Newt Gingrich - a name which sounds as though it would be far better placed in a child’s novel about a man, who takes the form of a slightly less-monstrous looking Grinch, attending his child’s Nativity play at school one evening and stands up in the middle of the play, to scream at his child playing Jesus, “You’re not real. You’re invented!” Bit of an odd child’s novel. Though of course, he would never do this, what with all being right-wing, religious et cetra, et cetra.
His comments, however, in an interview less than a week ago, about the so-called invention of the Palestinian people struck a particular chord, which resonated with Palestinian activists, academics and so forth. Of course it did.
Was it down to the double standard? Perhaps - the ignorance of the indigenous American Indian that he overlooked may have played it’s part the hurtfulness of his remarks. Was it merely a nuzzle at the bottoms of the US Zionist lobby in a bid to project himself closer to the backside of Israel? Perhaps. We can all pry and query into the comments with little real meat to gnaw to back at, but there is a prominent (albeit slightly laughable) question that needs settling - Are the Palestinians really an invented people?
I am unable to either fathom or recollect the amount of occasions in which I have argued (and I use the term ‘argued’ very purposefully as 90% of Zionists do not comprehend the concept of calm, constructive debate) that Palestine has existed, historically. Its foundations exist in the libraries of our planet, the hearts of its people and the souls of those long gone; and that will never be erased by the lunacy of a few. Tales of Roman referral to the area as “Palestine”; Mamluk rule in areas called “Gaza”; even Byzantine-dubbed Palestine do little to instil and compound the belief (supported by fact) that Palestine existed and still exists. Palestinians existed and still exist. The human beings who lived in these areas were referred to as the native Palestinian people (though of course consult the growing library of Zionist edited books and this will almost always be left out/altered in a Ministry of Truth, Orwellian fashion).
So then that nugget of hope trickles slowly down stream and as you run after it, it runs away faster and faster. Until there is calm in the water and the hope is restored as you realise that all you needed was to look at the narrative a little differently.
In 1897 as the Zionist movement grew, and funding pushed the movement towards a heightened level of success the ‘First Zionist Congress’ was held. These were the people who are today responsible (alongside the likes of Balfour, Rothschild et al.) for the creation of the state of Israel. As that chap Herzl sat and nattered in Basle, Switzerland with his cronies, the ‘Basle Program’ came to being. And you know what was in this program? Herzl and his Zionist chums referred to the people of the land by a name, though I dare not utter it again, or I might be shot down by the rumble of outraged Zionists blind to the truth. (My excitement’s kicking in).
It emphatically stated,
Zionism aims at establishing for the Jewish people a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine. For the attainment of this purpose, the Congress considers the following means serviceable:
1. The promotion of the settlement of Jewish agriculturists, artisans, and tradesmen inPalestine….
Fret not! The plot thickens and this is where it all becomes that little bit more juicy.The Jewish Virtual Library’s recollection, however, simply doesn’t align.
Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Eretz-Israel secured under public law. The Congress contemplates the following means to the attainment of this end:
1) The promotion by appropriate means of the settlement in Eretz-Israel of Jewish farmers, artisans, and manufacturers.
So where then does that cliché called ‘truth’ stand? Did the original document forged in the fires of First Zionist Congress refer to the native peoples as the people of Palestine or Eretz-Israel?
I, have sadly, some terrible news.
Lo and behold, the original document (it doesn’t take a genius to decipher the references to Palestine). And this mass significance. It’s a clear indication of both the recognition of the area called Palestine and its native Palestinian people; however arguably yet more significantly it highlights the lengths to which this information is being veiled from the public and being presented through spectacles one might called “degradation of historical truths”. And these spectacles reach far and beyond this one article.
It seems as though, Dear Zionists, Palestine did exist. Palestinians did exist and the very people responsible for the movement which has led the state of Israel in to existence today recognised it also.
It’s time, we do believe, for you to recognise it as well.
