Who are the Palestinians? PART TWO
SINCE YOU ASKED
In Part One, we learned that the original Palestinians were descendants of the Greeks who had migrated from the Aegean region of Asia Minor and were closely related to the Ancient Greeks. They were neither Arab nor Semitic. In Part Two we’ll dig a little deeper.
Newt’s claim that today’s Palestinians are an invented people is, in fact, supported by the Arabs themselves. As I have asserted before, after Israel’s birth in 1948, no Arabs referred to themselves as Palestinians. They called themselves Arabs, or in some cases, Syrians. The original Palestinians in the 20th century were actually Jewish. They called their newspaper the Palestine Post and their orchestra the Palestine Symphony. The term “Palestinian” was first applied to current residents after the 1967 war, when Israel pushed Jordan and Egypt out of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and Sinai.
Consider the names if Israel’s cities. Even those in the West Bank and Gaza have Hebrew names. Their current Arabic names are translations of the original Hebrew names. Nablus, the capital of the West Bank, isn’t actually an Arabic name. It is a mispronunciation of Neapolis, or Latin for “New City.”
In 1937, the Arab leader Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi told the Peel Commission, “There is no such country [as Palestine]! Palestine is a term the Zionists invented! There is no Palestine in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of Syria.” Then there’s the statement of Zahir Muhsein, a member of the PLO Executive Committee. As recently as 1977, he told the Dutch newspaper Trouw that “The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel . . . Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak about the existence of the Palestinian people.”
AS I SEE IT
Those promoting the current Palestinian claims to the land are not about to let the truth deter them. Recently, at the U.N., Mahmoud Abbas recounted a history of ancient Palestine filled at every stage with Palestinians. He conceded the existence of a man named Jesus (no mention of his religion), but failed to even mention the Jews. Following Mr. Gingrich’s more recent statement about the instant Palestinians, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad accused the former Speaker of “denying historical truths.” The truth is that today’s Palestinians are a group of Arabs left over after Syria and Jordan were formed from the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan (which the Arabs rejected and the Jews accepted).
Considering the sharp break with reality, I wonder if the Palestinian leaders actually believe the lies they are so confidently asserting as true. They have likely been taught the party line for most of their lives. Regardless of their actual beliefs, the fate of a legitimate nation (the only one ordained by God) hangs in the balance. The world is basing its position against Israel on a lie and it is not about to be deterred by the facts. On the other hand, those who choose to embrace the truth, to promote it, and to fight for it will be set free. Will you be among those who will help spread the truth for Israel’s sake?
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn’t it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, and dry cleaners depressed?
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