Free Palestine! War on Iraq? Not in Our Name

As part of my work I am traveling abroad on a regular basis (2-3 weeks per month) I am aware of how easy it is to get the picture wrong: The powerful Colonial country that persecutes the defenseless poor Palestinians - I see it everyday in the Italian French and German channels.

How difficult it is to grasp the situation the way we see it in here: The lost battle between a Democracy and a Tyranny.
The Tyranny leadership could care less about the fate of its citizens. Corruption and Italian Mafia ways of dealing with problems on the one hand while on the other crying to the world.
The side that in the first impression seems to be weak, is revealed stronger in such conditions:
If you do not care about your own dead, besides citing the numbers in the CNN, BBC, SKY and other TV channels…
If you do not care sending teenagers to suicide missions…
If you have guaranties for your own personal safety…
You are virtually untouchable, therefore invincible.

We do believe in a peaceful solution of this conflict - two states to two nations - if such a solution really exist, in the mindset of the other side. We do know that we have nothing to do in the territories, we are terrified of the possibility that we might be forced to "live by the sword" for the rest of our days in here, or have to rule and occupy the Palestinian people.

ENOUGH is ENOUGH – I am tired of propaganda

We have to win this war simply because unlike the Palestinian side we have no other optio.

This is the middle east we are living in. The other side translated the Israeli will for a compromise as a sign for weakness. The other side will show no mercy in the face of weaknesses, flower power or peace dreamersa.

Our Message should be loud and clear:
Terror will not be tolerated anywhere on the face of this earth.
Any terror regime will only cause suffers to itself (Unfortunately, mainly to its people)

Terror regimes will be dismantled and destroyed.

Hopefully:...

At 06:00 after the war, during the first sunrise we will talk peace again, hoping that this time there will be someone that speaks that language on the other side.
...

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's 1919 King-Crane Commision Report:

ZIONISM:


There is a further consideration that cannot justly be ignored, if the world is to look forward to Palestine becoming a definitely Jewish state, however gradually that may take place. That consideration grows out of the fact that Palestine is "the Holy Land" for Jews, Christians, and Moslems alike. Millions of Christians and Moslems all over the world are quite as much concerned as the Jews with conditions in Palestine especially with those conditions which touch upon religious feeling and rights. The relations in these matters in Palestine are most delicate and difficult. With the best possible intentions, it may be doubted whether the Jews could possibly seem to either Christians or Moslems proper guardians of the holy places, or custodians of the Holy Land as a whole.

The reason is this: The places which are most sacred to Christians-those having to do with Jesus-and which are also sacred to Moslems, are not only not sacred to Jews, but ABHORRENT to them.
http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww_one/docs/kncr.htm
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The Faithful are Allowed to Carry the Cornerstone to the Area of the Hulda Gates of the Temple Mount
The Israeli Supreme Court Decides on the Faithful Movement Petition

"I want to bring a word from G–d to the enemies of Israel and to all the nations in the world. DO NOT EVEN TRY to prevent this godly event and process. The PURIFICATION of the Temple Mount from the foreigners and enemies of Israel and their DESECRATION of the holy site of G–d and the rebuilding of the temple CANNOT BE PREVENTED. This is a major historical, prophetic, END-TIME EVENT which the G–d of Israel and the Universe will soon bring to completion in our lifetime. G–d anointed Israel to rebuild this house and to serve Him in this great house not only for the people of Israel but for all the nations as the prophet Isaiah stated - “... for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah56:7)
http://www.templemountfaithful.org/Events/tishabav5761b.htm
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"One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail.".
--Rabbi Yaacov Perrin, Feb. 27, 1994

[...] Gloria Lyon, told the crowd she was proud to be at the opening to honor the memory of the rescuer who saved her from death, Counte Folke Bernadotte. The Swedish Red Cross head negotiated with SS commander Heinrich Himmler for the release of thousands in concentration camps.
<a href="http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:Wg8Qw3HK0ogC:http://www.jewishsf.com/bk010406/sfasilentvoice.shtml%2BBernadotte,%2Bsaved%2Blives&hl=en&ie=UTF-8">Jewish Bulletin News


"One organization that saw Bernadotte’s efforts as a threat was LEHI, a Jewish underground group that, under the leadership of Yitzhak Shamir, Dr. Israel Scheib and Nathan Friedman-Yellin, had waged a campaign of “personal terror” to force the British out of Palestine. LEHI called Bernadotte a British agent who had cooperated with the Nazis in World War II. The organization considered his plan to be a threat to its goal of Israeli independence on both banks of the Jordan River. Commander Yehoshua Zeitler of the Jerusalem branch of LEHI started training four men to kill Bernadotte, and solicited information from two sympathetic journalists about his schedule. LEHI leaders decided to assassinate Bernadotte while he was on his way to a meeting with Dov Joseph, military governor of Jerusalem’s New City, which was scheduled for either 4:30 p.m. on September 17 or sometime on September 18 (the exact date is disputed).
--Jewish Virtual Library

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March 11, 2002: A newspaper reports that the DEA study on Israeli "art students" determined the "students" all had "recently served in the Israeli military, the majority in intelligence, electronic signal intercept or explosive ordnance units."
Palm Beach Post
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Dear Sir,

What exactly are you commenting and what is your point?

What ever the president’s opinion might have been it does not change the simple fact that the only period in history in which all faiths have had the right to worship and pray in an indiscriminate manner was the latest period under the Israeli rule.

Even now in the wake of two years of violence, terror and occasional curfews, members of all faiths still enjoy relative freedom in these holly sites.

Any other country that ruled the holy sites never granted such freedoms. Turkey, Britain, Jordan rule over the holy sites never allowed free access to the holy sites to members of all three faiths.

The term “Palestine” is believed to be derived from the Philistines, an Aegean people who, in the 12th Century B.C., settled along the Mediterranean coastal plain of what is now Israel and the Gaza Strip. In the second century A.D., the Romans crushed the revolt of Shimon Bar Kokhba (132 CE), during which Jerusalem and Judea were regained. Three years later, in conformity with Roman custom, Jerusalem was “plowed up with a yoke of oxen” and renamed Aelia Capitolina. Judea (the southern portion of what is now called the West Bank) was renamed Palaestina in an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel. The Arabic word “Filastin” is derived from this Latin name.

During the last few centuries, the world, Christians included, has fallen into a bad habit. We have bought into some early Roman propaganda. We have used the name Palestine, which Roman Emperor Hadrian placed on the country of Israel in 135 A.D., for so long that it has become common usage. This would be as incorrect as calling the Russia of today the "Soviet Union" or referring to Berlin as "East Germany." The thoughts below by our ministry's senior theologian, Dr. Thomas S. McCall, completely explore the subject. If you know somebody who's fallen into this habit, please share this attached article with him or her.

Current Propaganda's Use of Palestine
There is a propaganda war going on now with regard to the term "Palestine." At one time it might have been argued that Palestine was an innocuous designation of the Middle Eastern area, that is generally thought of as the Holy Land. During the last few decades, however, the term Palestine has been adopted by Arabs living in Israel in the area west of the Jordan River. It is specifically employed to avoid the use of the name Israel, and must be considered an anti-Israel term. In all Arab maps published in Jordan, Egypt, etc., the area west of the Jordan River is called Palestine, without any reference to Israel. Palestine is the term now used by those who want to deny the legitimate existence of Israel as a genuine nation among the family of nations.
The term now adopted by the political entity within Israel that is gradually obtaining more and more pockets of territory through the "peace process," is "the PA (Palestinian Authority). Although it must deal daily with Israeli officials, the PA hates to use the term Israel in any of its communications.
Palestine, therefore, must now be considered a political propaganda term with massive anti-Israel implications. The world press uses the term to question the legitimacy of modern Israel. Christians also have used the term Palestine for centuries in referring to the Holy Land. In earlier times this might have been excused (although biblically questionable) because of its common usage. In light of the current propaganda war against Israel, however, Christians must now re-evaluate the term Palestine and consider whether it is biblically, theologically or prophetically accurate.

Biblical Use of Palestine
The term Palestine is rarely used in the Old Testament, and when it is, it refers specifically to the southwestern coastal area of Israel occupied by the Philistines. It is a translation of the Hebrew word "Pelesheth." The term is never used to refer to the whole land occupied by Israel. Before Israel occupied the land, it would be generally accurate to say that the southwestern coastal area was called Philistia (the Way of the Philistines, or Palestine), while the central highlands were called Canaan. Both the Canaanites and the Philistines had disappeared as distinct peoples at least by the time of the Babylonian Captivity of Judea (586 B.C.), and they no longer exist.
In the New Testament, the term Palestine is never used. The term Israel is primarily used to refer to the people of Israel, rather than the Land. However, in at least two passages, Israel is used to refer to the Land:

Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead who sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. (Matt. 2:20-21)
But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say to you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man shall have come. (Matt. 10:23)

The first passage is when Joseph, Mary and Jesus returned from Egypt to Israel, and the second has reference to the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the Land of Israel. Jesus, Matthew and the angel speaking to Joseph use the term Israel with reference to the Land, even though the term was not then recognized by the Roman authorities.
It is clear, then, that the Bible never uses the term Palestine to refer to the Holy Land as a whole, and that Bible maps that refer to Palestine in the Old or New Testament are, at best, inaccurate, and, at worst, are a conscious denial of the biblical name of Israel.

History of the Term Palestine
Where did the term Palestine originate from? How did the world and the church get into the habit of calling the land of Israel "Palestine"?
Before 135 A.D., the Romans used the terms Judea and Galilee to refer to the Land of Israel. When Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the Roman government struck a coin with the phrase "Judea Capta," meaning Judea has been captured. The term Palestine was never used in the early Roman designations.
It was not until the Romans crushed the second Jewish revolt against Rome in 135 A.D. under Bar Kochba that Emperor Hadrian applied the term Palestine to the Land of Israel. Hadrian, like many dictators since his time realized the propaganda power of terms and symbols. He replaced the shrines of the Jewish Temple and the Sepulchre of Christ in Jerusalem with temples to pagan deities. He changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitalina, and changed the name of Israel and Judea to Palestine. Hadrian's selection of Palestine was purposeful, not accidental. He took the name of the ancient enemies of Israel, the Philistines, Latinized it to Palestine, and applied it to the Land of Israel. He hoped to erase the name Israel from all memory. Thus, the term Palestine as applied to the Land of Israel was invented by the inveterate enemy of the Bible and the Jewish people, Emperor Hadrian.
It is interesting to note that the original Philistines were not Middle Eastern at all. They were European peoples from the Adriatic sea next to Greece. It may have pleased Hadrian to utilize this Hellenistic term for the Jewish land.
In any case, the riginal "Palestinians" had nothing to do, whatsoever, with any Arabs.

Christian Adoption of the Term Palestine
One of the first Christian uses of the term Palestine is found in the works of the Church historian Eusebius, who lived in Caesarea. He wrote around 300 A.D., as the Roman persecution of Christians was ending and the Emperor Constantine began to accept Christianity as legal. Eusebius did not accept Hadrian's designation of Jerusalem as Aelia Capitalina, but he did use Hadrian's term Palestine. Eusebius considered himself to be one of the bishops of Palestine. Thus, the anti-Israel, anti-Christian name of Palestine was assimilated into the Church's vocabulary as the Byzantine Empire was being established.
The Church has, since that time, broadly used the term Palestine in literature and in maps to refer to the Land of Israel. It should be noted, however, that the Crusaders called their land the Kingdom of Jerusalem. When the British received the mandate after World War I, though, they called the land on both sides of the Jordan River, Palestine. This became the accepted geo-political term for several decades, and those who lived in the land were called Palestinians, whether they were Jews, Arabs or Europeans.
Even evangelical Christians who believe in the future of Israel have used the term Palestine. The New Scofield Reference Edition of the Bible has maps in the back entitled "Palestine under the Herods." There never was a Palestine under the Herods. This is a serious misidentification. It would be something like looking at a modern map of Texas and having it titled "Mexico in the Twentieth Century."
The MacArthur Study Bible published just last year contains a map called "Palestine in Christ's Time" There are numerous references in the notes to something called first-century Palestine.
It appears that Bible-believing Christians have either knowingly or unwittingly followed the world, pagans and haters of Israel in calling Israel by the anti-Israel term Palestine. It is found throughout Bible maps, Bible commentaries and textbooks.

Proper Designation of the Land
The use of the term Palestine was biblically inaccurate and wrong throughout the Church age. However, it is more than just wrong, it is devastating in our time, when the term Palestine is the cornerstone of the propaganda war against Israel and the Jewish people. Do we want to use terms invented by those who hate Christ, the Bible and Israel? Do we want to utilize terms used by the enemies of Israel who desire to accomplish nothing less than the destruction of the Jewish people? I think not.
Christians should use the terminology of the Bible wherever possible. Why not go back to the terms used in the New Testament? The Gospel writers used the term Israel to refer to the Land. Why should we use any other term when referring to the Land, especially now that the Jews are back in the Land and have re-established the nation of Israel among the family of nations?

Dr. Thomas McCall, is a Senior Theologian.
He holds a Th.M. in Old Testament studies and a Th.D. in Semitic languages and Old Testament.

The people living in what is now Israel 100 years ago were largely forced off their land through terror by Zionists in the 20s-40s. That was wrong. So is undemocratic rule in the rest of the Middle East.

But Begin is now history. The Ottomon actions in whats is now Israel are history. The massacres in what is now Israel by Babylonians, Romans, Crusaders, Mongolians, etc.. is all history and there isnt much that can be done to take back the lives that were lost.

Real issues need to be dealt with like racism, democracy, inequality etc... History is good to have an incite into human nature but bringing up historical horrors leaves everyone both victim and murderer. Was the Serbian use of the horrors of Turkish invasion justified when used to kill Bosnians? Of course it was irrelevent. People are not responsible for the actions of their parents let along grandparents and greatgrandparents.