-Caveat Lector-
MYTHS OF THE MIDDLE EAST By Mr Joseph Farah.
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
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 Mohammad 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
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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