GCSE Arab Israeli Conflict Questions 1 and 2
1. Looking at where this source came from, (a history book), my primary opinion would be that the author should place no blame at all on either parties detailed in his writings. The purpose of a history book is not to put forward the opinions of the writer, but to display the facts and events of the time period in question. However, as is most common nowadays, books such as these can be used by governments as propaganda, and for all I know the author could be extremely biased. Then, the date should give a further clue before any of the material in question has even been read. Although written nine years after the Six Day War of June 1967, this extract can hardly be deemed to have been written in 'hind sight', as the hostility between the Arabs and Israelis was still present at the time of its publication. If the author was someone who was not totally impartial, perhaps they had relatives on one of the opposing factions or were themselves members, then in such a time of heated emotions, ones anger might begin to affect the impartiality of your writing, whether deliberate or subconsciously. Upon reading the article, you notice that it is very fairly set out into two sections, the Israelis reasons for going to war, and
In the second paragraph, that for the reasons of the Arabs, you are told, "The Arabs say that Israel should not have been in existence at all", and that "Israel had to go to war to save its economy and to ward off political instability". I believe that the author of this book blames the Arabs more than the Israelis. He admits that the Israelis were in part responsible for the war because they made the first attack, and a little of the blame must be given to them for this reason, but not much. I think that he is biased and shows favoritism towards the Israelis. This all seems very diplomatic, but the first thing that struck me was that Israel had roughly three reasons put forward, as opposed to the Arabs two. The writer says that "it comes down to whether..." in the first paragraph, implying that you should draw your own opinion from the information that he has put forward in his book. I believe that he is trying to sway your opinion to the side of the Israelis by means of clever wording. Notice how the author refers to Israel as 'she', but the Arabs as 'they'. Why did he not call the people from Israel Israelis instead of referring to them by their country? This would have made more sense, as he had already called the Arab countries
Some common words found in the essay are:
Arabs Israelis, Gulf Akaba, Arabs Israel, , Israel Israelis, Akaba Israel, Day War, War June, arabs israelis, six day war, Six Day, israel war, day war, six day, arabs told, history book, gulf akaba,
Approximate Word count = 847
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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