:00 Pros, organized massacres and riots swept through Eastern Europe,

46:05 especially in the Russian Empire.

46:07 Synagogues were torched, Jewish homes looted, and communities destroyed.

46:13 It was terror, and it was often state sanctioned or ignored.

46:18 Western Europe, though more liberal, was not immune.

46:21 The Drifus affair in France became a symbol of this growing hatred.

46:26 Captain Alfred Drifus, a Jewish officer in the French army,

46:30 was falsely accused of treason in 1894.

46:34 Despite the lack of credible evidence, he was convicted and sent into exile.

46:39 Why?

46:40 Because he was Jewish.

46:42 The French public was bitterly divided.

46:45 Even when Drifus was proven innocent, many refused to admit it.

46:49 The scandal revealed a deep rot in even the most enlightened European societies.

46:55 Jews could never truly belong.

46:59 This rising tide of hatred convinced many Jews that they

47:02 could no longer rely on the promise of assimilation.

47:05 Among them was Theodore Herzel,

47:07 a Jewish journalist and playwright born in Budapest in 1860.

47:11 He was highly educated, well integrated into European society,

47:16 and at first believed that Jews could find

47:18 acceptance by adopting the customs of the majority.

47:21 But the Drifus affair shattered that illusion.

47:25 Reporting from Paris as a correspondent,

47:28 Herzel saw firsthand how fragile Jewish safety truly was.

47:33 For Herdzel, the answer became painfully clear.

47:37 The Jews needed their own homeland, a place where they could live free of fear,

47:41 rebuild their identity, and control their future.

47:45 He imagined a state, not just a refuge, but a rebirth.

47:49 In 1897, he turned vision into action.

47:52 He convened the first Zionist Congress in Basil, Switzerland,

47:55 uniting Jewish leaders and thinkers under one purpose,

47:59 the creation of a Jewish homeland.

48:01 At the end of the Congress, Herdzel wrote in his diary,

48:04 "At Basil, I founded the Jewish state.

48:07 If not in 5 years, then certainly in 50,

48:10 everyone will see it." The proposed homeland was in Palestine,

48:15 or as Jews often called it, Erits Israel, the land of Israel.

48:20 At the time, Palestine was still under Ottoman rule.

48:23 The once mighty Ottoman Empire was in decline,

48:26 struggling to hold on to its distant provinces.

48:29 Palestine had become a backwater, rural, underdeveloped, and overlooked.

48:34 Cities like Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Hifa were small,

48:38 fragmented places surrounded by villages populated by Muslims,

48:42 Christians, and a small number of Jews.

48:46 But to Zionist thinkers, Palestine was not just a piece of land.

48:50 It was the historical and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people,

48:53 where kings like David and Solomon once ruled,

48:56 where prophets walked, and where the Jewish temple once stood.

49:00 The vision of return, long cherished in Jewish prayers and texts,

49:04 now began to take political form.

49:07 In the 1880s, long before Herdzel's Congress,

49:10 the first Jewish migrants had already begun arriving.

49:14 Many came not as ideologues, but as refugees.

49:18 Pgrams tore through towns and villages.

49:21 Jewish communities were devastated.

49:23 The trauma forced many to leave.

49:26 Some went to America, others to Western Europe.

49:29 But a small group turned south toward Palestine.

49:34 This wave became known as the first aliyah,

49:37 a Hebrew word meaning ascent, referring to immigration to the Holy Land.

49:42 It began in 1882 and lasted into the early 20th century.

49:47 About 30,000 Jews arrived in Palestine during this period,

49:50 mostly from Eastern Europe and Yemen.

49:53 Many were driven by ideology Zionist dreamers

49:56 who believed they were rebuilding the Jewish homeland.

49:59 Others were simply escaping the horrors of pgrams.

50:03 But life in Palestine was not easy.

50:06 The climate was harsh, the land unfamiliar and disease widespread.

50:11 Many of the settlers were urban Jews who had no farming experience.

50:17 Struggled to cultivate the land and clashed with local populations.

50:21 Tensions emerged not only with Muslims who made up the majority in Palestine,

50:26 but sometimes with Christians and even existing

50:28 Jewish communities who viewed the newcomers with suspicion.

50:33 To survive, the settlers needed help.

50:36 That help came from wealthy Jewish philanthropists in Europe.

50:40 Chief among them was Baron Edmund Rothschild,

50:43 a French Jewish banker who believed in the Zionist cause.

50:47 He funded agricultural settlements, built infrastructure,

50:51 and sent European experts to guide the colonists.

50:54 Rothschild's support was crucial.

50:57 Without it, many early communities might not have survived.

51:01 But his involvement also came with strings attached.

51:04 He exercised heavy control over the settlements, limiting their independence.

51:09 Some settlers resented this, feeling like employees instead of pioneers.

51:14 Still, despite hardship, disease, and local hostility,

51:18 the first aliyah laid the groundwork for what would come.

51:21 New towns were established, such as Rishon Lejon, Petatikva, and Zikron YaKov.

51:28 A new Jewish presence was forming, not just spiritual, but physical.

51:33 The Ottoman Empire, already suspicious of foreign influence,

51:37 viewed Zionist immigration with growing alarm.

51:40 Fearing unrest in a religiously sensitive area like Palestine,

51:44 the Ottomans began placing restrictions

51:46 on Jewish land purchases and immigration.

51:49 But their control, especially in distant provinces, was limited.

51:53 In many areas, local Arab leaders and communities

51:57 held more sway than the government in Istanbul.

52:00 And they too began to see the Zionists not as mere refugees,

52:04 but as colonizers with a political agenda.

52:07 Tensions grew.

52:08 The dream of Zionism was running into the harsh reality of geopolitics.

52:13 The early Zionists believed in peaceful settlement, diplomacy, and cooperation.

52:19 Herzel envisioned negotiations with the Ottomans,

52:22 the European powers, and even local Arabs.

52:26 But history would soon show how fragile that dream was.

52:29 Competing nationalisms, Jewish and Arab,

52:32 would begin to clash in the decades to come.

52:35 And so as the 19th century faded into the 20th, Zionism stood at a crossroads.

52:41 It had transformed from a dream into an organized movement.

52:45 It had planted roots in the soil of Palestine.

52:48 But the land was complex, crowded, and contested.

52:52 The road ahead would be full of obstacles,

52:55 rival empires, political resistance, and violent conflict.

53:00 But for many Jews, there was no turning back.

53:03 The old world had shut its doors.

53:05 The promise of equality in Europe had failed.

53:08 Zionism had become not just a hope but a necessity.

53:13 As Herzel once wrote, "If you will it,

53:16 it is no dream." Now the challenge was to turn that dream

53:20 into reality in a land sacred to many and watched closely by the world.

53:25 [Music] World War I began in 1914 during

53:42 the time of Jewish migration to their ancestral home.

53:45 Still belonging to the Ottoman Empire.

53:49 The Ottoman Empire sided with Germany and its

53:52 territories became desirable for the Allied powers.

53:56 The Ottoman provinces were very diverse in ethnicities, languages, and faiths.

54:02 Palestine, a fertile yet strategically modest region, suddenly became a prize.

54:09 The war reality transformed life for all its inhabitants,

54:13 including the Jewish community.

54:16 The Ottoman administration in Jerusalem,

54:18 led by the harsh military governor Jamal Pasha, implemented oppressive policies.

54:25 Jews, particularly recent Zionist immigrants from Russia and Europe,

54:29 found themselves in an awful position.

54:32 The Ottomans, suspicious of foreign loyalties,

54:35 deported many Jews as enemy nationals,

54:38 while others were conscripted into the Ottoman army under harsh conditions.

54:44 The Jewish community, estimated at 85,000 in 1914,

54:48 suffered under wartime shortages, disease, and poverty,

54:53 and the constant flow of funds from Jewish

54:55 philanthropies abroad declined due to war difficulties.

54:59 Zionist organizations struggled to maintain agricultural colonies,

55:03 many of which faced ruin.

55:06 On the other side, major European forces shared the Ottoman Empire,

55:10 including Palestine among themselves.

55:15 The 1916 Sykes Pico agreement divided the region between Britain and France.

55:21 This new circumstance had one important consequence,

55:24 decades and decades of unrest because they

55:27 didn't care about the people inhabiting them.

55:30 But there was another promise, a public one that carried even more consequences.

55:37 In 1917, the British government issued the Bow for Declaration,

55:42 a statement of support for a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

55:48 This document, just 67 words long,

55:51 carried the seed of many changes and conflicts.

55:55 Jews fleeing European persecution viewed Palestine as both

55:58 a sanctuary and a rebirth of biblical promises.

56:03 Yet, this declaration completely ignored the Arab population,

56:07 the overwhelming majority of Palestine's inhabitants.

56:11 But why did the Brits do that?

56:15 There were two reasons.

56:17 The first one was Palestine's proximity to the Suez Canal,

56:21 the most important route of the British imperial trade and military operations.

56:27 By supporting Zionist aspirations,

56:29 Britain hoped to secure influence in the region post

56:32 war and the second one was of a personal nature.

56:37 Some of the leaders of the Zionist movement like

56:39 Kim Widesman developed close relations

56:42 with influential British leading politicians.

56:46 Vitzman was a chemist who had many connections with high

56:49 society and he used that to promote Zionists cause.

56:54 Britain's government saw an opportunity to influence

56:56 this area economically promoting humanitarian causes.

57:01 That way with the declaration,

57:03 Great Britain clearly chose a side in the rising Arab Jewish conflict.

57:09 The British Declaration came as a fulfillment

57:12 of a long awaited dream for all the Zionists.

57:16 Jewish people who lived in Palestine got hope of a better

57:19 tomorrow under the protection of the world's largest empire.

57:23 The moment of a long awaited national home was just around the corner.

57:28 From this point on, many more Jews decided to move to Palestine,

57:32 feeling the support they would have.

57:35 But some other people also lived there and they

57:38 were not Jewish and they were far from happy.

57:41 The Arab population in Palestine saw the Balffor

57:44 Declaration as an attack on their homeland.

57:48 They lived for generations in that place

57:50 and didn't want to live in the Jewish state.

57:53 They also started the question of Britain's right to divide

57:56 other nations lands especially without consulting anyone like the Arab leaders.

58:01 This declaration created a conflict that lasted for more

58:05 than a century and is far from any solutions.

58:08 Although in the time of the fragmentation of empires,

58:11 it would be very hard to resolve

58:12 that mixture of people in Palestine without conflicts.

58:17 Obviously, everpresent tensions between Arab

58:20 and Jewish communities soon escalated into violence.

58:25 Even Arthur Balffor himself later confirmed that the area of the Holy

58:29 Land is very complex and the declaration didn't help in resolving any problems.

58:34 But from Britain's point of view, it was the best possible decision.

58:40 Actually, Balffor and the British government only cared about their interests

58:44 and influence in the region and the Middle East in general.

58:48 And one more important thing,

58:50 Balffor's declaration was just a promise of hope, nothing else.

58:54 But it shaped one of the most

58:55 stubborn and bloodstained conflicts in the 20th century.

59:01 As the Great War drew to a close,

59:03 British forces under General Edmund Allenbe advanced into Palestine,

59:07 expelling the Ottoman armies.

59:10 The fall of Jerusalem was especially celebrated in Britain.

59:15 Today, Alan B proclaimed,

59:17 "The crusaders have returned." These words couldn't be far from the truth since

59:23 Great Britain was an empire that split nations with straight lines on the map.

59:28 With the League of Nations blessing in 1920,

59:31 Britain assumed the mandate for Palestine,

59:34 tasked with preparing the territory for self-ruule,

59:38 also using the resources from the land.

59:42 This mandate had a lot of problems because

59:44 the British wanted to make the Jewish home

59:46 possible and also protect the rights of the Arabs

59:48 who were the majority by the way.

59:51 And on top of all that, the Jewish migrations continued and intensified.

59:57 These new settlers drained swamps and built collective farms.

1:00:02 One of their main achievements was the establishment

1:00:04 of the new urban center on the seaside.

1:00:07 Tel Aviv became a modern city from the moment of its foundation,

1:00:11 showing the European customs of these settlers.

1:00:16 Arabs in Palestine couldn't allow the loss

1:00:18 of their land since they viewed these migrations as colonization,

1:00:22 taking their land and threatening their way of life.

1:00:26 "We are not against Jews as people,

1:00:28 but we reject their colonial ambitions in our land," said Amin al- Husini,

1:00:33 the Grand Mui of Jerusalem.

1:00:36 Riots started almost immediately in Jerusalem in 1920 and Jaffa

1:00:40 in 1921 left hundreds dead and wounded on both sides.

1:00:45 The British couldn't handle the situation and tried to ease the Arabs

1:00:49 by declaring immigration quotas for the Jews

1:00:52 in order to slow down the migration.

1:00:56 That didn't help but enraged the Zionists.

1:00:59 In the 1930s, it became even worse.

1:01:03 The greatest evil in the history of our planet was on the rise in Germany,

1:01:07 targeting especially Jews.

1:01:09 Many sought refuge in Palestine, fleeing from the Nazis,

1:01:12 which led to thousands more arriving.

1:01:15 Each arrival added to Arab fears of demographic and political displacement.

1:01:20 So they revolted.

1:01:22 The Arab revolt of 1936 lasted until 1939 and was pointed against the Jews,

1:01:28 but also against the British.

1:01:31 These two Allied and the British forces relied

1:01:33 on Jewish militias to help them fight the Arabs.

1:01:38 Atrocities against civilians became regular on both sides.

1:01:42 Finally, Arabs couldn't fight anymore and the revolt crashed,

1:01:45 but the British changed their policy by issuing the white paper.

1:01:50 The white paper severely restricted the migration of Jews

1:01:53 and put restrictions on their buying of land.

1:01:56 It also promised the Arabs their own state.

1:01:59 The moment couldn't be worse for the Jews since their world

1:02:02 in Europe was crashing and they were trying to find home.

1:02:07 But that was just the beginning and the worst episode

1:02:09 in the history of the Jewish people was about to start.

1:02:23 The year was 1933 in the government change in Germany.

1:02:27 A moment that happened so often in every European nation,

1:02:30 but also the moment that shaped the history

1:02:32 of the world and led to the annihilation of Jews.

1:02:35 Adolf Hitler took power in Germany and started fulfilling his ambition.

1:02:40 People without their homeland became persecuted.

1:02:42 Hitler, an unsuccessful painter,

1:02:45 spread his agenda about the betrayal that led to the loss

1:02:47 of the Great War and the Jews as the ones who committed that betrayal.

1:02:51 In his plans and in the Nazi program,

1:02:54 he proclaims the purity of the race and the Jewish menace.

1:02:57 Although he was not taken seriously by many,

1:03:00 from that cold January morning in 1933,

1:03:04 everything changed for the Jews in Europe.

1:03:07 From the first moment,

1:03:08 Jews in Germany were increasingly marginalized by a series

1:03:11 of anti-semitic laws that restricted their rights.

1:03:14 Many lost jobs, scholarships, and the right to participate in public life.

1:03:20 The next step was the Nazis launching their infamous Nuremberg laws in 1935,

1:03:25 which excluded Jews from all aspects of public life,

1:03:29 including citizenship, professions, and cultural participation.

1:03:33 But besides his personal war against Jews,

1:03:36 Hitler also worked on increasing Germany's size.

1:03:39 Soon, the situation Jews had to endure in Germany

1:03:42 became mirrored in the countries occupied by the Nazis.

1:03:45 Actually, in the occupied territories, the Nazis were even more brutal,

1:03:50 and a systematic approach was taken.

1:03:52 The spread of Nazi Germany is very wellknown,

1:03:55 so there is no need to get into many details about that.

1:03:59 During this yet relatively peaceful period in 1938 and 1939,

1:04:04 they annexed Austria and most of Czechoslovakia.

1:04:08 Of course, this period wasn't at least peaceful,

1:04:11 especially the one night in 1938.

1:04:14 It was a breezy autumn day when a Polish

1:04:16 Jew named Hershel Ginspon heard the news about his parents.

1:04:19 They were expelled from Germany, stuck on the border, homeless and hopeless.

1:04:24 His reaction was quick and without thought because he decided

1:04:27 to assassinate the German diplomat in France where Grin Pon lived.

1:04:32 The Nazis couldn't wish for a better excuse to unleash brute terror on Jews,

1:04:36 the terrorist element in their country.

1:04:39 The night between the 9th and 10th of November was lawless.

1:04:42 That night, across Germany and Austria, the SS and civilians started a bloody

1:04:47 orgy of death and destruction through Jewish neighborhoods.

1:04:51 Synagogues were burned, Jewish owned businesses were smashed and looted,

1:04:55 and their glass storefronts shattered, looked like crystals,

1:04:58 giving the pag its grim name.

1:05:01 Homes were invaded, and families were dragged into the streets,

1:05:04 beaten and humiliated.

1:05:06 The summary of the night was devastating.

1:05:09 Over 1,400 synagogues had been destroyed,

1:05:13 plus numerous Jewish businesses and homes.

1:05:16 Almost 100 Jews were murdered,

1:05:18 while 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

1:05:23 On top of all that, the Jewish community had to pay a hefty fine for the damage.

1:05:29 And it was just the beginning of even

1:05:31 more sinister plans in the following years.

1:05:34 After 1939 and the beginning of World War II,

1:05:37 Germany and its satellites controlled most of Europe and the Jews

1:05:41 living in those places had to run for their lives, mostly failing.

1:05:45 The Nazis were not just at war with other nations.

1:05:48 They were at war with an entire race of people.

1:05:51 And the man who was one of the main architects of Cristalln had new ideas,

1:05:55 even darker than before.

1:05:58 Reinhardt Hydrich was a very intelligent man whose

1:06:02 intelligence could only be measured by his ambition.

1:06:05 Also, the lack of moral compass and human compassion helped

1:06:09 in shaping this man as one of the most memorable Nazi leaders.

1:06:13 Born in 1904, Hydrich was described as brilliant and arrogant.

1:06:19 After a scandal ruined his career in the Navy in 1931,

1:06:23 his only chance was the SS and Hinrich Himmler.

1:06:27 There he again progressed with astonishing speed

1:06:30 and Hitler even gave him a nickname, the man with the iron heart.

1:06:35 Soon Heddrich became one of the architects of the Holocaust.

1:06:39 His cold efficiency where he observed people as numbers

1:06:42 made him perfect for that new plan made in 1941.

1:06:47 After all, he truly believed in the Nazi vision of racial purity.

1:06:51 With Hdrich's help, the Nazis started working

1:06:54 on their plan for the final solution, which was a systematic genocide.

1:06:59 Systematic genocide that should have wiped the Jewish

1:07:02 name from the face of the earth.

1:07:04 People were dehumanized, treated as numbers,

1:07:08 killed on the spot, buried at mass graves,

1:07:10 and sent in cargo trains to places like Avitz and Trebinka.

1:07:14 There, millions of Jews were killed in gas

1:07:17 chambers through starvation and by brutal force.

1:07:21 It was gut-wrenching and no one was spared, not even children.

1:07:25 Brutal sadists even made these dying moments of poor people even worse.

1:07:31 And as the war progressed, it became clear the Holocaust was not spontaneous,

1:07:35 but the culmination of years of escalation.

1:07:38 And when they started losing the war,

1:07:40 the full extent of the Holocaust became tragically clear.

1:07:45 Everyone was shocked.

1:07:47 Still, the question remains.

1:07:49 Was the anti-semitism present in other nations that some

1:07:52 of them turned a blind eye to the horrific reports?

1:07:54 Or did everything seem too incredible for them?

1:07:58 6 million Jews became victims of deranged culture

1:08:01 along with millions of other victims of various nations.

1:08:05 It is the most tragic story of the 20th century.

1:08:09 With so many Jewish communities destroyed,

1:08:11 the survivors were scattered across Europe.

1:08:14 The question of what to do with the Jewish refugees was often brought up.

1:08:19 The Jews mostly wanted to go to the place

1:08:21 they called home and create a Jewish state in Palestine.

1:08:26 By the end of World War II, the British were under enormous pressure from both

1:08:30 Jews and Arabs who wanted this territory for themselves.

1:08:34 For the Jews, the Holocaust clearly showed they

1:08:37 would never be protected without their own state.

1:08:40 The Zionist movement also gained many followers after the war.

1:08:44 Jewish survivors of concentration camps rushed to Palestine and the British

1:08:49 eventually decided to withdraw after they created large problems in Palestine.

1:08:54 They messed up and let the international community resolve it.

1:08:59 In 1947, the United Nations proposed a division

1:09:03 of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.

1:09:06 The Jewish community accepted the plan, but the Arab community rejected it.

1:09:11 In 1948, as British rule officially ended,

1:09:15 the Jews barely survived probably the world's

1:09:17 worst genocide organized in just a few years.

1:09:20 But their struggle was far from over, and they had to fight once again.

1:09:25 But even in the shadow of this darkest chapter,

1:09:27 the Jewish people found a way to rise again.

1:09:31 Their journey was not over.

1:09:33 It had just begun.

1:09:34 And in 1948, everything changed for the better.

1:09:48 It was the spring of 1948 and the British had

1:09:50 left the Holy Land after three decades of colonial rule.

1:09:54 Jews and Arabs were left to solve

1:09:55 their differences alone without anyone in between.

1:09:58 The main problem was that these differences were irreconcilable.

1:10:02 Although the Jewish side agreed to the division a year

1:10:05 before and since there was no possibility of compromise,

1:10:08 one side decided to take drastic actions.

1:10:11 These drastic actions became monumental, a fulfillment of a two millennium long

1:10:16 dream of an independent Jewish state and all

1:10:19 that in the middle of the century that saw

1:10:21 the worst that could possibly happen to any nation.

1:10:24 The state of Israel was born from the ashes

1:10:26 of a century filled with persecution and warfare.

1:10:29 All the centuries of wandering, suffering, and hope led to this moment.

1:10:34 And although it may look like an impulsive

1:10:36 and drastic action taken without worries about any consequences,

1:10:40 nothing could be further from the truth.

1:10:42 The moment when the Israeli side went

1:10:44 in the direction of completely taking control

1:10:46 of the disputed land was after the United

1:10:49 Nations partition plan of 1947 fell through.

1:10:53 To further explain, the UN proposed a solution that satisfied no one.

1:10:58 But it was a compromise.

1:10:59 The partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.

1:11:04 And while these two states should have been completely independent,

1:11:07 the actual city of Jerusalem awaited a different fate,

1:11:11 particularly the international administration.

1:11:13 This proposal was passed as a resolution

1:11:16 by the United Nations General Assembly in November 1947.

1:11:20 Still, these two states wouldn't have been of equal size.

1:11:24 The proposed Jewish state would stretch to around 55%.

1:11:28 While the Arab counterpart would hold 45%.

1:11:32 Although the plan was supposed to balance these two sides, it had its flows.

1:11:36 The Jewish community completely let the Zionist movement represent its side,

1:11:40 and they mostly accepted this plan.

1:11:43 Jews were tired of war, conflicts, escalations, and massacres.

1:11:47 They were still healing their wounds from the Holocaust

1:11:50 and weren't ready to jump right into another conflict.

1:11:53 Also, it was a crucial step toward

1:11:55 the establishment of a Jewish state internationally recognized.

1:11:59 And after already mentioned Kim Visman,

1:12:02 who still held a large role, and Theodore Herzel,

1:12:05 there was another important figure who took

1:12:08 the leading role in establishing an independent state.

1:12:10 His name was David Bengurion, a leader of the Jewish Agency.

1:12:15 Born as David Grun in 1886 in the Russian Empire,

1:12:19 he grew up surrounded by the ideas of Zionism, but also socialism.

1:12:23 Since the state in the collapsing Russian

1:12:25 Empire wasn't good even for the Russians,

1:12:27 not to mention Jews, Bengurion immigrated to Palestine when he was 20.

1:12:32 There he worked physical jobs as a laborer

1:12:35 and soon became a leader of the workers movement.

1:12:37 Yet his dream was to lead the Zionist

1:12:40 movement and he worked tirelessly to achieve it.

1:12:42 Since 1920, when he already established a name for himself,

1:12:46 Bengurion dedicated himself to one goal only, the free state of Israel.

1:12:52 During the hard years, he became an undisputed leader of Jews in Palestine,

1:12:56 building infrastructure and preparing this area for independence.

1:13:00 His choice for the leader of the new state was obvious.

1:13:03 But there was one problem.

1:13:04 The Arabs and their allies

1:13:06 in the neighboring states didn't accept the partition.

1:13:08 And since the British had already left, there was only one solution.

1:13:12 On May 14th, 1948, David Bengurion declared

1:13:16 the establishment of the state of Israel.

1:13:19 This proclamation made from Tel Aviv was both a triumph and a challenge.

1:13:23 It marked the end of Jewish exile from their ancestral homeland.

1:13:27 But although this exile reached an end, it was not time for celebration.

1:13:32 It was a time for defending

1:13:33 the declaration since it met with violent opposition.

1:13:36 The surrounding Arab nations launched

1:13:38 a military intervention with only one goal,

1:13:40 to prevent the foundation of Israel and eradicate it from the map.

1:13:44 What happened next would ignite a conflict that would

1:13:47 shape the future of the region for decades.

1:13:49 The war of independence has begun.

1:13:51 The new Israeli state, which had an untrained military force,

1:13:55 had to face large armies of five much stronger armies at once.

1:13:59 There was the shortage of everything, especially military equipment.

1:14:03 In the first few days of the war,

1:14:05 this difference was quite visible and the outnumbered Jewish

1:14:08 forces struggled to defend the borders of their young state.

1:14:11 But there was one thing that drove Israelis.

1:14:14 Their forces fought to keep the dream alive.

1:14:16 Determined to protect their homeland and their survival,

1:14:19 they fought with everything they had very effectively.

1:14:22 And piece by piece, the tide had turned and they took the upper hand,

1:14:26 gradually securing crucial territories.

1:14:29 At this point, the front lines extended from the northern border with Lebanon

1:14:33 through central Palestine and down into the Ngev Desert in the south.

1:14:37 The Israeli forces, however,

1:14:39 managed to reclaim key cities such as Hifa, Jaffa, and Jerusalem.

1:14:43 But the victory wasn't complete.

1:14:45 Jerusalem had to be divided into two parts.

1:14:48 One under Israeli control and the other under Jordanian control.

1:14:52 The year was 1949 and Israel defended its independence.

1:14:56 The Arabs got much less than the UN partition plan intended for them.

1:15:01 But the Israeli side paid a costly price for this victory.

1:15:04 Still recovering from the Holocaust,

1:15:06 this war added new scars to these tormented people.

1:15:09 But the Arabs also had to recover.

1:15:11 They lost everything.

1:15:12 It was also their homeland,

1:15:13 and their options were to become a minority under foreign rule or leave.

1:15:18 And some were forced to leave.

1:15:20 More than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs were

1:15:23 displaced from their homes during the conflict,

1:15:25 many of whom became refugees in neighboring Arab countries.

1:15:29 The crisis was far from over.

1:15:31 It was just a round one.

1:15:32 At that moment, Israeli people finally had time

1:15:35 to breathe again and recover from their wounds.

1:15:38 But what was next?

1:15:39 And how much time until the Arab

1:15:41 nations once again form an alliance against Israel?

1:15:44 And what if, like every time,

1:15:46 Jews destroy their own nation from the inside in internal conflicts?

1:15:50 The Palestine area was still very restless and always on the edge

1:15:53 of conflict and international diplomacy would

1:15:56 become closely involved in Middle Eastern politics.

1:16:05 Against all odds and through intense military conflict,

1:16:09 Israel not only survived the 1948 Arab-Israeli war,

1:16:13 but expanded its territory beyond what had been granted by the United Nations.

1:16:17 Despite this military success, the future remained uncertain.

1:16:21 Israel was surrounded by hostile neighbors,

1:16:23 all refusing to accept the legitimacy of a sovereign Jewish state.

1:16:28 The territorial gains Israel made during the war,

1:16:30 while unplanned, created new complications.

1:16:33 Ironically, some Palestinian Arabs who had initially rejected

1:16:37 the UN partition plan were now willing to accept it.

1:16:41 But Israel had changed its stance.

1:16:43 Victorious on the battlefield, Israeli leaders saw little reason to accept

1:16:47 anything less than the territory they had secured.

1:16:50 Now Israel faced enormous challenges.

1:16:53 The state was permanent,

1:16:54 but its survival depended on addressing serious problems,

1:16:57 closed borders, trade isolation, and constant threats.

1:17:02 Yet one issue took priority,

1:17:04 absorbing an overwhelming influx of Jewish immigrants.

1:17:07 In the aftermath of the Holocaust,

1:17:09 Jews from across Europe and the Middle East flocked to the new state,

1:17:13 seeking safety and a fresh start.

1:17:15 These new citizens came from diverse cultures,

1:17:18 many speaking no Hebrew, and integration proved difficult.

1:17:22 But they had no alternative.

1:17:23 The Israeli government had to lead with resolve to unify the population.

1:17:27 Although the process was painful,

1:17:29 the everpresent external threats created a strong

1:17:32 sense of solidarity among the people.

1:17:34 In 1956, one of those threats escalated into war.

1:17:38 Egyptian President Gaal Abdel Nasser, a military officer who had led

1:17:43 the 1952 revolution that overthrew Egypt's monarchy,

1:17:47 nationalized the Suez Canal.

1:17:49 Nasser was a passionate Arab nationalist,

1:17:52 a fierce opponent of Israel, and a staunch anti-imperialist.

1:17:56 His move aimed to reclaim Egypt's resources and prestige,

1:18:00 but it provoked Britain and France who depended on the canal for trade.

1:18:03 At the same time, Egypt blocked the Straits of Tyran,

1:18:07 critically damaging Israel's economy.

1:18:09 In response, Israel joined Britain and France in a secret plan to invade Egypt.

1:18:14 Nasser was also supporting Palestinian Fedí, operating against Israel.

1:18:19 Israel launched Operation Cadesh, quickly advancing through the Sinai Peninsula.

1:18:23 The initial military success was impressive.

1:18:26 However, international reaction was harsh.

1:18:29 In one of the rare moments during the Cold War,

1:18:31 both the United States and the Soviet

1:18:33 Union demanded an immediate halt to hostilities.

1:18:36 Under pressure, the three invading nations agreed to a ceasefire.

1:18:40 While the blockade was lifted, Nasser emerged as a symbol of Arab resistance.

1:18:44 Israel won militarily, but it paid a diplomatic price.

1:18:48 Many began viewing it as a belligerent state seeking expansion.

1:18:52 As the 1960s began, Israel turned to secrecy and intelligence.

1:18:56 One man embodied this new strategy.

1:18:59 Eli Cohen, a legendary spy.

1:19:02 Born in Egypt in the 1920s to a Jewish family,

1:19:05 Cohen faced persecution and moved to Israel in 1957.

1:19:09 There he was recruited by Mossad and sent undercover to Syria.

1:19:13 Assuming the identity of a wealthy Syrian businessman,

1:19:16 Cohen skillfully infiltrated the country's military and political elite.

1:19:20 Cohen gained access to top secret information,

1:19:23 even touring military positions in the Golan Heights.

1:19:26 In a clever act of espionage, he proposed planting trees to shade Syrian troops,

1:19:31 unwittingly marking military locations for Israeli intelligence.

1:19:35 Over time, Cohen transmitted detailed maps and defense plans back to Israel.

1:19:39 But in 1965, during a radio transmission, Syrian authorities traced his signal.

1:19:45 He was arrested, tortured,

1:19:47 and publicly executed in Damascus despite international appeals.

1:19:51 To this day, Syria has refused to return his body.

1:19:55 While Israel conducted covert operations, Arab hostility remained overt.

1:19:59 Border clashes between Israel and Syria intensified.

1:20:03 Meanwhile, Nasser sought to reassert his leadership in the Arab

1:20:06 world by once again blocking the Straits of Thran,

1:20:09 cutting Israel off from the Red Sea.

1:20:11 War seemed inevitable.

1:20:13 Egypt, Syria, and Jordan mass troops on Israel's borders.

1:20:17 On June 5th, 1967, Israel launched a preemptive strike.

1:20:21 The result was stunning.

1:20:23 In just 6 days, Israel defeated the combined Arab forces,

1:20:27 capturing vast territories.

1:20:28 the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights.

1:20:34 In Golan, Israeli forces had an edge.

1:20:36 Thanks to Cohen, they knew Syrian soldiers were stationed under trees.

1:20:40 The 6-day war radically altered the regional balance.

1:20:43 Israel's survival was no longer in question.

1:20:46 Arab leaders now faced the difficult truth

1:20:48 of a permanent Jewish state in their midst.

1:20:51 Despite securing its existence, Israel was now burdened with new dilemmas.

1:20:55 The Palestinian issue remained unresolved and Arab states yearned for revenge.

1:21:00 That opportunity came 6 years later.

1:21:02 In the meantime, Israel's newly expanded borders became points

1:21:06 of tension and the Arab world planned a coordinated strike.

1:21:09 On October 6th, 1973, Yom Kipur,

1:21:14 Judaism's holiest day Egypt in Syria, launched a surprise attack.

1:21:18 The objective was not to destroy Israel,

1:21:20 but to reclaim lost land and restore pride.

1:21:24 This time the Arab militaries were

1:21:26 better organized and equipped with Soviet arms.

1:21:28 Israel was caught off guard.

1:21:30 In the early days, Arab forces made alarming progress.

1:21:33 But with critical support from the United States, Israel rebounded.

1:21:37 After weeks of fierce combat, Israeli troops crossed the Suez Canal,

1:21:41 threatening Cairo and simultaneously advanced toward Damascus.

1:21:45 The tables had turned.

1:21:47 What began as a war to force Israel into negotiations

1:21:50 now forced the Arab states to seek international mediation.

1:21:54 By the end of October, the war ended.

1:21:56 Israel had repelled the invasion, but its confidence was shaken.

1:22:00 The illusion of invincibility had vanished.

1:22:02 Both sides had suffered too much to continue down the path of endless war.

1:22:07 Diplomacy was now essential.

1:22:09 5 years later, diplomacy triumphed.

1:22:11 In 1978, under the mediation of US President Jimmy Carter,

1:22:16 Egyptian President Anoir Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachim,

1:22:20 Began signed the historic Camp David Accords.

1:22:23 After 13 days of tense negotiations,

1:22:26 Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize Israel.

1:22:29 In exchange, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula.

1:22:33 It was a landmark moment.

1:22:34 Peace once unimaginable was now within reach,

1:22:37 though it required bitter compromises.

1:22:40 Still, the peace was fragile.

1:22:42 Tensions persisted.

1:22:43 Some Arab groups and nations continued to reject Israel's right to exist.

1:22:48 And for them, there was no room for negotiation.

1:22:51 With them, war took a more shocking and unpredictable form.

1:23:03 When Israel declared independence, all Arabs living in the neighborhood acted

1:23:07 against it and it ended badly for them.

1:23:11 And after the wars, Israel became even larger

1:23:14 and the Arab people in the country became even more numerous.

1:23:18 They were still against any new Jewish migration to Israel,

1:23:21 but had no power to prevent it.

1:23:23 And they were under foreign rule,

1:23:25 treated like a minority, treated like an enemy.

1:23:29 In 1948, the Jewish paramilitary forces massacred villagers of Deer Yasin,

1:23:35 although the village was part of the non-aggression pact.

1:23:39 Although the official Israeli state wasn't involved,

1:23:41 the death of 107 civilians spread fear throughout the Palestinian

1:23:46 villages that were just waiting to be next in line.

1:23:49 Many families fled their homes, taking only the necessities,

1:23:53 hoping for a quick return that never came.

1:23:58 By the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, over 750,000 fled or were expelled.

1:24:05 The Jews were not a minority in their state anymore.

1:24:09 More than 400 villages were destroyed and what

1:24:12 was left of goods was taken by Israeli forces.

1:24:15 By law, those who left were forbidden to return.

1:24:19 The refugees turned to friendly countries that hated Israel,

1:24:23 and even more spread that hatred against

1:24:25 the ones who made them leave their homes.

1:24:27 The West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon,

1:24:31 and Syria were full of refugee camps that became permanent

1:24:34 settlements for the people who had nowhere else to go.

1:24:38 The conditions in these were different, but nowhere good.

1:24:41 The memory of this event, known as the Nagba,

1:24:44 still hurts all generations of Palestinians and still fuels the tensions.

1:24:49 They want to return and erase this symbol of injustice.

1:24:53 On the other hand, Israelis see these events as a fight

1:24:56 for the survival of a nation surrounded by enemies.

1:25:01 But the Palestinians didn't want to leave the matter without a response.

1:25:05 In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization was formed.

1:25:10 At first, it was under the tutorship of neighboring Arab governments

1:25:13 and had more of a symbolic status without any real influence.

1:25:18 The moment a new young and charismatic leader took charge

1:25:22 of the PLO was in 1969 when all seemed lost.

1:25:26 But he changed the course of the organization and the region's history.

1:25:30 His name was Yaser Arafat.

1:25:33 He was the salvation for Palestinians after the disaster

1:25:37 of the 6- day war and the Israeli occupation of almost all the refugee camps

1:25:41 in the West Bank and Gaza among other territories.

1:25:45 Although born in Cairo in 1929,

1:25:48 Arafat's family had ties to Jerusalem and he felt the urge of the homeland.

1:25:53 Orphaned as a young boy, he didn't have an easy early life.

1:25:58 During the greatest conflicts in 1948,

1:26:01 Arafat was a student in Cairo studying civil engineering

1:26:04 where he firsthand witnessed the growing hatred towards Jews.

1:26:08 It was then that he became politically active,

1:26:10 organizing protests and fighting for the Palestinian cause.

1:26:14 He also turned to military tactics and in 1959 he became one

1:26:19 of the founders of Fata aiming to wage guerilla war and free Palestine.

1:26:26 Fata was different.

1:26:27 It was independent and didn't rely on Arab nations money.

1:26:30 So it didn't need to obey them.

1:26:32 They wanted Palestinians to fight for Palestine.

1:26:36 Arafat became highly influential and instantly recognizable,

1:26:40 always wearing a kei draped around his head.

1:26:43 People either saw him as the symbol of Palestinian resistance

1:26:46 and suffering or as a dangerous terrorist unwilling to negotiate.

1:26:51 He wasn't afraid to organize attacks on Israel,

1:26:54 which brought attention to the Palestinian cause internationally.

1:26:57 He gained both followers and enemies.

1:27:01 Those closest to him described him as warm and inspiring.

1:27:05 He was the face of the movement,

1:27:07 or at least the one they wanted to show the world.

1:27:11 Their suffering drew the attention of the UN,

1:27:14 especially after the 6- day war when more problems arose,

1:27:17 particularly in refugee camps now under Israeli control.

1:27:21 There, the Israeli government began

1:27:23 building new settlements for Jewish settlers.

1:27:26 The UN issued resolution 242, clearly siding with the Palestinians and urging

1:27:32 Israel to withdraw from newly occupied territories.

1:27:37 The PLO didn't give up and continued its guerilla war from Jordan,

1:27:41 but problems arose when the PLO started acting independently.

1:27:45 Tensions with Jordan escalated and eventually led to military incidents

1:27:49 involving the Syrian army while Israel remained a constant threat.

1:27:54 After the events of Black September,

1:27:56 which could be described as a Jordanian civil war,

1:27:59 Arafat and his forces were forced out of Jordan and relocated to Lebanon,

1:28:03 now Israel's new enemy, number one.

1:28:08 After the Camp David Accords,

1:28:09 Palestinians felt betrayed and responded with continued violent actions,

1:28:14 some called terrorism, others liberation.

1:28:17 This led to the Israeli Lebanese war of 1982.

1:28:21 Israel devastated Lebanon's economy and massacres occurred on all sides.

1:28:28 This war also involved the PLO whom Israel blamed for the conflict.

1:28:33 Meanwhile, Lebanese militias fought for power

1:28:36 and the Syrian army again tried to intervene.

1:28:39 Ultimately, Israel demonstrated its military power

1:28:42 and occupied South Lebanon for 15 years,

1:28:46 securing its borders but giving rise to a new enemy, Hezbollah.

1:28:51 As the 1980s progressed, so did the tensions.

1:28:55 The political situation in the Holy Land was like a knot pulling tighter.

1:28:59 There seemed to be no solution that could satisfy more than one side,

1:29:03 and neither was willing to compromise.

1:29:07 Then everything changed in 1987.

1:29:10 On December 9th, a truck driven by a Jew

1:29:13 collided with a vehicle in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing four Palestinians.

1:29:18 Just days earlier, an Israeli had been killed by a Palestinian.

1:29:22 Many viewed the incident as revenge.

1:29:24 Combined with poor living conditions and police treatment,

1:29:28 this event was the final spark.

1:29:32 Palestinians began revoling,

1:29:33 showing civil disobedience, spraying graffiti, chanting,

1:29:37 barricading roads, and throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces.

1:29:42 Settlements and towns became targets.

1:29:45 The Inifatada had begun.

1:29:49 Although Israel had superior military technology,

1:29:52 Palestinians showed remarkable resistance, sometimes throwing stones at tanks.

1:29:57 The first inifat wasn't as bloody as earlier clashes,

1:30:00 but brought persistent fear on both sides.

1:30:03 Israelis feared hidden bombs.

1:30:05 Palestinians couldn't know if they'd be treated as civilians or combatants.

1:30:11 More than 2,000 people lost their lives, but there were countless other victims.

1:30:16 Teenagers and children were regularly beaten with clubs

1:30:19 and eventually the UN had to intervene.

1:30:23 The conference in Madrid in 1991 is considered the first attempt

1:30:28 since 1948 to reconcile some of the differences between these two nations.

1:30:33 This conference once again united the United States

1:30:35 and the Soviet Union in a common cause, stopping the conflict in the Holy Land.

1:30:41 During these two days, the Israelis negotiated with Palestinian,

1:30:45 Jordanian, Lebanese, and Syrian diplomats.

1:30:50 All sides were satisfied as some big

1:30:52 loans were promised to help heal the economy,

1:30:55 and a few new countries recognized Israel,

1:30:57 including Qatar, Oman, and Tunisia, all Arab nations.

1:31:03 On the other hand, the Palestinians were happy to hear that they were recognized

1:31:07 as a people who had been oppressed and that their matter needed to be resolved.

1:31:11 Although the Madrid conference didn't end the conflict,

1:31:14 it was the beginning of peace talks that would

1:31:16 culminate in 1993 in the very north of Europe.

1:31:21 The Israeli side also had a towering figure to match Arafat.

1:31:25 Born in 1922, Yeetszak Rabin was a Jerusalem native born in a settler's family.

1:31:31 From early childhood, he adopted the vision of a free Israel state.

1:31:36 He was part of the war in 1948 where

1:31:38 he became known as a capable leader, pragmatic and calm.

1:31:42 By 1967, he became chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces

1:31:47 and one of the main heroes of the victory in the 6-day war.

1:31:51 Still, he wasn't satisfied with the direction Israel was going,

1:31:55 establishing rule by brute force.

1:31:58 That's why Robin entered politics and even

1:32:00 became Israel's first native-born prime minister in 1974.

1:32:05 It was during his second term that he paved

1:32:07 his way into the history books with his peaceful intentions.

1:32:12 From the Madrid conference, the secret negotiations continued, mostly in Oslo.

1:32:18 Curiously, even though these treaties are named after the Norwegian capital,

1:32:21 they were signed elsewhere, mainly in Washington and Taba in Egypt.

1:32:26 Norway was the mediator in the process.

1:32:30 And although the Oslo Accords of 1993 didn't actually resolve the conflict,

1:32:35 they were the beginning of the process of reconciliation,

1:32:38 a process that was never completed.

1:32:42 Some of the main outcomes were that Israel for the first time officially

1:32:46 recognized the PLO and Arafalt as the ones who represent the Palestinian people.

1:32:51 The Palestinian Authority was also established and the Palestinians

1:32:55 got some autonomy in specific areas while others remained disputed.

1:33:00 The handshake between Rabin and Yazer Arafat became a powerful symbol

1:33:05 of hope and courage and brought them the Nobel Prize for peace.

1:33:10 But many didn't see it that way.

1:33:12 Many Palestinians felt betrayed by their leadership

1:33:15 and continued with terrorist actions and planting bombs.

1:33:19 Others were happy because they were allowed to return to their homes.

1:33:24 In Israel, the treaty also had mixed reception.

1:33:27 Many felt that Rabin gave away territories that were conquered by Israeli blood.

1:33:32 One group even organized and carried out the assassination of Robin,

1:33:36 who left the stage of life in 1995.

1:33:40 Like Robin's life, after the Accords, the peace was short-lived.

1:33:44 But before his death, Rabin made one more step toward peace.

1:33:48 This one was with King Hussein of Jordan.

1:33:51 These two leaders signed an agreement formally ending

1:33:54 a 46-year state of war between the two nations.

1:33:59 Unlike the one with the Palestinians, this treaty remained firm.

1:34:03 But with Palestine, the most important questions weren't resolved.

1:34:09 Uncertainty continued and soon enough the second inifatada began.

1:34:14 Unlike the first one,

1:34:16 this uprising which broke out in September 2000 was much bloodier on both sides.

1:34:21 Ariel Sharon, the leader of the opposition in Israel,

1:34:24 decided to visit the Al Axa mosque.

1:34:27 Sharon, a former military commander during the wars,

1:34:30 was known for his firm and often violent approach to the crisis.

1:34:34 Although the visit itself was peaceful,

1:34:36 it was seen as a provocation and riots began almost immediately.

1:34:42 Protests turned into conflict and the massive uprising lasted for 5 years.

1:34:48 Sharon became prime minister the following March and led the Israeli side.

1:34:52 Palestinian militants began using suicide bombings

1:34:55 and armed attacks against Israeli civilians.

1:34:58 On the other hand, Israel started assassinating notable

1:35:01 Palestinian figures and occupied key areas, often violently.

1:35:07 The West Bank was the main place of violence.

1:35:10 There, Israel had a military objective.

1:35:13 Destroy Palestinian military structures and disarm people.

1:35:17 Fertile soil for atrocities.

1:35:20 They created the West Bank barrier, which made the Palestinians feel even worse.

1:35:25 As the years passed, nothing changed.

1:35:29 The expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank continued,

1:35:32 and Palestinian factions were divided over how best to achieve their goals.

1:35:37 Yaser Arafat couldn't establish control over these groups,

1:35:40 and he passed away in 2004.

1:35:44 After his death, the Islamist group Hamas

1:35:47 became the main Palestinian organization in Gaza.

1:35:50 While Fata controlled the West Bank,

1:35:53 the peace process stopped and Israel returned to unilateral solutions.

1:35:59 The Inifata ended in 2005 in Sharm Elshik, Egypt,

1:36:04 where Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas

1:36:07 signed a treaty pledging to contain their forces,

1:36:10 but without any real arrangements.

1:36:13 Israel promised to leave the once again

1:36:15 occupied territories and released 900 Palestinian prisoners.

1:36:20 Still the problems and disputes remained.

1:36:23 But during these wars, Israel survived and progressed,

1:36:27 even becoming the main force in the region.

1:36:30 And these people have only themselves to thank for that.

1:36:33 Because the progress of a nation that was and still

1:36:36 is surrounded by enemies and with limited natural resources is astonishing.

1:36:55 Today, Israel is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world.

1:37:00 And the Jews are one of the most efficient executives in the world.

1:37:03 And how come the nation that faced so much oppression and genocide

1:37:07 survived all that and rose above it to become what it is today?

1:37:16 Well, the rapid transformation of Israel

1:37:18 into a technological powerhouse started from bare necessity.

1:37:23 This nation was surrounded by enemies who didn't want anything to do with them.

1:37:27 So, any trade was out of the question.

1:37:33 So, the Israelis were on their own.

1:37:36 The next step was to find people who were creative.

1:37:39 Luckily, there were and still are many Jewish people

1:37:42 who are among the most talented people in the world.

1:37:45 The last thing was a national strategy to improve

1:37:47 the nation in these fields needed for great functioning and progress.

1:37:53 The first and the most important task in 1948 was to become self-reliant.

1:38:00 And one of the most important figures

1:38:02 in this progress to innovation was Shimon Perez.

1:38:07 Paris, today mostly known as the architect of Israel's nuclear power

1:38:12 as the prime minister of Israel in the 1980s and the '90s,

1:38:16 was one of the pioneers of the vital cooperation between the government,

1:38:20 scientists, and the private sector.

1:38:22 His actions led to the creation of the Iron Dome Missile Defense System,

1:38:27 a technological marvel,

1:38:28 but also a necessity for Israel and its development under pressure.

1:38:35 However, military advancement in technology are not everything,

1:38:38 and some of the budget for inventions needed

1:38:40 to go in the direction of other technologies.

1:38:44 Technologies that would make the Israeli name famous in the world.

1:38:51 And this is the moment where the story leads us to Yosi Vardy.

1:38:55 Yosi Vardy was a dreamer who saw potential in every situation,

1:39:00 no matter how difficult the circumstances were.

1:39:03 Born in Israel, he started his journey believing in the power of ideas.

1:39:09 In the mid 1990s, he became the most

1:39:12 important person in the company that created ICQ,

1:39:15 the world's first instant messaging platform.

1:39:19 This possibility changed the world of the internet in a matter of seconds.

1:39:25 His success was something that inspired others.

1:39:29 Soon his discovery was sold to AOL

1:39:32 and after him Israel became the startup nation.

1:39:38 But Vardy isn't just a man in pursuit of profit.

1:39:41 His passion for innovation is his driving force.

1:39:46 Also, Vardy proved to be a great mentor capable of spotting talent among others.

1:39:51 His journey personified Israel's desire to become what it is today.

1:39:58 Following his footsteps or even going in front of him,

1:40:02 many Jews started founding startups in the 1990s and early 2000s.

1:40:07 And many major high-tech companies established centers in Israel because

1:40:11 it is fertile soil for ideas among them Intel and Microsoft.

1:40:17 And the results soon arrived in technologies like ways,

1:40:21 mobile and checkpoint software.

1:40:25 Yet, it is very symptomatic that these technologies mostly involve security,

1:40:30 which is connected with the Israeli situation and possible terrorist attacks.

1:40:36 But Israel today is so much more than just technological advancement.

1:40:40 Many people who consider Israel a home today have descendants who arrived

1:40:45 in the Holy Land from all across Europe and even other continents.

1:40:54 in their families and their way of thinking and life.

1:40:57 There are still many habits typical of their former homelands.

1:41:01 This cultural diversity and mixture of ideas plays

1:41:03 an equally significant role in the nation's character as technology.

1:41:08 Each of these groups of settlers

1:41:09 contributes to the society with unique traditions,

1:41:13 cuisines, and artistic expressions.

1:41:17 Figures such as Amos Oz and David Grossman have

1:41:20 used literature to explore the complexities of Israeli identity.

1:41:24 And in music, artists like Aiden

1:41:26 Rachel mix traditional sounds with modern influences,

1:41:30 showing how tradition can always be modern.

1:41:33 Many famous world stars today are from Israel or have

1:41:36 roots in Israel and among them Galgado and Natalie Portman.

1:41:41 Some other Jewish actors have ties with Israel like Jeff Goldblum.

1:41:46 But this diversity also made some internal divisions,

1:41:49 especially economic differences.

1:41:52 This economic inequality and the ever growing gap between

1:41:55 the country's prosperous high-tech sector

1:41:58 and its peripheral agricultural communities.

1:42:03 Also, there are political differences, especially the question of how much

1:42:07 religion should be included in state politics.

1:42:10 Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is

1:42:13 also a polarizing figure among the people

1:42:15 where most of the nation is happy with how he conducts times of external

1:42:19 crisis and his actions while there

1:42:21 are many dissatisfied with his internal politics

1:42:23 and his actions that led to festering this economic polarization of the society.

1:42:29 Still, despite all other problems, the main preoccupation for Israel remains

1:42:34 the geopolitical situation dynamics surrounding Israel,

1:42:37 which is much more dangerous than its internal affairs.

1:42:42 As the years progressed,

1:42:43 the main partner and ally for Israel became the United States.

1:42:47 The most powerful nation in the world

1:42:49 helped Israel beat the political regional isolation.

1:42:52 The Abraham Accords,

1:42:54 mostly supported by the United States under President Donald Trump,

1:42:58 really changed these regional relations.

1:43:01 These agreements normalized ties between Israel and several Arab nations,

1:43:05 including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

1:43:09 These nations now have flights between them and even

1:43:12 started trade relations as the safest path to peace.

1:43:16 Figures such as Jared Kushner and Yosi Cohen, former head of Mossad,

1:43:20 were the leaders of these negotiations that could

1:43:23 bring more certainty to this region in the future.

1:43:26 Still, there are always new or old enemies.

1:43:31 Iran and Turkey have disputes over territory with Israel.

1:43:36 These are powerful nations, and the tensions with them are never easy.

1:43:43 The main advantage that Israel has is its

1:43:45 relationship with the United States as a diplomatic

1:43:48 protector that can provide military aid tied

1:43:51 with shared research initiatives and economic agreements.

1:43:56 But that's not all.

1:43:58 Israel also improved its relations with India where Israeli experts

1:44:01 helped in developing the technology of this most populous nation.

1:44:06 But the problem remains in the neighborhood.

1:44:10 And that not only remains, it intensifies.

1:44:14 And the story will once again take a sinister turn today.

1:44:28 Although there are some exceptions,

1:44:30 Israel is still surrounded by hostile nations.

1:44:32 Even if the governments of these nations sign treaties with Israel,

1:44:36 there is still hatred among people.

1:44:37 And some of these people who hate Israel even

1:44:40 live in Israel in refugee camps in bad conditions,

1:44:43 not fearing anything because they have nothing to lose.

1:44:46 The most well-known and one that is the most

1:44:48 difficult to resolve is the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

1:44:52 After the partial resolution, after the second inifat,

1:44:55 the deep mistrust between the two people remained,

1:44:58 fueled by occasional massacres committed by either of these sides.

1:45:02 The construction of the West Bank barrier, like the Berlin Wall of the East,

1:45:06 physically represents that barrier and the division between the two communities.

1:45:10 And from that moment, it all went from bad to worse.

1:45:13 The main problems of the conflict are the status of Jerusalem,

1:45:17 the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank,

1:45:20 and the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

1:45:23 These three differences today seem inevitable.

1:45:25 Jerusalem, a city sacred to all three major religions,

1:45:29 remains a flash point since it is the capital city of Israel.

1:45:33 The Israeli side claims over the entire

1:45:35 city and won't accept any other solution.

1:45:38 While the Palestinian aspirations for East Jerusalem as their capital,

1:45:42 some negotiations between the two sides,

1:45:44 led by SAB Ericat, a longtime Palestinian negotiator,

1:45:49 and successive Israeli prime ministers,

1:45:51 including Benjamin Netanyahu, ultimately failed.

1:45:54 There is also the blockade of Gaza enforced by Israel in 2007

1:45:59 since that is the year when Hamas took control over this territory.

1:46:03 This blockade further heightened the tensions.

1:46:05 The Hamas side claims that this blockade

1:46:08 causes humanitarian catastrophe while the Israeli side

1:46:11 has a different explanation in order

1:46:13 to avoid militant attacks from this aggressive group.

1:46:16 Hamas leaders like Ismile Haneier and Yaha Sinoir have

1:46:20 led the organization towards both governance and armed confrontation.

1:46:24 leading to repeated cycles of violence.

1:46:26 Israel's military operations such as the 2014 Gaza war

1:46:31 highlight its strategy of preemptive strikes and robust defense,

1:46:34 exemplified by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

1:46:38 And the last terrorist attack on Israeli civilians at the music festival started

1:46:42 a new war that is still in progress and this time bloodier than ever.

1:46:46 Historians have yet to give their opinion on this moment in time,

1:46:50 but this is far from the only problem in the close proximity.

1:46:53 In the last few decades,

1:46:54 Israel's main rival in the region became the Islamic Republic of Iran,

1:46:59 and the tensions just rise.

1:47:01 Iran is very different from the other Arab nations,

1:47:04 and Israel's alliance with the US even more fuels the hatred.

1:47:08 Iran's ideological opposition to Israel's existence and its support

1:47:12 for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas have created even more hostilities.

1:47:16 Iran's nuclear program is an existential threat to Israel

1:47:20 and the number one subject of every Israeli security concern.

1:47:24 Covert operations, including cyber attacks

1:47:26 and targeted strikes on Iranian facilities,

1:47:29 show Israel's approach to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities.

1:47:34 New missiles from both sides launched in the last few

1:47:36 months brought these two nations to the very edge of war.

1:47:40 On the other side, Hezbollah, as an Iranian ally,

1:47:43 operates from southern Lebanon and presents a significant security challenge.

1:47:48 Its leader, Hassan Nasalla, has transformed the organization into a dangerous

1:47:53 military force supported by Iranian funding and weaponry.

1:47:58 The 2006 Lebanon war showed how dangerous this enemy is.

1:48:02 Preventive air strikes against it didn't neutralize the organization.

1:48:06 Unlike these, the tensions with Turkey are not that dangerous,

1:48:10 and these are more diplomatic than and change from time to time.

1:48:13 The same applies to the relations with the Gulf states.

1:48:17 The main reason why Israel still exists is the Mossad and their operations.

1:48:21 As one of the most capable secret intelligence in the world,

1:48:24 from the abductions of the infamous Nazis

1:48:27 to the assassination of the main enemies,

1:48:29 this organization does everything to protect Israel, no matter what it takes.

1:48:34 In 2018, Mossad managed to extract Iranian

1:48:38 nuclear documents and weaken their nuclear program.

1:48:41 Today, when we look back on the history of Israel and its people,

1:48:45 their very existence is an act of heroism

1:48:48 and a testament to resilience and renewal.

1:48:50 A story that begins in the biblical era as the beginning of monotheism.

1:48:54 Notable people like King David and Solomon still

1:48:57 remain very important in the history of the world,

1:49:00 and the destruction of this state still captivates artists.

1:49:04 Many nations ruled over the holy land from the Romans

1:49:07 to Christians and Muslims up until the modern era and Israel.

1:49:11 All of them carved their presence in the spirit of this land.

1:49:14 But the moment that changed everything happened

1:49:16 with the modern rebirth of Israel in 1948.

1:49:20 After centuries of diaspora, persecution, and struggle against all odds,

1:49:25 this state survived the horrors of the Holocaust

1:49:28 and successfully defended its statethood in the early days.

1:49:31 Over time, the defender became the attacker who significantly enlarged its

1:49:35 nation and grew into a technological powerhouse and a beacon of innovation,

1:49:40 balancing ancient traditions with modern achievements.

1:49:43 Still, there are many challenges along the road,

1:49:46 especially the Israeli Palestinian conflict that need to be resolved.

1:49:49 In these relations, lies the key to peace in the Middle East.

1:49:53 But this area was never peaceful.

1:49:55 Today, Israel is not only a regional power,

1:49:57 but also an important player in the world scene.

1:50:00 With cuttingedge technology and strong alliances,

1:50:03 it still remains one of the most important nations in the world in every way.