International Conflict and the Media

ACTIVITY 10: Historical Context



Introduction

Many problems in the Middle East emerged due to World War I. World War I saw the breakup ofthe Ottoman Empire and the establishment of colonial mandates in many areas of the Middle East.During the war, the British promised a national home for the Jews with the proviso thatnon-Jewish communities in Palestine would not be disrupted. From this ambiguous promise manyof the subsequent Arab-Israeli conflicts emerged. It is important that the students understand thatfrequently conflicts are often caused by solutions to previous wars.

Student Objectives

Time

1 class period

Materials

Copies of Reading 10 and Maps 10A-D for each student

Recommended Procedures

  1. Distribute Reading 10 to each student and ask them to read it either in class or for homework.
  2. Distribute Map 10A, Pre-World War I Map of the Middle East and Map 10B, The MiddleEast, circa 1926. Ask the students to note the differences in these maps. Answers shouldinclude the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of French Mandates in Syria andLebanon; British Mandates in Palestine and Jordan; and creation of Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
  3. Distribute Map 10C, Muslim Population, circa 1990. Ask the students what changesoccurred since 1926. Answers should include: the creation of Israel; the independence ofLebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait; the union of Yemen and Aden. Ask the students toname the important cities in the Middle East. Answers should include: Cairo, Jerusalem,Damascus, Baghdad and Tehran.
  4. Distribute Map 10D, The Gulf Region circa 1990. Ask the students to name the importantcities in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Answers include: Baghdad,Basra, Kuwait City, and the Kuwaiti island of Bubiyan.

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