Did you know that Israel and Syria have been at war with one another three times since 1948? Israel and Syria are relatively new countries and while they have had conflict in the past they are seen as similar in some aspects of their geography. But, on the other hand they have a lot of differences and opinions that has caused war in the past and is on-going. The two countries are within the Northern Africa and West Asian regions and are neighboring countries. This paper will focus on Israel and Syria’s physical geography, geopolitics, culture, population and settlement, and economic and social developments.
To begin with, Israel has a population of 8.4 million people in their country. The history of settlement in West Bank started when Israel captured West Banks in 1967 during the Six Day War. Also, in 1968 a group of religious Jews wanted to be near the Tomb of the Patriarchs for Passover. The Tomb of the Patriarchs is one of the holiest sites in Judaism and when the group asked to be there Israel allowed it. After this, thousands of Jewish people moved to West Banks which grew the population of West Banks from 100,000 to 400,000. Settlement in Israel is continuing to grow rapidly and as of right now Israel is becoming urbanized in conjunction to the growth of large subdivisions being built more often. Also, the settlement in Israel is complicating the 2-state solution between the Palestinians and Israeli people. Both settled in Israel but it began with the settlement of the Palestinian people and as time passed Jewish settlements increased to what is now a divided country of two states. Comparatively, the population in Syria as of November 30, 2017 is 18, 275, 920 which is 10 million more than Israel. In Syria, the population lives near the Euphrates River, in the western part of Syria, and the northern part too. The Syrian people live near the Euphrates River because it is close to water and water is a necessity in life and by being nearby it is more easily accessible. Many of the Syrian people decide not to live near the desert because there aren’t as many job opportunities there along with not as much water. They also live in major cities like Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs.
Next, Israel and Syria have had a lot of conflict that has happened within their country. To start with, Israel’s geopolitics began when both France and Britain had control over this territory. In 1948, Israel gained their independence from Britain and they admitted to the United Nations. From 1956-1957, Israel along with Britain and France invaded Egypt during the Suez Crisis to open up the canal for Israeli shipping and to end the armed attacks that were done by the Palestinians that were in Sinai. In June 1967 after months of tension among Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria a war called the Six Day War began. After the war, Israel took control of east Jerusalem, all of West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights, and Sinai. In November 1977, Israel and Egypt ended their 30 years of war with a peace treaty aligned by the United States called the Camp David Accord. In 1993, Prime Minister Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Declaration to start a Palestinian self-government and violence continued by Palestinians that rejected the Oslo Declaration. As of now, Netanyahu’s 4th government is started Israel settlement in West Bank for the first time in 25 years. Also, Syria has had a lot of conflict that has impacted the history of their country. In 1920, the French took control of Syria after 23 years in 1943 Shukri al-Kuwaitli was elected president and led the country to full independence three years later. In November 1970, Hafez al-Assad overthrew and became president of Syria all while conflicts among Syria and Israel were arising. In 1973, Syria and Egypt went to war with Israel. After this in 1980, the rise of Muslim group in Aleppo, Homs, and Hama began and later would become a major part of this country. In June of 200, Bashar al-Assad took over presidency after the death of his father. In 2011, the rise of protests among the people in Syria turned to war and 2 years later the rise of the Islamist began. In 2015, Russia began to intervene on Syria’s conflicts and in 2017 the United States began to get involved with the conflicts in Syria. Both countries have similar conflicts but for different reasons, like Israel’s conflicts now-a-days includes the 2-state conflict between the Israeli people and Palestinians and Syria’s civil war that is on-going in their country.
The geography within these two countries are very similar because they are neighboring countries. Israel is 8630 miles long and the land area there is 8367 miles and is bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea. Israel can be divided into four different geographical regions including the coastal plains, the savannah, the highlands, and Negev. The coastal plain region aligns with the Mediterranean Sea and 25 miles bordered by fertile farmland. This region is home to more than half the population in Israel. The next region is the savannah, also known as Arava, which begins at the Dead Sea and ends at the Gulf of Eilat and is Israel’s outlet to the Red Sea. The highlands, or mountains, is in the Northeast part of Israel and contains Golan Heights, the hills of Galilee, and the Jazreel Valley. This part is known for its agriculture, tourism, and its light industry. The last region is Negev, also the land area, and it is described as low sandstone hills and plains with canyons and contains 3 craters. Syria’s geography is known as a flat desert plateau with mountains and coastal plains that front the Mediterranean Sea. In the West Central and Northern part of Syria the Anti-Lebanon and Bishri mountains dominate that area. The highest point of that area is Mountain Hermon at 9232 feet and is far southwest. The bodies of water in Syria include Lake al-Assad, Euphrates River, and Khobar River. Lake al-Assad is a man-made lake that was created near a dam on the Euphrates River. The Euphrates River and Khobar River are the longest tributary and also the main rivers in Syria. The two countries share geological characteristics such as having coastal plains near the Mediterranean Sea, but they also have some different characteristics such as Syria has more of a flat desert plateau while Israel has many more types of regions.
Next, Israel and Syria both have cultures that play a large role in their country. Israel’s new relations with the Arabs has created more connections with the neighboring countries. The first task to the new relations with Arabs was to confront the existing education system and create a structure everyone could follow. The aim of the new relations was to have a nation with many cultures and people who maintain it and having the same cultural identity. Another part to their culture was to introduce Hebrew as a language people in Israel should know. The reason for introducing Hebrew was to help create a new education system and they needed to teach Hebrew to all new immigrants. One of the more well-known Hebrew quotes that people in Israel say is “Yehudi, daber ivrit” which means Jew, Speak Hebrew. Shmuel Yosef Agnon is Israel’s only Noble Prize and it was in 1996 for literature. In 1936, Bronislaw Huberman founded the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra which later became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. When immigrants came to Israel most of them were from Russia and were musicians, mainly violas and pianists. 90% of Syrians speak Arabic and the culture within Syria is very diverse after the many people who had taken over in the past years. The majority of the population is Sunni Muslim and Palestinian refugees. Many people don’t receive much money and can’t afford to each meat every day, but lamb is very popular in their culture along with fasting for their religion. The alcohol consumption is forbidden in Islamic religion so very few drink alcohol. The workforce in Syria is mainly in the industry and mining and the largest crop for agriculture is wheat, followed by cotton. International trade is Syria is between Germany, Italy, and France. The class system in Syria is by race and many of those who are different classes don’t speak much to one another. Those who are of lighter skin hold higher economic, political positions, and also, they are those who have land. Both countries have relations with Arab, however their cultures within their countries are very diverse and very different.
The economic and social development in these two countries is very little as both are relatively new countries. Israel’s GDP is $281.9 billion with a 2.6% growth. Israel has a modern market economy with a thriving high technology sector and because of the technology sector there is a lot of international trade. Despite all of the bad geopolitics that has arisen in Israel their economy has remained sound and dynamic. They have a universal social insurance system that covers all residents over the age of 18 and includes housewives. Israel has passed a series of laws that has supported the rise of women’s rights. While in Syria, their GDP is $68 billion and their economy has been in shambles after the civil war. The war has prevented international trade and investment. Since there is a civil war among the Syrians there hasn’t been much social development because most are trying to leave the country. Both countries have an economic system, but are different directions as Israel is thriving and continuously growing the war in Syria is causing their economy to decline.
All in all, the two countries share some similarities and some differences. Syria and Israel are relatively newly independent countries that have both gone through some conflicts that has already made a large impact geopolitically. Both countries have done terrible stuff to one another because they have different opinions, however they both share some similarities since they are so close to one another. The paper has focused on Israel and Syria’s geography, geopolitics, culture, population and settlement, and economic and social developments.