opinion Why That Texas Town is Named “Palestine” Dr. Rafael Medoff 19 February 2003 The fact that the space shuttle Columbia broke apart in the vicinity of a Texas town named “Palestine” has been the subject of much conversation in the Middle East. In Cairo, the New York Times reports, “the average cafe denizen” noted the presence of an Israeli astronaut on board, as well as the reports “that it apparently began crumbling over Palestine, Texas,” and concluded that Allah was punishing America for supporting Israel. In the Gulf kingdom known as the United Arab Emirates, a newspaper columnist expressed...