Palestine By Any Other Name Is Still Israel

What’s in a name? An often-asked question whose answer is complicated. Why does the media call them Arab towns but Israeli settlements? Why did Greece protest when a new country, located to their north, named itself Macedonia, and then forced by the outcry to rename itself North Macedonia? Why does my mother insist I am David and not Dave?

The simple answer: Words have meaning.

There is history and nuance behind words and names. So here is a little light history. The ancient dates below are approximate.

Timeline through history. When Abraham, the first monotheist and Jew, answered G-d’s call it was the beginning of Judaism; 2075 BCE.

After 410 years of slavery in Egypt, traveling through the desert for 40 years and receiving the 10 Commandments, the Jewish people (aka The Children of Israel), settled in the Promised Land (Israel) around 1250 BCE and established their kingdoms.

When Constantine proclaimed the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, considered by many to be the beginning of Christianity: 2,388 years after the establishment of Judaism.

Muhammad was born in 570 CE, though most scholars date the start of Islam to the 7^th century. So, Islam is the youngest of the world’s three major religions: 2,725 years after the start of Judaism and merely 337 years after Christianity.

[To put these numbers into perspective, the United States is only 245 years old. The Magna Carta is 806 years old. The Titanic sank 109 years ago.]

The First Temple, built by King Solomon in 957 BCE, was destroyed by Babylon (after standing for 371 years) in 586 BCE sending the Jews into exile. The Jews were allowed to return in 538 BCE.

The Second Temple was built 516 BCE. After standing for 586 years, it was destroyed in 70 CE by the Rome in retaliation for an on-going revolt. After the Bar Kochbah revolt was put down in 135 CE, to wipe Israel off the map, Judea was renamed “Palæstina” and Jerusalem “Aelia Capitonia.”

Palæstina. Where did the idea to name this region Palæstina come from? During the 12^th century BCE, a people called the Philistines settled in an area on the coast between Israel and Egypt. The area contained the five cities of the Philistine confederacy (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron), known as Philistia, or the Land of the Philistines. By the early 7^th century BCE, the Philistines became vassals of the Assyrian rulers. Rome used the name of a civilization that had disappeared 680 years earlier.

Over the years, Palæstina became Palestine.

Throughout history, there has always been a Jewish presence in the area originally called Israel. Although there have been many conquerors (Roman, Byzantine, Early Muslim, Crusader Mamluk, Ottoman) in this territory once called Palestine, it has always been referred to as the Holy Land or the Promised Land.

Therefore, Palestine = The Holy Land = The Promised Land = Israel and the indigenous Jewish people. Not Persians, Arabs or Arabs who identify as Palestinians. In other words, “Palestine” was always inexorably tied to “Israel.”

Even the United Nations agrees. The UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (29 November 1947), Part I (Future Constitution and Government of Palestine), Section A (Termination of Mandate, Partition, and Independence), Paragraph 3 reads: “Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem, set forth in Part III of this Plan, shall come into existence in Palestine two months after the evacuation of the armed forces of the mandatory Power has been completed but in any case not later than 1 October 1948.” (Emphasis added.) Note the specific mention of a Jewish State and Arab State, not a “Palestinian,” state as the British Mandate for Palestine was being divided.

Even the Quran agrees. There are many references in the Quran pertaining to Jews, Moses, and the Land of Israel. The Biblical notion that G-d granted the land of Canaan to the Children of Israel is confirmed by the Quran and therefore Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. (A few examples: Surah (chapter) 10 Jonah/Yunus, verse 93; Surah 17 the Children of Israel, verse 104; Sura 5 Al-Mad’iah verses 20-21.)

Multiple nationalities or identities. We all have different identities: Position in our family or community. Geographic, religion, ethnicity. And so on. Each of these pieces makes us who and what we are, and our contribution to the fabric of society. As a citizen of a country (by choice or birth) we accept the sovereignty of the government while maintaining one’s ethnic pride and religious freedom.

For Arabs living throughout the Levant and Middle East, are they just Arabs or Persians or Iraqis or Saudis or Syrians or Jordanians? Are they Muslim (which sect)? Or from what tribe or ethnic group? Many mid-East countries were newly created by French and British colonial powers as they divided up the Ottoman Empire, post World War I through the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916).

Why is there no dispute or challenge to the existence, rights, or sovereignty of any country created by internationally sanctioned agreements, except when it comes to Israel?

The modern state of Israel was born on the shoulders of Biblical and Quranic interpretations, archaeological proof, international law, and defensive warfare. Yet constantly its legitimacy is challenged. Even by some of its own Arab citizens.

The Israeli Declaration of Independence clearly states: “it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” And like other Western countries, who declare a religious affiliation but also support these freedoms, Israel has also done so.

Can one be a citizen of one country while your loyalties lie elsewhere? Yes but, and it is a big “but,” you cannot foment insurrection of the country you live in. An émigré may be loyal to another country because of heritage, family, or even sport. But s/he will not try to destroy the government or country s/he lives in.

What’s in a name? Palestinian, Arab, Israeli, Jew, Muslim? Most of us are a combination of several identities.

The Palestine territory under the Ottoman Empire was very thinly populated. Jews who returned during the various waves of alyiah to join those Jews who never left, were identified as either Ashkenazi or Sephardi, or by the country they came from, or by their political or religious leanings. From 1948 on, Jews substituted “Israeli” rather than “Palestinian” to their hyphenated identity.

In fact, citizens of Israel all are “Palestinians,” and all are “Israelis.” Some are Jews returning home. Some are Arabs who have lived here for many or just a few generations. Some are neither but are here because of love or education or a career.

Removing obstacles for peace. So, if we are all in this together, why can’t we live in peace?

There seems to be one major obstacle to peace — acceptance. Acceptance that the State of Israel is a place where all can practice their religion and have access to their holy sites, building a free and prosperous life. Instead of being a Muslim-run theocracy or a European Christian democracy, it is a Jewish democratic-theocracy.

This lack of acceptance, better known as anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism, is expressed: the murderous Arab riots of 1920, 1929, 1936-9; the declarations of war against Israel in 1948, 1956, and 1967 waged by neighboring Arab countries; Syria’s still existing “state of war”; previous intifadas and War of Attrition; threats of destruction by Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah; ongoing rocket and explosive balloon attacks by Hamas; and lone-wolf attacks. All with the consistent goal to wipe Israel off the map and the Jews into the sea. Any news clip of anti-Israel demonstrators chanting “Palestine will be free / From the river to the sea!” is strangely reminiscent of the blue-and-white Jewish National Fund collection boxes that populated many Jewish homes in 1947-48, On it, across a map of the Jewish homeland, was written in flowing letters: “Fight for a Free Palestine!”

This wall of non-acceptance started to crack during Egyptian and Jordanian cold peace treaties with Israel in 1974 and 1994, respectively. The Jordanian peace treaty recognized the State of Israel. It is very important to note, that the Jordanian peace treaty ceded control of Yehuda & Shomron (West Bank), meaning it is not illegally occupied by Israel.

The Abraham Accords (signed August 2020) fostered acceptance of Israel, as a legitimate and permanent Middle East entity.  They have already shown tangible results in trade, politics, culture, and even sports. There are many reasons to make peace; political alliances and economic benefits are two major ones.

So how do we move closer to “acceptance” and peace? Here are some ideas to consider:

·       Muslim members nations of the Abraham Accords need to strongly explain to radicals that their time is over. Lay down weapons and stop terrorism. Change their political structure to a more theocratic-democratic bent. Join the world economy and community.

·       Western countries need to join the new Arab world and add pressure to rogue nations (i.e.: Iran, Qatar) and to the many anti-Semitic/anti-Zionist NGOs/NPOs.

·       Importantly, there is an urgent need to properly educate the youth of the region with a truthful version of history. (UNRWA, are you listening?)

The result will be peace, prosperity, and religious freedom.

Israel by any other name is still Israel. For those who live in Israel and oppose the sovereignty and legitimacy of the State of Israel, you have a choice: There are many countries that offer religion, culture, and/or language as an Arab and/or Moslem. For those who live outside of Israel and oppose the sovereignty and legitimacy of the State of Israel, that war was lost in 1948. Get over it.

Jews do not have a choice for a country based on their religion, culture, and/or language. Israel is the only Jewish country in the world. We are not going anywhere. No more territorial concessions. Live with it. Period.

The world should follow the example set by the signers of the Abraham Accords by finally accepting and supporting the legal sovereignty and historical legitimacy of the State of Israel.

Only when nations of the world fully accept the legitimacy of the State of Israel, along with truthful education provided to those who have been fed anti-Semitic and anti-Zionistic lies, will there be peace and prosperity for all.

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