Page 53 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

However, as the Jews saw that their cause was hopeless, this last Zealot community made a difficult
choice. Each man killed his own family. A small group of men was chosen by lot to kill the other men.
Finally, one man killed the surviving men and then took his own life. According to the written record of
their community, the group had elected to die at their own hands as free men rather than be subjected
to the brutal treatment sure to come from the Romans. More than 900 men, women and children were
found dead when the Roman soldiers arrived. Only two women and five children were found alive, in
hiding.

The small band of rebels atop Masada were the last Jews to live in freedom in Israel until 1948, when
the modern-day state of Israel was founded. Little wonder why Masada holds such a special place
among Jews today, or why it is the most visited site in Israel.

The 19 centuries between Masada’s fall and the new creation of the modern-day state of Israel
consisted of three more centuries of Roman rule, another three centuries of a weaker coalition of
“Christian” rule known as the Byzantine Era, the early Muslim reign in the area from the 7th through the
10th centuries, two centuries of rule under the European Christian Crusaders, and then more than six
centuries of strong rule from Islamic forces based in Turkey.

Turkish rule in Palestine came to an end during World War I. British forces ruled the land from 1917 until
1948, when a United Nations declaration created a “partitioned” area for Jewish people in their biblical
homeland.

Modern-Day Israel
Future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion declared Israel an
independent State on May 14, 1948.

The surrounding Arab states immediately fought against the new
Jewish state. Ten months of fierce fighting took place throughout
Israel, the Sinai Peninsula and in southern Lebanon. Though the
outnumbered Jews were at time in grave danger of losing all of
their appointed land, Israeli forces managed to win the battle.
Israel refers to this battle as its “War of Independence.” An
immediate consequence of winning the war was the claiming of
more land than had originally been decreed in the UN “partition
plan.” Jerusalem, however, was lost to Arab control, under
Jordanian leadership.

Approximately 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled
from their homes in that first war. There has been an ongoing
debate and much conflict over whether or not to restore any of
the Arab refugees to their former property, and if so, how the
restoration would be completed. In succeeding wars, Israel gained
even more land and more military dominance, leading to a never- Facing imminent attack from Egypt, Jordan and Syria,
ending debate about how to find peace in the Middle East. Israel responded with a surprise, preemptive strike
against the Egyptian Air Force on June 5, 1967. Six
In 1967 – just 19 years after Israel’s rebirth – Egypt led a three- days later, Israel had taken control of the Sinai
Peninsula, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan
nation coalition that seemed to be determined to destroy the Heights and Jerusalem. Though Israel has since
Jewish state. The lead-up to the Six-Day War (June 5-10, 1967) relinquished control of the Sinai and Gaza Strip, it still
maintains control over Jerusalem, the Golan Heights
52 and portions of the West Bank.