So, since this is the not-so-ancient history, what, then, is your excuse for Arab/Palestinian attacks on Israel from 1948-1967? Even before that, Arabs were attacking Jews who lived there. This despite the fact that the Jews had established habitable, economically vibrant centers out of nothing. That is when the majority of Arabs came to these places -- after the Jews had done all the hard work. Before that, they had no interest -- there was nothing there but sand, as has been documented by visitors at the time (one notable one by Mark Twain) -- sand that no one gave a hoot about.
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| Quoting Mark Twain out of context on Palestine |
Posted on MAY-23-2002
The quote below (from "The Innocent Abroad" by Mark Twain depicting his journey to Lebanon, Syria, and the Holy Land in 1867) has been widely circulated in Israeli text books and media outlets as facts about Palestine in the mid-19th century. As we will conclusively prove below, this quote has purposely taken out of context for the sole purpose of deceiving its readers into thinking that Palestine was empty, destitute, and barren desert, of course until Zionist Jews "made" its desert bloom. Mark Twain wrote:
"..... A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds... a silent mournful expanse.... a desolation.... we never saw a human being on the whole route.... hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country." (Mark Twain, p. 361-362)
Before analyzing what Mark Twain wrote, the following facts should be noted:
The arable land in Palestine is under 17% of the total land, click here to view Israel's profile at CIA's Worldfact Book.
Mark Twain's visit occurred during the middle of the hot Mediterranean summer.
Mark Twain visited the region soon after the hostilities between Christian and Muslims (mostly Druze) in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, where tens of thousands of Christian Arabs were massacred in 1861. This explains his apparent hostility and racist remarks against the Ottoman Turks and Arabs.
His visit to Palestine was brief by all accounts, which encompassed only the Biblical areas already cited in the Bible.
No statistical data whatsoever was provided by Mark Twain about Palestine's agriculture or demographic make up.
Mark Twain always compared the region to American cities and fertile lands, which is clearly unfair. Both are in separate world, environment, government, ... etc., which is similar to comparing impoverished Africa with eastern Europe these days.
It is not only that Mark Twain described Palestine as barren desert, he extended this description to Greece, Lebanon, and Syria. He stated:
"From Athens all through the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, we saw little but forbidden sea-walls and barren hills, sometimes surmounted by three or four graceful columns of some ancient temples, lonely and deserted---a fitting symbol of desolation that has come upon all Greece in these latter ages. We saw no plowed fields, very few villages, no trees or grass or vegetation of any kind, scarcely, and hardly ever an isolated house. Greece is a bleak, unsmiling desert, without agriculture, manufactures, or commerce, apparently." (Mark Twain, p. 203)
"Damascus is beautiful from the mountain. It is beautiful even to foreigners accustomed to luxuriant vegetation, and I can easily understand how unspeakably beautiful it must be to eyes that are only used to the God-forsaken barrenness and desolation of Syria. I should think a Syrian would go wild with ecstasy when such a picture bursts upon him for the first time." (Mark Twain, p. 262)
From the above quote, the reader may get the impression that Greece is empty since he stated: "We saw no plowed fields, very few villages, no trees or grass or vegetation of any kind," on the other hand, he contradict himself on the same page, he stated:
"The nation numbers only eight hundred thousand souls." (Mark Twain, p. 203)
By any standard, it is really surprising how Mark Twain described the St. Sophia Church (which was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans), one of the the architectural marvels of the old and the new world, he described the church as:
"I do not think much of the Mosque of St. Sophia. I suppose I lack appreciation. We will let it go at that. It is the rustiest old barn in heathendom. I believe all the interest that attaches to it comes from the fact that it was built for a Christian church and then turned into a mosque, without much alteration, by the Mohammedan conquerors of the land." (Mark Twain, p. 208)
Regarding the Muslim Ottomans, Greeks, and Armenians and their Capital, he had the following racist remarks:
"[In Constantinople,] Mosques are plenty, churches are plenty, graveyards are plenty, but moral and whisky are scarce. The Koran does not permit Mohammedans to drink. Their natural instinct do not permit them to be moral. They say the Sultan has eight hundred wives. This almost amount to bigamy. It makes our cheeks burn with shame to see such a thing permitted here in Turkey. We do not mind to see such thing in Salt Lake, however." (Mark Twain, p. 210-211)
"Greek, Turkish, and Armenian morals consist only in attending church regularly on the appointed Sabbath, and in breaking the ten commandments all the balance of the week. It comes natural to them to lie and cheat in the first place, and then they go on and improve on nature until they arrive at perfection." (Mark Twain, p. 212)
"Everybody lies and cheats----everybody who is in business, at any rate. Even foreigners soon have to come down to the custom of the country, and they do not buy and sell long in Constantinople till they lie and cheat like a Greek. I say like a Greek, because Greeks are called the worst transgressors in this line." (Mark Twain, p. 212)
"....I never dislike a Chinaman as I do these Turks and Arabs, and, when Russia is ready to war with them again, I hope England and France will not find it good breeding or good judgment to interfere." (Mark Twain, p. 268)
Mark Twain accurately described the Ottoman tax collection and its impact in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, he stated:
"The Syrians are very poor, and yet they are ground down by a system of taxation that would drive any other nation frantic. Last year their taxes were heavy enough, in all conscience----but this year they have been increased by the addition of taxes that were forgiven them in times of famine in former years." (Mark Twain, p. 256-257)
As Mark Twain entered Nablus and Jaffa cities, he stated:
"The narrow canyon in which Nablous, or Shechem, is situated, in under high cultivation, and the soil is exceedingly black and fertile. It is well watered, and its affluent vegetation gains effect by contrast with the barren hills that tower on either side." (Mark Twain, p. 322)
"We came finally to the noble grove of orange trees in which the Oriental city of Jaffa lied buried." (Mark Twain, p. 360)
Mark Twain is a renowned American author whose contribution to American literature is immense. On the other hand, what he wrote is filled with dangerous stereotypes, emotions, and in many cases contradictions. So it is dangerous and misleading to quote him and make him an authority of the region solely based on the description of his trip. Israeli and Zionist propagandists are the best of spinning the facts to their advantage, and quoting Mark Twain out of context is classic in this matter.
Zionist FAQ: Palestine was a destitute place until Israelis made its desert bloom
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