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Student Information Map: Palestine, UN Partition Plan, 1947

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Student Information Map: Israel After the 1949 Armistice

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Student Information Map: The 1967 War

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Student Information Map: Israel, Occupied Territories (1992)

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Student Information Sheet: Middle East: Clash for National Self-Determination

The movement towards independence and the ending of European hegemony, following World War II, affected the people of the Middle East.

• Since that region possesses large amounts of the world's known oil reserves, developments in the region profoundly affect other regions of the world.

The Jewish people, like many other groups, sought independence. However, they also sought a homeland, a nation.

• The last independent Jewish state was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. For hundreds of years, Jews hoped to return to their "promised land" and re-establish Israel.

The centuries of persecution and programs only intensified the Jews' desire to have a homeland.

• Within Christian Europe, the Jewish minority were often the targets of persecution and were blamed for such misfortunes as the Black Plague and crop failures

In 1897, the World Zionist Organization was formed with the primary objective of creating a Jewish nation.

• The efforts of the World Zionists seemed to be coming to fruition when Britain indicated, in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, that it supported the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.

If Palestine had been not populated, the establishment of a Jewish state could have occurred easily. However, Palestine was the home of thousands of Arabs.

Turkey had allied itself with Germany during the First World War and became Britain's major enemy in the Middle East.

• Turkey controlled Palestine.

The British wanted to get the support of the Arabs within the Turkish Empire and were willing to support Arab independence.

Palestine became a British mandate after World War I. Thousands of Jews from Europe immigrated to Palestine between the two world wars.

• The rise of Hitler in Germany increased the flow of Jews from Europe.
• Many nations refused to accept Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.

The local Arab population was alarmed at the influx of Jewish settlers.

• Violent clashes became common and the British were largely unsuccessful in mediating the dispute between the two peoples.

Six million Jews perished in Nazi extermination camps during the Second World War. The Holocaust convinced Jews that only the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine would secure the safety of Jewish people.

• The Nazi's program of extermination of Jews during the war influenced the western powers. The Holocaust lent an urgency to the Jewish desire to create a safe home in Palestine and created support in the western nations.

Violence between the Arabs and Jews in Palestine increased after the war.

• The British wanted out of Palestine and in 1947, announced that it was handing the problem over to the new United Nations.
• In that year, the UN passed a resolution calling for the division of Palestine into two states, a Jewish state and an Arab state.

Under the UN partition proposal, less than half of Palestine was allotted to the Arab population.

• The Arab population constituted the majority of the population in Palestine in l947.
• Despite Arab rejection of the partition plan, the plan was put into effect and in May 1948, the new nation of Israel was declared.

War between the new nation and the surrounding Arab states erupted. A million Palestinian Arabs fled from Israel to the surrounding states.

• The Israelis received material support from the United States. Israel successfully resisted the Arab forces and expanded its territory.
• The Palestinians who had fled their homes did not return to Israel and lived in refugee camps in the nations surrounding Israel.

The developing conflict between the two superpowers was to intrude into Middle East politics.

• Although both the Soviet Union and the United States had sponsored the UN resolution creating Israel, they soon developed opposing interests.
• The new Israeli state was receiving massive American assistance and the Arab nations perceived the US as the protector of Israel.
• Consequently, many Arab states sought the assistance of the Soviet Union.
• The superpowers became the chief arms suppliers for the nations of the region.

Arab Nationalism and Egypt

The rise of independence movements throughout the world, the process of decolonization, and the humiliation of the Israeli military victory in 1948, all contributed to a growing Arab nationalism.

• The Arab nationalists wanted to end "western imperialism" and avenge their defeat to Israel.

In Egypt, the Israeli victory had discredited the corrupt and inefficient regime of King Farouk.

• In 1952, a group of young military officers staged a military coup. The leader who emerged was Gamal Nasser.
• Nasser was determined to make Egypt the leader of the Arab world and to improve conditions in Egypt.

Nasser's government initiated a number of major projects such as land reform and wide-spread irrigation.

• Britain and the US offered to aid Egypt in construction of the Aswan Dam, but withdrew their support when Nasser also sought Soviet assistance.

Nasser sought to reduce British influence in Egypt.

• He indicated that Egypt would nationalize the British\French-owned Suez Canal. The Egyptians also closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping.

Britain, France and Israel were all angered and planned joint action against Egypt.

• In conjunction with British and French military forces occupying the Suez Canal Zone, the Israelis attacked Egypt in October 1956.

International pressure forced the British and French forces out of Egypt.

The Israelis secured the opening of the Gulf of Aqaba. Despite being defeated militarily, Nasser emerged from the Suez Crisis with a higher standing in the Arab world. He had stood up to the old imperial powers.

Nassar died in 1970 and was succeeded by Anwar el-Sadat.

• In October, 1973, the Egyptians launched a surprise attack on Israeli position in the Sinai. The Israelis were able to keep their positions, but they suffered heavy casualties.
• In November a truce was signed between Egypt and Israel.

Many Arabs blamed the West for another defeat.

• Israel had been supplied with arms by the US.
• In response, the Arab oil-producing states restricted oil shipments to Europe, North America and Japan. They hoped that such pressure would force the West to pressure Israel into negotiating with the Arab states.

The oil boycott of the industrial states of the noncommunist world activated renewed international attempts to resolve the dispute between Israel and the Arab world.

In November 1977, Sadat stunned the world by travelling to Israel, in an attempt to resolve differences between Egypt and Israel.

• He became the first major Arab leader to recognize the existence of Israel. Sadat was criticized by many Arab states.

With the active involvement of US President Carter, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin signed a peace treaty between the two nations.

• Israel agreed to withdraw from all land taken from Egypt except the Gaza Strip.

Arab opposition to Sadat's reconciliation with Israel resulted in his assassination in October 1981.

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Student Information Sheet: The Palestinian

During the late 19th century at the time, when Jewish immigration began to increase, Arabs represented 90 percent of the population in Palestine. At that time, Palestine was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

• During the mid-1880's, there were about 25,000 Jews in Palestine. By 1914, that number had increased to over 85,000.
• In the 1930s, over 100,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine.

The Palestinians lived peacefully with the Jewish minority until the late-19th century. As Jewish settlers came from Europe and put greater demands on arable land, the Palestinians became concerned.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland without infringing on the civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish people of the region.

• Following the First World War, Palestine became a British mandate.
• During the period between the two world wars there was an enormous increase in Jewish immigration to Palestine.
• Palestinians had no say in all of this.
• Several serious violent outbreaks between the Palestinian and Jewish populations occurred in the early 1920s.

When the British first acquired responsibility for Palestine, they considered everyone in the area, Jews, Christians and Arabs, to be Palestinians.

• Palestinian Arab society was agrarian-based, and many people were poor sharecroppers who depended on large landowners, usually powerful families.

Many of the Israeli immigrants to Palestine received financial aid through a variety of Zionist organizations and because of this, were able to buy land and establish an industrial sector.

• Events in Nazi Germany increased international sympathy and Western aid toward the Jews.
• The Palestinians received no such financial aid.

Increasing Jewish immigration increased the concerns of the Palestinians. They staged massive strikes and rebellions against the British.

The British wanted Arab support during World War II.

• The Suez Canal was crucial and the Middle East was the gateway to India. This led to the British White Paper of 1939. The White Paper stated that Jewish immigration and land purchases would be reduced for five years and then banned after that d ate.

The new state of Israel was created in 1947.

• During the first war between the new Israeli state and the surrounding Arab nations (1948-1949), thousands of Arab Palestinians fled their homelands.
• Israel would not allow the return of people it considered to be hostile.

In many ways, the Palestinian Arabs were caught in the middle of the conflict between Israelis, who were determined to keep their homeland, and Arab states determined to liquidate the state of Israel that they believed had no right to exist.

• The Palestinian refugees became the symbol of the Arab/Israeli struggle. Some felt that certain Arab countries simply wanted to eradicate the Israelis in order to control Palestine and increase their own land and power.

After the first Arab-Israeli war, many Palestinian refugees were organized into fedayeen.

• Palestinians began to feel that they needed their own organization to support them rather than depending on a coalition of Arab states.
• Al-Fatah had been organized by university students in the 1950s and soon began terrorist attacks against Israel.

PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)

The fate of the Palestinian refugees remains a key issue that promotes tension in the region.

• Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Palestinians lived in over-crowded refugee camps near Israel's borders.

The Palestinian's frustration at not being able to return to their homeland continued and was symbolized by the establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

• The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), under the leadership of Yassir Arafat, was formed in 1964.
• Its goal was to keep the Palestinian cause a major world concern.

The PLO is controlled by a 15-member Executive Committee.

• The political arm of the PLO is called the Palestine Liberation Council. The military arm is called the Palestine Liberation Army, that some sources estimate at 25,000-30,000 members.
• Arafat is the commander-in-chief of the army.

Another war between Israel and the surrounding Arab states occurred in June 1967.

• The Israeli forces surprised the Arab forces and won a quick victory. The Six Day War resulted in Israel occupying the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank of the Jordan River, and the Golan Heights.
• They also acquired control over a large and hostile Arab population on the West Bank.

On November 1967, the UN passed Resolution 242 that called for peace with every state in the region and secure and recognizable boundaries for each state.

• The resolution made no mention of a Palestinian homeland or of the Palestinian's right to self-determination, even though it did call for a "just settlement of the refugee problem".
• Israel ignored the resolution.

Following the 1967 war, the Palestine National Covenant denied the existence of Israel.

• This was an attempt to promote Palestinian consciousness with the goal of reclaiming a homeland.
• The PLO wanted the world to know that peace was linked with the notion of justice for the Palestinians. The PLO also wanted to link the refugee problem with Vietnam in order to earn the support of the anti-Vietnam War movement in the US and Europe.< /ul>

  Many Palestinians feared that the potential for a Palestinian homeland was becoming more remote.

  Certain elements of the Palestinian nationalist cause used violence to achieve their goals.

  • 1970. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked and destroyed four western airliners.
  • 1970. The large Palestinian population in Jordan was seen as threat by Jordan's King Hussein. In a ten-day battle, Jordanian forces drove the PLO out of Jordan.
  • The majority of Palestinian forces then established their bases in Lebanon.
  • 1972. Palestinian terrorists killed eleven Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich.

  In 1974, the UN General Assembly voted, by a large majority, to officially recognize the PLO and allowed Yassir Arafat to address the Assembly.

  • The PLO was given observer status at the UN. A conference of Arab leaders also acknowledged the PLO as the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

  1976. The PLO became a full member of the Arab League. During that time, many other nations began to officially recognize the PLO.

  November, 1981. The Soviet Union granted the PLO full diplomatic status.

  1982. Israel invaded Lebanon to drive out the PLO and destroy the PLO bases.

  1983. An armed PLO uprising, supported by Lybia's Muammar Qaddafi, against Arafat's leadership, failed.

  Until 1993, Israel had consistently refused to negotiate with the PLO The negotiations continued into 1994.

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  This information is to accompany Activity Five of the Unit Five Activity Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: The Middle East: The 1980s and 1990s

  Lebanon

  Lebanon differs from other states of the Middle East in that it contains both significant Christian and Moslem populations.

  • For decades, a delicate political balance existed between the Arab and Christian communities in Lebanon.
  • This balance was disrupted by the arrival and settlement of a large Palestinian population, and the intrusion of Israel and Syria in internal Lebanese affairs.

  In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in an effort to destroy the PLO bases located in that nation.

  • This incursion and the Israeli occupation of large parts of Lebanon further strained the fragile political situation within Lebanon.
  • Israeli forces withdrew to the southern border region of Lebanon in 1985. The lengthy civil war between the Christian, Moslem and Palestinian communities continued.

  Arab Disunity

  Despite having an enormous advantage over Israel in terms of numbers of troops and military equipment, the Arab states have achieved little success in their wars against Israel.

  • The Arab nations have remained divided and effective unified action against Israel has been elusive.

  Islamic Fundamentalism

  The rise of Islamic fundamentalism has become a important element in Middle Eastern politics.

  • In 1979, the pro-American Shah of Iran was toppled and an Islamic Republic led by the Ayatollah Khomeini assumed power.
  • The Mullahs (Islamic priests) now controlled Iran.

  The agenda of the Islamic fundamentalists included:

  • the elimination of American and Western influences within Iran; and,
  • the creation of a fully Islamic society and a readiness to export the Islamic revolution to other secular Arab nations.

  Relations between the United States and the new regime in Iran quickly soured.

  • The seizing of the American Embassy in Teheran and the holding of American hostages brought the two nations to a situation approaching open war.

  West Bank

  Some sectors of Israeli society contend that the West Bank of the Jordan River should be considered an integral part of Israel.

  • Throughout the 1980s, Israeli settlements have been established on the West Bank.
  • The influx of Russian Jews to Israel in the late 1980s and early 1990s created a greater urgency to establish new communities to house the immigrants.

  The Arab population of the West Bank has resented and resisted the establishment of Jewish settlements on the West Bank.

  • Their resistance has involved both violent and nonviolent actions.

  The End of the Cold War and the Middle East

  The breakup of the Soviet Union effectively meant the end of significant Soviet influence in the Middle East.

  • Many Arab states had lost their major source of military and economic assistance.

  The new international political reality was that there was now only one superpower, the United States. American influence in the Middle East increased.

  • The American presence in the region was vividly made clear when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Kuwait had long been an American ally in the Persian Gulf region.

  Gulf War

  The Iraqi aggression was seen as a threat to the oil-producing states of the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia. The Saudis encouraged American intervention.

  • American and UN forces were sent to the region. Although technically an United Nations military action, the bulk of the military personnel were American.

  Canada, Britain, France and a number of Arab states contributed military contingents to the operation to remove the Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

  As part of the UN action against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, economic sanctions were applied against Iraq.

  • These sanctions continued after the Iraqi forces had been defeated.

  The actual hostilities between UN forces and the Iraqis lasted only several days.

  • The superior military technology possessed by the UN forces enabled them to disable the Iraqi air force and air defense systems.
  • It is estimated that 100,000 Iraqis were killed during the Gulf War.

  The Gulf War divided the Arab World.

  • Several nations, including Jordan and Libya supported Iraq, while others such as Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt were represented in the UN forces.
  • Iran condemned the intervention of American forces in the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait.

  The Gulf War enhanced the prestige of both the United States and the United Nations.

  • Both parties initiated peace initiatives in the early 1990s. The initiatives resulted in the first direct talks between Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab states over their outstanding issues.

  In 1993, the Labour Government of Israel announced its willingness to deal directly with the PLO.

  However, the recent peace initiatives have not lessened the desire of the nations of the Middle East to acquire new and more expensive weapons.

  • During the Gulf War many new weapons and technological developments were used and the nations of the region desired these new weapons.

  The industrialized nations seem prepared to continue to supply the nations of that region with modern weapons.

  • Between 1990 and 1991, the United States concluded arms deals with five Middle Eastern nations - Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, worth $13.2 billion.
  • In 1990, the then-Soviet Union sold Syria arms worth $5 billion.
  • In 1991, Canada permitted General Motors of Canada to sell 1,117 armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia.

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  Student Information Sheet: The New Nation of Israel: An Historical Outline

  May 14, 1948. The state of Israel is proclaimed.

  • After nearly 2,000 years, the Jewish people finally have a homeland. The Israelis can trace their ancestry in this part of the world back to almost 2000 B.C., to the land of Canaan.

  The first Israeli prime minister was David Ben-Gurion.

  • Ben-Gurion had served as chairman of the Jewish Agency and head of the Zionist Workers Movement.

  1948-1949 War

  May 15, 1948. Israel was attacked by the military forces of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

  • These Arab states were opposed to the UN proposal creating Israel and attempted to destroy the new nation.
  • The war lasted for several months. Israeli forces were able to defeat the Arab forces and occupied more territory than Israel was originally granted by the United Nations.
  • At the end of the war, Israel had control of Galilee, the Negev Desert, and the western half of Jerusalem. It also had control over 150,000 Palestinian refugees.

  During that war, more than 700,000 Palestinian refugees fled to the neighbouring Arab states and were forced to settle in refugee camps in those states.

  • By 1949, the number of homeless Palestinians was over 900,000. Israel was not willing to permit then to return to their former homeland.

  1949. Israel signed armistice agreements with Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon and Syria.

  1950. The Israelis declared the new city of Jerusalem as their capital. The Jordanians still controlled the old city.

  1950. The Jewish Law of Return was passed by the Israeli Parliament. The Law allowed for free and automatic citizenship to every Jewish immigrant to Israel. Between 1948 to 1951, the Jewish population of Israel doubled.

  During the early 1950s, the fedayeen (Palestinian guerrilla fighters) began using Gaza as a base from that to launch sporadic attacks against Israel.

  • They were supported by the Egyptian regime of Gamal Abdul Nasser. The Israelis viewed Nasser as both a revolutionary who wanted to merge all the Arab states and as being pro-Soviet.

  1956 War

  In 1954, Britain removed its forces from the Suez Canal.

  • In 1956, the Egyptians seized control of the Suez Canal from the British and French. All shipping to Israel was stopped.
  • In response, Israeli, British and French forces invaded Egypt. By early November, Israeli forces had gained control of Gaza and had reached the Suez Canal.
  • International pressure forced the British and French to leave Egypt.

  1957. The Israelis withdrew from Egyptian territory as UN peacekeeping forces arrived.

  • The Israelis were given access to the Gulf of Aqaba, but not to the Suez Canal.

  From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, Israel was subjected to several minor attacks, launched mainly from the Syrian border. During this time, Israel filed more than 400 formal complaints to the UN.

  • The Israelis believed that such attacks were breaking the terms of the armistice agreements of 1948/1949.

  During the 1950s, France supplyied Israel with arms and aircraft.

  1964. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was established. It was composed of various Palestinian Arab groups who wanted to establish a homeland in Palestine.

  • Arab nations recognized the PLO as the official representative of the Palestinian people.
  • Israel refused to recognize the PLO.

  Between 1964 and 1966, leaders from several Arab nations held meetings to plan strategies against Israel.

  1965. Al Fatah, a Palestinian organization, launched "terrorist" attacks on Israel along the Jordanian and Syrian borders.

  • In response, the Israelis announced an increase in the length of military service for its citizens.
  • Jordan responded likewise.

  April, 1967. Israeli and Syrian ground forces exchanged fire and the Israelis shot down six Syrian jets.

  • In May, Nasser ordered the withdrawal of UN security forces along the Israeli/Egyptian border.
  • Egyptian forces moved into the Sinai. Nasser closed the Straits of Tiran, cutting off the Israeli port of Elat.
  • In June, Israeli forces attacked Egyptian air bases and were able to destroy most of the Egyptian airforce.
  • The Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi air forces also suffered heavy losses. This allowed the Israelis to dominate the air and win a speedy victory in the ensuing war.

  In that war, the Israelis were able to gain control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai, the Golan Heights, the West Bank of the Jordan River and all of Jerusalem.

  • With control of this additional territory came nearly one million Palestinian Arabs.
  • Israel announced that Jerusalem was now to be a united city and the permanent capital of Israel.

  In 1970, Gamal Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat.

  • In 1972, Sadat ordered the Soviet advisors out of Egypt.

  In October of 1973, the Yom Kippur War started with Egyptian and Syrian forces attacking Israel along the Suez Canal and Golan Heights.

  • Although they suffered major losses, the Israelis were able to defeat the Arab forces.

  The Israeli public was dissatisfied with its government's handling of the war and Prime Minister Golda Meir resigned.

  • Yitzhak Rabin became Prime Minister.

  1975. A UN General Assembly resolution called Zionism a form of racism.

  July, 1976. Israeli forces were able to rescue 110 Israeli hostages who were held by Palestinian terrorists in Uganda.

  1977. The Labour Party was defeated by the conservative Likud Party and Menachim Begin became Prime Minister.

  1977. Egyptian President Sadat visited Israel and addressed the Israeli Parliament.

  September, 1978. Camp David Summit. US President Carter hosted Menachim Begin and Anwar Sadat. The three agreed upon a "basis" for Egyptian/Israeli peace.

  • The peace treaty was completed in March of 1979, resolving most Egyptian and Israeli differences including the returning of the Sinai to Egypt.
  • In 1981, Muslim fundamentalists who were opposed to Sadat's peace treaty with Israel, assassinated Sadat. Hosni Mubarak became Egyptian President.

  June 7, 1981. Israeli aircraft destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad.

  1982 Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to drive the P.L.O. away from the Israel's northern border.

  • Lebanese Christian forces, allied with Israel, massacred 600 Palestinian refugees in Beirut.

  May, 1983. Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement to terminate their state of war.

  September, 1983. Begin resigned as Prime Minister and was replaced by Yitzhak Shamir.

  1984. Elections in Israel resulted in a national government with Shimon Peres as Prime Minister.

  1985. Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon.

  1987. A widespread Palestinian uprising, the Intifadah, occurred in the West Bank and Gaza.

  • Hundreds of Palestinian rioters were killed.

  1990. Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened to use chemical weapons against Israel.

  1993. The Labour Government in Israel announced that it would negotiate directly with the PLO on the issue of self-government for parts of the occupied West Bank.

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  This information is to accompany Activity Five of the Unit Five Activity Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Egypt and the Middle East

  Egypt has always been considered to be strategically located and the construction of the Suez Canal only enhanced its importance.

  • By the late nineteenth century, Britain had effectively gained control over Egypt.
  • Despite British attempts to modernize Egyptian agriculture and improve the education system, many Egyptian resented the foreign interference and called for independence.

  At the beginning of World War I, Britain made Egypt a protectorate in order to protect their interests in the Suez Canal. During the war, Egypt served as an important British base.

  1917. Balfour Declaration.

  1919. Anti-British revolution occurred in Egypt.

  Following the First World War, Britain encountered difficulty with an Egyptian nationalist named Saad Zaghul. His arrest sparked a revolt and British control over Egypt broke down.

  1922. Egypt gained its independence.

  1923. Egypt became a constitutional monarchy. Free elections were held with the Wafd Party winning a majority in Parliament.

  1930. King Faud declared a state of emergency due to political turmoil.

  1936. King Faud died and a new election gave victory to the Wafd Party.

  • Egypt and Britain signed a treaty that recognized Egyptian independence but still permitted British forces to be located along the Suez Canal.

  Independence did not solve many problems in Egypt.

  • There remained huge gaps between the rich minority and poor majority.
  • The new king, Faruq, could not work with the Wafd government.

  One of the more popular movements of the 1930s was the Muslim Brotherhood, that called for a return to the traditional Muslim lifestyle and a rejection of the "westernization" of Egypt.

  1939. The outbreak of World War II reinforced Egypt's strategic importance.

  • 1942. Rommel was at the height of his power and seriously threatened the British in Egypt. The British were able to stop the German forces at the Battle of El Alamein.

  1942. The Iraqi prime minister proposed a union of Arabic-speaking Fertile Crescent nations including Iraq, Lebanon, Transjordan, Syria and Palestine.

  • Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yeman opposed this plan and instead suggested the formation of the Arab League. The League was intended to promote Arab unity.
  • However, the only agreement that could be reached was that all the Arab states opposed the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.

  1945. Egypt became one of the founding members of the new United Nations.

  1945. The Arab League was officially established.

  1947 The UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

  One of the main reasons that Egypt became involved in the Palestinian issue was that it did not want other Arab nations to take control of Palestine.

  • Egypt therefore participated in the first Arab-Israeli war. The Egyptian defeat caused great turmoil in Egypt.

  1950. The Wafd party won the national election. Egyptian Prime Minister Nahhas was determined to remove the British from the Suez Canal zone.

  • Egyptian Commandos were sent to attack British forces. The British struck back in 1952 and killed many Egyptians. This resulted in anti-British riots in Cairo.

  1950. Transjordan was transformed into the Kingdom of Jordan.

  July, 1952. A group of Egyptian officers took power. The new regime instituted great changes, including land redistribution and the abolition of political parties.

  1954. Colonel Gamal Abdul Nasser took power in Egypt. Nasser wanted to improve the Egyptian economy and proposed the building of the Aswan Dam to harness the Nile River.

  • The US and France indicated, in 1955, that they would help finance the Aswan Dam project.
  • Relations between the West and Nassar soured when Nasser bought military arms from the Soviets and Czechoslovakia and recognized the People's Republic of China in 1956.
  • The US decided not to help fund the Aswan Dam project.

  In June of 1956, the British left the Suez Canal zone.

  • In July, the Egyptians nationalized the Suez Canal to help pay for the Aswan Dam.
  • Nasser expelled many French and British citizens and seized their property.
  • These actions alienated the western powers.

  Throughout 1956, the Egyptians continued to support Palestinian commando raids on Israel.

  • They also prevented Israeli ships from using the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba.
  • Israel retaliated by invading and occupying the Sinai Peninsula, while British and French forces invaded Egypt and occupied the Canal.
  • The US and Soviets intervened to force the British and French out of Egypt.
  • UN security forces were sent to create a buffer zone between the Israelis and the Egyptians.

  Even though Egypt lost the 1956 war, Nasser emerged as a hero. He had "stood up" to the powerful British, French and Israelis and this was a source of pride for the Arab and Third World nations.

  The war did not help Arab unity as Jordan and Lebanon remained neutral in the war.

  • Syria and Iraq had limited involvement in that war.

  After 1956, the US and the Soviet Union became the major influential external powers in the Middle East. The politics of the Cold War were to affect that region.

  1958. Yemen, Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic. The alliance lasted only three years.

  1960. The construction of the Aswan Dam started and the Dam was completed in 1968.

  1964. The PLO was established.

  1967. Six Day War. Israel was able to destroy the air forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel occupied the Sinai, Gaza, West Bank and Golan Heights.

  • Israel offered to return the land for recognition and peace. The Arabs refused.

  1970. In Jordan, King Hussein viewed the Palestinians as an internal threat and his forces defeated and evicted the PLO forces.

  1970. Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Sadat severed ties with the Soviet Union and sought American support.

  • Sadat was concerned with economic growth and retrieving the lands lost to Israel.

  1973. Yom Kippur War. Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel.

  • The Arab forces achieved some successes but eventually the Israelis won the war.
  • However, Egypt was successful in creating discontent in Israel and the Israeli prime minister, Golda Meir, resigned.
  • Sadat's popularity in the Arab World increased after the war.

  1974. Egypt and Israel agreed to a separation of their forces in the Sinai. The Suez Canal reopened in 1975.

  1977. Sadat travelled to Israel and addressed the Israeli Parliament.

  1978. Sadat, Menachim Begin and US President Carter held talks at Camp David. A peace accord was achieved with a treaty signing in 1979.

  1979. Egypt was removed from the Arab League as the Camp David Accord was unpopular with many Arab states.

  • Even though Egypt regained the Sinai, many felt that Sadat had bowed to pressures from the US and Israel.

  1979. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

  1980. Iran and Iraq entered into a lengthy war.

  198l. Sadat was assassinated by extremists. Hosni Mubarak succeeded Sadat.

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  This information is to accompany Activity Five of the Unit Five Activity Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: The United States and the Middle East

  1917. The United States agreed with the Balfour Declaration as a means of gaining American-Jewish support for the First World War

  1942. American Zionists promoted the "Biltmore Program" that called for a Jewish homeland and a withdrawal of the British White Paper.

  The Holocaust aroused considerable American sympathy and support for a Jewish homeland.

  In the latter- 1940s, American President Harry Truman pressured the British government to end restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine and Jewish land purchases.

  • The Americans were largely unaware of the concerns of the Palestinian Arabs.

  1947. President Truman, who needed Jewish support in the upcoming election, promoted the UN plan to partition Palestine.

  • The American State Department actually opposed the establishment of a Jewish homeland since they believed that such an event would only create many more problems.

  During this time, Zionist freedom fighters were receiving considerable financial support from the US Jewish community.

  The US condemned the Arab attack on Israel that led to the 1948/1949 war and sent military aid to Israel.

  1950. Tripartite Pact. The US, Britain and France agreed to defend certain Middle East nations from aggression.

  • This Pact soon falls apart.

  1955. The US suggested a plan to use the water from the Jordan River to the advantage of Jordan and Israel, but Jordan refused to agree to the plan.

  1955. The US promised financial aid for Nasser's Aswan Dam project, but refused to give military assistance in case this was used against Israel.

  • July, 1956. The US withdrew its support of the Aswan Dam after Nasser recognized the People's Republic of China and acquired military weapons from the Soviets.
  • In response to the Egyptian seizure of the Suez Canal, the British warned the Americans that the Egyptian action was an attempt to expel Western influence.
  • The Korean War has just ended and the Eisenhower administration was not eager to become involved in another war.

  In October of 1950, Israel invaded the Sinai, while British and French forces invaded Egypt on

  November 5.

  • Eisenhower, at the height of a presidential election, insisted that the British leave Egypt.
  • The Soviets indicated that they might be drawn into the conflict and the nuclear danger arose.
  • Canadian External Affairs Minister, Lester Pearson, proposed a UN Emergency Force that would be sent in to neutralize and monitor the situation.
  • The US and the Soviets agreed to the plan.

  1957. The Eisenhower Doctrine stated that the US would assist any Middle East nation threatened by communism.

  • This was the American response to the Suez war and indicated that the region was of great interest to the US.

  March, 1957. The UN passed a resolution that guaranteed freedom of shipping in the Gulf of Aqaba.

  • In May of 1967, the Egyptians closed the Straits of Tiran, cutting off the Gulf of Aqaba and Israeli ships.
  • US President Johnson called this action illegal and dangerous to peace.

  1967. As tension increased in the region, Middle East oil-producing states informed the West that oil shipments may be suspended if western nations were to aid Israel in a future war.

  June, 1967. A declaration declaring free passage through the Gulf of Aqaba was passed by 20 maritime nations.

  June, 1967. The Six Day War between Israel and its neighbours occurred.

  Egypt accused the US and British of aiding the Israeli air force.

  • On June 6, 1967, the Egyptians closed the Suez Canal and Arab oil producers placed an embargo on exports of oil and natural gas to the US.

  June 7, 1967. Israel announced that it had achieved total victory over Egypt.

  • Nasser offered to resign in a public broadcast to the Egyptian public and accused the US of assisting Israel.

  1973. Yom Kippur War. The US sent considerable military aid to Israel.

  • As it became obvious that the Arabs would lose that war, US diplomat Henry Kissinger travelled to Moscow to work out a peace plan.

  OPEC imposed a price increase on oil and hinted it might cease shipments to any nation assisting Israel.

  1977. Sadat addressed the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and the US became increasingly involved in the Egyptian-Israeli peace initiative.

  1978. US President Carter initiated the Camp David Summit after Sadat's visit to Israel.

  • Carter thought than an Egyptian/Israeli agreement may help other Arab leaders to settle their differences with Israel.
  • The Summit resulted in a Egyptian/Israeli peace, with each nation recognizing the sovereignty of the other.

  As a result of this, the US initiated military and economic aid to Egypt as the two nations "warmed" to each other.

  1978-1979. In Iran, the prowestern Shah was toppled from power that results in the US losing an important Middle Eastern ally.

  December, 1979. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

  1980. Iran/Iraq war.

  1981. Sadat was assassinated.

  1982. Israeli/PLO war in Lebanon. The US attempted to initiate a peace and called for all foreign presences, including Israeli, to get out of Lebanon. As innocent civilians in Lebanon died in this war, support for Israel in the US declined.

  1987. The Intifadeh started in the West Bank.

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  Student Information Sheet: The Soviet Union and the Middle East

  1947. The Soviets supported the creation of a Jewish state,because they felt that Israel would be a socialist nation and its creation would also reduce the British influence in the Midele East.

  • During the first Arab/Israeli War in 1947, the Soviets and Czechs supplied Israel with military weapons.

  1954. Nasser assumed power in Egypt and began to purchase weapons from the Soviets.

  • The Soviets offered to help construct the Aswan Dam.

  1956. The Soviets threatened to intervene against the western powers in the Suez Crisis.

  • The Soviets were aware that the US was also displeased with the actions of the British and French.
  • They also knew that opposition to the British and French would raise their standing among the Arab nations.

  1961. The Soviets encouraged Nasser to nationalize manufacturing, finance and public facilities.

  • They also continued to supply military weapons to Egypt.

  1967. The Soviets blamed Israel for creating a dangerous situation and added that aggressors in the Middle East would face Soviet resistance.

  • When the war broke out, the Soviets condemned Israel.
  • The Soviets informed Nasser that the Israelis were likely to attack Syria not Egypt.
  • The Egyptian air force was surprised and destroyed in the opening days of the war.

  1973. Yom Kippur War. The Soviets supplied Egypt and Syria with military arms. The US supplied Israel.

  • Both the Soviets and the US attempted to work together to find a Middle East peace plan.

  1979. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

  1991. The Soviet Union dissolved.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Factors in Establishing the Well-Being of National Populations

  Gross National Product (GNP)

  Traditionally the gap between the developed nations and the less developed nations has been measured through the measurement of a nation's per capita gross national product.

  • In 1985, the United States had a GNP per capita of $16,690.
  • In 1985, Ethiopia had a GNP per capita of $110.

  Other ways to asses the differences in well-being among the world's nations include:

  Population

  • By the early decades of the 21st century, one-sixth of the world's population will live in the industrialized, developed nations.

  Age

  • 40 percent of the population of the developing nations is under the age of 15.
  • 22 percent of the population of the developed nations is under the age of 15.
  • This percentage means that there will continue to be rapid population growth in the developing nations as this young population reaches childbearing age.

  Poverty

  • It is estimated that 40 percent of the 2.7 billion people in the tropical and subtropical regions (outside of China) live in absolute poverty. They are unable to count on adequate food, clothing and shelter.
  • More that 14 million children under the age of five starve to death or die of disease each year, in those nations.

  Delivery of Services

  • Many of the developing nations are increasingly unable to meet the demands for clean water, adequate nutrition, education and medical services.

  The World Bank estimated that if current rates of growth continue, closing the income gap between developed and developing nations would take Thailand 365 years and Mauritania 3,224 years.

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  Student Information Sheet: Per Capita GNP (1989)

  

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Debt Load for the Developing Nations

  Debt levels among developing nations have continued to rise throughout the last decade. The ratio of debt to Gross Domestic Production (G.D.P.) is a measure of the burden on a nation's economy. That ratio almost doubled for the developing countries i n the 1980s.

  • in 1980, the debt ratio was 28%
  • in 1987, the debt ratio was 51%

  1988

  Specific Nations	Total Foreign Debt $ millions (US)	Debt as % of G.D.P.
  Greece	23 514	44.8
  Poland	39 200	60.2
  Philippines	29 448	75.1
  Bangladesh	10 220	53.8
  Somalia	2 035	214.8
  Argentina	58 936	69.5
  Brazil	114 591	32.3

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: The Impact of Foreign Debts on Developing Nations

  In 1970, Africa's total debt was $13 billion.

  • By 1988, Africa's total debt was over $200 billion.
  • Africa's total debt is predicted to increase to over $500 billion by the year 2000.

  Although such sums are smaller than those owed by Latin America, Africa's debt relative to the income levels of its people is the highest in the world.

  Debt payments have increased while external aid and investment have declined.

  • In 1980, Africa was receiving $20 billion more, in the form of investments and aid, than it was paying out to service the foreign debts.
  • In 1988, that amount declined to $3 billion.

  The economies of the African nations were seriously affected by a number of factors in the last few decades.

  • The rise of oil prices in the mid-1970s led to an increase in the cost of imported oil.
  • Falling export prices meant a reduction in income for these nations.

  Impact on the African Nations

  Each national government has to attempt to provide certain services to its population.

  • Such services could include medical facilities, establishment and maintenance of educational institutions, provision of a supply of safe water, the maintenance of armed forces and police force, etc.

  Each government has to establish its spending priorities and then use its available funds to meet those priorities.

  • However, the servicing of foreign debts (paying the interest on the debts) will reduce the amount of money that is available to spend on domestic priorities.
  • If a government has to spend 25 percent of its available funds to service the foreign debt, there will be less money available to meet the needs/wants of the local population.

  A decrease in investments in the economic and social infrastructures of a nation has negative consequences for both future development and standard of living.

  • Fewer resources invested in schools, hospitals, universities, roads and communications will limit the potential of that nation and people to improve their condition.
  • The work force will lack the knowledge/skills to compete in technologically-sophisticated activities.
  • The nation's infrastructures - communications, transportation and industry, will remain incomplete or insufficient to attract investment for development.
  • With less development capital to expand industry and the economy, the nation will remain dependent on foreign exports of primary products such as coffee. Such a dependence makes the nation vulnerable to world markets and does little to secure a stea dy, predictable flow of money into the nation.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Map: Population Growth (1950-1990)

  

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Map: Population Density (1990)

  

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: The Population Control Policies of China

  China's approach to population control has undergone major changes over the past several decades.

  • In the early-1960s, the official policy was that population growth was a good thing because "every stomach comes with two hands attached".
  • At that time China's birth rate was 37 per 1,000.

  When the communists came to power in 1949, China's population was estimated at 540 million.

  • By 1976, the population had increased to 852 million. A drop in infant mortality rates and longer life spans contributed to population growth.

  By the 1970s, it was becoming evident to the Chinese that their economic development could not keep pace with the population growth.

  • The economy could not produce the extra food, jobs, housing, clothing, education needed to meet the needs of the growing population.

  The Chinese government instituted a policy supporting the idea of a two-child family.

  • The government would provide services including abortion to support this program.
  • By 1975, China's population growth rate had dropped to 15.7 per 1,000 from 28.5 per 1,000 in 1965.

  While the Chinese population had grown to a billion people in the late 1970s, the nation's GNP had actually declined by 10 percent.

  • The government felt that it had no option but to firmly control population growth. Each family would be permitted only one child.
  • Incentives and penalties were used to ensure that people complied with this policy.
  • Late marriages were encouraged, free contraceptives, abortions and sterilizations were made available. Cash and free medical care were promised to people who would limit their families.
  • For those families that did not comply, there were penalties. A second birth would result in fines of as much as 15 percent of the family income for seven years.

  By 1983, the government was ordering the sterilization of either husband or wife for couples with more than one child.

  • Public pressure was applied to people who did not conform.
  • One of the tragic side effects of this program was an increase in infanticide. Female babies were most at risk because of the desire for a male heir.

  In 1984, China's birth rate was down to a replacement level of 2.1 births per woman. By 1986, China's growth rate had fallen to 1 percent that was far below the 2.4 percent growth rate that most less developed nations were reporting.

  • China's birth rate stood at 18 per 1,000 and a projected population of 1.2 billion in the year 2000.

  However, in 1987, the birth rate jumped to 21 per 1,000 with a population growth rate of 1.4 percent.

  • Controls had been relaxed and the age of marriage was changed. China still has a large population of people at the childbearing age.
  • Currently China has 270 million women of reproductive age. If each woman has two children, then more than a half a billion people would join the population.

  China has been able to reduce infant mortality to 44 per 1,000 live births, illiteracy to a third of its adult population and to get the majority of its children enrolled in school.

  • In 1990, China had a population of 1.134 billion people.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: The Population Control Policies of India

  In 1951, India became the first nation to establish a national family planning program. However, it was not until 1965 that the plan was seriously activated.

  • By that time, India's food situation had deteriorated so much that some kind of population control policy was necessary.
  • In 1951, the population was estimated at 480 million with a birth rate of 43 per 1,000 and a death rate of 20 per 1,000 (2.3% per year growth rate).
  • The goal was to reduce the birth rate to 25 per 1,000 by 1975.

  The government offered cash incentives or prizes to men who had fathered several children if they would accept sterilization. Other programs offered future incentives such as old-age pensions and medical care to couples who were able to keep their fam ilies small. It was claimed that the family planning part of the population control program had reduced birth and fertility rates by about 50 percent.

  In actuality, by 1975, the birth rate had dropped to 35 per 1,000 which represented a significant success.

  • However, the death rate had fallen to 15 per 1,000 which meant that the population growth rate was still 2 percent per year.
  • Population in the meantime had grown to 600 million.

  The Indira Gandhi government, recognizing that their population control program was failing, decided to put more pressure for change on the population.

  • The government demanded that government employees be sterilized after having a third child. This was an extremely unpopular move and a backlash against the program developed among the population.
  • Some observers claim that this backlash was responsible for the defeat of the government in 1977 elections. The new government, for a time, relaxed its population control policies.

  In 1978, attitudes among the middle class began to change towards favouring population control measures. The government decided to try a new approach. The age at that marriage was allowed was raised from 18 to 21 years for males and 15 to 18 years fo r females.

  • Some success was achieved among the middle class, but among the poorer classes, population control programs were still rejected.

  The population of India is still growing. In 1989, the birthrate had fallen slightly to 33 per 1,000 and the death rate to 11 per 1,000. So the growth rate had actually increased slightly. India's population was 835 million.

  India still faces serious problems.

  • The infant mortality rate is high at 96 per 1,000 live births.
  • 59 percent of India's population remains illiterate; and the enrollment of children in school is still not universal.
  • The economy is not able to match the needs of the growing population.

  The government is now considering reintroducing aspects of the former population control program.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: The Vatican Position Paper for the Earth's Summit: Development and Population

  The position of the Holy See regarding "environment and development has been set out in various discourses of His Holiness Pope John Paul ... The basic principles that should guide our consideration of environmental issues are the integrity of a ll creation and respect for life and the dignity of the human person.

  1. The basic inspiration of the Holy See's concern is religious in nature... The ecological crisis is essentially a moral crisis, and the solution of many of the ecological problems confronting the entire human family requires strategies and motivatio n "based on a morally coherent world view" (Pope John Paul II).

  2. The human person occupies a central place with the world and the promotion of the dignity and the rights of all persons without distinction "is the ultimate guiding norm for any sound economic, industrial and scientific development..." (Po pe John Paul II).

  3. The human person has a responsibility of stewardship in regard to all creation, with that he or she lives in interdependence. When persons consciously ignore or transgress the order of any aspect of creation, they provide a disorder that has inevit able repercussions on the rest of the created order and the well-being of future generations." (Pope John Paul II).

  4. The goods of the earth - including those produced by human activity - are for the benefit of all. All peoples and countries have a right to fundamental access to those goods - natural, spiritual, intellectual and technological that are necessary fo r their integral development.

  5. An adequate policy of development must be based on the dignity and rights of the human person and on the common good. "The Holy See notes that the spiritual as well as the material well-being of the person must be taken in account in the devel opment process because spiritual values give meaning to material progress, to technical advances and to the creation of political and social structures that serve the community of persons we call society". (Holy See's intervention at the 1984 World Population Conference).

  6. Clearly defined ethical principles must prevail in the area of biotechnology, that touches closely on the dignity and integrity of the human person... Science and technology are at the service of the human person, and ethical principles must prevai l over any other interest, especially purely economic interests. Were possible appropriate legal instruments must be found to ensure respect for ethical principles.

  7. The damage done to the human and natural environment caused by war is an increasingly serious problem. Pope John Paul II noted already in 1990: "Today any form of war on a global scale would lead to incalculable ecological damage. But even l ocal or regional wars, however limited, not only destroy human life and social structures, but also damage the land, ruining crops and vegetation as well as poisoning the soil and water. The survivors of war are forced to begin a new life in very difficu lt environmental conditions. (Pope John Paul II).

  8. The relationship of development and the environment to population growth is complex and often tenuous. In recent decades population growth rates have fallen in most areas of the world, while they still remain high in some of the least developed cou ntries. Population growth of and by itself is seldom the primary cause of environmental problems. In most cases there are no causal links between the numbers of people and the degradation of the environment. In fact, the less populated nations of the N orth are directly or indirectly responsible for most of the abuse of the environment. Therefore policies aimed at reducing population do little to help solve urgent problems of environment and development. True solutions to these problems must involve n ot only sound economic planning and technology, but justice for all the peoples of the earth.

  The Holy See is especially concerned about strategies that make population decline the primary factor in overcoming ecological problems. Programs for reducing population directed financed by the developed nations of the North easily become a substitu te for justice and development in the developing nations of the South. These programs evade the question of the just distribution and development of the abundant resources of the earth. On many occasions the Holy See has expressed its opposition to the setting of quantitative population targets or goals, that involve the violation of human dignity and human rights. Systematic campaigns against birth, directed toward the poorest populations, may even lead to a "tendency towards a form of racism or the promotion of equally racist forms of eugenics."

  9. Policies and strategies to protect the environment must also respect the family unit, "that is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state" (cf. UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

  Accordingly, the Holy See opposes those strategies that in any way attempt to limit the freedom of couples in deciding about the size of the family or the spacing of births. (cf. ibid., 3, a). In international relations, economic aid for the advancem ent of peoples should not be conditioned on acceptance of programs of contraception, sterilization or abortion. In this way the Holy See defends the human rights of women and men in developing countries who are subjected to programs of population control that do not respect their consciences, their rights and dignity or their ethnic and religious cultures.

  ...The Holy See objects to family planning programs that include abortion as a method of family planning or that pressure couples to use sterilization or other methods of contraception that are morally objectionable.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Population Control Recommendations of Paul and Anne Ehrlich

  The Ehrlichs argue that population control is so difficult because humans find it difficult to perceive a gradual change such as population growth.

  They argue that there are two possible ends to human civilization:

  • the bang that is a large scale nuclear war followed by nuclear winter; or,
  • the whimper that is the way civilization will end if present population/resource/environmental trends continue.

  Population growth makes both scenarios more likely; the only difference being that one could happen suddenly and the other gradually.

  Societies have to help people learn to understand and react to the slow population and environmental changes that have become so dangerous to the planet.

  Society must take action on three sources of environmental impacts:

  • population growth because each person born contributes to some measure of environmental damage;
  • affluence because the more of a affluent each person is, the more of a burden they place on the environment; and,
  • technology because the more powerful the technology is, the more disruptive potential it has particularly if it is used more often by many people.

  The action that different societies have to take depends upon the relative size of each. A society with a large poor population has a different set of problems than one with a small affluent population. Overpopulation in rich countries represents a m uch greater threat to the health of the earth's ecosystems than it does in poor countries.

  If disaster is to be averted, three things need to be done quickly.

  • Halt population growth as quickly and humanely as possible, and begin to reduce the population to a size that can be sustained over the long term while allowing every person the opportunity to lead a decent productive life.
  • Convert the economic system from one of continuous growth to one of sustainability, lowering per capita consumption so as to reduce pressures on both resources and the environment.
  • Wherever possible convert to more environmentally-benign technologies.

  This would require significant transformation of society. Several essential freedoms would have to be given up including:

  • the freedom not to consider society's needs when planning a family;
  • the freedom to drive gas-guzzling cars;
  • the freedom to consume more and more; and
  • the freedom to deny rights and opportunities to women and members of other ethnic groups and religions and to exploit the poor of the rest of the world unworried about the consequences to them.

  The changes would be difficult but the benefits would be enormous.

  • People could enjoy longer, more relaxed, and more enjoyable lives.
  • There would be less pollution, less stress and crime.

  The average completed family size for most developed nations ranges from just under replacement level of 2.1 children per family down to 1.3 children. Some nations have actually fallen below Zero Population Growth (ZPG) so that their populations are a ctually getting smaller.

  Developing nations still have some ways to go before achieving ZPG.

  • Family sizes remain high because children are seen as being valuable as workers and as supporters of parents in old age.
  • High infant mortality rates mean that many children have to be produced in order to ensure a few will survive to adulthood.

  Successful birth control programs possessed the following features:

  • They were indigenous so that the society was making and carrying out its own decisions.
  • They put substantial effort into providing equal rights and education for women.
  • They were done in conjunction with bringing basic health care to the people emphasizing infant survival and maternal health.
  • They used peer pressure as a motivating tool to implement a centrally designed and imposed program.
  • They are open about the successes and failures of the program.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Population Control Recommendations of the Bruntland Report

  Every year the number of human beings increases (currently 90+ million per year) while the amount of natural resources needed to sustain this population remains finite.

  The present rates of population growth cannot be sustained because many countries are already unable to provide education, health care, and food security for people.

  The population problem is magnified because so much of the poverty and environmental degradation is found in poor countries with extremely high levels of population growth.

  Threats to the sustainable use of resources come as much from inequalities of access to resources and from the ways people use resources as it does from sheer numbers of people.

  Yet the population issue is not solely about numbers because poverty and environmental deterioration is also found in thinly populated areas.

  It must be remembered that people are the ultimate resource because it is through improving the quality of life for people that all other improvements can be made.

  The concern over the "population problem" requires as much concern for human progress and human equality as it does for numbers of people.

  • Improving education, health, and nutrition allow people to better use the resources they command.

  Population growth is not solely the concern of those countries with high rates of population growth. An extra person in an industrial country consumes far more and places far greater pressure on natural resources than does an additional person in a de veloping nation.

  It is important, therefore, that governments work on several fronts:

  • to limit population growth;
  • to control the impact of such growth on resources by increasing knowledge and increasing productivity;
  • to realize human potential so that people can better save and use resources;
  • to provide people with forms of social security other than numbers of children;
  • by keeping in mind that sustainable economic growth and equitable access to resources are two of the more certain routes to lower fertility rates; and,
  • by realizing that giving people the means to choose the size of their families is not just a method of keeping population in balance with resources, it a way of assuring, especially for women, the basic human right of self-determination.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Population Paradigms

  Fundamental Issues Facing Humanity	Sustainability Paradigm	Growth Paradigm	Natalist Paradigm
  	Position of paradigm on the issue? Society's reaction to the issue?	Position of paradigm on the issue? Society's reaction to the issue?	Position of paradigm on the issue? Society's reaction to issue?
  People should be able to have as many children as they wish.
  People should be able to use as many resources as they can afford.
  Every species of life, no matter how insignificant is as important as the human species.
  If population keeps growing, the size of the human population will be limited in some way.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Paradigms and Their Societal Impact

  Fundamental Issues Facing Humanity	Sustainability Paradigm	Growth Paradigm	Natalist Paradigm
  	Position of paradigm on the issue? Society's reaction to the issue?	Position of paradigm on the issue? Society's reaction to the issue?	Position of paradigm on the issue? Society's reaction to issue?
  It is wrong to bring children into the world if it is probable that they are going to die from starvation and related diseases?
  Humans have no business investing in space exploration because it is a misuse of scarce resources?
  The wealthier a society is, the better it is.

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  Student Information Sheet: The Marketplace and the Future.

  The Marketplace and the Ingenuity of Humans will Lead to Progress and a Better Future

  Proponents of this belief maintain that through human ingenuity and technological advances, we will be able to meet both contemporary and future challenges. History has shown that humans are able to adapt and seek new solutions to challenges.

  • In seventeenth century England, there was considerable concern over the deforestation of the nation and the energy shortage this would create.
  • The impending shortage led to the development of coal.
  • By the mid-eighteenth century, there was a growing fear that the nation would soon be facing a coal shortage.
  • Ingenious people responded with the development of the oil industry.

  The needs of the marketplace will spur development and creativity.

  Response to Contemporary Challenges

  Food Supply

  Supporters of the growth paradigm maintain that the world is providing food for its growing population.

  • Per person food production in the world has increased over the last few decades.
  • The decrease in Africa's food production per capita is largely due to governmental errors such as price controls and farm collectivization.

  Wealth

  Although income in less developed nations has not risen as high as in the developed nations, proportionally income growth per person in the less developed nations is equal to better to that in the developed nations.

  Population

  An increasing population can have a beneficial impact on development and the future.

  • The human mind is responsible for the improvement in living standards throughout the world.
  • When there are more people, there are more productive minds and these additional productive minds will develop productive new ideas.
  • The additional population will also affect industrial productivity by increasing the demand for goods.

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  This information is to accompany Unit Five of the Curriculum Guide.

  Student Information Sheet: Can Continued Rates of Growth and Development be Sustained?

  Population Growth

  Populations have exceeded the carrying capacity of local environments many times and the consequences have not always been positive.

  The world's population has increased from one billion to about 4.5 billion in six generations.

  • The demand for resources and the environmental impacts have been more than proportional because per capita consumption has risen.

  Faith in Technology

  The world has indeed experienced tremendous technological growth in the twentieth century.

  • What is there to assure us that this rate of technological growth will continue indefinitely?

  Human history has been characterized by periods of rapid technological growth interrupted by extended periods of slow growth.

  Not all technological advances are positive to the human condition. Many technological advances have contributed to the contemporary challenges we now face.

  • Some advances have generated increased unemployment in some economic sectors.
  • Other advances have contributed to the unprecedented population growth that concerns many environmentalists.

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  Student Information Sheet: Twentieth Century Inventions and Discoveries

  Inventions and Discoveries air conditioning bifocal lens CAT scan circuit breaker computer (electronic) compact disk electron spectrometer electroencephalograph fibre optics fibreglass gyrocompass iron lung military tank nylon quasars radar radio receiver theory of relativity spectroscope superconductivity theory talking movie television tupperware video home system	1911 1908 1973 1925 1944 1972 1944 1929 1955 1938 1911 1928 1914 1937 1963 1940 1913 1915 1918 1957 1927 1920 1945 1975
  Medical Discoveries and Innovations adrenalin cortisone DNA (structure) electroshock treatment human heart transplant insulin laser lobotomy vaccine, measles vaccine, polio vaccine, typhus artificial heart transplant	1901 1936 1951 1938 1967 1922 1958 1935 1954 1953 1909 1982