Who are the occupiers?
Some people say that Israel does not deserve to exist, and others who are not so extreme realize the implication of this belief is that over 6 million Jews should be destroyed (again). Nevertheless many people believe that Israel "occupies" the West Bank and call it "Arab Land."
But, in fact Jews have lived all over the world, often before the current "occupiers" of the land. For example, Jews settled in cities founded by the Romans during the Roman Empire, and in fact there were Jews in Cologne and Trier before the Germanic tribes "occupied" the area. Similarly with northern Spain, Jews settled with the Romans in cities such as Girona long before there was such a thing as Spain. In the middle ages Toledo was a mainly Jewish city before the Christians took it over.
Jews once lived throughout the so-called Arabian peninsula, and this is attested to in the Koran, when Mohammed made it a point of forcing Jewish tribes to convert to Islam (or die). There were Jewish kingdoms in Yemen, Morocco and Ethiopia, that were defeated at different times. Islamic Arab forces conquered all of the Middle East from the 700's onwards, and then it magically all became Islamic forever!
In fact, no part of the world originally belonged to any tribe or national group until they conquered it. For example, the Hungarians journeyed from central Asia until they found the land that they liked and occupied it and called it Hungary. The "tribe" that has the most ancient and integral connection to a specific homeland is the Jews. Isn't it bizarre to bar Jews from living in the Jewish homeland? Jews have a legal right to live in what has become called "The West Bank," which like the name "Palestine" is a way of naming the territory to deliberately separate it from its prior Jewish connection. In fact, the term Palestine derives from the Philistines and has no historical connection whatsoever with Arabs. For "West Bank" read Judea and Samaria, and for "Palestine" read Israel!
But, in fact Jews have lived all over the world, often before the current "occupiers" of the land. For example, Jews settled in cities founded by the Romans during the Roman Empire, and in fact there were Jews in Cologne and Trier before the Germanic tribes "occupied" the area. Similarly with northern Spain, Jews settled with the Romans in cities such as Girona long before there was such a thing as Spain. In the middle ages Toledo was a mainly Jewish city before the Christians took it over.
Jews once lived throughout the so-called Arabian peninsula, and this is attested to in the Koran, when Mohammed made it a point of forcing Jewish tribes to convert to Islam (or die). There were Jewish kingdoms in Yemen, Morocco and Ethiopia, that were defeated at different times. Islamic Arab forces conquered all of the Middle East from the 700's onwards, and then it magically all became Islamic forever!
In fact, no part of the world originally belonged to any tribe or national group until they conquered it. For example, the Hungarians journeyed from central Asia until they found the land that they liked and occupied it and called it Hungary. The "tribe" that has the most ancient and integral connection to a specific homeland is the Jews. Isn't it bizarre to bar Jews from living in the Jewish homeland? Jews have a legal right to live in what has become called "The West Bank," which like the name "Palestine" is a way of naming the territory to deliberately separate it from its prior Jewish connection. In fact, the term Palestine derives from the Philistines and has no historical connection whatsoever with Arabs. For "West Bank" read Judea and Samaria, and for "Palestine" read Israel!
posted by Jack Cohen at 9:01 AM
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