Busting A Middle East Myth

Next time you hear someone bashing Israel for 'stealing' the 'homeland' of the 'ancient Palestinian people', you might want to share the following declarations with them. They reveal that, far from desiring Palestine as an independent, separate home for anyone, Arabs and Muslims used to insist that the region was nothing more than part of Syria.

Though much of the world chooses to ignore it, the fact remains that Palestine was never an exclusively Arab region. No independent Arab nor 'palestinian' state ever existed in the region.

Indeed, when the distinguished Arab-American historian, Princeton University Prof. Philip Hitti, testified against partition before the Anglo-American Committee in 1946, he said:

“There is no such thing as ‘Palestine’ in history, absolutely not.”

And this is the vital point. Before partition, Palestinian Arabs did not view themselves as having a separate identity. When the First Congress of Muslim-Christian Associations met in Jerusalem in February 1919 to choose Palestinian representatives for the Paris Peace Conference, the following resolution was adopted:

We consider Palestine as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic, natural, economic and geographical bonds.

In 1937, a local Arab leader, Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, told the Peel Commission, which ultimately suggested the partition of Palestine:

“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.'

The representative of the Arab Higher Committee to the United Nations submitted a statement to the General Assembly in May 1947 that said, Palestine was part of the Province of Syria and that, politically, the Arabs of Palestine were not independent in the sense of forming a separate political entity.

A few years later, Ahmed Shuqeiri, later the chairman of the PLO, told the Security Council:

“It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria.”

The reality is, that Palestinian Arab nationalism is largely a post-World War I phenomenon that did not become a significant political movement until after the 1967 Six-Day War and Israel’s capture of the West Bank.

The world can cling to the lie about Israel 'displacing palestinians' from their 'homeland' all it likes. It doesn't make it true.

If you head over to Elder Of Ziyon, you'll find a great post on the same topic - including a newspaper archive that is definitely worth checking out. Just click HERE!

What Are Jews...?

Hitler would love it. Decades after he tried to convince the world that Jews are a separate 'race', many people still fall for this lie.

Jews are defined as a 'race' in fiction, by some theologians of other faiths, and by many otherwise intelligent, rational people across the globe. Log into any online forum where religion is the topic, and you'll find endless posts passionately insisting that there exists a 'jewish race'.

You'll also see people referring to 'being jewish via blood' or of someone being 'of jewish blood'.

I mean really - do they think we Jews have kosher chicken soup running through our veins...?!

There is no such thing as 'jewish blood'!

Let's clarify the issue. Jews never were and are not now a 'race'.

Can you alter your race? No.

Can you convert to Judaism? Yes.

Are you then considered as Jewish as those born into the faith? Again - yes.

Clearly, then, neo Nazi protestations to the contrary, Jews are not a 'race'.

Nor are we an 'ethnic' group, though again, we are often defined as such.

There is no one ethnicity which unites all Jews. How can there be? There are Japanese Jews. Indian Jews. Black Ethiopian Jews. White Jews. We come in all shades and colours. We represent all ethnicities.

So we're not a race, and we're not an ethnic group. Yet we're not a religion in the same way that Christians or Muslims are, either. After all, as perplexed non Jews often note, there do exist Jewish Atheists. How can this be, though, if Jews are members of a faith?

So what are we, exactly...?

Well, we're a Tribe. We started out as a collection of smaller tribes, bound by tribal law. Today we are still tribal in nature.

You're born into the Jewish Tribe, if your mother is Jewish.

You remain a member of the Tribe - unless you leave to join another faith.

And you can return any time you wish, so long as you renounce the religion you left the Tribe for.

People convert to Judaism and are then adopted by the Tribe.

You remain a Tribe member even if you don't actively practise Judaism, which is how we can state that there do exist Jewish Atheists. Atheism is not a religion, thus it does not represent a violation of Tribal law.

Originally, even the Jewish G-d was a tribal deity - nothing remotely like the universal G-d that we worship today. Rather, the Jewish tribal deity was unique to Abraham and his descendants. It was only after Moses received the Torah at Mount Sinai that we find Jews being transformed from a Tribe with a localised deity, into a Nation with a Universal G-d.

So there you have it. That's what we are. A faith, a family, and a nation. But above all, a Tribe. Personally, I prefer 'tribe' and think it's more accurate, as it conveys better the clannish, and intense nature of us as a group.

Next time you encounter someone calling us a 'race', remind them that only neo Nazis actually believe this, and that anyone who does use this term to define Jews, is sadly continuing Hitler's legacy, something no decent person would ever desire to do.