[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

there was almost no population in what is now Israel and that it was mostly sh@thole.

So, how do you explain that there is a Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem from around 33 AD until today?

[arrogantsob]

Twain was not speaking of Jerusalem but the surrounding countryside. But even Jerusalem had a small population.

I should have been more clear but the main point is the area was thinly populated and underdeveloped.