On the use of the term 'Palestinian'
Those of you who have been to this blog more than once or twice know that I always put the term 'Palestinian' in scare quotes. The reason I do this is that - as they have admitted themselves - the term 'Palestinian' was an invention of the Arab countries in a bid to separate the 1948 and 1967 wars (which were undertaken by the Arab countries) from their consequences. Many of the usages of the term 'Palestinian' before 1948 referred to Jews.Yisrael Medad has gone a step further and has researched the use of the word 'Palestinian' to refer specifically to Arabs (and not to Jews) in the 1920's starting around the time that what is now known as the 'kingdom of Jordan' was detached from the Palestine Mandate (Hat Tip: Solomonia, who also has a lot to say on the subject). Of course, if the term 'Palestinian' was a common usage for Arabs only in the 1920's, perhaps my claim that there is no such thing as a 'Palestinian people' is unfair. On the other hand, if the term 'Palestinian' was rarely or never used to describe Arabs only that would be evidence for my point.
Yisrael's research is not conclusive, but it certainly seems to lean to the view that there is no distinctly 'Palestinian people' who are Arabs. Here are a couple of highlights:
I certainly agree that a "Palestinian" Arab nationality used to oppose the Zionist character of the country is a later development, but not in 1964 as some claim. In reviewing historical material, I came across the usage of the term "Palestiian Arabs" early on and specifically as identifying Arabs, as opposed to Jews/Zionists, as "Palestinians". The material is the speeches made in the British Parliament and the House of Lords and shows a political usage of the term. However, it is definitely not clear-cut.Read the whole thing.
In the first instance, most of the speakers employing the term are anti-Zionists. But not all. In the second instance, while it is used to designate Arabs as opposed to Jews as well as Zionists, the examples I found include the term being used to signify Jews, non-Jews in the area and others.
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So, obviously, the above primary source material is, in the end, inconclusive. What was found were many usages that fit the contemporary reality of a "Palestinian people" but also other connotations.
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What is telling, though, is that the Palestine Liberation Organization, founded in 1964, did not fully view its struggle as relating ot the territory controlled by Jordan. For the PLO, "Palestine" was only Israel, again revealing the instrumental nature of the term. [Emphasis mine. CiJ]
"Palestine" never truly existed as a country, as a geo-political entity that promoted a special culture, a unique ethos, that generated a national identity and, of course, never in any legal form did it exist even under centuries of Muslim rule. [Emphasis mine. CiJ]
'Palestine' may belong to the 'Palestinians' but the evidence indicates that those 'Palestinians' to whom the world referred when it said that were Jews.
Labels: Palestine, Palestinian people
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:32 AM
3 Comments:
During the British Mandate, the only Palestinians were the Jews. The Arabs rejected it for precisely that reason. They only took up the Palestinian label after Israel became a state and their view of Palestinian nationhood has always been related to Israel's destruction. They have never, all their propaganda to the contrary notwithstanding, been interested in having their own state. Their aim has always been to eradicate Jewish independence, not to attain their own independence. And as long as they hold that viewpoint, there will never be peace in the Middle East.
my appreciation for the link
Good luck getting any MSM organization to report on this. The msm are not interested in facts or even truth, especially where Israel is concerned.
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