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The Rise Of Zionism And Arab Nationalism

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The rise of Zionism and Arab Nationalism in the nineteenth century triggered major political tensions in the region of Palestine. The conflict among the Zionists and Arab Nationalists is primarily due to the politics of territory and is essentially not comprised of religious opposition. In fact, before the advent of Zionism and Arab Nationalism, Jews and Palestinians shared a local identity due to mutual tolerances. This identity, which took precedence over religion, created a vivacious community with its own unique set of traditions and customs shared among the Jews, Muslims and Christians. However, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Zionists whom were seeking a safe haven from Jewish prejudices in mainly Eastern Europe, proclaimed their return to Palestine. Zionists sought the territory of Palestine as the ‘official land of the Jews’ because of their ancient homeland ties. Furthermore, as Zionism progressed, Arabs Nationalists were threatened by the ideology and the vast Jewish immigration to Palestine. In the Arab point of view, Zionism emerged as a European movement, which appeared to be another attempt by Western imperialism to subordinate Muslims to Europeans. Although Arab Nationalism and Zionism were similar in nature, these two identities were destined to clash primarily due to their irreconcilable nationalistic aspirations and cultural characteristics.
The birth of Zionism began in Eastern Europe; the Zionist movement became known as a nationalistic

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