| | |  | ISRAEL & JEWS | Home » » Israel: Birth of a Nation | | | | | | | Description: | | Sir Martin Gilbert hosts this compelling look at Israel's first three years, featuring never-before-seen footage and eyewitness accounts of the nation's birth. Israel: Birth of a Nation
Fifty years ago the United Nations passed a resolution which partitioned Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, and the state of Israel was officially born. Dislocated after the turmoil and horrific events of World War II and the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands of Jews streamed into Israel to find peace and safety in their newly declared official homeland. But the area given to the state of Israel was taken at the expense of the Arabs in the region, causing a bitter animosity between these two peoples that continues to the present day. This documentary provides an account and analysis of the formation of the nation of Israel and the trials and tribulations of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine, and the inevitable Arab-Israeli war that followed. Israel: Birth of a Nation would be useful for classes on World History, the Middle East, Religion, World Culture and Political Science. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.
Part 1
Vocabulary
• abstain
• beleaguered
• coalition
• colleagues
• convoy
• emissary
• euphoric
• havoc
• kibbutz
• manifestation
• onslaught
• partisan
• siege
• simulated
• simultaneously
• sovereignty
• strategic
• tumultuous
• unanimous
• venture
Discussion Questions
1. The impetus for Zionists to establish a Jewish state vastly increased during the 20th century. Why did Jews feel it was so important to establish a state? What is the significance of the state being established in Palestine?
2. What is meant by a mandate? How is this term used politically? Why did Great Britain possess a mandate Palestine in the aftermath of World War I?
3. The United Nations resolution that created Israel flamed centuries-old antagonisms between Arabs and Jews. Why is there, and why has there been, such animosity between these two peoples? Who is entitled to Palestine?
4. Discuss the contributions of David Ben-Gurion in the creation and establishment of the state of Israel.
5. Why were the "iron skeletons" left on "Sha'ar Hagai," the road to Jerusalem?
6. Over six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. What did the establishment of a Jewish State mean to those who had survived the Holocaust?
7. Great Britain limited Jewish immigration to Palestine during its British occupation. Why do you think Great Britain did this? How did this affect Jews trying to flee the horrors of Hitler's Europe?
8. Discuss how women were a part of the establishment of Israel. How do Jewish and Arab cultural ideas about women differ? Why do you think women were more involved in politics and warfare in Israel than in other countries?
Extended Activities
1. Divide the class into two sections and assign each section a pro-Arab or pro-Israeli stance and moderate a debate on the occupation and possession of Palestine.
2. On an outline map of the Middle East, mark off the area of Palestine and highlight/indicate the areas that belong to Israel and the areas that belong to the Arabs. Use your findings to discuss how the geographic boundaries of the states help fuel Arab-Israeli animosities.
Part 2
Vocabulary
• acquiesce
• armistice
• dispersed
• dissident
• emissary
• exhilaration
• logistics
• paltry
• potent
• procurement
• somber
• spontaneity
• vulnerable
Discussion Questions
1. Israelis considered the Arab-Israeli war a "terminal war." What does this term mean? Why did the Israelis consider this war a "terminal war?"
2. Jerusalem is one of the most famous cities in the world, and one of the most contested sits. Why is Jerusalem such a contested site? What is the significance of this city? Discuss how Jerusalem is an integral part of the three of the world's greatest religions.
3. Discuss the importance of airplanes for Israeli in the Arab-Israeli war.
4. The ship Altalena smuggled in arms and supplies to Israel. How did these supplies create tensions among the Israelis that almost resulted in a civil war?
5. Research and discuss the careers and influence of Israeli patriots such as Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, and Yizhak Rabin.
6. What is the basis of Israel's Citizen Army and how and why was it established?
7. This year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the nation of Israel. Discuss some of the political and national advances made by Israeli in the last century. What has been Israel's influence on the rest of the world?
8. Arab-Israeli relations have always been strained at best. Discuss the current state of these relations and what you think the future might hold for these two peoples.
Extended Activities
1. Create a timeline that chronicles Israel's history for the last fifty years.
2. Imagine that you were a soldier in the Israeli Army during the Arab-Israeli War. Write down your experiences and feelings at the creation of Israel and the subsequent war so your grandchildren will have a first-hand account of the historic time. | | | Features: | |
• Israel declared its sovereignty on May 14, 1948. One day later, armies from Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan, Egypt and Iraq invaded. With only 600,000 people in the infant nation, the odds seemed overwhelming. Yet they not only survived, they triumphed, and by 1949 armistice negotiations began that would ensure the existence of the Jewish State. Sir Martin Gilbert, author of over sixty books and the h
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Martin Gilbert | | Format:
| Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| A&E Home Video | | Run Time:
| 100 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| September 27, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 7 reviews |
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Average Customer Review:
 ( 7 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 Over simplified, and incompleteJan 26, 2007
By Alyssa A. Lappen
Undoubtedly it's difficult to adequately describe the history of any nation's birth in one 50 minute documentary. The History Channel and Sir Martin Gilbert made a creditable attempt. Yet, the overall result is disappointing.
As another reviewer mentioned, the film is too much comprised of historical footage major War of Independence battles--from before the Nov. 29, 1947 United Nations partition vote, before and after Israel's May 14, 1948 Declaration of Statehood, through the February, March, April and July 1949 Armistice agreements and their aftermath.
The film includes interviews with retired Jewish defenders and survivors of massacres at Kfar Etzion, Mount Scopus (Hadassah Hospital medical convoy, Apr. 13, 1948), Sha'ar HaGai and Yad Mordechai. There is also wonderful 1949 footage of post-war Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and so on shot by Briton Bernard Beecham, who visited specifically to document life in Israel's first days as a sovereign state.
On the down side, the only Arab archival footage was reportedly staged anti-Israel military propaganda. This seems imbalanced.
There are also 1948 clips of Galilee Druze and Negev Bedouins who look happy to have accepted Jewish sovereignty.
But viewers miss any adequate Arab League political or Islamic theological explanations for the refusal to accept a new Arab state alongside the Jewish one. There's only the demand of Transjordanian King Abdullah I--that Israel submit to Muslim rule, or face war.
Also missing are any extant archival radio or news clips of Arab exhortations to flee--or destruction of Israel. Possibly only the news clips survive, but the documentary missed an important opportunity to air them.
Finally, while Jewish immigration from Arab nations is mentioned in passing, the forced exodus of nearly one million Jews from Arab and Muslim nations is not reported here, nor is Israel's absorption of their vast majority. That's unfortunate, since Middle Eastern Jews had lived in Arab and Muslim countries for thousands of years, in the case of Iraq, since long before the coming of Christ.
Birth of a Nation tries, but doesn't adequately present the intricacies of Israel's founding.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent video-I disagree with other negative reviews-loved it!Jul 25, 2010
By Nicole Miller
"stone84"
I felt this video had amazing footage and excellent interviews. It also showed beautiful scenery of modern day Israel. Loved it!
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 I wanted to love and learn from this video but it failedJan 17, 2012
By TJ-STL
"DVD viewer"
While I am not Jewish I do feel for any people that are made to suffer. I was greatly disappointed as complex maps, names of obscured villages and towns and leaders that were laundry listed one after another . The video failed to show the birth of a nation by the continued suffering of a great people with almost no support. I was ashamed and surprised that the British (who always seem to meddle with self righteous indignation) caused much of the pain because of the way they partitioned the country after the WW-II. I was also surprised how the British favored and supported the Arab countries over a people just trying to exist and even did recon to aid in the killing of the Jews. The video was mainly a blurry film of many of the battles and wars from 1947 to 1949. I was also horrified how the leaders in Israel used Jews returning from concentration camps were used as "fodder" like lambs lead to slaughter sending them out to fight without training, supply or support. I could go on and on about the failure of this film to truly highlight the suffering of the people and the true birth of a nation. I feel the video should have included the outrageous conduct of the Egyptian people, the slaughter of the Jewish people using the available documentation of the radio and newspaper threats the returning Jews had to face. The one highlight for me was hearing how the Jews had existed with the Arabs for centuries before the war and how some factions of Arabs were supporters and fought side by side with Israel and helped in building the new nations and were actually welcomed and became citizens of the new nation.
4 of 6 found the following review helpful:
A good introductionAug 13, 2007
By James D. Crabtree
"Doc Crabtree"
The use of stock footage from the era gives the viewer a "feel" for the times. Mr. Gilbert's visits to some of the locations in which fighting took place was also interesting and I hope to visit some of these spots myself before I return to the United States.
6 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Okay - But -Apr 28, 2009
By B. Sabaini
I suppose you're reviewing this and considering buying something that'll give you some worthwhile history. Well, here's the "bottom line" - pass on this one and get a copy of "Israel - A Nation Is Born", which is narrated by Abba Eban - "A Personal Witness". Take my word on it, that DVD stands head and shoulders above this one!
See all 7 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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