The day Palestine was divided – level 3

29-11-1947

Jerusalem is a city in the Middle East. It’s one of the oldest cities in the world. Its name means “city of peace.”

Jerusalem is a holy city to the three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These religions have their holy places very close to each other. This fact has caused many conflicts in the past. During its long history, many people wanted to control Jerusalem, and the city has been captured and recaptured 44 times by different groups of people.

During the Second World War, 6 million Jews were killed in Europe. Many of those who survived didn’t want to live in Europe anymore.

They decided to move to Palestine which they considered to be their holy land which they were forced to leave 2000 years ago.

It was no wonder that over a million local Palestinian Muslims didn’t welcome their arrival.

Jews kept coming to Palestine though and in 1947, there were already over 600,000 Jews there. Jews and Palestinians had a number of mutual attacks, and the country found itself on the brink of civil war. It was an international problem.

The United States came up with a proposal to divide Palestine into 2 states, Jewish and Arabic. Jews agreed, but Palestinian Muslims didn’t.

Then, on November 29, 1947, voting took place at the United Nations. The voting countries decided to create the Jewish state of Israel in Palestine. Jews celebrated. Muslims weren’t happy. This day marks the beginning of the period of many wars and conflicts between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East, which continues to this day.

Difficult words: holy (connected with God and religion), conflict (a problem, a fight), capture (to get control of a place), wonder (surprise), though (but), mutual (when both sides do the same things), on the brink (close to a new situation), proposal (a suggestion), voting (saying what decision you prefer).

What is the significance of Jerusalem to the three major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and how has this led to conflicts between different groups in the region?

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