Social Studies: Interim Sample Questions

Which of the following statements explains why so many countries in the United Nations feel it was right to create the State of Israel in 1948?

• There was no one else living on the land at the time.

• Arab countries in the area supported the creation of a homeland for the Jews in Palestine.

• Many felt the Jews deserved help due to their suffering in the Holocaust.

• All national groups in the former Ottoman Empire were being given homelands at the same time.

Which of the following BEST explains the concept of Zionism?

• The belief that Jews deserved to return to a homeland in Zion where they have lived in Biblical times.

• The hope that all governments will be based on religious principles.

• The plan to let Arabs and Jews share the land in Palestine equally.

• The idea that all religious groups should have their own states

Use the excerpt to answer the question.

“The question of Palestine as a Jewish homeland goes back to the solemn promise that had been made to [the Jewish people] by the British in the Balfour Declaration of 1917 - a promise which had stirred the hopes and dreams of these oppressed people. This promise, I felt, should be kept, just as all promises made by responsible, civilized governments should be kept.”

Which of the following is reflected in this excerpt?

• reasons behind the outbreak of the First World War

• reasons behind the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan

• reasons behind the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire

• reasons behind the establishment of the State of Israel

Use the information to answer the question.

Persecution of Jewish people has occurred in Europe for thousands of years. Zionism, the belief that the Jewish people should have a homeland, arose in the nineteenth century. The movement resulted in the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

• Many European governments openly supported Zionist activists. They believed they could forcefully deport Jewish people to a Jewish state with little international outcry.

• Many European governments openly supported Zionist beliefs. They believed that a Jewish state would be a strong trading partner that would help spread Jewish values to other nations.

• Jewish people were often persecuted, in part, because they held Zionist beliefs. Europeans believed that if all jews emigrated to a Jewish state then Jewish people would no longer be persecuted.

• Jewish people were often persecuted, in part, because they were a minority population in many countries. Zionists worked to create a Jewish state where Jewish people would be the majority.

After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, why did European partitioning lead to regional conflict in Southwest Asia (Middle East)?

• There were few jobs available in the newly created countries.

• There were few natural resources available in the newly created countries

• New political boundaries were formed without considering the cultural differences of the people.

• New political boundaries prevented people from immigrating to different areas.

Use the headline to answer the question.

“Tribal Revolts in Iraq: Kurds Targeted in North, Shia in the South”

 Which would be discussed under this headline?

• the conflicts caused by French and British imperialism in Southwest Asia

• the U.S. military operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm

• the property rights of indigenous peoples in Southwest Asia

• the heightened tensions caused by the creation of the state of Israel

Why did the change in boundaries between 1914 and 1923 lead to conflict?

• They destroyed local natural, mineral, and environmental resources.

• They used natural features to distinguish regions.

• They ignored traditional religious and ethnic groups and regions.

• They created an unequal distribution of resources.

describe how land and religion play a role in continuing conflicts in the Middle East (i.e., the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and Kurdish nationalism)

Which of the following statements BEST describe the cause of Kurdish nationalism?

• The Kurds are separated into separate countries by artificial political borders.

• The Kurds want to rejoin the British imperialists.

• After the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, the Kurds established their own country.

• After WWI, the Kurds became the largest ethnic group in Southwest Asia.

How might the split and conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims have been avoided?

• if Muhammad’s daughter Fatima had not married Ali

• if Muhammad had not married Abu Bakr’s daughter Aisha

• if Abu Bakr had not attacked the followers of Ali after Muhammad’s death

• if any of Muhammad’s sons had survived to adulthood to succeed him

49.d: explain U.S. presence and interest in Southwest Asia, include the Persian Gulf conflict (1990-1991) and invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003)

Which statement BEST describes how the Middle East’s large supply of oil has affected the history of the region since the 1950s?

• It has lowered the standard of living in the region.

• It has encouraged the growth of democracy in the region

• It has slowed down the process of industrialization in the region.

• It has encouraged foreigners to compete for influence in the region.