Middle Eastern Myths�"The Myth of Palestine"�

By Dr. Richard Booker�

Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda and Information, said that a big lie that�is told often enough and long enough will eventually be accepted as truth. With�cooperation from the world's media, coupled with ignorance, apathy, and anti-Semi-�tism among the nations, Israel is being presented as a giant Goliath killing little�Davids who are only armed with stones. There would be peace in the Middle East if�only Goliath Israel would agree to little David's demand for a Palestinian state with�Jerusalem as its capital. This is one of the many lies constantly repeated to the�uninformed West. The purpose of this presentation is to expose some of the myths�(read that big lies) regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict.�

Myth #1 - The Myth of Palestine�

In an article entitled, "The Lesson of Palestine," printed in the Middle East Journal,�October 1949, Arab activist, Musa Alami, wrote, "how can people struggle for their�nation, when most of them do not know the meaning of the word? … The people are�in great need of a "myth" of imagination. The myth of nationality would create�"identity" and "self-respect."�

The Arab world has certainly demonstrated great skill in the "myth" of imagination.�They have done such a good job that they have convinced much of the world that�their "myths" are facts. Perhaps their biggest myth is the myth of Palestine. The Arab�world would have us believe that the Palestinians have been in "Palestine" from "time�immemorial" but were displaced by the Jews when Israel became a state in 1948. But�what are the facts?�

While we are not certain of the exact dates, Joshua conquered the Land God promised�the Jews in the 13th century BCE. King David established Jerusalem as the capital of�Israel around 1000 BCE. King Solomon built the Jewish Temple about 960 BCE. This�was almost 1000 years before the beginning of Christianity and 1600 years before the�rise of Islam. As Prime Minister Barak has noted, "When Jesus came to Jerusalem to�celebrate the feasts, he didn't come to a church or a mosque, he came to the Temple."�It is not the Church Mount or the Mosque Mount that is fought over, it is the Temple�Mount. It was the Temple Mount centuries before Christianity tried to make it the�Church Mount and Islam tried to make it the Mosque Mount.�

However, not to be confused with facts, in a personal audience I had several years�ago with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who was appointed by Arafat, he boldly�declared that the Arabs had been living in the Land for 10,000 years. Based on�conservative Bible chronology, that means the Arabs have been living in the Land�before the Almighty created Adam and Eve.�

How did Israel become Palestine and who are the Palestinians? The second Jewish�war with the Romans took place in 132-135 CE. Led by Rabbi Akiva and Simon bar�Kochba, the Jewish uprising was crushed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian who sought�to de-Judaize Jerusalem and make it a pagan city. Hadrian renamed Jerusalem "Aelia�Capitolina" in honor of Jupiter. He changed the name of Judea and gave it the name�of the Jews ancient enemy, the Philistines. He called it -- Palestine.�

Over time, Palestine was ruled by the Roman Byzantines (312-637) [Persian�interrupt 614-629], Omayyad Arabs (638-750), Islamic Abbassid's (750-1099),�Crusaders (1099-1291) [Saladin the Kurd interrupt 1187-93], Mamluks (1291-�1516), Ottoman Turks (1517-1917), and the British Mandate (1917-1948). None of�these rulers established a sovereign state in the Land and Jerusalem was never the�capital of any empire since the time of King David. Palestine was a forgotten�desolate, wasteland, but historical records show there was always a Jewish presence�in the Land.�

The revival of modern Jewish life in the Land began in the 1880's with the arrival of�Russian refugees from the Russian pogroms. A second wave of immigration, also�from Russia, was in 1905. This was followed by later immigrations resulting in a�growing Jewish population in the Land. When the Jews came to the Land, they found�a malaria infested swamp in the north and an uninhabitable desert in the south. It�was as if the God of the Bible had kept the Land hidden away in obscurity until the�rightful owners -- the Jews returned to claim it.�

The Jewish pioneers did not steal the Land from the Arabs. They purchased the Land�at highly inflated prices from absentee landlords living outside the Land. As the Jews�worked the Land, it began to prosper. While there were Jews and Arabs living in the�Land, there were many poor migrant Arab farm workers in the surrounding Arab�countries who needed work. When they heard that the Land was prospering under�the hand of the Jews, they migrated to Palestine to get work from the Jews.�Furthermore, the British allowed many thousands of Arabs into Palestine illegally�while barring the Jews from entering the Land. For the most part, the Arab�Palestinians are these peasant farm workers and illegal aliens.�

"Palestinians" have never been a distinct people, they have never had a sovereign land�called Palestine, Jerusalem has never been their capital, there is no Palestinian�language or culture, and there is no Palestinian people. It is a myth created after the�Jews liberated Jerusalem in 1967.�

Before the birth of the State of Israel, Arab leaders themselves denied the existence�of an Arab country called Palestine. In 1937, Arab leader, Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi said,�"There is no such country [as Palestine]! 'Palestine' is a term the Zionists invented!�There is no Palestine in the Bible. 'Palestine" is alien to us; it is the Zionists who�introduced it." In 1946, a distinguished Princeton professor and Arab historian said,�"There is no such thing as Palestine in Arab history, absolutely not."�

All who lived in the Land, Jews, Arabs, and Christians, were called Palestinians. In fact,�the Jerusalem Post was called the Palestinian Post. Under the British Mandate, the�Palestinian Jews were given a state. But before this state came into existence, Colonial�Secretary, Winston Churchill, in 1922, took away seventy-seven percent of the�geographic area promised to the Jews and created Transjordan as a state for the�Palestinian Arabs. Israel would be for the Palestinian Jews and Transjordan (now�Jordan) for the Palestinian Arabs.�

Israel became a state in the War of Independence in 1948. At that time, approximately�600,000 Arabs fled to become refugee pawns in the hands of neighboring Arab states.�Some number of Arabs stayed to become Israeli citizens. While we certainly sympa-�thize with the plight of the Arab refugees, their problems could easily be solved if their�Arab brothers cared enough to assimilate them as the Jews did their own 800,000�immigrants from the Arab countries.�

Visit Dr. Richard Booker online:�www.drrichardbooker.com or www.rbooker.com�

Sounds of the Trumpet, Inc.�Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies�

4747 Research Forest Dr., # 180-330 (For Mail & Packages ONLY)�The Woodlands TX 77381�

Richard Booker, MBA, Ph.D., is an ordained Christian minister, President of Sounds of the�Trumpet, Inc., and the Founder/Director of the Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies.�

He is the author of thirty books which are used by churches and Bible schools around the�world. He has also developed many seminars and Bible college level courses and writes reg-�ularly for Christian magazines.�

Dr. Booker has traveled extensively for over thirty years teaching in churches and at confer-�ences on various aspects of the Christian life as well as Israel and the Hebraic roots of Chris-�

tianity.�

Dr. Booker and his wife, Peggy, lead yearly tour groups to Israel where, for eighteen years, Dr. Booker was a�speaker at the International Christian Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem attended by over�5,000 believers from 100 nations.�

Dr. Booker’s teachings are designed to help believers better understand the Bible and their covenant God. He�has a God-given ability to communicate the Scriptures in clear, easy-to-understand language with practical ap-�plication for everyday Christians that brings life out of the Bible and into people’s hearts.�

Dr. Booker and Peggy founded the Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies (IHCS) in 1997 as a ministry to edu-�cate Christians in the Hebraic culture and background of the Bible, build relationships between Christians and�Jews, and give comfort and support to the people of Israel.�

Their tireless work on behalf of Christians and Jews has been recognized around the world as well as being rep-�resented at the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus.�Dr. Booker has a daily television program which can be seen on the internet at www.godslearningchannel.com�and around the world via satellite. He has produced over 350 programs.�

 Dr. Booker is a spiritual father to many believers around the world.�

About Dr. Richard Booker�