The Palestine Land Myth

Special thanks to:

The section on Palestinians and Palestine was produced by Joseph E. Katz
Middle Eastern Political and Religious History Analyst
Brooklyn, New York

The conflict here in Israel is not over land, it is over the inability of our Arabs/Muslim neighbors to recognize that Jews and Christians have any claim, religious or historical, to the land of Israel.

The conflict between Jews and Arabs in the land of Israel predates the settlement of Judea and Samaria and it pre-dates Israel’s re-establishment as an independent state in 1948. In fact there were pogroms against thousands of Jews and their properties going back to the middle of the 19th century, before there was anIsraeli state, settlements, or so called “occupation” of an Arab people called Palestinians. What did Arabs and Muslims want in 1929 when they initiated a vicious massive lynching of Jews in Hebron, the occupied territories of 1967? Absurd to the point of ridiculousness.

The conflict here in Israel is not over land, it is over the inability of our Arabs/Muslim neighbors to recognize that Jews and Christians have any claim, religious or historical, to the land of Israel.

The term “Palestine” came from the Roman Procurator in charge of the Judean-Israel territories was so angry at the Jews for revolting in 135 CE that he called for his historians and asked them who were the worst enemies of the Jews in their past history. The scribes said, “the Philistines.” Thus, the Procurator declared that Land of Israel would from then forward be called “Philistia” [further bastardized into "Palaistina"] to dishonor the Jews and obliterate their history. Hence the name “Palestine.” Before then it was known as Judea, which was the southern kingdom of ancient Israel.

The conflict here in Israel is not over land, it is over the inability of our Arabs/Muslim neighbors to recognize that Jews and Christians have any claim, religious or historical, to the land of Israel.

The word “Palestine” has no meaning in Arabic – every word in Arabic has some meaning deriving from the Koran, but the word “Palestine” does not. Even the term “Palestinian people” is rather ironic since the letter “P” is non-existent in the Arab language. If anything, the name “Palestine” was associated with Jews. In the years leading up to the rebirth of Israel in 1948, those who spoke of “Palestinians” were nearly always referring to the region\’s Jewish residents. For example, the “Palestine Post” [forerunner of today\'s Jerusalem Post] newspaper and the Palestine Symphony Orchestra were all-Jewish. The “Palestine Brigade Regiment” was composed exclusively of Jewish volunteers in the British World War II Army. In fact, Arab leaders rejected the notion of a unique “Palestinian Arab” identity, insisting that Palestine was merely a part of “Greater Syria.”

The conflict here in Israel is not over land, it is over the inability of our Arabs/Muslim neighbors to recognize that Jews and Christians have any claim, religious or historical, to the land of Israel.

There never was a Palestine, there is no Palestine, and there will never will be a Palestine.