A Message

8 October 2023

As I watch with anger and anguish the atrocities that the terrorist organization called Hamas committed yesterday in Israel, where they killed babies by shooting them, burning them alive, and cutting them into pieces, in front of their parents, by torturing and kidnapping little kids, also in front of their parents, where they killed all members of a family by burning their houses down with them inside, where they raped little girls, teenagers, and women, and paraded them in the streets naked, where they took old holocaust survivors hostage, and where they killed thousands more just because they were jewish... I can’t help but to realize how much this lie called Palestine has cost us.

Let's focus on some facts. Here's a timeline with facts that you can search yourself, if you care for. These are historical facts that appear in history books, the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), and other texts in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim literary across many continents.

From around 1200 BCE, the Hebrews (Jews) lived in Israel.

In 63 BCE, the Romans first arrived in Jerusalem.

In 37 BCE, Herod the Great was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate, establishing Judea as a client kingdom.

In 6 CE, after Herod's death, his son Archelaus was removed from power, and Judea became a Roman province directly governed by Roman officials.

In 70 CE, Roman forces, destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple following a Jewish revolt. Many Jews were killed or taken captive, and this event marks the beginning of large-scale Jewish exile from the land.

In 132–135 CE, the Bar Kokhba Revolt led to further destruction and expulsion of the remaining Jews. After suppressing the revolt, the Romans renamed Judea as "Syria Palaestina," changed Jerusalem’s name to Aelia Capitolina, and forbade Jews from living there. The name changes were done as an insult to the Jews. So, "Palaestina" is Israel. First time it was used.

Immediately after the destruction of the temple and the subsequent expulsion and exile, Jews began praying for the return to their home in Jerusalem and Israel. We even have "Next year in Jerusalem", the traditional closing phrase of the Jewish Passover Seder, expressing a hope for a future of redemption, freedom, return to our homeland, and a rebuilt Jerusalem.

Again, Israel is "Palestine". There is no ancestral land and culture of the "Palestinians", unless you count that as the Jewish culture and our ancestral land, Israel.

But let's continue.

After the Roman suppression, the region underwent continued demographic and administrative shifts, including more Christianization under the Byzantine Empire. A small but constant number of Jews remained. Some even returned so Jerusalem after Rome fell.

In 638 CE, Arab Muslim forces under Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab conquered the region from the Byzantines, integrating it into the early Islamic caliphate.

Let's read that again: In 638 CE, Arab Muslim forces conquered the region. Yes, colonized.

There were no Arabs or Muslim population in Palestine (Israel) until 638 CE. That's about 500 years after the Jews were expelled by the Romans from their homeland.

Where is the "ancestral land of the Palestinians"? We'll get to that.

In 1516–1517, the Ottoman Turks conquered Palestine after defeating the Mamluk rulers, making it part of the Ottoman Empire. This control lasted until the end of World War I in 1918. The Turks called the Jewish population in Palestine, the "people of the book", and the Arab population in Palestine the "Arabs from Palestine". The people of the book refers to how the Quran calls the Jews. Furthermore, the Quran mentions that God granted the Holy Land to the Children of Israel (Hebrews/Jews). This is found in Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:21). Throughout, the Quran affirms that God assigned this land to the Israelites and recognizes the historical and spiritual connection of the Hebrews to the land.

By the way, Jerusalem is mentioned constantly in the Old Testament, in the Jewish prayers, and the New Testament. It's never mentioned in the Quran. The only reference is to the city in the Holy Land that belongs to the people of the book.

Now for a bit more context.

There is a non Jewish writer, Adriaan Reland, who wrote at the time of the Ottoman Empire a book called "Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata" (Palestine illustrated from ancient monuments), published in 1714. In that book, the author was describing what was then called Palestine by the Ottomans. The author was a geographer, cartographer, traveler, philologist, he knew several European languages, Arabic, ancient Greek, and Hebrew. He visited almost 2500 settlements mentioned in the Bible. He made a population census by settlements at that time.

Here are his main conclusions and some facts: The country is mainly empty, abandoned, and sparsely populated. The main population is Jerusalem, Akko, Tsfat, Jaffa, Tveria and Gaza. Most of the population is Jews, almost everyone else is Christians, very few Muslims, mostly Bedouins (nomadic tribes). The only exception is Nablus where approximately 120 people from the Muslim family Natsha and approximately 70 "shomronims" (Samaritans). In Jerusalem there are about 5000 people, almost all Jews and a few Christians. In 1695, everyone knew that the origin of the country was Jewish. There is not a single settlement in Palestine that has Arabic roots in its name. Most settlements have Jewish originals, and in some cases Greek or Roman Latin. About 550 people lived in Gaza, half of them Jews and half Christians. Jews were successful in agriculture, especially in vineyards, olives and wheat, Christians were engaged in trade and transportation.

No "Palestinian traditions" or "Palestinian people".

So, where are the "Palestinians"?

Well, we know that in 638 CE Arabs invaded, "colonized", the area. In the coming years they brought in a work force, a population that was not part of the royal families or their tribes. These people were brought in to work and serve. Those are what you call today "Palestinians".

By the way, the Arabs in the area were not called Palestinians until after the six-day war (1967). It was an invention of Arafat, and the world, antisemitic as it has always been, bought into that. Arafat essentially created an alternate timeline, a lie that has become truth.

Now the British took over after the Ottoman Empire and create the Mandate of Palestine. That mandate was partitioned in 1946, where 78% of that territory became Jordan. 22% Israel. Jordan, or Transjordan (after the Jordan river) did not exist until 1946. It was an invention of the British to appease the Arabs in Saudi Arabia. Transjordan was part of Palestine. They gave the "kingdom" to one of the royal princes. 78% of Palestine. Read that again. You want a modern Palestine? There you have it, Jordan. As it is ~70% of the population there is "Palestinian".

The only one group of people that has been constantly in the area of modern Israel and is indigenous are the Jews.

I'll stop. I can go into modern history, but it'll just continue to reinforce all this.

Bottom line: the claim of colonialism by the Jews is a lie that risks the lives of Jews everywhere in the world. Period.

You are welcome to not agree with me, but these are the facts.

I stand and I will stand with Israel.

Note - by the way, those who call out "Apartheid!", let me tell you something: Israel guarantees equal rights for all its citizens, regardless of their religion, whether Jewish, Christian, Druze, Muslim, Bahá'í, or any other faith. To set the record straight, Muslims have representation in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), and they benefit from the same free healthcare and education as every other Israeli, no matter their background. Muslims are active in all areas of society, serving as lawyers, doctors, engineers, soccer players, and much more. Some even serve in the IDF with great honor and distinction. The Bedouin, in particular, are known for their bravery and dedication as soldiers in the IDF.

In Israel, women enjoy equal rights to men, LGBTQ+ individuals can live openly and freely, and Muslim women in Israel not only have their freedom but also thrive in society. In contrast, how many can say the same about purely Muslim-majority countries? In many, women face extreme punishments, like beheading, for not adhering to strict dress codes like the hijab, or Jews that have been expelled or killed over the past century. Minorities who don't follow the laws of religious leaders are at risk of persecution, and the divide between Sunni and Shia can lead to violence and danger for both groups.

UPDATE:

Let's talk briefly about "genocide"... Yes, that thing that Israel is being accused of...

According to the World of Statistics, Gaza population grew 1,034% from 1950 until now. 1,034%. That's apparently a genocide...

Let's see the Jewish population in arab countris from the same time until now:

And... How many Arabs lived in Israel in 1945? About 156,000.

And how many Arabs live in Israel today? 2,178,000.

So, the Jewish population in Arab countries has decreased by 99.83%, almost 100%, while the Arab population in Israel increased by 1296.15%s.

Yes. Genocide.