Friday……After a quick review of the material covered so far…..I told students that we would begin with the years of the Cold War…..until this period Middle East policies were centered mostly around the acquisition of oil….started at the end of World War 2 all that would change and those changes have had lasting consequences…..

I also informed them that the test on Monday would consist of the handouts from Monday and Wednesday….the Cold War would be all inclusive test….

We begin with the end of World War 2…..we will cover the refugees headed to Palestine…..it is not an American foreign policy thing but most of the Cold War centers around the events in Palestine…..

The flow of Jewish refugees into Israel after WW2 was called “Aliyah”…….it is Hebrew for “ascent”……we will discuss the handout…..

Source: History of Jewish Immigration to Israel (Aliyah) | ReformJudaism.org

American troops were stationed in Iran during World War II to help transfer military supplies to the Soviet Union and protect Iranian oil. British and Soviet troops were also on Iranian soil. After the war, Stalin withdrew his troops only when Harry Truman protested their continued presence through the United Nations, and possibly threatened to use force to boot them out.

American duplicity in the Middle East was born: While opposing Soviet influence in Iran, Truman solidified America’s relationship with Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, in power since 1941, and brought Turkey into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), making it clear to the Soviet Union that the Middle East would be a cold war hot zone.

Truman accepted the 1947 United Nations partition plan of Palestine, granting 57 percent of the land to Israel and 43 percent to Palestine, and personally lobbied for its success. The plan lost support from U.N. member nations, especially as hostilities between Jews and Palestinians multiplied in 1948, and Arabs lost more land or fled.

Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes after its creation, on May 14, 1948.

Thus the tone was set for the years of the Cold War……The Truman Doctrine…….

American troops were stationed in Iran during World War II to help transfer military supplies to the Soviet Union and protect Iranian oil. British and Soviet troops were also on Iranian soil. After the war, Stalin withdrew his troops only when Harry Truman protested their continued presence through the United Nations, and possibly threatened to use force to boot them out.

American duplicity in the Middle East was born: While opposing Soviet influence in Iran, Truman solidified America’s relationship with Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, in power since 1941, and brought Turkey into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), making it clear to the Soviet Union that the Middle East would be a cold war hot zone.

Truman accepted the 1947 United Nations partition plan of Palestine, granting 57 percent of the land to Israel and 43 percent to Palestine, and personally lobbied for its success. The plan lost support from U.N. member nations, especially as hostilities between Jews and Palestinians multiplied in 1948, and Arabs lost more land or fled.

Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes after its creation, on May 14, 1948.

Class discussion of the Palestine situation……went well….lots of questions asked by students that could not understand the events complete…..I tried to clarify with limited success…..

Informed class to study for test Monday…..and that we would be starting next with the Eisenhower and Kennedy years……

I apologize for not being available for comments until after 1200 hrs…..I am off to teach those young minds…..back soon…..