The following article comes from Palestine Facts and can be found HERE:
The name Palestine refers to a region of the eastern Mediterranean coast from the sea to the Jordan valley and from the southern Negev desert to the Galilee lake region in the north. The word itself derives from "Plesheth", a name that appears frequently in the Bible and has come into English as "Philistine". Plesheth, (root palash) was a general term meaning rolling or migratory. This referred to the Philistine's invasion and conquest of the coast from the sea. The Philistines were not Arabs nor even Semites, they were most closely related to the Greeks originating from Asia Minor and Greek localities. They did not speak Arabic. They had no connection, ethnic, linguistic or historical with Arabia or Arabs.
The Philistines reached the southern coast of Israel in several waves. One group arrived in the pre-patriarchal period and settled south of Beersheba in Gerar where they came into conflict with Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. Another group, coming from Crete after being repulsed from an attempted invasion of Egypt by Rameses III in 1194 BCE, seized the southern coastal area, where they founded five settlements (Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gat). In the Persian and Greek periods, foreign settlers - chiefly from the Mediterranean islands - overran the Philistine districts.
From the fifth century BC, following the historian Herodotus, Greeks called the eastern coast of the Mediterranean "the Philistine Syria" using the Greek language form of the name. In AD 135, after putting down the Bar Kochba revolt, the second major Jewish revolt against Rome, the Emperor Hadrian wanted to blot out the name of the Roman "Provincia Judaea" and so renamed it "Provincia Syria Palaestina", the Latin version of the Greek name and the first use of the name as an administrative unit. The name "Provincia Syria Palaestina" was later shortened to Palaestina, from which the modern, anglicized "Palestine" is derived.
This remained the situation until the end of the fourth century, when in the wake of a general imperial reorganization Palestine became three Palestines: First, Second, and Third. This configuration is believed to have persisted into the seventh century, the time of the Persian and Muslim conquests.
The Christian Crusaders employed the word Palestine to refer to the general region of the "three Palestines." After the fall of the crusader kingdom, Palestine was no longer an official designation. The name, however, continued to be used informally for the lands on both sides of the Jordan River. The Ottoman Turks, who were non-Arabs but religious Muslims, ruled the area for 400 years (1517-1917). Under Ottoman rule, the Palestine region was attached administratively to the province of Damascus and ruled from Istanbul. The name Palestine was revived after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and applied to the territory in this region that was placed under the British Mandate for Palestine.
The name "Falastin" that Arabs today use for "Palestine" is not an Arabic name. It is the Arab pronunciation of the Roman "Palaestina". Quoting Golda Meir:
The British chose to call the land they mandated Palestine, and the Arabs picked it up as their nation's supposed ancient name, though they couldn't even pronounce it correctly and turned it into Falastin a fictional entity. [In an article by Sarah Honig, Jerusalem Post, November 25, 1995]
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Browsing the Shadow Library
Another good article from FrontPageMag:
It’s an old story by this time. Everywhere we look we see that Jews are once again being garrotted, either as warmongering Israelis, conniving Zionists or members of some immoral “lobby” subtly dominating the public arena. There is now a rapidly growing library of anti-Israeli articles, essays and books which abound with such malevolent tropes. Indeed, it would require a veritable Bodleian to accommodate them all. Here I have only the space to mention a few of these tainted diatribes.
Who can forget Tony Judt’s article in The Nation (January 3, 2005), “Goodbye to All That?”—one among many of his disreputable comminations—in which he asserted that contemporary U.S. foreign policy “is in some respects mortgaged to Israel” and that “to say that Israel and its lobbyists have an excessive and disastrous influence on the policies of the world’s superpower is a statement of fact”? The discrepancy between the moderate “in some respects” and the intemperate “excessive and disastrous” is typical of Judt’s writerly stance, in which a raw personal animus breaks through the veneer of scholarly pretence. The initial deference to his subject was always a sham and disqualifies him as a respectable analyst who might be taken seriously. And in any case, President Obama’s Middle East policy has clearly put the lie to what was indisputably a gross exaggeration to begin with. But Judt is obviously learn-proof...read more
There is one book that is Israel friendly and that I'd like to plug. It's called:
For Zion's Sake: Christian Zionism and the Role of John Nelson Darby
Here are some sample questions Dr Wilkinson was asked:
Very briefly, please explain what the book is about.
The book aims to dispel the confusion surrounding Christian Zionism by defining it, charting its historical development, locating it firmly within the Evangelical tradition, and emphasising the pivotal role played by John Nelson Darby.
In a nutshell, what is your central thesis or argument in the book? How does this contribute to the current literature on the topic?
Christian Zionism lays the biblical foundation for Israel’s restoration and Christ’s return. The book gives the opposing movement, which is rooted in replacement theology and political revisionism, a proper name – Christian Palestinianism - and refutes the scholarship of men like John Stott and Stephen Sizer who have grossly misrepresented Christian Zionism.
Share with us what led you to write this book and why you believe it is important for Christians to read it.
I believe that the Lord led me to consider the 19th century, and the Christian response to the return of the Jewish people to their land. Darby and the early Brethren were instrumental in countering amillennial replacementism and postmillennial revivalism, and in restoring belief in the literal and future fulfilment of prophecy. The book is important because many Christians deny the miracle of Israel’s rebirth, others are confused about whether they should support Israel or not, and others that do support Israel often do not fully understand why.
Were there any aspects of your findings which particularly stood out or surprised you, or which you struggled with, during the research process?
The two most surprising aspects of my research were 1) to discover just how deep-rooted our Evangelical heritage is concerning belief in Israel’s promised restoration, and 2) to discover just how important a role dispensationalists have played in preserving this heritage.
You can read a review of the book HERE
Don't forget to check out Off The Wall News.
It’s an old story by this time. Everywhere we look we see that Jews are once again being garrotted, either as warmongering Israelis, conniving Zionists or members of some immoral “lobby” subtly dominating the public arena. There is now a rapidly growing library of anti-Israeli articles, essays and books which abound with such malevolent tropes. Indeed, it would require a veritable Bodleian to accommodate them all. Here I have only the space to mention a few of these tainted diatribes.
Who can forget Tony Judt’s article in The Nation (January 3, 2005), “Goodbye to All That?”—one among many of his disreputable comminations—in which he asserted that contemporary U.S. foreign policy “is in some respects mortgaged to Israel” and that “to say that Israel and its lobbyists have an excessive and disastrous influence on the policies of the world’s superpower is a statement of fact”? The discrepancy between the moderate “in some respects” and the intemperate “excessive and disastrous” is typical of Judt’s writerly stance, in which a raw personal animus breaks through the veneer of scholarly pretence. The initial deference to his subject was always a sham and disqualifies him as a respectable analyst who might be taken seriously. And in any case, President Obama’s Middle East policy has clearly put the lie to what was indisputably a gross exaggeration to begin with. But Judt is obviously learn-proof...read more
There is one book that is Israel friendly and that I'd like to plug. It's called:
For Zion's Sake: Christian Zionism and the Role of John Nelson Darby
Here are some sample questions Dr Wilkinson was asked:
Very briefly, please explain what the book is about.
The book aims to dispel the confusion surrounding Christian Zionism by defining it, charting its historical development, locating it firmly within the Evangelical tradition, and emphasising the pivotal role played by John Nelson Darby.
In a nutshell, what is your central thesis or argument in the book? How does this contribute to the current literature on the topic?
Christian Zionism lays the biblical foundation for Israel’s restoration and Christ’s return. The book gives the opposing movement, which is rooted in replacement theology and political revisionism, a proper name – Christian Palestinianism - and refutes the scholarship of men like John Stott and Stephen Sizer who have grossly misrepresented Christian Zionism.
Share with us what led you to write this book and why you believe it is important for Christians to read it.
I believe that the Lord led me to consider the 19th century, and the Christian response to the return of the Jewish people to their land. Darby and the early Brethren were instrumental in countering amillennial replacementism and postmillennial revivalism, and in restoring belief in the literal and future fulfilment of prophecy. The book is important because many Christians deny the miracle of Israel’s rebirth, others are confused about whether they should support Israel or not, and others that do support Israel often do not fully understand why.
Were there any aspects of your findings which particularly stood out or surprised you, or which you struggled with, during the research process?
The two most surprising aspects of my research were 1) to discover just how deep-rooted our Evangelical heritage is concerning belief in Israel’s promised restoration, and 2) to discover just how important a role dispensationalists have played in preserving this heritage.
You can read a review of the book HERE
Don't forget to check out Off The Wall News.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Ahmadinejad: nuclear debate is over
Well, some of us knew it all along....
For Zion's Sake Ministries:
Barack Obama’s hopes of persuading Iran to renounce its nuclear ambitions appeared to have been dashed yesterday after the UN watchdog admitted that it had reached a stalemate with Tehran, and President Ahmadinejad declared the nuclear debate over....nuclear debate is over
WHEN it comes to Iran, what lessons will the world draw?Following charges of bogus election results, the world watched with interest as Iranians beat, imprisoned, intimidated, harassed and allegedly tortured and murdered its citizens...Will White House accept premise Iran is evil?
FrontPageMag interviews George Gilder re Israel:
Gilder: Of all the nations in the world, Israel ranks first in per capita achievement and excellence. By any per capita measure it is preeminent, whether in technological innovation and invention, venture capital investment and creativity, share of GDP produced by technology companies, or number and quality of scientific papers. But even more impressive, Israel ranks second only to the U.S. in companies on the NASDAQ stock exchange and in achievements in such fields as telecom, microchips, software, biotech, medical instruments, and clean-tech. Israel today represents and symbolizes capitalist excellence and freedom...The Israel Test
From Palestinian Media Watch:
Hamas's demand that the UN not include Holocaust education in schools in Gaza drew widespread international criticism last week. But the refusal to educate children about the Holocaust is not unique to Hamas. It follows the Holocaust-denying precedent set by the Palestinian Authority under Fatah and articulated by numerous PA religious and political leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas.
In the latest news, Hamas demanded that the Jewish Holocaust be deleted from the UN-prepared human rights curriculum for 8th grade, according to the PA daily Al-Ayyam. The next day, PA TV reported that a UN representative "strongly denied rumors that UNRWA will be teaching the subject of the Holocaust as part of its curriculum." [PA TV (Fatah), Sept. 1, 2009]...read more
Don't forget to check the latest headlines on Off The Wall News
For Zion's Sake Ministries:
Barack Obama’s hopes of persuading Iran to renounce its nuclear ambitions appeared to have been dashed yesterday after the UN watchdog admitted that it had reached a stalemate with Tehran, and President Ahmadinejad declared the nuclear debate over....nuclear debate is over
WHEN it comes to Iran, what lessons will the world draw?Following charges of bogus election results, the world watched with interest as Iranians beat, imprisoned, intimidated, harassed and allegedly tortured and murdered its citizens...Will White House accept premise Iran is evil?
FrontPageMag interviews George Gilder re Israel:
Gilder: Of all the nations in the world, Israel ranks first in per capita achievement and excellence. By any per capita measure it is preeminent, whether in technological innovation and invention, venture capital investment and creativity, share of GDP produced by technology companies, or number and quality of scientific papers. But even more impressive, Israel ranks second only to the U.S. in companies on the NASDAQ stock exchange and in achievements in such fields as telecom, microchips, software, biotech, medical instruments, and clean-tech. Israel today represents and symbolizes capitalist excellence and freedom...The Israel Test
From Palestinian Media Watch:
Hamas's demand that the UN not include Holocaust education in schools in Gaza drew widespread international criticism last week. But the refusal to educate children about the Holocaust is not unique to Hamas. It follows the Holocaust-denying precedent set by the Palestinian Authority under Fatah and articulated by numerous PA religious and political leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas.
In the latest news, Hamas demanded that the Jewish Holocaust be deleted from the UN-prepared human rights curriculum for 8th grade, according to the PA daily Al-Ayyam. The next day, PA TV reported that a UN representative "strongly denied rumors that UNRWA will be teaching the subject of the Holocaust as part of its curriculum." [PA TV (Fatah), Sept. 1, 2009]...read more
Don't forget to check the latest headlines on Off The Wall News
Monday, August 31, 2009
Ecumenical Blast Against Israel
Here we go again....
FrontPageMag:
The departing chief of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC) slammed Israel’s “sin against God” in his August 26 good-bye to the world’s largest ecumenical group.
"Occupation along with the concomitant humiliation of a whole people for over six decades constitutes not just economic and political crimes but, like anti-Semitism, it is a sin against God," declared Kenyan Methodist minister Samuel Kobia, during his farewell to the WCC’s governing central committee...read more
Daily Star via FrontPageMag:
There is great discomfort these days among those who backed Barack Obama’s “new” approach to the Middle East when he took office 10 months ago. That shouldn’t surprise us. Everything about the president’s shotgun approach to the region, his desire to overhaul all policies from the George W. Bush years simultaneously, without a cohesive strategy binding his actions together, was always going to let the believers down........
Barack Obama’s devotees may imagine that because he spent a few years abroad as a boy, he is well equipped to understand our complicated world. Perhaps he is, but his approach to the greater Middle East, shorn of the soaring rhetoric, has been artless and arrogant. The president is being tied up every which way by his foes, who can plainly see that the Obama vision is an unsystematic one. If ever the US has been close to achieving potentially terminal self-marginalization in the region, it is now...Obama's Mideast Confusion
Don't forget to catch up with Campsmore's daily Off The Wall News!
FrontPageMag:
The departing chief of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC) slammed Israel’s “sin against God” in his August 26 good-bye to the world’s largest ecumenical group.
"Occupation along with the concomitant humiliation of a whole people for over six decades constitutes not just economic and political crimes but, like anti-Semitism, it is a sin against God," declared Kenyan Methodist minister Samuel Kobia, during his farewell to the WCC’s governing central committee...read more
Daily Star via FrontPageMag:
There is great discomfort these days among those who backed Barack Obama’s “new” approach to the Middle East when he took office 10 months ago. That shouldn’t surprise us. Everything about the president’s shotgun approach to the region, his desire to overhaul all policies from the George W. Bush years simultaneously, without a cohesive strategy binding his actions together, was always going to let the believers down........
Barack Obama’s devotees may imagine that because he spent a few years abroad as a boy, he is well equipped to understand our complicated world. Perhaps he is, but his approach to the greater Middle East, shorn of the soaring rhetoric, has been artless and arrogant. The president is being tied up every which way by his foes, who can plainly see that the Obama vision is an unsystematic one. If ever the US has been close to achieving potentially terminal self-marginalization in the region, it is now...Obama's Mideast Confusion
Don't forget to catch up with Campsmore's daily Off The Wall News!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Anti-Jewish Violence in Pre-State Palestine/1929 Massacres
From CAMERA:
Arab violence against Jews is often alleged to have begun with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 or as a result of Israel's capture in 1967 of territories occupied by Jordan. But even before the Mandate for Palestine was assigned to Great Britain by the Allies at the San Remo Conference (April 1920) and endorsed by the League of Nations (July 1922), Palestinian Arabs were carrying out organized attacks against Jewish communities in Palestine. Systematic violence began in early 1920 with murderous assaults by groups of local Arabs against settlements in the north and by Muslim pilgrims against Jerusalem's Jews. Again in 1921, Arab rioters attacked Jews in Jaffa and its environs. The primary agitator behind these attacks was Haj Amin al Husseini, who marshalled Arab discontent over Jewish immigration into violent riots...Read More
What did Christiane Amanpour hope to accomplish in her CNN Special Generation Islam? It was supposed to be, as she described it, an investigation of the battle between extremists and moderates for the "hearts and minds" of young Muslims, especially in Afghanistan and Gaza. While such a program might have been interesting, unfortunately it's not what Amanpour actually presented. Instead, viewers were fed the usual Amanpour propaganda, especially in the second hour, where the subject might have been Gaza but the target was clearly Israel...Amanpour Strikes Again
From Pajamas Media:
The largest Swedish newspaper publishes an article accusing Israel of murdering Palestinians so it can sell their body parts. The largest Dutch newspaper publishes an article accusing Satan-worshipping Jews of creating swine flu and other diseases to murder large numbers of people. The newspaper of the British elite publishes an article by a well-known philosopher calling Israel a Nazi state...Accuse First, Ask Questions Never: Mainstreaming Anti-Semitism
And don't forget to get your daily news from Campsmore's Off The Wall News. Note the new link on the right side of the blog.
Arab violence against Jews is often alleged to have begun with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 or as a result of Israel's capture in 1967 of territories occupied by Jordan. But even before the Mandate for Palestine was assigned to Great Britain by the Allies at the San Remo Conference (April 1920) and endorsed by the League of Nations (July 1922), Palestinian Arabs were carrying out organized attacks against Jewish communities in Palestine. Systematic violence began in early 1920 with murderous assaults by groups of local Arabs against settlements in the north and by Muslim pilgrims against Jerusalem's Jews. Again in 1921, Arab rioters attacked Jews in Jaffa and its environs. The primary agitator behind these attacks was Haj Amin al Husseini, who marshalled Arab discontent over Jewish immigration into violent riots...Read More
What did Christiane Amanpour hope to accomplish in her CNN Special Generation Islam? It was supposed to be, as she described it, an investigation of the battle between extremists and moderates for the "hearts and minds" of young Muslims, especially in Afghanistan and Gaza. While such a program might have been interesting, unfortunately it's not what Amanpour actually presented. Instead, viewers were fed the usual Amanpour propaganda, especially in the second hour, where the subject might have been Gaza but the target was clearly Israel...Amanpour Strikes Again
From Pajamas Media:
The largest Swedish newspaper publishes an article accusing Israel of murdering Palestinians so it can sell their body parts. The largest Dutch newspaper publishes an article accusing Satan-worshipping Jews of creating swine flu and other diseases to murder large numbers of people. The newspaper of the British elite publishes an article by a well-known philosopher calling Israel a Nazi state...Accuse First, Ask Questions Never: Mainstreaming Anti-Semitism
And don't forget to get your daily news from Campsmore's Off The Wall News. Note the new link on the right side of the blog.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sixth Fatah Congress: The Myth of Moderation
From CAMERA:
The media has long promoted Fatah — in contrast to Hamas — as the party of Palestinian political moderates seeking peace with Israel, while glossing over evidence to the contrary. (See "Is Fatah Moderate?") An example of this was coverage by some media outlets of the Sixth Fatah General Congress, the first such conference in twenty years, which has just concluded...Read More
Despite a plea by an activist from the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, the General Council of United Church of Canada has voted down two proposals to boycott Israel, and denied approval to a third that was originally accompanied by background material that obliquely accused un-named Jewish members of the Canadian Parliament of being disloyal to Canada because of their support for Israel. The vote took place on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2009, shortly after the commission voted to repudiate the background material associated with these resolutions...Hijacking Interrupted: United Church of Canada Says No to Anti-Israel Boycott
Good to hear!
From Joel Rosenberg:
HUCKABEE VISITS EPICENTER: Supports Israelis right to build in east Jerusalem
3 TERROR PLOTS BY JIHADISTS AGAINST U.S., ISRAEL THWARTED: But Hezbollah threatens Tel Aviv
Good news that Joel is working on another book!
"....I’m home now and working on a new novel, due to be released in the fall of 2010."
Lori's News links
The media has long promoted Fatah — in contrast to Hamas — as the party of Palestinian political moderates seeking peace with Israel, while glossing over evidence to the contrary. (See "Is Fatah Moderate?") An example of this was coverage by some media outlets of the Sixth Fatah General Congress, the first such conference in twenty years, which has just concluded...Read More
Despite a plea by an activist from the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, the General Council of United Church of Canada has voted down two proposals to boycott Israel, and denied approval to a third that was originally accompanied by background material that obliquely accused un-named Jewish members of the Canadian Parliament of being disloyal to Canada because of their support for Israel. The vote took place on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2009, shortly after the commission voted to repudiate the background material associated with these resolutions...Hijacking Interrupted: United Church of Canada Says No to Anti-Israel Boycott
Good to hear!
From Joel Rosenberg:
HUCKABEE VISITS EPICENTER: Supports Israelis right to build in east Jerusalem
3 TERROR PLOTS BY JIHADISTS AGAINST U.S., ISRAEL THWARTED: But Hezbollah threatens Tel Aviv
Good news that Joel is working on another book!
"....I’m home now and working on a new novel, due to be released in the fall of 2010."
Lori's News links
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
East Jerusalem’s Lost Years
A special thanks to Lori for keeping the fires burning while I was away!
From FrontPageMag:
The recent protests in Sheikh Jarrah against the eviction of two Palestinians have once again focused international attention on East Jerusalem. International condemnation of Israel has come from a variety of sources. Robert Serry, a special coordinator with the UN, has argued that he “deplores today’s unacceptable actions by Israel.” The EU Presidency has condemned what it calls “unacceptable evictions” and secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the events are “not in keeping with Israeli obligations.” A member of one of Jerusalem’s former leading families, Hasib Nashashibi claims “The recent evictions are part of a plan to surround the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah with Jewish settlements, in order to separate the approximately 500 Arabs from the rest of the city and take control of the major roads in the area.” ...Read more
Lori's links and comments:
Security and Defense: Veiled anxiety,
Fatah: We'll sacrifice victims until Jerusalem is ours,
Fatah assembly: No talks until Israel returns all of Jerusalem,
Israel comments on Iran’s influence on Armenia,
Britain hails EU association deal with Syria,
Taliban: Baitullah Mehsud alive,
Foreign forces face "unwinnable war" in Afghanistan: UN official,
Muslim Europe: the demographic time bomb transforming our continent,
A fifth of European Union will be Muslim by 2050,
Vladimir Putin determined to kill me, says Georgian President,
India detains suspicious NKorean ship,
Indonesia believes top militant dead, thwarts attack,
A growing thirst for the Nile,
House Dems Carry Islamists' Water,
News off the wall,
From FrontPageMag:
The recent protests in Sheikh Jarrah against the eviction of two Palestinians have once again focused international attention on East Jerusalem. International condemnation of Israel has come from a variety of sources. Robert Serry, a special coordinator with the UN, has argued that he “deplores today’s unacceptable actions by Israel.” The EU Presidency has condemned what it calls “unacceptable evictions” and secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the events are “not in keeping with Israeli obligations.” A member of one of Jerusalem’s former leading families, Hasib Nashashibi claims “The recent evictions are part of a plan to surround the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah with Jewish settlements, in order to separate the approximately 500 Arabs from the rest of the city and take control of the major roads in the area.” ...Read more
Lori's links and comments:
Security and Defense: Veiled anxiety,
Fatah: We'll sacrifice victims until Jerusalem is ours,
Fatah assembly: No talks until Israel returns all of Jerusalem,
Israel comments on Iran’s influence on Armenia,
Britain hails EU association deal with Syria,
Taliban: Baitullah Mehsud alive,
Foreign forces face "unwinnable war" in Afghanistan: UN official,
Muslim Europe: the demographic time bomb transforming our continent,
A fifth of European Union will be Muslim by 2050,
Vladimir Putin determined to kill me, says Georgian President,
India detains suspicious NKorean ship,
Indonesia believes top militant dead, thwarts attack,
A growing thirst for the Nile,
House Dems Carry Islamists' Water,
News off the wall,
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