(Your Voice in a World where Zionism, Steel, and Fire have
turned Justice Mute)
The Arab Identity of Palestine
Ibrahim Alloush
Just for the record, a few things need to be pointed out regarding the
ongoing discussion on racism and Apartheid being (or not being) the core the
Zionist regime on many 'pro-Palestinian' sites and discussion groups
nowadays.
Regarding the historical background, the Arab identity of Palestine
emanates not from the Islamic conquest, but with the Canaanites who came
into Palestine from the shores of the Arabian Peninsula around 2500
B.C., and who had sovereignty over the land until around 1000
B.C.
Hence Palestine was called the Land of Canaanites, until the Philistines
came from the island of Crete and intermarried with the Canaanites to
melt peacefully into them leaving only the name behind: Palestine.
The ancient Hebrews were indeed part of the peoples of the region but
they came into Palestine (the Land of the Canaanites) as invaders.
During their presence in Palestine, the Canaanites continued to be
there. After their (two) invader states were dismantled by the ancient
Iraqis, the Canaanites continued to be there. Hence, the Hebrews
experienced a transient presence in Palestine, whereas the presence of
the Canaanites (ancient Arabs) in the land was continuous since ancient
history.
In short, Palestine has always been Arab. Hebrews, just like the Romans
or the Persians, have no independent claim to the land. They were
transient invaders even then.
Present-day Jews, especially the AshkeNAZIS are not even genetically
related to ancient Hebrews. As
Arthur Koestler demonstrates in his The
Thirteenth Tribe, the AshkeNAZIS are descendants of the Khazars from
around the region of the Caspian Sea. These Khazari tribes are NOT even
Semitic. They have a Turco-Finnish origin.
As such, they are the true anti-semites being anti-Palestinian Arab and
all.
But whether they are anti-semitic or not is really not that important.
FOR THE ESSENCE OF THE ZIONIST REGIME IS NOT APARTHEID OR RACISM, BUT
OCCUPATION.
In other words, our goal as Palestinian Arabs is definitely NOT to
achieve equality with the invaders. Anyone who tells you otherwise is
just telling you what you want to hear and is merely tailoring our
political message to appease Westerners.
The crux of the problem is the settler-invader SOCIETY (not just the
apparatus of the Zionist state) called "Israel".
If somebody opposes invasion and occupation - such as was
done by the Nazis in
Europe or the Japanese in
Asia in
World War II or by the French in
Algeria (and lots of
other places) then they should also oppose invasion
and occupation by the Zionists of Palestine.
The invader came, so the invader must leave. It's as simple as that.
The invader has no claim WHATSOEVER to Palestine either on historical or
moral grounds. The only thing these invaders have is a 'religious'
claim that Yahweh gave them the Land of the Canaanites. In fact, even
in the Old Testament it is clear that the land doesn't belong to the
Jew; only that Yahweh allegedly granted the Jews the Land of the
Canaanites. So, the Jewish claim to Palestine is merely an article of
religious faith, whereas the Arab claim to Palestine is historical,
legal, moral, and everything else, on top of being an article of Islamic
faith (if the matter of religious faith is to be accepted as grounds for
claiming land!).
So, feel free to listen to those Palestinians and Arabs too eager to get
accepted amongst Westerners. The truth of the matter is that the
majority of Palestinians and Arabs have never ever reliquished their
rightful claim to the land of Palestine on account of the land being
Arab one-hundred percent, and exclusively.
We owe no explanations to invaders and their imperialist supporters who
ask us to prove goodwill towards Jewish invaders of our land. It's the
invaders who must show goodwill by leaving Arab Palestine.
After liberation, those foreigners interested in visiting or living in
Palestine must apply for a visa just like in any sovereign state
anywhere else. Their applications will be viewed on a case by case
basis. The point is that Jews, as a group, have NO independent claim to
Palestine, whether fully or partially.
In the meantime, Palestinians and Arabs have the right to resort to any
means necessary to liberate their land from invaders.
Naturally, occupations are inherently racist because they start with
abrogating
the rights of the occupied. And so long as there's occupation,
there'll be
racism. In Palestine, for example, racism is practiced against
Palestinians living
in the land occupied in 1948 while apartheid is practiced against
Palestinians
in the land occupied in 1967!
It is true that in the special case of Zionism, the racism springs
forth from the
prevailing outlook in Europe and North America in the late 19th
Century,
to say nothing about the racist attitudes reflected in Jewish
religious lore which of course goes even further back in time.
The point is that the essence of Zionism is primarily about
occupation. The
Jews didn't come to Palestine just to exercise racism or build an
apartheid regime,
but to expel Palestinian Arabs and replace them. Therefore, the
main feature of
the Palestinian cause, as opposed to South Africa for example, is the
fact that the
majority of Palestinians live as refugees outside Palestine!
So the racism and the apartheid, in general and especially in this
case, are
merely minor by-products of the occupation, and we're not
interested in treating symptoms... The invasion, the settler-colonial
entity, must itself be completely UPROOTED.
No apologies to anyone! And if you support Palestinian rights, that
means you support the liberation of Palestine, not some roundabout
liberal guilt trip which is foisted on Palestinians to make their
strategic goal "equality with the invader" for goodness sakes!