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ABC Middle East Brief facts prior current conflict "palestinians", History ISRAEL or "palestine" Which is it? Jerusalem, FACTS 'palestinians' in Israel, natives or ALIENS? History & Meaning palestine, "palestinians" Facts about the Land |
Recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine, and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country � -LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1922 The people of Israel were promised the land of Israel some 3,300 years ago. In this land they lived as a free nation for more than 12 centuries. In this land their kings ruled and their prophets proclaimed the moral law. In this land the Bible came into being. Israel was their homeland, and Judea and Samaria were its heart. After Rome conquered Judea, the land of Israel passed from one ruler to another. Conquerors came and went. New settlers followed them and vanished. Only the Jews lived continuously in the land of Israel - the one common demographic denominator of the country. Neither Arab nor Turk nor any other ethnic or national community - except the Jews - claimed this country as its home. During all the years of exile, Jews outside Israel never ceased to assert their right and title to the land of Israel. The holidays they celebrated were those they kept in the land. The language they taught their children was the tongue they spoke in the land. The city they faced when they prayed was Jerusalem. Yet even after the Romans destroyed the Temple and sought to erase the connection of the Jews to their homeland by changing its name to Palestine, Jews lived here. When the Byzantines came 300 years later, Jews lived here. When the Caliphate conquered the land in 637, Jews lived here. When the Crusaders conquered the land in 1099, Jews lived here. When the Mamluks conquered the land in 1291, Jews lived here. When the Turks conquered the land in 1516, Jews lived here. When the British conquered the land in 1918, Jews lived here. Jews lived in the same Judea and Samaria where the President of the United States is now seeking to establish a Palestinian State. Israel is being asked to ignore 3,300 years of history because of 19 years - 1948 to 1967 - in which Judea and Samaria were occupied by Jordan. During those 19 years thousands of Jews who lived here were killed or expelled by Jordan's army. Judea and Samaria were renamed "the West Bank" and annexed by Jordan. That occupation, that annexation, was never recognized by the United Nations or the United States or any country except England and Pakistan. Can 19 years of illegal Jordanian occupation negate 3,300 years of Jewish history? Can Jews, who are allowed to live anywhere in the world, be denied the right to live in the heartland of their national home? |