For centuries the devil, that unseen spiritual enemy, has lied about the people of Israel. It therefore shouldn’t surprise us that he has lied about the land of Israel as well. It is probably the most lied about piece of real estate on the face of the earth today. Let us carefully look at the land and try to separate fact from fiction. We need to be prepared however, because peeling off the lies and fiction will be much like peeling an onion.
WHO ARE THE PALESTINIANS?
Today we hear much about Palestine, Palestinians, Palestinian rights, and even a Palestinian state. It might surprise us to learn that far into the 20th century, Arabs vehemently denied being called Palestinians, while strangely, it was the Jews who were referred to by this title. In the early 20th century, the Jewish English newspaper, The Jerusalem Post was called The Palestine Post, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was then called the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra. The esteemed Arab historian, Philip Hitti, stated before the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry in 1946, “There is no such thing as Palestine in [Arab] history, absolutely not.”* This strange statement was corroborated by several other Arab leaders at that time.
According to researcher, Joan Peters, the one identity that was never considered prior to the war of 1967 was “Arab Palestinian.” ** How could the “Palestinian” identity do such a “flip-flop” in the last part of the twentieth century? Where did the name “Palestine” originate anyway? Is it mentioned in the Bible? Let us attempt to answer these questions looking at the Bible and at the last two millennia of history.
PALESTINE, ITS BEGINNINGS
By thumbing through the atlas at the back of our Bible we may see maps that read, “Palestine in the time of the early monarchy” [time of David and Solomon]; Palestine in New Testament times, etc. It might surprise us to realize that all these descriptions contain misnomers. There was no Palestine in the time of David, or in New Testament times. In the New Testament the land was referred to as Israel, not as Palestine (Matt.2:20). Jesus was not a Palestinian, contrary to what the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has claimed. In fact, no one had ever heard of Palestine in his day.
Palestine was a name given to the land of Judea after the unsuccessful ending of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome in AD 135. It was a name given in derision by the Romans. The land was re-named after the ancient Philistines, those proverbial enemies of Israel, in an attempt to sever its Jewish connection. At the time, Rome also killed or expelled many of the Jews.
ANCIENT THIEVES
The Romans were not the first people in history to try and steal the heritage of Israel, they just did the most thorough job of it. Prior to them many other ancient enemies of Israel also tried to take the land. Most of them tried by force and failed. Some of these were the Edomites, Ishmaelites and Moabites, ancient ancestors of the modern Arabs. The attacks of surrounding enemies in biblical times are carefully recorded for us in Psalm 83. Also recorded is their clear sworn purpose against Israel. It is said of these enemies: “With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more‘” (Psa. 83:3-4). This sounds like a clip from a modern Arab paper.
With the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD, we begin to see the truly diabolical dimensions to this ancient contest. The land of Israel was the first major target of the conquering Islamic armies. Somehow after their conquest, they were strangely compelled to build their Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount. By doing this, they drove their claim deep into the very heart of Judaism. For the next 1300 years, with the exception of the brief Crusader episode, Islam controlled the land of Israel.
THE WILDERNESS AND SOLITARY PLACE
The PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, in his many attempts at revisionist history, would have us believe that Palestine was a virtual Arab paradise prior to the coming of the evil Jews. But numerous travelers to the Holy Land in the last three hundred years bear uniform witness to its almost total desolation. Among travelers in the 1700s, were British archaeologist, Thomas Shaw, and French author and historian Count Constantine Volney. Both spoke of a land lacking tenants; a land laid waste. Another traveler, Alphonse de Lamartine, describes the area around Jerusalem in 1835 as being silent like a tomb.
One of the most descriptive and informative accounts of the Holy Land was that given by American author Mark Twain, who visited the land in 1867. He and his group traveled some distance from the Sea of Galilee to Mount Tabor. Twain remarks in his book, Innocents Abroad, “We reached Tabor safely…We never saw a human being on the whole route…” He further described the land as being “dismal” and “under a “curse.”
JEWISH ALIYA, PARTITION &INDEPENDENCE
The first aliya (Jewish immigration wave) arrived in Palestine in 1882. This wave primarily consisted of Russians who had just suffered greatly from terrible persecution. These new immigrants, like the many that would come after them, arrived as idealists desiring to rebuild their ancient nation with their own hands. They purchased land, drained mosquito infested swamps, planted trees and crops, and began to rebuild their cities. After them came many other waves of settlement. In spite of the corrupt Ottoman rule, intrigues of their British overseers and Arab attacks, the Jewish settlement continued. Great Britain in one of her first acts as administrator of the Mandate actually gave away three-quarters of the proposed area reserved for the Jewish settlement and granted it to the Arabs. Today that vast area stolen from the Jews is called Jordan. Still, the settlement went on.
In 1947 the UN proposed its partition plan for the area. The plan suggested that the Arabs receive most of the mountainous area (West Bank). According to the Bible, the mountainous area was primarily where the ancient Israelites lived. It might be referred to as “biblical Israel” or “Judea and Samaria.” Most of the ancient biblical cities like Hebron and Shechem are in this area. The plan proposed that Israel would receive the desert of the Negev and precarious and indefensible strips of land along the coast and in the Galilee. In effect, the proposal called for Jewish and Palestinian states west of the Jordan River.
The betrayed and beleaguered Jews accepted the plan but the Arabs vehemently opposed it. Although the plan was approved by the UN in 1947, the Arabs still began a guerrilla war with the Jews. On May 14, 1948, the nation of Israel was born and immediately on May 15, the newborn nation was attacked by the six Arab armies. The Jews had few weapons, but even with all their limitations they defended themselves and soon won the upper hand. This War of Independence was however not to be the last war. The enemy would fight again in 1956, in 1967 and in 1973. On each occasion Israel proved to be more powerful and determined than her Arab enemies.
THE PLO AND THE PALESTINIAN MYTH
With the terrible defeat in 1967 and the dreadful loss of Arab prestige, the Arab campaign to obliterate Israel took a new turn. Arab nations realized their chances of defeating Israel on the battlefield were slim. The new campaign would seek to wear Israel down with terror attacks while at the same time defeating her in the political realm.
A ready tool of this new strategy became the PLO or Palestine Liberation Organization, which was ultimately directed by Yasser Arafat. Not only did the PLO become responsible for some of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in Israel’s history, but it launched a campaign of lies and deception regarding the Jews and Israel.
Much of this deception has lately centered around the so-called “peace process” or Oslo Accords. This deceptive process was begun in 1993 by Arafat, along with Israel’s leftist leaders. In just a few short years many more Israelis were being killed than before the process began. That figure has now sharply risen with the advent of suicide bombers.
The PLO has had considerable success in terrorizing Israel and the nations. However, their greatest success has always been in the area of propaganda. The PLO continues to have the “Goebbels touch.” Arafat is an expert not only at telling the big lie, but at telling it continually and forcefully until the whole world believes it. By his deception he has now virtually convinced the world of Israel’s illegitimacy and of the myth of an Arab Palestine.
The stark truth today is that there never was a Palestinian nation in all the annals of human history. There never was a distinct Arab-Palestinian people. The Arab-Palestinian identity is complete fabrication, an absolute fiction, a lie and a fraud. It is all a political ruse to steal away the heritage of Israel.
– Jim Gerrish
This article is condensed from author’s book, Does God Play Favorites?
*Eliyahu Tal, Whose Jerusalem, 1994), p. 93
**Joan Peters, From Time Immemorial, The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine 1984, pp. 139-140