Friday, December 19, 1 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Palestine the Myth; Jews Are the Only Palestinians (Continued from Page 1) ganized and re-named: Palastina I became "Jund (military district) Al-Urdun"; Palastina II became "Jund Di- mashq," with Damascus the headquarters; Palas- tina III became "Jund Falastin," with Ramla the capital (Jerusalem had, under the Abbasids, been allowed to fall into ruin). When the Crusaders came, and ruled the land for two centuries, they had no desire to perpetuate Pales- ine — a concept that origi- nated and was identified with paganism. Neither, being anti-Semites, would they return to the old bibli- cal terminology: Judah, Is- rael, Samaria . So they established the Kingdom ofJerusalem," and set about it to make the Holy City d the Holy Land) offi- hy There was no Crusader Palestine. After the fall of the Crusader kingdoms (1291), the Mameluke and Otto- man Empires had used an entirely different terminol- ogy. Jerusalem remained the fascinating concept, and the whole southern section (including half of the Sinai) was called Samjak Jerusalem." In the north, Eretz Yisrael — as Jews had always called the land, from the earliest times—was di- vided into Samjak Nablus and Samjak Akko. But the British Mandate authorities reversed a trend of over 800 years and went back to the name and con- cept Palestine. Did they know what they were doing when they went back to the old pagan terminology rather than the more an- cient biblical terminology? In any case, "Palestine" of the Mandate included the land called Transjordan. Since 1946, 80 percent of the Mandate territory has been called "Jordan" and 20 per- cent (since 1948) has been called "Israel." The thought was that Jordan would be the Arab state and Israel the Jewish state. Probably the British Empire's reversion to the terminology "Palestine" was not, like the nomenc- lature adopted by the Roman and Byzantine empires, deliberately calculated to expunge Jewish identity. It was not, like the language of some, chosen to feature the tradition of the Philis- tine pagans and idol- worshippers. Neverthe- s it launched a way of .z,iiinldng about Eretz Yis- rael which is widespread day — accepted by ,me Christians and Jews, as well as asserted by those who intend to destroy Israel by ter- . rorism and diplomacy. ,Perhaps the British could - not entirely forget those "Palestinians" (Jews) who had fought with them against the Nazis; and the Arab volunteers, recruited by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (whom the British in their appease- ment period had installed in office), were on Hitler's side. Forty years ago, so far as democratic political activity was concerned, "the Pales- tinians" were Jews and only Jews. Who then are these NEW "Palestinians?" That was what puzzled Golda Meir, and it remains a puzzle to those who know no history and are vulnerable to the first appealing propaganda that comes along. Palastina I, II and III have not existed as political entities for a millenium and a half. "Falastin" ceased to exist 900 years ago. What exists today are "Jordan" and "Is- rael," dividing between them (80-20 percent) of the land of the Bible. And existing in theory, puffed up by propaganda but never legitimated by anything representative, are the "Palestinians" for whom the terrorist Yasir Arafat claims to speak. "Palestine" and "Palesti- nian" are recent concepts (post-World War I). Before 1921, the beginning of the British Mandate, they have no meaning except one de- sire to perpetuate the paganism (anti-Jewish and anti-Christian) of the post- biblical world. "Palestine" and "Palestinian" today are mythic concepts that have their real roots in hatred of the Jews and enmity to Is- rael. When you hear a heavy discourse about "Pales- tine," like the anti- Semitic book by Lucas Grollenberg: "Palestine Comes First" (SCM Press), you know that you are dealing with anti-Semites — a few cal- culating and malicious, the majority sentimental and stupid. Who are the "Palesti- nians?" In spite of the sick displays of mob violence in the UN Assembly, which write off "the Jews" entirely — as the UN rabble would obviously like to do — the people of Eretz Yisrael in- clude hundreds of thousands the Arab League, Communists and fellow- travelers would like to have forgotten. Take the Circas- sians: they escaped from Czarist Russia a cen4ury ago and now live as citizens in Israel, voting and serving in the armed forces. They are Muslims. Take the Druze: a Muslim dissenting movement, they number about 40,000 in Is- rael, have members in the parliament (Knesset) and have won admiration for their valor in their coun- but only exterminated try's army and border "vermin," the amiable police. Take the Arab citi- anti-Semites of the ap- zens of Israel: 450,000 peasement circuit are not strong, with the same eco- anti-Jewish; they are just nomic and political rights of pro-"Palestinian." Jewish or Druze or Circas- "Palestine" is, how- sian or Christian citizens. ever, a mythic construct. They too have been written It is a term never used by off by the UN mob and the persons committed to the appeasement specialists biblical view of history. who mouth "Palestinians" Today it is a fiction con- without the faintest notion jured up by a people who what they are giving cre- hope to injure or destroy dence to. a restored Israel. As with Initially, about the same anti-Semitism itself, you number of Arabs stayed don't have to have real (1948) to help build the new Jews — only an abstrac- nation of Israel as rushed tion, "the Jew." out, hoping to return and So with "Palestinians" steal the land the Jewish and "The Palestinian settlers had redeemed. state," real people are un- These peaceful "Palesti- important, even a nuisance. nians," however, do not suit What is necessary is an the irridentist politics of the overriding ideological PLO and their apologists. framework, a "blik" that ig- nores historical and present "Palestine" does not realities. exist. What exists is a It concentrates on a land that has been called romantic notion of a new many things, and human state run by a "moderate" beings who are divided Arafat and a purified PLO. into sundry ethnic and The circumstances are religious communities. In clear, however, once the his- 1948, Israel's' founding torical record is considered. fathers accepted 20 per- The people who, off and on cent of the British "Pales- over 2,000 years, have in- tine" for the sake of peace vented "Palestine" have and a restored Israel. done so for a reason. And if Three times since then, "Palestine" becomes a polit- after the initial battles (in ical and legal reality again 1956, 1967 and 1973), the it will mean but one thing: Israelis have fought the Dagon and Beelzebub of against overwhelming Philistia, with all they re- odds for the right to live. present religiously, ethi- Today a new weapon is cally and morally, and are being , mounted against again resurrected for a sea- them: a Trojan horse. called son; that Jews and Chris- "Palestine" — not based in tians are again in retreat Jordan, which was supposed before the infidels who want to be the Arab state cut out the Judah and Samaria and of the British Mandate, but Galilee of Scripture to be rather a third entity con- forgotten. In terms of the historical sisting of the areas the ag- gressor governments lost to record, as well as political Israel and Israel Military realities since 1921, the Government when their facts are plain enough: the 1967 and 1973 attacks promoters of the concept of failed (Samaria, Judea, "Palestine are traitors to Philistia — "The Gaza the biblical land promises Strip"). The people who are push- ing "Palestine" and "Pales- tinians" as political entities have a few things in com- mon: • They draw their politi- cal images from the pagan period rather than from the biblical nomenclature of the Land of Promise; • They are quite ready to betray "Palestinians" who don't go along with their abstractions: Jews who fought as Palestinians in the British Army of World War II, Circassians, Druze, loyal Arab citizens who ha- ven't gone over to Israel's enemies; • They parrot the new anti-Semitic line of the Arab.League and the Com- munist blocs. They are not anti-Semites: they are just "anti-Zionist." Like the Nazis, who didn't kill Jews • (including renegade Jews and apostate Christians!), enemies of the Jewish people. Those Christians and Jews who remember what "Philistia" and "Israel" have represented on the re- cord, and who see, without anti-Semitic distortion, what "Palestine" and Israel represent today, will know how to keep the propaganda of the PLO and Communists and their fellow-travelers in the proper pigeon-hole. PARTY-WEDDING-BRIDESMAID-BAR MITZVA 3%, ' • flf tif s ' — .4 FRUIT BASKETS 3 Times Daily: Nation-Wide Delivery $1 695 • RODNICK- ..• McINERNEY'S 779-4140 772-4350,K ••• • :••• I. • OFFICIAL AUTHORIZED SALES & REPAIRS (;‘) DRESSES OFF George Ohrenstein $199 GROUP $99 GROUP $59 GROUP $99 $49 $29 Jewelers Ltd. 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