This film, part three in a series, looks at the development of the city of Jerusalem over the past century, highlighting the city's dramatic rise from a neglected district under the Ottoman empire to the vibrant modern capital of Israel. Tracing the city's history from the plans of the Zionist leader Theodore Herzl to the Arab uprising in the late 1980s, the documentary details the series of often violent conflicts that have marked Jerusalem's recent past.

The documentary offers a window through which students can learn much of the recent history of the Middle East. It is recommended for high school students.

Jerusalem: The Twentieth Century

This film, part three in a series, looks at the development of the city of Jerusalem over the past century, highlighting the city's dramatic rise from a neglected district under the Ottoman empire to the vibrant modern capital of Israel. Tracing the city's history from the plans of the Zionist leader Theodore Herzl to the Arab uprising in the late 1980s, the documentary details the series of often violent conflicts that have marked Jerusalem's recent past.

Vocabulary

• sovereignty
• Zionism
• provincial
• crusades
• martial law
• mufti
• refugees
• siege
• assassinated
• nominal
• partition
• knesset

Discussion Questions

1. What was Theodore Herzl's vision for Jerusalem?
2. Describe Jerusalem under the Ottoman Empire. What did the Ottoman rulers think of Jerusalem? Was the city an important part of their empire? What happened to the Ottoman empire after World War one?
3. Did Jerusalem play a significant role in World War one? How was the city governed after the war?
4. What spurred Jewish and Arab nationalism in the 1920s? What was the British response?
5. In what ways was Hitler's rise to power in Germany significant to Jerusalem?
6. What was the result of the United Nations' effort to partition Palestine? How was the area to be divided?
7. How did Jews evade the Arab siege of Jerusalem in 1948? What was the Arab response to British withdrawal from Jerusalem? What were the results of the Arab-Jewish war?
8. What was the significance of the 1967 war?
9. Why was Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's 1977 visit to Jerusalem considered a significant turning-point in the history of Arab-Israeli relations? Why do you think Sadat was assassinated?
10. What sparked the Arab uprising, the Intifada, in 1987?

Research Projects

1. Imagine you are a European traveler in Jerusalem in 1910. Describe what you see and what you might do in the city.
2. Make a chart or timeline that lists significant events in the twentieth century history of Jerusalem. Using you chart, develop an oral presentation that attempts to explain the contemporary politics within Israel and between Israel and her neighbors.
3. Write an essay in which you outline a plan for peace in the Middle East that could be acceptable to Arabs and Jews. Take a look at recent newspaper articles about peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, be sure to consider each group's historic claims to the city of Jerusalem.