A badly invented people with no roots in Israel.
Even though the Jewish history in the land of Israel is one of the most popular stories of mankind and was incorporated into the religious beliefs of over half the human race, it’s become fashionable to deny the connection of the Jews to the land of Israel. And yet similarly dismissing the descendants of Muslim conquerors who now style themselves ‘Palestinians’, some of whom had arrived in Israel as recently as a century ago, as colonists and settlers is angrily denounced.
‘Palestinian’ identity is politically sacrosanct even though it has no historic or linguistic basis in any past deeper than the Islamic wars and invasions that long postdated the Jewish presence in Israel. It’s not only invented in history, but was so recently invented that many people living today remember when it was made up, and also manages ties itself in endless contradictions.
There’s no actual ‘Palestinian’ history. Just the ideological project of ‘Palestinianism’ and its revisionist history which reversed history, transforming the Arab Muslim conquerors who invaded and persecuted the Jews into the indigenous inhabitants who were driven out by the Jews. ‘Palestinianism’ is General Custer putting on an Indian costume and claiming that his ancestors were in America for thousands of years before the Sioux drove them out.
Palestinianism’s historical revisionism insists that the Jews who were in Israel for 3,400 years are European settlers while the Arab Muslims who decided to call themselves ‘Palestinians’ sixty years ago were the original indigenous inhabitants of the land. Their only basis for this otherwise completely ahistorical argument is picking a name with a ‘biblical’ sound to it.
But the name ‘Palestine’ came originally from the Philistines who were European settlers from the Aegean region. The name was imposed much later by the Roman conquerors seeking to remove any trace of the Jewish presence from Israel. Calling Israel ‘Palestine’ is something foreign settlers whose only link to the land came through their ties to foreign empires would do.
Rather than an assertion of indigeneity, the assumption of a false ‘Palestinian’ identity is an unintentional admission of foreignness. It’s what a clueless outsider trying to fit in would do.
The ‘Palestinian’ brand is not some ancient indigenous claim to the land, rather it’s the name of a group of European settlers who waged war against the Jews, over a millennia and a half before Islam, that was reapplied by another group of European conquerors over 500 years before Islam, and was then picked up by the Muslim invaders whose ancestors had served as mercenaries for Rome and had no historical memory predating the Roman Empire.
It’s hard to imagine a name more closely associated with foreign invaders than ‘Palestinians’.
Aware of this problem, Yasser Arafat, who was born in Egypt, took to claiming descent from the Canaanites, and specifically the Jebusites. That equally nonsensical claim of descent from an ancient people also dates back all the way to the 1960s. Rashid Khalidi, the Obama mentor who made that claim, was born in New York City to the former Foreign Minister of Jordan.
But if the ‘Palestinians’ are really Canaanites, why not call themselves that? It doesn’t have the same historical resonance among the Americans and Europeans who were the targets of the ‘Palestinian’ brand. And while the Koran mentions neither ‘Palestine’ nor ‘Canaan’, it does imply that Allah commanded the Jews to wage a Jihad and drive out the Canaanites. The more religiously devout Islamists deeply resent Arafat’s suggestion that they were ever Canaanites.
“The people of Palestine have no historical right to Palestine… our history is simple and it is not ancient. Our history dates back only 1,440 years. 1,440 years ago we had no rights of any kind. Absolutely none,” Imam Issam Amira argued in a talk in the occupying mosque on the Temple Mount that the ‘Palestinians’ can only assert rights based on Islam. “It must not be said that the Palestinians have Canaanite roots. We can go back to the words of Yasser Arafat who lost our cause… the only thing you are allowed to say is: ‘Oh Palestinians, you are Muslims.’”
When not presenting their case to Western audiences, the ‘Palestinians’ proudly trace their descent to what is today Saudi Arabia from the Qays and Yaman families. They all want to be connected to the old Mohammedan dynasties and not the pagan Philistines or the Canaanites.
The basis for the Muslim claim to Israel is the same as the claim to Iraq, Pakistan or any other Muslim country. Islam recognizes only the religious right of conquest, not any kind of indigenous ancestry, whether it’s in Israel, North Africa, India, Afghanistan or any other areas where the indigenous inhabitants were massacred, ethnically cleansed and enslaved by Islamic invaders.
Muslims preach to Westerners about the indigenous rights of ‘Palestinians’, but reject the indigenous rights of every group they conquered from Hindus and Buddhists in Asia to the Berbers in North Africa and the Copts in Egypt. Where have Muslims ever recognized the indigenous rights of any non-Muslim minority they conquered over their own people?
When it comes to Israel, Muslims demand adherence to a principle that they do not adhere to, and they demand it based on an invented history that they themselves never took seriously.
If there really is an ancient ‘Palestinian’ people somehow distinct from all their Arab Muslim relatives, what is it that makes them so? Where is their ancient history predating the 1960s?
Even a brief examination of recent history shows that it was a label of political convenience.
Were they ‘Palestinians’ when the British ran the Palestine Mandate? And yet when part of the Mandate was turned into the Kingdom of Jordan, those ‘Palestinians’ then became Jordanians.
In 1948, Jordan attacked Israel and annexed various areas including Ramallah, and the ‘Palestinians’ in the future capital of the Palestinian Authority became Jordanians. They had no interest in creating a ‘Palestinian’ state. Then only when Israel liberated Jerusalem and other parts of its territory, the Jordanians suddenly became ‘Palestinians’ and demanded a state.
None of this makes any sense if they, like the Jews, had been members of an ancient people with a consistent identity dating back thousands of years, but to the Arab Muslim settlers, Jordan and Palestine were just geographic names that they had inherited, not identities.
Hajj Amin Al-Husseini, better known as Hitler’s Mufti, and one of the pivotal figures of the genocidal ‘Palestinian’ cause who allied with the Nazis in the hopes of exterminating all the Jews, was part of the al-Husayni family which had moved to Israel in the 18th century and claimed descent from Mohammed’s grandson in Saudi Arabia. Their great rivals, the equally ‘Palestinian’ Nashashibis, were Kurds who showed up in the 15th century.
‘Palestinianism’ claims that the Arab Muslim settlers have a deep and ancient connection to the land. Surely this should be reflected in the geography and in the names of their cities?
The name of the Muslim settlers for Jerusalem is Al-Quds or Holy City because that was the only way the Arab Muslims of Arabia could describe a city they had heard about, but never visited. What the Jews call Judea and Samaria, the Arab Muslim settlers call ad-difa’a al-gharbiya or the West Bank. These names show no actual historic connection to the land.
The Arabic for Bethlehem is ‘Bayt Lehem’ or a translation of the Hebrew ‘Beit Lehem’. Is Nablus part of the great and ancient Palestinian heritage? But Nablus isn’t Arabic, it’s the Arabic mispronunciation of Neapolis, which means “New City” in Latin. Much like ‘Palestine’, it’s another borrowing from the Romans by foreign settlers with no ancient roots in Israel.
Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian Authority, is an Arabic translation of the nearby ancient Jewish city of Beit El. It was barely inhabited under Muslim rule and dates back to the 16th century when a group of Christian Arabs crossed over from what is today Jordan fleeing Muslim persecution. Under Jordanian rule, it was overrun by Muslims and now has a Muslim majority.
When the capital of your people was founded by Christians from the other side of the river in the 16th century and its name was taken from an ancient Jewish city and it wasn’t actually your capital until the bygone days of the 1990’s, and it only became your capital because you drove out its original residents in the 1950’s, then your ancient civilization doesn’t actually exist.
The ‘Palestinians’ are not just an invented people. They’re a badly invented people with no history, no past and whose only talent is for stealing the identities of the ancient indigenous peoples that their invading ancestors from Arabia conquered, persecuted and enslaved.
When the indigenous Jewish people freed themselves, the conquerors switched to pretending to be the conquered, the oppressors played the oppressed and the invaders posed as the indigenous to justify their genocidal plans to conquer, oppress and invade Israel all over again.
somehistory says
The idea that the Jews have no historical (God-given) connection to the Land of Israel (named for the head of the 12 Tribes of Israel), along with the lies about “palestinians” and their claim to the Land of Israel (named for a Jew) comes from one source: satan the devil.
Over the centuries of his existence since jumping from God’s organization to make up one of his own, satan the devil has told countless lies. Each lie is meant to keep mankind from knowing the God of the Bible, and from attaining true happiness.
Wellington says
Fine article. Should be read by all ignoramuses on college campuses endorsing the so-called Palestinians. Love the line about General Custer.
SKA says
Most telling when you ask those kaffiyeh-sporting Americans or Europeans chanting “From the River to the Sea!” ‘which River? Which Sea?’ and they can’t answer you!
James Lincoln says
SKA,
Paid protesters are not required to know anything.
As long as they can hold signs and shriek…
Vicky Cohn says
EXACTLY!!!!! I HAD ENOUGH OF THE LIES, THE SLAUGHTER AND THE FAKE HISTORY ON ISLAM AND THE FXCKASTINIANS!!!!!!! I WANT THEM ALL OUT OF ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!! THEY CANNOT STAY!!!!! OR THERE WON’T BE A JEWISH STATE ANY LONGER SOON!!!!!!
Walter Sieruk says
There is an important question, which is “Are there really an ethnic or race of people who may be , rightly called the “ Palestinians” or is that just a hijacked term that the Arabs of the area in the Middle East now exclusively only to themselves without valid genuine proof that such a term is actually fitting for them.
Many reliable scholars and historians on Israel and the entire Middle East have ,rightly, answered that question. Two of them had together have compiled a book on this subject and had revealed, “The Palestinian leadership has repeatedly sought to legitimize their right to the land, by claiming it belongs to them and not the Jews. One of their BIG lies is that the land was always referred to as Palestine. Historically, this is inaccurate ! There has never been a Palestinian state in the history of the world.”
The authors further explain that “The Roman Emperor Hadrian , following the second Jewish revolt led by Simon Kochba , changed the name of Israel to Syria Palestina which he took from the Hebrew word Pelesheth, which we know as Philistia . Why ? Because the Jews hated the Philistines and this was a slap in the face to them.”
Those writers also added that “”What difference does this make ? …. “ They then explained, because it gives the false impression that there was a land of Palestine in ancient times and perpetuates the lie that the Jews took away the Palestinian land.”
In conclusion, “Palestine’ is a man- made fiction therefore, there is no ethnic group or race of people who are real“ Palestinians.” Likewise, the “Palestinian flag is a fake” flag.”
By great contrast, Israel is an historic and Biblical reality, Psalm 135;4.
The book source is entitled Miracle of Israel by Gary Frazier and Jim Fletcher , pages 177,178 179.
Walter Sieruk says
There never in history was there a “Palestinian state.” Likewise. what is called the “Palestinian flag” is a hoax of a ” flag.”
History also reveals that the ancient Philistines recorded in the Bible and history reveals the people who came from the Greek Islands and some parts of the mainland Greece and the Island of Crete They have no connection, at all, the to the Arab /Muslim of modern times who called themselves the “Palestinians.”
From those ancient people, the Philistines, the word “Palestine” .came into being.
There is no genuine ethic group or race who are the “Palestinians.”
Early in the last century a anyone living in that land, Arab or Jew, who lived in that land was called a ”Palestinian.”
Only after 1964 did the Arab/Muslims start to refer to themselves , exclusively , by the word “Palestinian.”
The reason for that is that they felt that by giving themselves that title they would appear to have some kind of valid claim on that land.
Indeed, never in history was there a “Palestinian state.” Any claim to the land is an invalid and false claim.
Walter Sieruk says
As for the those two words “West Bank” it is modern fabricated term. In great contrast, the words Judea and Samaria are based on history, that is ancient history.
Furthermore, there is a very strange question, which its “Does Israel occupy the West Bank.”The answer is “No”. This is because it’s impossible for a nation to “occupy” lands that are naturally part of that country. For the so-called “West Bank’” are the lands of Judea and Samaria. Which belongs to the State of Israel by historic and Biblical rights
Furthermore, the Bible declares the truth, which is that God had given all this land that now composes the State of Israel, including all of the West Bank, which in reality is Judah and Samaria, belongs to the Jewish people. This may be found in the Bible, as seen in, for example, Genesis 28:13-15. 35:10-12. Deuteronomy 32:48,49. Psalm 105:7-11. 135:4.
Daniel Bielak says
Excellent article.
And it’s important to note that the United Nations defines a “Palestinian” refugee as being an Arab refugee who had lived in the land of Israel for at least *TWO* years prior to the refounding of Israel in 1948.
Patrick says
Move all Arab Muslims out of Palestine/Israel, allow peace and tranquility to encompass Israel, no more terrorist attacks, no more Islam.
somehistory says
A million from gaza are being moved to Libya.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-administration-working-on-plan-to-move-1-million-palestinians-to-libya/ar-AA1EVGdk?ocid=BingNewsSerp
࿗Infidel࿘ says
This is great news, given all the depressing news that has been coming out of Trump in the last week
In the main story, they did mention that neither of Libya’s 2 factions who are battling for control of the country commented. Thing I’m curious about is which part of Libya would they be resettled?
They should also send the others to other countries, like Somalia. Do that, and then let Trump do whatever he was thinking about doing for Gaza
Gidon says
The Oslo Process is DEAD!!! The days of Israel having to handle those accursed murderers with kid-gloves are gone. The days when they had access to decent paying jobs in Israel have ended. Those morons killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. Now they must live with the consequences. There are construction laborer jobs for them in the rich Gulf Arab states that will pay 25% of what they made in Israel. Otherwise, I hear that Libya may be accepting a million of them. Bon voyage, Sayonara, auf wiedersehen!
rick says
Thank you Daniel Greenfield for your excellent ride through history where you never run into “Palestinians” except when they are Jews. A nation called Palestine with a history of its own never existed. The land of Israel was renamed by the Roman Empire after their very difficult and costly conquest and occupation.
“Palestine” is actually a very apt name for the present day Arabs who call themselves starting in the 1960s. The name “Palestine” signifies a foreign name, an occupation name and a name to replace Jews. Everything the Arabs who live in Judea Samaria and Gaza are or want to be.
What we know today as “Palestinians” never called themselves that name for two very good reasons.
First “Palestine” was a land without any notoriety or worthiness. A nation called Palestine with a history of its own never existed. The land of Israel was renamed by the Roman Empire after their very difficult and costly conquest and occupation. It had very little meaning for Arabs. Even Jerusalem which is called the third most holy city in Islam has a very sketchy history ( see Daniel Pipes excellent article on Jerusalem as a Muslim city).
Palestine is actually a very befitting name for the present day Arabs who call themselves that as it is a foreign name, an occupation name, essentially a “fake” name and a name used to replace Israel and Jews. Everything they are or want to be. It was such a backwater place that the Arabs who lived there referred to themselves as “Southern Syrians” as Damascus had an honorable history for Arabs. The only people who lived there and who referred to themselves as “Palestinians” were Jews. And what self respecting Arab would refer to themselves with the same name a Jew uses to identify themselves. That is reason number two.
Of course the Jews knew this land was really Israel but most of the world did not use that name for 2,000 years. They knew it because no matter where they were in this world they prayed to it every day. They knew its history, the names of its cities and towns and places of importance in Jewish history. The Hebrew Bible was full of its history and even a land deed giving Jews ownership to the city and area of Hebron.
For Jews it was not a backwater place but the Holy Land and G-d’s inheritance to them. Even the ottoman’s who controlled the land had little respect for it other than taxation. One would think the Ottomans would administer the land from Jerusalem but they did not. They used Damascus to administer Palestine. The only value of the land for Arabs was for jobs that Zionism increasingly brought to the land. Arabs from surrounding areas simply walked for the one thing their Arab areas did not have. Jobs. These Arabs today call themselves “Palestinians”.
David Dzelilovic says
The land of Israel quickly becomes ‘desolate’ whenever it is not occupied by its rightful inhabitants — the Israelites!
More than fifty (50) scriptures in the Bible inform or infer that the land of Israel will become ‘desolate’ whenever it is not occupied by its rightful inhabitants — the Israelites!
Leviticus 26:1-46 is the primary passage of scripture in the Bible which informs that the land of Israel becomes ‘desolate’ whenever it is not inhabited by the Israelites who are its rightful inhabitants (Leviticus 26:20,22,31,32,33,34,35,43).
The scriptures in the Bible which inform or infer that the land of Israel will become ‘desolate’ whenever it is not inhabited by the Israelites, includes but is not limited to: 2 Chronicles 36:21; Leviticus 26:20; Leviticus 26:22; Leviticus 26:31-35; Leviticus 26:43; Isaiah 5:9-10; Isaiah 6:11; Isaiah 62:4; Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 4:26-27; Jeremiah 6:8; Jeremiah 7:34; Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 10:25; Jeremiah 12:10-13; Jeremiah 12:14-17; Jeremiah 18:15-16; Jeremiah 19:7-8; Jeremiah 25:36-38; Jeremiah 26:9; Jeremiah 32:43-44; Jeremiah 33:10-12; Jeremiah 44:2-6; Lamentations 1:4-6; Lamentations 5:18; Ezekiel 6:14; Ezekiel 12:17-20; Ezekiel 14:15-17; Ezekiel 15:8; Ezekiel 25:3; Ezekiel 33:28-29; Ezekiel 36:1-11; Ezekiel 36:33-38; Ezekiel 38:10-12; Daniel 9:16-17; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; Daniel 12:11; Hosea 5:9; Hosea 13:16; Amos 7:9; Micah 1:6-7; Micah 7:12-13; Zephaniah 3:6; and Zechariah 7:13-14.
Notes:
1. The passage of scripture in Leviticus 26:1-46 is a ‘general’ warning to the descendents of Jacob-Israel that one of the consequences of idolatry and failure to observe the Sabbath (see Note 3 below) will result in: –
• The forced removal of the descendents of Jacob-Israel from the land of Israel (formerly identified as the land of Canaan); and
• The land of Israel will become ‘desolate’ during the period of absence of the rightful inhabitants of the land of Israel — the Israelites!
2. The passages of scripture on the topic of the land of Israel being ‘desolate’ during the period of absence of the Israelites, are linked to: –
• A Biblical record of particular events during which the land of Israel was ‘desolate’ (e.g., during the 70-year captivity of the Jews from the southern 2-tribe Kingdom of Judah in 597 BCE – 538 BCE); or
• A ‘general’ warning (as in Leviticus 26:1-46), by way of a reminder to the descendents of Jacob-Israel that one of the consequences of idolatry and failure to observe the Sabbath (see Note 3 below), will result in the forced removal of the descendents of Jacob-Israel from the land of Israel, and the land of Israel being ‘desolate’ during the period of their absence from the land of Israel.
3. The weekly Sabbath in the Old Testament of the Bible was a ‘shadow’ (i.e. a representation) of God’s rest in the New Testament context, which is accomplished by receiving God’s Holy Spirit like the disciples of Christ on the day of Pentecost (e.g. Acts 2:1-4; Acts 2:37-39; and many more). The receiving of God’s Holy Spirit is also the prerequisite for entry into the kingdom of God (e.g. John 3:5-8; and many more). The ‘keeping of the [weekly] Sabbath’ in the Old Testament of the Bible was a ‘shadow’ (i.e. a representation) of being ‘led’ (i.e. controlled, guided, motivated, taught, etc) by God’s Holy Spirit (e.g. Romans 8:14; and many more), after having receiving God’s Holy Spirit like the disciples of Christ on the day of Pentecost (e.g. Acts 2:1-4; Acts 2:37-39; and many more).
_________________
gravenimage says
The Palestinian Myth
…………………………..
Yes–this was all claptrap made up by the Soviets to make local Muslim aggressors look like the underdogs.