By: Prof. Dr. Ali Arslan, Turkish professor
In the simplest terms, for a political entity to be recognized as a state, it must have: clearly defined and defended borders; a branche–nation–society that has accepted to live together; and a political government through which these people exercise their sovereignty.In geographies less affected by local, regional, and global competition, states tend to last longer.
However, in stratejik hedef alanları (strategic target zones) where competition is intense — and especially in kilitmekânlar (lock-locations: decisive geographic chokepoints) — the survival of states depends on the initiative of major powers.The case of the states established by the Jewish people in Filistin (Palestine) — located in the eastern part of the Suez–Sinai Kilitmekân, a vital junction linking Asia–Africa and the Red Sea–Mediterranean — from antiquity to the present day is a subject worth examining in detail.The Kingdom of Israel, established by taking advantage of Hittite–Egyptian–Phoenician rivalryAlthough the Jews prefer to trace their history back to around 2000 BCE, to the time of the Prophet Abraham (Hz. İbrahim), their emergence as an effective group, according to Rabbinic Judaism, became evident when the Prophet Moses (Hz. Musa), believed to have lived between 1391–1271 BCE, led them out of Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula. Their first state emerged at the end of this process.During the New Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt (1549–1069 BCE), when expansionist policies prevailed, Egypt had conquered Syria in the north and Nubia in the south.During the reign of Thutmose III (1479–1424 BCE), Egyptian forces even crossed beyond the Euphrates River.
This Egyptian expansion was perceived as a threat by the Hittites (1650–1190 BCE), who were rising as a major power in Anatolia.The rivalry for control over Syria escalated into a major war, culminating in the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE, where Hittite King Muwatalli II (1295–1272 BCE) defeated Pharaoh Ramses II (1279–1213 BCE).Nevertheless, a peace treaty was only signed 20 years later, in 1259 BCE, by Ramses II and Hattusili III. Known as the Treaty of Kadesh, it recognized Syrian territory as belonging to the Hittites, including Amurru and Amqa — contested areas that also covered the northern part of historic Palestine — which were to remain under Hittite control.The Hittites’ success revealed Egypt’s weakness, prompting attacks on Egypt: from the west by Libyans and from the sea and land by “Sea Peoples” through the Mediterranean.Initially, the Egyptian army repelled these assaults, even commemorating a naval victory with a monument in 1208 BCE.However, the cession of Syria to the Hittites and the loss of control over Palestine increased perceptions of external threat, triggered domestic unrest, and weakened central authority as high priests of Amun in Thebes accumulated vast lands and wealth.
In Jewish history, Moses is believed to have lived in the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. His crossing of the Israelites into Sinai is dated to the end of Ramses II’s reign (1213 BCE), amid claims that the Pharaoh drowned.Indeed, Ramses’ successor, Merenptah (1213–1203 BCE), encountered Jews during his fifth-year campaign in Canaan.Despite Egyptian efforts, they lost direct control over Palestine, and the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1200 BCE formed conditions for the emergence of small states in the region.Especially significant was that the Phoenicians (1200–539 BCE), a maritime state centered in Syria, refrained from heavy interference in Palestine — enabling the Jews to establish their own state.After 40 years in Sinai under Moses, the Israelites initially lived as 12 tribes.Their first state emerged within the framework of principles set by Moses, on a foundation prepared by the rivalry between Egypt, the Hittites, and the Phoenicians.
In 1025 BCE — 188 years after their liberation from Egyptian bondage — the Israelites established the Kingdom of Israel to defend themselves against external threats.In 1020 BCE, Saul (Şaul bin Kiş) from the tribe of Benjamin was crowned king, completing the state’s foundation.
Its first capital was Gibeah/Tell el-Fūl, north of Jerusalem.In 1006 BCE, during King David’s reign, Jerusalem was captured, and the capital was moved there from Hebron (El Halil).However, by 930 BCE the kingdom had split into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah (Yehuda), which included Jerusalem.Despite this division, both states easily repelled smaller regional threats.
Egypt’s weakness, coupled with Phoenicia’s preoccupation with the wider Mediterranean, meant these small Jewish states were not perceived as threats.Yet this balance in the Front Asia (Önasya) shifted with the rise of the Assyrians as a major land power.
The Assyrians’ destruction of the Kingdom of Israel to clear the way for Egypt’s conquestAfter the fall of the Hittites, the Assyrian Empire (2500–609 BCE) steadily grew stronger, especially in Mesopotamia from around 2025 BCE, and in the Neo-Assyrian period (911–609 BCE) became the greatest power in the Near East.This new power began to threaten the stability of the Jewish kingdoms.In a period when the maritime Phoenicians had greatly weakened, the Assyrians under King Sargon II (722–705 BCE) sought to dominate the Anatolia–Syria–Palestine–Egypt corridor. Their first step was to destroy the northern coastal Kingdom of Israel in 720 BCE.Because the inland Kingdom of Judah lay away from the coast, near the Dead Sea, and did not block the Assyrians’ route to Egypt, it survived — at least temporarily.The Assyrians continued southward toward the Asia–Africa transition zone, seizing Cyprus, the western Arabian coastline, and Egypt itself, advancing as far as Ethiopia.When the Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was not restored. This was partly because the Scythians, coming from the Caucasus and allied with the Medes to destroy Assyria, then dominated Anatolia and threatened the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Babylonian conquest of the Suez–Sinai kilitmekân and the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, followed by the Jewish exileThe fate of Palestine and the still-surviving Kingdom of Judah was determined after the Scythians withdrew from the Front Asia (Önasya) and the Second Babylonian Kingdom (625–539 BCE) emerged over the former Assyrian lands.Expanding rapidly, the Babylonians moved to control the Anatolia–Red Sea axis.King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, twice — in 597 BCE and again in 586 BCE. Seeking a permanent solution to resistance, he exiled the Jews to Babylonian territory.
The Jews exiled to Babylon and its environs symbolically continued to appoint leaders from the line of King David as the “king in exile.”While the Babylonians controlled Jerusalem and its surroundings, they attempted to advance toward Egypt by occupying the northwestern Arabian coastline, but they failed to seize the Sinai Peninsula. Persian use of the Jews to control the Suez–Sinai kilitmekân and occupy EgyptWhen the Persians destroyed the Babylonian Empire in 539 BCE, a new period began. Having eliminated the Medes in 550 BCE, the Persians expanded toward Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt.
King Cyrus, after consolidating his power over Anatolia, extended Persian control in 525 BCE over present-day Syria, Palestine, Israel, and Egypt.Whereas the Assyrians had destroyed the Kingdom of Israel and the Babylonians had eliminated the Kingdom of Judah to remove obstacles in their rivalry with Egypt, the Persians chose instead to use the Jews in the Front Asia and the Suez–Sinai kilitmekân.To solidify their hold over the Eastern Mediterranean, the Persians allowed the Jews in exile to return to the former lands of Judah.
The destroyed Temple was rebuilt and reopened in 512 BCE.However, the Persians did not permit the establishment of a new Jewish state — showing that their support for the Jews was purely instrumental. Jewish suffering under Macedonian–Seleucid rule due to pro-Persian leaningsFor nearly two centuries under Persian rule, the Jews in Palestine lived relatively comfortably. But the rise of the Macedonians in the Balkans and their invasion of the Front Asia brought new hardships.In 334 BCE, Alexander the Great crossed the Dardanelles into Anatolia, defeated King Darius of Persia, and became master of Anatolia. He then advanced into Syria, Palestine, and Egypt — all then under Persian control.
Alexander seized Palestine in 333 BCE and Egypt in 332 BCE, becoming the heir to Persian territories.After Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, his empire fragmented. Seleucus, one of his generals, established the Seleucid Empire over the Asian portion.Because the Jews had long enjoyed good relations with the Persians, they carried the stigma of “pro-Persian” even under Macedonian and later Seleucid rule.
This led to severe mistreatment.In 169 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes plundered Jerusalem; in 167 BCE he turned the Temple of Solomon into a temple of Zeus. The establishment of an autonomous Jewish authority as Parthians and Romans weakened the SeleucidsA Jewish revival became possible only because of the rise of the Parthians in the east and the Romans in the west.Formerly a client of the Seleucids, the Parthian state declared independence in 247 BCE in Nisa (in present-day Turkmenistan), steadily shrinking Seleucid territory from east to west.During this same period, Rome — now a major power after occupying the Balkans — crossed into Anatolia in 189 BCE and began pushing the Seleucid frontier from west to east.
As the Seleucids weakened under pressure from both Parthians and Romans, the Jews launched the Maccabean Revolt in 164 BCE.As a result, an autonomous Hasmonean (Harmoniyim) authority was established in Jerusalem (140–37 BCE), and idols were removed from the Temple.Parthian–Seleucid rivalry intensified, with Parthian King Phraates II defeating Seleucid King Antiochus VII Sidetes in 129 BCE and seizing all lands east of the Euphrates.Because of Seleucid weakness against both Parthians and Romans, the Hasmonean autonomy continued, allowing the Jews to breathe more freely. A strategic blunder: Revolt against Rome and the Jewish exileThe Jews, who had succeeded in creating an autonomous kingdom against the weakened Seleucids, failed to maintain their gains.When the Parthians weakened and Rome became the single dominant power, the Jews launched a revolt against Rome — a decision that proved strategically disastrous.
Rome, after occupying western and southern Anatolia, advanced toward Egypt via Syria.In 63 BCE, Roman forces under Pompey captured Jerusalem.In 37 BCE, Herod I — of Jewish origin — was appointed ruler of the Roman province of Judea and was referred to as “king.”Herod, on good terms with Rome, commissioned new temples for the Jews.However, religious tensions between Jews and Balkan-descended settlers (present since the Seleucid period) did not end under Rome — and may even have worsened under Roman influence.In 66 CE, clashes erupted, with radical Jewish groups attacking Romans in Jerusalem.Rome responded harshly: it assaulted the Temple of Solomon and executed 6,000 Jews.The resulting Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE) saw both regular and irregular bloody fighting between Roman forces and Jewish rebels.
After crushing the revolt in 73 CE, Rome expelled the Jews from Palestine in 74 CE.Thus, a Jewish population base and process of state formation built over 500 years in Palestine ended due to a strategic error — rebelling against the sole superpower of the time.European imperial strategies and the return of Zionist Jews to PalestineAfter centuries of exile — often under persecution — the rise of Zionist thought among Jews sparked dreams of returning to Palestine in the 18th century. Some European imperial powers sought to exploit this ambition.For example, when Napoleon occupied Egypt, he offered the Jews the chance to establish a Kingdom of Jerusalem as a buffer to help secure his hold over the region.
Britain, after seizing Egypt, openly supported Jewish settlement in Palestine. During World War I, when Britain occupied Palestine, it established a colonial administration that favored Zionist influence.Thus, the Zionist return to Palestine was not solely the result of Jewish efforts but was facilitated by European imperial powers seeking to take over the Front Asia (Önasya) from the Ottoman State. The United States establishes Israel to control the Suez–Sinai kilitmekân and the Eastern MediterraneanThe modern State of Israel was established after World War II under the leadership of the United States, which had replaced Britain as the global superpower.
Identifying strategic target zones (stratejik hedef alanları) and kilitmekânlar to control in the Front Asia, the U.S. sought influence over the Eastern Mediterranean and the Suez–Sinai junction. Through the UN Partition Plan of 29 November 1947, it secured a large portion of Palestinian territory for the new state of Israel.Under David Ben-Gurion, the Jewish Agency proclaimed the State of Israel on 14 May 1948.The U.S. not only enabled Israel’s creation but also tolerated its gradual seizure of lands originally allocated to the Palestinians by the UN.When Egypt under President Gamal Abdel Nasser developed ties with the Soviet Union and briefly formed the United Arab Republic with Syria (1 February 1958–26 September 1961), U.S. support for Israel intensified.During the Six-Day War (5–10 June 1967), the U.S. aided Israel in occupying the entire Sinai Peninsula — giving Israel partial control over one of the world’s most critical transit chokepoints.
The U.S. policy of strengthening Israel would, however, begin to change as the Cold War wound down. The U.S. begins to limit Israel as the Cold War endsWith China’s PRC becoming a UN Security Council permanent member in 1971, the 1972 SALT I agreement between Washington and Moscow, and the establishment of U.S.–PRC diplomatic relations in 1979, the Cold War was nearing its end. In this context, the U.S. began to curb Israel’s expansion.The first step was shrinking the territory controlled by Israel under the 1978 Camp David Accords, mediated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israel withdrew from Sinai and dismantled its settlements there.A further blow to Israel’s plan to “Judaize” all of Palestine came after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, leaving the U.S. as the sole superpower.
Under U.S. pressure, Israel signed the Oslo Accords (13 September 1993) with the PLO’s Yasser Arafat, establishing a Palestinian Authority. Even though this was not an independent Palestinian state but a limited autonomy under Israel’s control, it nonetheless forced Israel to recognize Palestinian presence — constraining total annexation plans. The U.S. weakens Israel over its outreach to ChinaAfter reducing Israel’s territorial control and forcing it to acknowledge Palestinian presence, the U.S. reacted strongly when Israel moved closer to the PRC — a rising power supported by U.S. rivals.Since 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative had been presented as an economic and geopolitical magnet. During this period, Israel’s decision to award a contract for expanding Haifa Port to a Chinese company in 2021 provoked an official U.S. protest — which Israel ignored.Despite American reminders that Israel’s survival depended on U.S. support, Israel continued its relations with China. On 7 October 2023, the U.S. reminded Israel of its dependency in dramatic fashion: in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (which, despite its name, is not a regular army), Israel was forced to realign itself with U.S. strategic objectives.
ConclusionLooking at the historical record, in the Asian side of the Asia–Africa and Red Sea–Mediterranean passage — that is, the Sinai–Suez kilitmekân — Jews wishing to live in this geography have, at different times, built and maintained states by aligning with a major or global power, or have seen their states destroyed when opposing such a power.Today, Israel and some Jewish communities must choose between aligning militarily with the sole superpower, the United States, or with the PRC — a challenger to U.S. dominance supported by anti-American forces. This is a vital problem for Israel’s survival.If local Zionists (mahalli Siyonistler) are not restrained by global Zionists (küresel Siyonistler), Israel’s alignment with U.S. strategy will make it a target for anti-U.S. powers — eroding its foundations.
Conversely, if Israel aligns with an anti-U.S. power, it risks destruction by the U.S.The easiest path for Israel’s survival may not be serving as an instrument of a global power, but rather following the moral and unifying legacy (tevhidi ahlak) of Moses and David, living in friendship with the peoples of the region.In short: if Israel wishes to endure, it must either gamble on one global power or make the correct strategic choice to coexist with its neighbors.
This is a translation of Prof. Dr. Ali Arslan’s article originally published in Independent Türkçe.
