Posted on 11/25/2002 10:39:10 AM PST by SJackson
A rebuttal:
If you are so sure that “Palestine, the country, goes back through most of recorded history”, I expect you to be able to answer a few basic questions about that country of "Palestine":
1. When was it founded and by whom?
2. What were its borders?
3. What was its capital?
4. What were its major cities?
5. What constituted the basis of its economy?
6. What was its form of government?
7. Can you name at least one Palestinian leader before Arafat?
8. Was Palestine ever recognized by a country whose existence, at that time or now, leaves no room for interpretation?
9. What was the language of the country of Palestine?
10. What was the prevalent religion of the country of Palestine?
11. What was the name of its currency? Choose any date in history and try and find the approximate exchange rate of the Palestinian monetary unit against the US dollar, German mark, British pound, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan on that date.
12. Have the Palestinians left any artifacts behind?
13. Do you know of a library where one could find a work of Palestinian literature produced before 1967?
14. And, finally, since there is no such country today, what caused its demise and when did it occur?
If you are lamenting the “low sinking” of “once proud” nation, then please tell me, when exactly was that “nation” proud and what was it so proud of?
And here is the least sarcastic question of all: If the people you mistakenly call “Palestinians” are anything but generic Arabs collected from all over - or thrown out of - the Arab world, if they really have a genuine ethnic identity that gives them right for self-determination, why did they never try to become independent until Arabs suffered their devastating defeat by Israel in the 1967Six Day War?
I hope you avoid the temptation to trace the modern day “Palestinians” to the Biblical Philistines: substituting etymology for history won´t work here.
The truth should be obvious to everyone who wants to know it. Arab countries have never abandoned the dream of destroying Israel; they still cherish it today. Having time and again failed to achieve their evil goal through military means, they decided to fight Israel by proxy. For that purpose, they created a terrorist organization, cynically called it “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” and installed it in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria. How else can you explain the refusal by Jordan and Egypt to unconditionally accept back the “West Bank” and Gaza, respectively, in the aftermath of the 1967 war?
The fact is, Arabs populating Gaza, Judea, and Samaria have much less of a claim to nationhood than the American Indian tribe that successfully emerged in Connecticut with the purpose of starting a tax-exempt casino: at least that tribe had a constructive goal that motivated them. The so-called “Palestinians” have only one motivation: the destruction of Israel, and in my book that is not sufficient to consider them a “nation” -- or anything else. Their leadership is nothing but a terrorist organization that will one day be dismantled.
In fact, there is only one way to achieve piece in the Middle East. Arab countries must acknowledge and accept their defeat in their war against Israel and, as the losing side, should pay Israel reparations for the more than 50 years of devastation they have visited upon it. The most appropriate form of such reparations would be the removal of the terrorist organizations from the land of Israel and acceptance of Israel´s ancient sovereignty over Gaza, Judea, and Samaria.
That will mark the end of the Palestinian people. What are you saying again was its beginning?
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Yashiko Sagamori is a New York-based Information Technology consultant.
Hey, that Indian tribe in CN, aren't they the ones who are black?
I'm close to agreeing with you, they're Arabs, though not a distinct group of Arabs till well post 67, and then only due to "political recognition".
Certainly not peaceful, which is really the relevant point.
how is Arafat the leader of "Palestinians" when he is an Egyptian?
It is a lie endorsed by the US State Dept which much too often sides and marches with terrorists.
My Bible endorses it too. Joshua wiped out somebody in Jericho. Or are you going back to some earlier date?
You mean like Arafat, the Egyptian leader of the "palestinians"?
i think that you are an un educated man, because obviously you claim that there was never a country called Palestine. just answer a question the major religion is Muslim and the language spoken is Arabic. who gives you the right to say Jerusalem belongs to the Jew's obviously you must be one. when Jew's needed a place to live we Palestinians welcomed them in and gave them a country they can freely unit and live in. but of coarse those no good for nothing Jew's went against us and started to take over. all in all one day that land will come back to the rightful owners the Palestinian. just to let you know you are very ignorant and should brush up on your history on whats been going on for the past decades in the middle east.
"Who are the Palestinians"
A group of Arabs - mostly Jordanian, but also Egyptian Syrian etc, who, for political reasons, chose to call themselves "falistainians" (there is no "p" sound in Arabic) since 1967.
“hi i would just like to say i am a proud palistinian hint the user name. i am a female who is pist off about the way palistinians are being treated. all arbs need to unite and take over what is rightfuly ours the country palistine.”
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