THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE 101
Monday, 17 July 2006
THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE 101
With the current attacks by both Israel and Hezbollah, one needs to understand the history of the lands before spouting hatred towards either the Arabs or the Jews. Israel was founded upon bloodshed. The Jews, through God’s blessings, conquered the land in 1250 BC. Then from 587 BC to 1946 AD, Israel was ruled by a series of empires of the time in the following order: Babylonian, Persian, Greek Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Empires, Islamic and Christian crusaders, Ottoman Empire, and the British Empire.
After World War I, Jews comprised only 11 per cent of the total population in Palestine. Then with the establishment of the state of Israel, Jews began to immigrate to the lands in large numbers, outnumbering the existing Arab settlers.
The world agreed the Jews needed a home after the Nazi holocaust, but the Arabs were upset. To give one a parallel, this would be like giving one third of the United States back to the American Indians who originally settled the lands, but then were exterminated brutally by the British and the Americans. Nearly 95 per cent of the American Indians were murdered by the “white men” (over 12 million Indians-- far more than the Jews) and over 375 treaties with the Indians were broken by the Americans. Would the citizens of the United States be upset if the lands were given back to their true owners? Of course!
Before one reacts negatively toward the Jews and/or the Arabs, take into account the above facts. Then decide how you would react.
Christian Gatsby
With the current attacks by both Israel and Hezbollah, one needs to understand the history of the lands before spouting hatred towards either the Arabs or the Jews. Israel was founded upon bloodshed. The Jews, through God’s blessings, conquered the land in 1250 BC. Then from 587 BC to 1946 AD, Israel was ruled by a series of empires of the time in the following order: Babylonian, Persian, Greek Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Empires, Islamic and Christian crusaders, Ottoman Empire, and the British Empire.
After World War I, Jews comprised only 11 per cent of the total population in Palestine. Then with the establishment of the state of Israel, Jews began to immigrate to the lands in large numbers, outnumbering the existing Arab settlers.
The world agreed the Jews needed a home after the Nazi holocaust, but the Arabs were upset. To give one a parallel, this would be like giving one third of the United States back to the American Indians who originally settled the lands, but then were exterminated brutally by the British and the Americans. Nearly 95 per cent of the American Indians were murdered by the “white men” (over 12 million Indians-- far more than the Jews) and over 375 treaties with the Indians were broken by the Americans. Would the citizens of the United States be upset if the lands were given back to their true owners? Of course!
Before one reacts negatively toward the Jews and/or the Arabs, take into account the above facts. Then decide how you would react.
Christian Gatsby
