(July 31, 2014 at 7:43 pm)professor Wrote: Because of the atrocities done to the Jews by Germany (allied with Turkey and other Islamics), it was decided to give the Jews a homeland.
"Palestine" (a derogatory name given to that area by the Romans to spite the Jews) was the home mostly of Bedouins, some Jews,and the rest mostly Jordanians.
There never was any such thing as Palestinians.
Yassir Arafat actually said so, that name was concocted as a political tool.
That is a pretty fuzzy history lesson. The Ottoman Empire was allied with Germany during the Great War. Turkey was largely a neutral non-combatant in World War II ( I believe they sold Germany some chromite early on and declared for the Allies later.)
The Greeks, whom pre date the Romans, wrote of a place called Palestine. Ancient Egyptians (even earlier than Greeks) used hieroglyphics to describe the people living in this region.
Yasser Arafat must not have read much Aristotle or Herodotus, both of whom, refer to Palestine. Could it be he was on stage in the theatre of politics when he made this statement?
By this logic, there is no such thing as Puerto Rican people. They are just Americans, non-native Spaniards, mestizos or Taino; as they have never been independent. Ever been to the PR pride parade in Chicago or New York? Palestinians are the descendants of all of those peoples you mentioned and they are not all Muslim either (Christians, Druze, maybe even some crazy Jews that identify on some level). I am not sure how Jordanians got in there, as Jordan is a product of the division you referenced.
I don't want to make excuses for religious zealots, but can we agree the Bible and Newt Gingrich are not good sources for historical facts. Yes, I saw that presidential primary debate too; wherein he claimed "There is no such thing as a Palestinian people."
