The Origin and Appropriation of the Word ‘Palestine’ May Surprise You.
As appeared on Israel National News/Artuz Sheva and my Times of Israel blog. What’s in a name? An often-asked question whose answer is complicated. For example: 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 did my mother insist I am David and not Dave? The simple answer: Words have meaning. Creation of the Palestinian Liberation movement. In 1964, at a conference in Cairo, Egypt, it was outsiders ( Russia , Egypt, the Arab League), not the “Palestinians,” who created the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). By definition, “appropriation” is the action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission. The Arab leadership took the name “Palestinian/Palestine” and attached it to the Arab refugees of the 1948-49 Israel War of Independence. Five Arab