Review of Arab-Israeli Conflict, Soviet Union Collapse, and Ethiopian history

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

• 1915: Britain promised Palestine to the Arabs to secure support against the Ottoman Turkish administration.

• Zionism: Jewish nationalist movement for a homeland in Palestine, emerging as a reaction against anti-Semitism in Europe. Founded by Theodor Herzl.

• 1920s and 1930s: Growing Jewish immigration to Palestine.

• Increased demand for a Jewish state after the Holocaust, during which 6 million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany during WWII.

• United Nations Organization (UNO): Proposed the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Jerusalem was to be internationalized.

• The Arabs rejected the partition plan, leading to the First Arab-Israeli War.

The First Arab-Israeli War of 1948

• May 1948: Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Trans-Jordan declared war on Israel.

• Israel successfully repulsed the attack.

• Arabs refer to the war as the Nakbah (or Nakba), meaning "catastrophe".

The Second Arab-Israeli War of 1956

• Also known as the Suez Canal Crisis.

• Cause: Nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 1956 by Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt.

• Britain and France supported Israel.

• The Soviet Union, the USA, and the UN forced Israel, Britain, and France to stop the war.

The Third Arab-Israeli War of June 1967

• Also known as the Six-Day War, between Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.

• June 5, 1967: Israeli air force attacked Egyptian airbases, destroying most of their air force on the ground.

• Israel occupied the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Desert during this war.

The Fourth Arab-Israeli War of October 6, 1973

• Known as the Yom Kippur War because it was launched on the Jewish religious day considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

• The US supported Israel, and the Soviet Union supported Egypt.

• The Arab forces were defeated, and the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) continued its activities.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

• 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Communist Party.

• He introduced two reforms: glasnost and perestroika.

Glasnost

• A call for greater transparency in the Soviet government.

• Allowed more freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Perestroika

• Refers to restructuring or reorganizing the USSR.

• Aimed at allowing private ownership of some businesses.

• Gorbachev’s plan for economic restructuring focused on a hybrid communist-capitalist system.

Changes in Eastern Europe

• After WWII, Central and Eastern European countries (Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Eastern Germany) became Soviet satellites.

• 1989: Nationalist movements began in Poland and spread to Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania, leading to regime changes.

• All overthrew their communist regimes peacefully, except in Romania, where the revolution was violent.

• 1991: Fifteen sovereign states emerged from the collapse of the USSR:

  • Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belorussia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

ETHIOPIA, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS AND EXTERNAL INFLUENCES FROM 1941 TO 1991

Major Administrative Reforms and Socio-Economic Conditions in the Post Liberation Period

External Influence

The British Era

• May 5, 1941: Haile Selassie I re-entered Addis Ababa.

• Until January 31, 1942, the British remained in control of Ethiopian internal and external affairs.

• British controlled the police force, the army, and finances.

• The British set up the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (OETA) over Ogaden and Eritrea.

The First British – Ethiopian Agreement

• Signed on January 31, 1942.

• The treaty recognized Ethiopia as an independent state but restricted its sovereignty in several ways:

  • The Ethiopian army was to be trained by the British military mission.

  • The British minister enjoyed a privilege over the other diplomatic representatives in Ethiopia.

  • British advisors were assigned to each government ministry office.

  • British military could use former Italian state property without payment.

  • Haud, boundary with British Somaliland and Ogaden remained under British control.

  • The telephone system and the railway were to remain under British control.

  • The British East African shilling was made the official monetary unit.

The Second Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty

• Signed in December 1944.

• In this treaty, the British promised to restore Ogaden to Ethiopia.

• British also allowed Ethiopia to use the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway.

• British agreed to train the Ethiopian army.

• Accordingly, British set up a mission⁵ called the British Military Mission to Ethiopia (BMME).

• Ogaden remained under British control until 1954, and Eritrea from 1941-1952.

Different political parties emerged to address the question of Eritrea:

1. The Unionist Party

   • Composed of the Orthodox Christian and the Tigrigna speaking population.

   • Demanded the unification of Eritrea with Ethiopia.

2. The Independence bloc

   • A collection of different groups that were united by their opposition to the union.

     • The Muslim League

     • The Liberal progressive party which campaigned for the independence of Eritrea with Tigray.

   • British demanded to create a united Tigrigna speaking highlands and uniting the lowland Eritrea with Sudan

3. Pro-Italian party

   • Intended to bring Italian settlers, Eritreans who served in the colonial army (ex-askaris), and the people of mixed races.

   • Britain, the USA, Soviet Union, and France passed the issue of Eritrea to the UN in 1948.

   • The UN passed a resolution called UN Resolution 390V, adopted on December 2, 1950.

The American Era

• Ethio-American ties began in 1903, when the first American missionaries arrived under the leadership of Robert Skinner.

• Their relationship grew stronger and became more active after WWII.

Point Four Agreement between Ethiopia and America

• Signed on May 15, 1952.

• The points included:

  • Locust management.

  • Agricultural and public health education.

  • Public administration training.

  • Scholarships for Ethiopian students.

The 1953 agreement of Ethiopia and America

• Was the result of the young free Officer’s revolt in 1952.

• In this year Egypt adopted a pro-communist, anti-Israel administration.

• The movement was headed by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nassir.

• As a result, the US began looking for a new partner in the Middle East.

• This treaty enabled the USA to operate the Kagnew station, a communication facility in Asmera that had previously been used by the Italians as Radio Marina.

• In return, the USA promised to provide Military Assistance to Ethiopia and known as; Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG).

• Her influence was strong in military organization and training, communication, and education.

• From the 1960s and 1970s, Ethio-American relations began to decline due to the following reasons:

  • Advances in satellite communication significantly diminished the importance of the Kagnew station in which the Ethio-American alliance had been founded.

  • Growing opposition, especially among students, against American Imperialism.

Administrative reforms

• In the post-liberation period, Haile Selassie divided the country’s administration into Twelve Taqlay gezats and appointed Endarase (on my behalf).

• He also established a centralized state.

The 1955 revised constitution

• Haile Selassie introduced it because:

  • To provide a formal basis for his efforts at centralization and to attract the loyalty of educated Ethiopians.

  • To Federate Eritrea or the Federation of Eritrea

• The constitution strengthened the absolute power of the Emperor

Agricultural, Land Tenure and Tenancy

• Agriculture is the dominant human activity and the backbone of the Ethiopian economy.

• Coffee and oilseed, formed the bulk of the country's export.