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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Stop this dangerous candidate!
2011-12-17
h/t Gates of Vienna
US presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich (whose Lazarus-like trajectory to the Republican nomination I flagged up here a month ago) has recently demonstrated yet again Melanie’s First Rule of Modern Political Discourse – the more obvious the truth that you utter, the more explosive and abusive the reaction.

...So just what did he say? This:

‘ “Remember, there was no Palestine as a state — (it was) part of the Ottoman Empire. I think we have an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places...” ’

But of course, he is absolutely correct. As Elder of Ziyon pointed out, the Arabs who lived in Palestine were a disconnected bunch of tribes who had nothing in common with each other except that they were Arabs. They never were, are not and never will be a Palestinian people (the claim that they are now just because they say they are is risible and would be dismissed out of hand if applied to any other self-defined grouping). There is not and never has been any ‘Palestinian’ Arab culture, language, religion or national identity separate from that of the wider Arab nation. ‘Palestinianism’ was invented solely to destroy Israel. The one and only characteristic of this spurious ‘national’ identity is the aim of destroying another -- authentic -- national identity.
One that makes Europeans, and all properly credentialed Americans, sick to their stomachs
Posted by:g(r)omgoru

#8  Prior to the 1967 War all the residents of the West Bank were what? Oh yes, Jordanians. Israel was going to demand that it keep Jerusalem in the ceasefire negotiations with Jordan. Jordan said no, keep the lot, all of the West Bank including Jerusalem AND keep all of the people too. Jordan then withdrew citizenship from all of the West Bank residents so that they could not return to Jordan. What did that leave the nomenclature of the residents? Eventually they started calling themselves Palestinians instead of "the most despicable people on Earth that nobody wants"
Posted by: tipper   2011-12-17 22:23  

#7  Intehwesting.

So IIUC ARTIC > ...
* Muhammed was a frustrated or failed non-Jewish/Hebrew = Arab Judaic wannabe + reformer rejected by the Jews whom in his angst dev his own new version of Judaism/Hebraism called ISLAM???

* Despite being a Holy City, JERUSALEM was routinely ignored by any + all Camps save when POTENT, COMPETING GEOPOLITICAL FORCES OR IDEOS CAME HEAD-TO-HEAD IN ITS REGION???

IMO the Artic + Newt's assertions supports the belief of many Regional Muslims that the Paleos are merely ISLAMIZED JEWS/HEBREWS + ALIGNED.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-12-17 21:33  

#6  There are Palestinians like there are New Englanders.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt   2011-12-17 19:57  

#5  Carthaginians* couldn't be reached for comment.

*who were originally a Phoenician colony till the old homestead was 'annexed' by Persia.
Posted by: P2Kontheroad   2011-12-17 17:35  

#4  
One could reasonably argue that there is Palestinian people but can you seriously believe that they will give up their goal of exterminating Israel?

Ain't.Gonna.Happen.

I agree with you, but I'm pointing out that if the Paleos want peace and a country, they have to change their ways.

But yes, I agree, they won't, not until something terrible happens in the Middle East. At which point having a country there may not be such a good thing.
Posted by: Steve White   2011-12-17 16:48  

#3  
"Sorry dude, but your country is going to have to make a deal. The Paleos have to deal as well -- they have to give up their charter, their own exterminationist rhetoric and dreams, and settle for a couple small slices of land."


Uhm. No.
One could reasonably argue that there is Palestinian people but can you seriously believe that they will give up their goal of exterminating Israel?

Ain't.Gonna.Happen.

Given the fact that Iran will get their nukes, I'm betting that the Palestinians get their wish.

At which point the question of whether the Palestinians get their own state will become very moot.


Posted by: Cheting Snore2618   2011-12-17 15:10  

#2  They never were, are not and never will be a Palestinian people...

Not true.

There was a time when there were no Americans. Now there are, and will be for quite a while into the future.

There was a time when there were no Israelis. Now there are, and will be for quite a while into the future.

Yes, seventy years ago there were no Paleostinians. But now there are, and I don't think they're going away anytime soon. As much as it might be better for their 'brother Arabs' to absorb them into their own countries, that simply isn't going to happen.

So the Paleos are a fact of life, like it or not. There are a couple million of them. They're going to sit in Gaza and the West Bank if for no other reason than nobody else wants them.

So, gromgoru, what are you going to do with them? Kill them? You won't be an Israeli anymore if you do that. Expel them? To where? If they could be moved that would have happened already.

Sorry dude, but your country is going to have to make a deal. The Paleos have to deal as well -- they have to give up their charter, their own exterminationist rhetoric and dreams, and settle for a couple small slices of land.

But the idea that "there are no Palestinians", and therefore they're illegitimate and thus don't rate any consideration, is short-sighted.

They didn't exist before, but they exist now.

Gingrich is wrong. Again.
Posted by: Steve White   2011-12-17 14:46  

#1  The most succinct explanation of Israel ever.
Posted by: newc   2011-12-17 11:05  

00:00