Verdery's Central Observations About Nationalism Essay

This makes it possible for the general public to comprehend that a community that seems to be strong can easily be divided by people's personal beliefs and by their backgrounds. It is very likely for individuals to express interest in detaching themselves from a group that they are associated with as a consequence of feeling that they do not actually belong to the respective community (Verdery, 232).

Jewish groups in Palestine considered that they were exposed to a series of threats as a result of the fact that they lived in mixed neighborhoods. They believe that they would be stronger if they had the opportunity to unite in a community that would no longer accept to be persecuted. Even with this, many Jews were hesitant about getting involved in a group that would act against Ottoman principles and feared that they would suffer if they adopted a nationalist attitude. The fact that the Ottoman Empire was weakened at the time of the First World War influenced groups within its borders to express less support regarding the Empire. While Sephardi Jews in Palestine focused on avoiding any form of conflict with other groups in the Empire up until that moment, it was very difficult and even impossible for them to keep their policies in a context that no longer provided them with a series of advantages.

It was no longer possible for Jews to live alongside of Arabs in Palestine and each group needed to devise strategies that would reinforce their position and put across their position with the purpose of having others acknowledge that they needed restructure their plans. In spite of the fact that they had the thinking necessary for them to develop a cultural identity, Jewish people in Palestine received little to no support and realized that it would be long before they would actually be able to build a nation-state where they could live peacefully.While it did not assist them in gaining territories that they need in order to set the basis of their nation, the concept of nationalism fueled Sephardi Jews in Palestine in building strategies that benefited them later on in the twentieth century. Their nationalist feelings assisted them in staying together and in developing thinking that made it possible for the Jewish community to be what it is today. Arab nationalism was much stronger as Arabs appeared to employ violence in imposing their position and as Jews lost their influence in Palestine as a consequence of the fact that they were unsuccessful in using nationalism with the purpose of persuading their own in contributing to building a community that would provide them with protection from being persecuted (Zionism and Arab Nationalism: Background Information).

Discrimination was one of the most important tools that people used as a result of starting to express nationalist thinking. However, Sephardi Jews in Palestine were solely interested in getting together in order to escape persecution, as they had no intentions of persecuting other groups once they would build a new community.

Bibliography:

Baumgarten, Elias, "Zionism, Nationalism, and Morality," Retrieved December 19, 2011, from the Web Environment Website: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~elias/zionism.htm

Campos, Michelle U. "BETW EEN "BELOVED OTTOMANIA" AND

"THE LAND OF ISRAEL": THE STRUGGLE

OVER OTTOMANISM AND ZIONISM AMONG

PALESTINE'S SEPHARDI JEWS, 1908 -- 13

In" Int. J. Middle East Stud. 37 (2005), 461 -- 483. Printed in the United States of America

DOI: 10.1017.S0020743805374010

Verdery, Ketherine, "Whiter 'Nation and 'Nationalism'?"

"Zionism and Arab Nationalism: Background Information," Retrieved December 19, 2011, from the Institute for Curriculum Services….....