Today is your day Boomer! It is, perhaps, the most confusing part of the world for people to understand. It is the Middle East...at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, and a region wrought with historical conflict. This week, another war, between Hamas and Israel, in the area of the Gaza Strip. Boomers, maybe my 30 years of teaching History 12 will help you understand this region a little better. Let's go back to the end of World War I when victorious powers Britain and France were given "mandate" power in this area(see map); for example, Britain took control of both Palestine and Iraq until they were ready for self-rule. Well, the people in Palestine (Arab Palestinians) resented this foreign control and the British weren't exactly there for the people....more for the power and resources. Eventually, after the 2nd World War, Britain bowed to pressure, handed over Palestine and with the help of the U.N., created the new nation of Israel....a mostly Jewish nation in the centre of a Muslim world! Oh oh. But the pressure was enormous for Jews to reclaim their holy land(this is called Zionism) after the terrible Holocaust and the deaths of 6 million Jews at the hands of anti-semitic Hitler and the Nazis. Anti-semitism is the hatred and discrimination against Jews.....a practice dating back hundreds of years in Europe. So.....the stage was set for potential conflict. A new Jewish nation surrounded by hateful Arab countries and an Israeli population of "Palestinians" very unhappy with their new changed nationhood. This spells W...A...R. Boomers, hope this helps, to be continued tomorrow.