Palestine? Things that make me go “hmmm”

A cute map shows countries labelled with the literal translations of their names. Spain, for example, apparently means “Land of Many Rabbits”, Mali means “Hippopotamus”, Sierra Leone is “Lion Mountains”.

How does this map label Israel and Palestine?

Israel is shown to be “He that Striveth with God” and Palestine is labelled as “Land of the Philistines”. Now if you look closely at the enlarged map below, you will notice something very interesting. Curious, in fact. Especially if you know anything about the Philistines.

Literal translations of Israel and Palestine according to this map.

The region in green, supposedly the Land of the Philistines, is geographically nonsensical. That is because the Philistines were a sea-faring people who settled along the coast between present-day Tel Aviv and Gaza and that is the only region of this land that they occupied EVER — the real Philistines, that is.

Convoluted Thinking about the Origins of “Palestine”

The Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians make up amazing stuff to convince the world that they are the indigenous people of the land “from the river to the sea”, and they often trip themselves up awkwardly. Unfortunately, most people do not notice because they are just plain ignorant of the history of this region. And they seem to be deaf and blind to instances in which Arab leaders, journalists and scholars say one thing one time and the exact opposite another time. Anyone who watches TV crime shows knows that liars have a hard time keeping their stories straight while the truthful tell a more consistent story.

One interesting example of embarrassing confusion is an article published in Human Immunology (and later retracted in horror) in which Gazan scientists said that the Palestinians of today are descended from the Philistines. Problem is, that would make the Palestinians of today of Greek or Aegean origin and not Arab at all. Forced to convert to Islam, of course, but not Arab. So they would not be part of the Arab Ummah as they so proudly proclaim. Can you be both: Philistine and Arab? I guess if it helps you score propaganda points, you can!

Here is how a team of writers defined the origin of the name Palestine in Encyclopaedia Britannica:

The word Palestine derives from Philistia, the name given by Greek writers to the land of the Philistines, who in the 12th century BCE occupied a small pocket of land on the southern coast, between modern Tel Aviv–Yafo and Gaza. The name was revived by the Romans in the 2nd century CE in “Syria Palaestina,” designating the southern portion of the province of Syria, and made its way thence into Arabic, where it has been used to describe the region at least since the early Islamic era. After Roman times the name had no official status until after World War I and the end of rule by the Ottoman Empire, when it was adopted for one of the regions mandated to Great Britain.

Interestingly, three of the team of authors seem to be Arabs and are professors of Arab history/Middle East Studies in various universities. They make it clear that the name has nothing to do with a country and nothing to do with Arabs and I applaud them on this.

While it is legitimate for a new nationality to emerge, even if only in response to Zionism and the felt need to get rid of the Jews, the sustainability of such a “nationality” is questionable. It is made up of a collection of long-time residents of various origins and economic migrants from a number of different countries with no distinctive language, religious belief system or cultural traditions that would distinguish this group from other Arab nations. Once upon a time, that would not have mattered, as empires and political units rose and fell without having to justify themselves to others or themselves. Now, with the UN requiring that Israel justify its right to exist as a sovereign unit, it is only fair that the so-called Palestinian “nation” justify its right to exist as well.

Four other articles of mine that are related to this idea may be of interest to you:

• Nakba: Why do you let THAT define you?
• Pro-Palestinian versus No-Palestinian: There is another way
• The New Palestinians should claim a better future NOW
• Palestinian by any other name

Out of curiousity, I googled “Palestine, origin of name” and here are some of the listings that came up along with the questions other browsers had asked:

• Question: What is the ancient name for Palestine?
  • Long answer on Google: Palestine in the ancient world was part of the region known as Canaan where the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were located.
  • Short answer: There was none.
• Question: Was there a country called Palestine?
  • Long answer on Google: Until 1948, Palestine typically referred to the geographic region located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Arab people who call this territory home are known as Palestinians. Much of this land is now considered present-day Israel. (Note: It is correctly referred to as a geographic region)
    
  • Short answer: No.
    
• Question: Who lived in Jerusalem first?
  • Long answer on Google: Scholars believe the first human settlements in Jerusalem took place during the Early Bronze Age—somewhere around 3500 B.C. In 1000 B.C., King David conquered Jerusalem and made it the capital of the Jewish kingdom. His son, Solomon, built the first holy Temple about 40 years later.
  • Short answer: Various (non-Arab) tribes and then the Jews.
• Question: Was there a Palestine before Israel?
  • Long answer on Google: The United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into independent Arab and Jewish states. However, the situation in Palestine had deteriorated into a civil war between Arabs and Jews. The former rejected the Partition Plan, while the latter declared the independence of the State of Israel in May 1948.
  • Short answer: No.

Hmmmm.