The early Israelites escaped the clutches of their Pharaoh enslavers and settled in the region then known as Canaan (now modern day Israel) after which the true evolution of Jewish culture began with the building of the Temple in Jerusalem (circa 1000BC) and the daily worship of God at that temple. Powers outside of the region sought to stamp out the Israelites and the beginnings of Judaism, but were met with failure. However in 135 AD, the Romans were successful in destroying Jerusalem and changing the name of Israel to Palestine. From 1882 onwards, Israel saw sporadic waves of Jewish repatriation which continued into the 20th century. Following WWI, the Ottoman Empire, who had remained in control of the region for some time, was broken up and control subsequently fell to the British. In 1947 following WWII, the League of Nations voted in favour of a plan to segregate Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish areas. The Jews accepted the plan, however the Arabs rejected it. The inauguration of the State of Israel by Zionist leaders in May 1948, led the Arab states to launch a full scale war in response. The struggle today sees violence and organised terror attacks with activity focused around the West Bank and Gaza strip and various militant political factions involved. | 
