The “Promised Land” Belongs to Palestinians and Jews

( * DISCLAIMER * )

I am not a Jew-hating anti-Semite, for my heart of hearts realizes that all humans are of one family. Jews, Israelis, and all humans of any and all belief, or lack thereof, are held to me as dear brothers/sisters.

I do not support the uprooting of anyone living in the Levant, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or lineage. I support the safe, free, open, and dignified living of all.

I am not a separatist nor supremacist, for I am of the conviction that only Love, Unity, and Compassion shall cure the ailments and woes of mankind.

Palestinian People

Because the Promised Land had been conquered and reconquered throughout the ages, there is no historic sovereign, autonomous, nor collective "Palestinian People." The "Palestinian Identity" is a fairly new ethnic/geographic identification that developed during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the drafting of the British Mandate of Palestine, and the declaration of the State of Israel.



In a generic and general sense, a Palestinian includes all non-Jews of Palestine who do not belong to a distinct outside nationality or ethnicity. To say that Palestinians are merely Arabs or Muslims is an incredible injustice to history.

The modern day Palestinians descend from a true melting pot. Linguistically and politically, Palestinians have modernly become Arabized, however, their genes trace back to the ancient Philistines, Canaanites, Phoenicians, and other indigenous Levantines. Former Hebrew, Israelite, Jewish, and Samaritan converts throughout the centuries also added to the genetic makeup of the Palestinians. Additionally, traces of the occupying conquerors and empires throughout time also contributed to the Palestinian fabric.

(Sea People)




(“The Phoenicians”, by al-Brazyly)


(“Peleset” (Philistine) Prisoners of Ramesses III, Medinet Habu)


”Philistine Warrior 1000 BCE”, by Johnny Shumate)


For centuries, the people of Palestine have adhered to a vast array of religions, denominations, and sects, and weren't rallied under a single religious banner. Religion was an individual and family choice amongst the people of Palestine. Palestinians were found to be followers of Christianity, Islam, Samaritanism, Judaism, and Druzism, amongst other belief systems. In fact, many of the former Hebrew, Israelite, Jewish, and Samaritan converts changed their family and surnames to reflect their new Christian or Islamic faiths, thusly, becoming “Palestinians”.

The Palestinian People are an assimilated mixture of all known peoples that have inhabited or occupied the Promised Land from the prehistoric, ancient, and common eras.

Formation of the State of Israel

As is widely known, the Jews of Europe faced a rise in general anti-Semitism during the Eighteen and Nineteen Hundreds, and were subjected to a tremendous burden of inhumanity by the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler during World War II. Once the Allied Forces defeated the Nazi and Axis Powers, the world beheld glimpses into the genocidal campaign of Hitler's eugenics programs. The whole of mankind beheld the concentration camps and extermination facilities. We saw the emaciation of the Jewish prisoners and heard their stories. We learned of humans being humiliated, violated, abused, raped, murdered, imprisoned, tortured, starved, and executed. We even discovered the horrific use of human experimentation.

(Auschwitz Concentration Camp)




(Jewish Concentration Camp Prisoners)


In a show of empathetic and compassionate solidarity, much of the world lent their support to the establishment of a Jewish national homeland. Through the combined efforts of various Zionist movements, the United Nations, and other global powers, the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine was endorsed, and the State of Israel was declared a reality on May 14, 1948.



The momentum to found the State of Israel was well under way prior to both World Wars. Between the 1800's and mid-1900's, there were many emigrations of Jews into Palestine, many being organized and initiated by various Zionist organizations, the Jewish Brigade of Britain, Tilhas Teezee Gesheften, and the Mossad LeAliyah Bet of Haganah.

Interestingly, decades before the rise of the Third Reich, the Royal Government of Britain pledged its support for the establishment of a national homeland for Jews in the territory of Palestine, to; Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild.

Foreign Office

November 2nd, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur James Balfour

(The Balfour Declaration)

(Early Jewish Settlers)


Throughout the Nineteenth to mid-Twentieth Centuries, Palestine saw a steady and increasing trend of Jewish emigration. As the decades progressed, the Jewish population of Palestine increased, along with the growth of their communities and settlements, which caused a kindling growth of concern amongst the, then-current, residents of Mandatory Palestine and the surrounding Arab and Muslim nations, tribes, and peoples. Distrust, anger, hate, violence, death, and war soon consumed the area.

(Hamas Militants)


The media and general population of the world became increasingly aware of the various levels of fighting, intifada, violence, and war that waged between the Israelis/Jews and the Arabs, Muslims, and factions such as the Palestine Liberation Organization, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Hezbollah. To this very day, the region remains steeped in sporadic hostility, violence, and war.



To protect Jewish immigrants, settlements, and to expand territorial claim, such armed groups as Bar-Giora, Hashomer, Haganah, Irgun, Lehi (Stern Gang), Palmach, and the Tnu'at HaMeri HaIvri began operations. The campaigns initially focused on defensive and protective measures. However, as the years went on, civil tensions rose and the armed Jewish groups turned towards offensive and preemptive hostilities, intimidations, attacks, land seizures, and the forced expulsion of Palestinians. These armed Jewish groups, amongst others, later dissolved, with many members going on to establish and join the Israeli Defense Forces, Israeli Intelligence Community, and the Israeli Government.

Through war, displacement, the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their ancestral lands, and by voluntarily fleeing the turbulence of the country as political refugees, today, the Palestinian People and their descendants make up the largest global demographic segment of people residing outside of their native country. The ending of the Jewish diaspora marked the beginning of the Palestinian diaspora.



Many attempt to marginalize the Palestinians in favor of the Israeli Jews, simply because the "Palestinian Identity" is a modern classification and there was no centralized or collective “Palestinian” culture or nationality prior to the fall of the Ottoman Empire. As true as this may be, the greater truth remains that the Palestinians hold a direct link to all known ages of the Promised Land. Furthermore, at the earliest organization and establishment of the State of Israel, the Palestinian People did indeed live in the land that had been inhabited by their ancestors. Even before the great aliyot emigrations of the Jews, the Palestinian People worked the land and lived in long-established communities, villages, and towns throughout the Promised Land.

Throughout the last several decades, the suffering on all sides of the conflict has been insurmountable. Precious and beautiful human life has been lost and wasted in an ever-continuing cycle of reprisals. Normal humans live every day in fear, sorrow, and uncertainty. Provoked, unprovoked, defensive, offensive, retaliatory, and vengeful violence has gone on for so long that it is foolish to point a finger of blame at a single individual or single faction. The violence must cease in a spirit of reconciliation, understanding, and compassion without any more blame.

As mentioned in the foreword disclaimer, I do not support one group above another, nor do I support the uprooting of any people from the Promised Land. We are all one human family and should share the whole Earth with compassion. However, if we speak of the Biblical claims of land and the right of return for Jews,... we are hypocrites to ignore the prehistoric, ancient, and modern ties to the land and right of return for the Palestinian People also. The “Promised Land” belongs to both Palestinians and Jews.


"Can we all get along?" - Rodney King

Fantastic post and those two photos at the end sums it up beautifully

a reply to: Whereismypassword

Thank you!

We are prone to supporting one side while demonizing the other side, but true peace will come with reconciliation, not through division, hate, or violence.

Sahabi you’re a real nice person. A great OP. But this problem likely won’t get solved any time soon, unfortunately. Too many religious fanatics and political fanatics on each side.


Fair thinking people know the truth about the ME and the real history but this world is not run by fair thinking people.

If we are talking historical claims the Palestinians have nearly none because they are the children of the fellaheen.
Landless peasants who are left over from the Arab conquests of the Middle East.
Palestinian claims to Philistine genealogy are false on the face of it. The last Philistines went out of existence during Babylonian times
How about the almost 2 million Israeli Arabs who are happy and content living in Israel? Why are they always denouncing Palestinian violence as well?

clearly no one is innocent in this back and forth. But the incitements to violence are encouraging more violence

originally posted by: Sahabi

Additionally the above map is a lie and pure disinformation.

How about this one that actually reflects realistic history

My personal opinion is for a two-state solution. In return for the Palestinians getting their own State Israel should cut off 100% of Israeli aid currently traveling into Palestinian territories.
If the International Community wants to help them out that's fine but so far Israel provides them with 100% free electricity most of their food and building materials.
Additionally if the Palestinians want to continue using terrorism as a bargaining chip then if they have their own state it will be viewed as an act of war and Israel can respond accordingly by declaring war on an opposing warlike state and not some faceless terrorist organization that launches attacks from children's hospitals and humanitarian relief buildings

a reply to: dashen

If we are talking historical claims the Palestinians have nearly none because they are the children of the fellaheen.
Landless peasants who are left over from the Arab conquests of the Middle East.

Did you read the OP? Your reply is an erroneous and gross oversimplification of the matter.

Many Palestinians are actually original Hebrew-Israelites that converted to Islam, Christianity, or the Druze faith. This is not only substantiated through family genealogical records, but also with modern genetics:

The Origin of Palestinians and Their Genetic Relatedness With Other Mediterranean Populations

ABSTRACT: The genetic profile of Palestinians has, for the first time, been studied by using human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variability and haplotypes. The com- parison with other Mediterranean populations by using neighbor-joining dendrograms and correspondence analyses reveal that Palestinians are genetically very close to Jews and other Middle East populations, including Turks (Anatolians), Lebanese, Egyptians, Armenians and Iranians. Archaeologic and genetic data support that both Jews and Palestinians came from the ancient Canaanites, who extensively mixed with Egyptians, Mesopotamian and Anatolian peoples in ancient times. Thus, Palestinian- Jewish rivalry is based in cultural and religious, but not in genetic, differences. The relatively close relatedness of both Jews and Palestinians to western Mediterranean populations reflects the continuous circum-Mediterranean cultural and gene flow that have occurred in prehistoric and historic times. This flow overtly contradicts the demic diffusion model of western Mediterranean populations substitution by agriculturalists coming from the Middle East in the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. Human Immunology 62, 889-900 (2001). ã American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 2001. Published by Elsevier Sciece Inc.

• Blood Brothers: Palestinians and Jews Share Genetic Roots (Haaretz)

• Jews Are The Genetic Brothers Of Palestinians, Syrians, And Lebanese (Science Daily)

Fellah

The term fallahin applied to Christian, Druze, Jewish and Muslim villagers. The term fallah was applied to people from several regions in the Middle East, including those of Egypt and Cyprus.

The “Palestinian Loss of Land” Map is not disinformation nor a lie. It is proportionately based upon ethnic demography and population figures, which can be verified and cross-referenced with U.N. statistics and figures.

To create a straw man, you can focus on the borders of the aforementioned map or the word “Palestine”. The map is not meant to point to a “national Palestine”, but instead, is intended to highlight the ethnic population density.

Would you like to comment on U.N. refugee statistics and ethnic population trends, or would you wish to focus on the straw man argument?

a reply to: Willtell

Thank you Brother. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, there remains a possibility. I’d rather focus on hopes for peace, rather than the actuality of division and fighting. Three cheers for peace for all

a reply to: Sahabi

While my post maybe an oversimplification I did not have the time to type out a thousand years of History. The Arab Palestinian did not exist as a people before the previous century. Gaza was a territory of Egypt and the West Bank was a territory of Jordan. Even the famous Yasser Arafat was born in Cairo. The map you provided is a total lie because there was never ever any Palestinian control territories ever before the Oslo Accords. Gaza was a part of Egypt and the Westbank was a part of Jordan. To call it Palestinians land is a lie plain and simple

originally posted by: dashen
My personal opinion is for a two-state solution. In return for the Palestinians getting their own State Israel should cut off 100% of Israeli aid currently traveling into Palestinian territories.
If the International Community wants to help them out that's fine but so far Israel provides them with 100% free electricity most of their food and building materials.
Additionally if the Palestinians want to continue using terrorism as a bargaining chip then if they have their own state it will be viewed as an act of war and Israel can respond accordingly by declaring war on an opposing warlike state and not some faceless terrorist organization that launches attacks from children's hospitals and humanitarian relief buildings

This is another oversimplification of yours, that just so happens to be bias.

We can label the Palestinians as terrorists today, but what do we call the Jews who preemptively and unprovokingly attacked the Palestinians during the initial aliyot as mentioned in the op?

To protect Jewish immigrants, settlements, and to expand territorial claim, such armed groups as Bar-Giora, Hashomer, Haganah, Irgun, Lehi (Stern Gang), Palmach, and the Tnu'at HaMeri HaIvri began operations. The campaigns initially focused on defensive and protective measures. However, as the years went on, civil tensions rose and the armed Jewish groups turned towards offensive and preemptive hostilities, intimidations, attacks, land seizures, and the forced expulsion of Palestinians. These armed Jewish groups, amongst others, later dissolved, with many members going on to establish and join the Israeli Defense Forces, Israeli Intelligence Community, and the Israeli Government.

The Jews and Palestinians are equally beautiful and equally guilty of violence. It is illogical and hypocritical to denounce the actions of one, yet justify the very same actions when carried out by the other.

a reply to: Sahabi

Additionally your map is an utter lie because it fails to take into account the nearly 2 million israeli-arab citizens.

a reply to: dashen

Ok, focus on the straw man instead of the ethnic demographics.

a reply to: Sahabi

As to what you would call the Jewish terrorists who perpetrated Terror attacks upon British soldiers and Arabs during the mandate I would call them Zionist terrorists. What would you call all the Jews who bought hundreds of thousands of acres of land from 1860 till World War2?

a reply to: Sahabi

The ethnic demographics in reality and I have researched it extensively changed dramatically after the Jews started buying lots of land from ottoman landlords the landlords were only too happy to sell the thousands upon thousands of Acres of unusable swampland. The early Israeli settlers planted thousands and thousands of eucalyptus trees to drain out the swamps and totally change the landscape. after the Jews began improving the land in the later 19th century Arab workers started flooding in illegally and in an undocumented fashion from surrounding lands for new job opportunities. Obviously this does not account for all our populations. But neither does your post. There are many many druze living in Israel who are very happy with the Israelis and don't much care for Palestinians leadership and tactics at all. Also the Bedouins dont care much for the Palestinians leadership either

It is funny how the lost lands do not include any part of Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon. From all that I have read it seems Trans Jordan was Arab Palestine until they declared they were not. The main reason they said they were not back in 1921 was to keep Jewish Palestinians from settling east of the Jordan river.

We have long ago reached a point that Palestinians were absorbed into the Ottoman Empire and then into 5 countries just as the Kurds have been too into four countries as seen below, and if I was going to debate whether the Kurds or Palestinians had a right to a country of their own I would say the Kurds with Jordan being the country of Arab Palestinians.

a reply to: dashen

Another straw man deflection. Legitimate land purchases do NOT negate the instances of forced expulsion, land seizures, and the building of settlements on those seized lands.

We can discuss the land purchases, but we can NOT ignore the expulsions and seizures.

a reply to: Xtrozero

The Kurds who have their own language and culture are a stand-alone people. I can't seem to find any record of Palestinian Cuisine language or anything cultural that would set them apart from their local Arab brethren