While it may have no political significance these days, if reality is important it is worth saying that there is no such thing as a "Palestinian" ethnicity, or a historical Palestine. It was nothing more than a geographical region, reportedly named after the Biblical Philistines as an insult to the indigenous Jews. Indeed, it is not possible to identify any historical Palestinian leaders, artists, or other significant figures. Prior to 1950, one finds nothing.
Interestingly, the most prominent "Palestinian" historical figure is Yasser Arafat, who was an Egyptian who later for his own convenience called himself a "Palestinian." For those who place any credence in Wikipedia, note how it adopts the false party line on Palestine in its bio of that awful person...
"Arafat was born to Palestinian parents in
Cairo, Egypt, where he spent most of his youth." How could his parents have been Palestinian when Palestine didn't exist? What country do you suppose they got their passports from?
Imagine J.D.Vance declaring that he is an Appalachian and demanding that the Nation of Appalachia be recognized by the U.N. That's pretty much what Palestine is.
But these matters are insignificant compared to what's going on today. Hopefully, the "Two-State Solution" is dead and gone.
False.
While it is true "Palestine" is a region in the last thousand years, it came from Philistia, which is the country of the Philistines and Phoenicians.
And there are no "indigenous Jews" in Palestine or Israel.
The Hebrew likely were shepherds in the Sinai before they went to Egypt to escape a drought.
They stayed in Egypt for over 400 years, so are best thought of as Egyptians.
They left Egypt around 1200 BC and went to the Sinai, which is a pretty good indication that was their ancestral home.
Around 1000 BC they invaded the Land of Canaan, and massacred the Canaanite women and children, making them a pariah.
Everyone rightfully hated them for their violence, cruelty, and arrogance.
So it was only about 200 years later the Assyrians defeated them and made them leave.
They came back, so were defeated again by the Babylonians and made to leave.
They came back again, so were defeated and forced to leave by the Persians.
They came back again, so were defeated and forced to leave by the Greeks.
Then the Seleucids defeated them and made them leave.
The Romans defeated them 3 times so badly that they declared the Rabbinical Diaspora Decree, to leave the Mideast and atone for the sins of arrogance and pride.
So it is not just wrong to claim there are Jews "indigenous" to the Mideast, but it is essentially heresy since the only Jews who did not leave, were those in violation of the Rabbinical Counsel.
Nor is it true or rational to claim there was nothing of significance from Palestine before 1950.
Mark Twain wrote about Palestine in his 1870s book, "Innocents Abroad".
The Jaffa oranges were world famous after the
{...
The
Jaffa orange was a new variety developed by Arab farmers after emerging in the mid-19th century as a mutation on a tree of the 'Baladi' variety near the city of Jaffa. While the
sour orange (
C. aurantium) was brought westward from China and India by local traders, who may have introduced it to
Sicily and Spain, the
Jaffa orange was developed from the
sweet orange (
C. sinensis) which was brought from China to the Mediterranean region by Portuguese explorer
Vasco da Gama in 1498.
After the
Crimean War (1853–56), the most important innovation in local agriculture was the rapid expansion of citrus cultivation.
Foremost among the varieties cultivated was the Jaffa (Shamouti) orange, and mention of it being exported to Europe first appears in British consular reports in the 1850s.
One factor cited in the growth of the export market was the development of
steamships in the first half of the 19th century, which enabled the export of oranges to the European markets in days rather than weeks.
Another reason cited for the growth of the industry was the relative lack of European control over the cultivation of oranges compared to cotton, formerly a primary commodity crop of Palestine, but outpaced by the Jaffa orange.
Jaffa Orange brand from Sarona
Exports grew from 200,000 oranges in 1845 to 38 million oranges by 1870.
The citrus plantations of this time were primarily owned by wealthy Palestinian merchants and notables, rather than small farmers, as the fruits required large capital investments with no yield for several years.
Fruits carrying the "Jaffa" label were first marketed in 1870 by a
German Templer colony.
An 1872 account of Jaffa by a European traveller notes that "Surrounding Jaffa are the orange gardens for which it is justly extolled, and which are a considerable source of wealth to the owners. The annual value of fruits grown in Jaffa was said to be 10,000 pounds."
In the 1880s, an American grower,
H.S. Sanford, tried to cultivate the
Jaffa orange in Florida.
...
After the 1948 war, the orange-growing industry was presented as a "pioneering Labor-movement project" which was "void of any Arab presence".
Significant ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs by Jewish Zionists occurred following the
Nakba between 1947–1948, and the establishment of the Israeli State in 1948. Therefore many remaining Palestinian Arab orange farms were stolen from their owners by elements of the Israeli State.
...}
It is a lie to call Arafat Egyptian, when clearly he was from Palestinian parents?
It is a lie to claim Palestine ever did not exist, since it has always been on maps going back to 2500 BC.
You say Palestine did not exist, but then who defeated the Ottoman Empire for Lawrence of Arabia?
And Palestine was officially recognized as a country in 1920 after helping Lawrence of Arabia defeat the Ottoman Empire.
If you read the Treaty of San Remo or the Treaty of Sevres, they both recognize Palestine as an independent country. The Mandate for Palestine was a British obligation to defend Palestine until they could defend themselves, and does not mean England owned Palestine or that it was just a colonial possession.
It is Israel that is fake.
People like Netanyahu are Polish and Russian of Turkic descent, who have no Mideast connection at all, in any way.
And while I agree the 2 state solution is bad, it is because Israel cannot be allowed to continue since it already stole 90% of Palestine.
It is the Zionists who caused all the violence, going back to 1946 when Menachem Begin blew up the British peacekeepers in the King David Hotel.
He did that so then no one could stop his gangs of terrorists, like Irgun, Stern, and Lehi, from massacring hundreds of native villages like Deir Yassin.
He also gunned down Folke Bernadotte, the UN Moderator.
It should be obvious to anyone that the Zionists are the most greedy and violent people we have seen in history since Joshua massacred the Canaanite women and children in Jericho around 950 BC.
Its pretty obvious.
Only exceptionally narcissistic people claim to be the "Chosen People" with a right to steal a whole country from the indigenous natives, claiming it to be their "Promised Land".
That is pretty much insane, since it totally contradicts known historical fact.
There is no getting around the obvious fact Israelis never paid for the homes they took by murdering, imprisoning, or exiling millions of Palestinian natives.
