Myths of the Middle East
- From: "news13102005@xxxxxxxxxxx" <news13102005@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 26 Mar 2007 00:16:21 -0700
Myths of the Middle East
I've been quiet since Israel erupted in fighting spurred by disputes
over the Temple Mount.
Until now, I haven't even bothered to say, "See, I told you so." But I
can't resist any longer. I feel compelled to remind you of the column
I wrote just a couple weeks before the latest uprising. Yeah, folks, I
predicted it. That's OK. Hold your applause.
After all, I wish I had been wrong. More than 80 people have been
killed since the current fighting in and around Jerusalem began. And
for what?
If you believe what you read in most news sources, Palestinians want a
homeland and Muslims want control over sites they consider holy.
Simple, right?
Well, as an Arab-American journalist who has spent some time in the
Middle East dodging more than my share of rocks and mortar shells,
I've got to tell you that these are just phony excuses for the
rioting, trouble-making and land-grabbing.
Isn't it interesting that prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, there
was no serious movement for a Palestinian homeland?
"Well, Farah," you might say, "that was before the Israelis seized the
West Bank and Old Jerusalem."
That's true. In the Six-Day War, Israel captured Judea, Samaria and
East Jerusalem. But they didn't capture these territories from Yasser
Arafat. They captured them from Jordan's King Hussein. I can't help
but wonder why all these Palestinians suddenly discovered their
national identity after Israel won the war.
The truth is that Palestine is no more real than Never-Never Land. The
first time the name was used was in 70 A.D. when the Romans committed
genocide against the Jews, smashed the Temple and declared the land of
Israel would be no more. From then on, the Romans promised, it would
be known as Palestine. The name was derived from the Philistines, a
Goliathian people conquered by the Jews centuries earlier. It was a
way for the Romans to add insult to injury. They also tried to change
the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina, but that had even less
staying power.
Palestine has never existed -- before or since -- as an autonomous
entity. It was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and Christian
crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire and, briefly, by the British after
World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land
to the Jewish people as their homeland.
There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct
Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine
governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable
from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis,
etc. Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle
East lands. Israel represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass.
But that's too much for the Arabs. They want it all. And that is
ultimately what the fighting in Israel is about today. Greed. Pride.
Envy. Covetousness. No matter how many land concessions the Israelis
make, it will never be enough.
What about Islam's holy sites? There are none in Jerusalem.
Shocked? You should be. I don't expect you will ever hear this brutal
truth from anyone else in the international media. It's just not
politically correct.
I know what you're going to say: "Farah, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the
Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem represent Islam's third most holy
sites."
Not true. In fact, the Koran says nothing about Jerusalem. It mentions
Mecca hundreds of times. It mentions Medina countless times. It never
mentions Jerusalem. With good reason. There is no historical evidence
to suggest Mohammed ever visited Jerusalem.
So how did Jerusalem become the third holiest site of Islam? Muslims
today cite a vague passage in the Koran, the seventeenth Sura,
entitled "The Night Journey." It relates that in a dream or a vision
Mohammed was carried by night "from the sacred temple to the temple
that is most remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might
show him our signs. ..." In the seventh century, some Muslims
identified the two temples mentioned in this verse as being in Mecca
and Jerusalem. And that's as close as Islam's connection with
Jerusalem gets -- myth, fantasy, wishful thinking. Meanwhile, Jews can
trace their roots in Jerusalem back to the days of Abraham.
The latest round of violence in Israel erupted when Likud Party leader
Ariel Sharon tried to visit the Temple Mount, the foundation of the
Temple built by Solomon. It is the holiest site for Jews. Sharon and
his entourage were met with stones and threats. I know what it's like.
I've been there. Can you imagine what it is like for Jews to be
threatened, stoned and physically kept out of the holiest site in
Judaism?
So what's the solution to the Middle East mayhem? Well, frankly, I
don't think there is a man-made solution to the violence. But, if
there is one, it needs to begin with truth. Pretending will only lead
to more chaos. Treating a 5,000-year-old birthright backed by
overwhelming historical and archaeological evidence equally with
illegitimate claims, wishes and wants gives diplomacy and peacekeeping
a bad name.
----------
Joseph Farah is founder, editor and CEO of WND and a nationally
syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate. His latest book is "Stop
The Presses: The Inside Story of the New Media Revolution." He also
edits the weekly online intelligence newsletter Joseph Farah's G2
Bulletin, in which he utilizes his sources developed over 30 years in
the news business.
.
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