AboutDavid Expertise I am an expert in Middle Eastern history, and Israeli history in particular. My main focus is Biblical analysis, the origins of Islam, and medieval and modern historical events in Israel. Everything you see happening in the world today, has a history.
Experience I am a free-lance writer who has previously lived in, and studied the history of, Israel.
Organizations I contribute to the One Israel Fund and will be joining CAMERA shortly.
Let me ask you another very basic question. When did this entire "hate the Jews" thing start? I haven't heard of any historical killing spree (like the Catholics, for example) that makes me understand why "anti-Semitism" is such a big thing. I mean, you don't have "anti-Catholics" in the news... well, not as often.
As for the TIME's Arafat article, I don't think it was anti-Semitic. In fact, it was mostly Arafat’s bad history.. I was left with the curiosity of how this guy got to win the Nobel peace prize. Thus, that's the part I feel they left out. I can make my own conclusions on how for a few years within his very anti-peace life he managed a peace treaty here and there. But that’s the part I believe they should have shed light on.
Again, thanks.
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
Hello there,
I’m trying to makes sense of the current conflict space wise. To be able to locate the history of the land and its conflict in a map…
Also, I know very little about this whole thing. I read some of your answers and this is what I concluded, how “basically” right am I?
Israel was a Jewish biblical concept that came “true” in 1948 when big countries recognized the new state. The new state was recognized within the state called Palestine, were both Arabs and Jews have lived for a very long time. Before Israel, Arabs were Arabs. After it, the PLO came along and there were Arabs, and those self-proclaimed Palestinians. Since then, both have been fighting for the same land. Correct? (Like I said, I know nothing) Actually, just read a TIME magazine article on Yasser Arafat… I got the impression that was a bit biased, but revealing.
Thanks
-----Answer-----
Hi Jose, sorry I took so long to answer you; computer problems.
First off, I appreciate your honesty in saying you know nothing about the conflict. You'd be surprised at how many people I encounter who think they know all about the conflict when in reality, they know nothing at all. They are called "imbeciles". RE the conflict in maps, there's a section for that on www.israelinsider.com. I suggest you go there. You'll be able to find maps and others information on Israel that might interest you.
Now, are you're right in your conclusion from my previous answers on this subject? - well, yes and no. I'll address just those points you made that I feel need addressing.
It's not quite correct that "Israel was a Biblical concept that came "true" in 1948..." In fact, it's possible to divide Israeli history into several sections. 1) The period from Abraham to the end of the 40-year wandering in the desert. This was when the Jewish religion and people were formed but the idea of statehood was just a concept as you said. 2) From the 40-year wandering and until approx. the 4th century, a peiod covering approx. 1600 years, Israel was a Jewish state - sometimes independent, sometimes not. 3) From the 4th century and until 1948, the Jews became a minority in their own land, but they never gave up their dream of reestablishing their state in their homeland. 4) And of course, since 1948, Israel became an independent Jewish state once again. Given this history, the "big countries" just simply recognized a Jewish right to Israel that had already existed for thousands of years.
It is true that the Arabs had also lived in Israel for a very long time - since the 7th century. But this is also the case throughout the Middle East outside of the Arabian Peninsula. The ancient peoples mentioned in the Bible - the Egyptians, Assyrians, Arameans, Phoenicians, Kurds (Medes), etc. all still exist today, as either Christian or Muslim nations, but they are all under Arab occupation and oppression in their homelands (for example, in Darfur) even though the Arabs have also lived in these places for just as long as in Israel. Only the Jews managed to win their homeland back from the Arab occupiers. So it certainly seems like just a fight over the same piece of real estate. But if the other indigenous peoples that I mentioned won their homelands back from the Arabs, it would seem like they and the Arabs are also fighting for the same piece of real estate.
As far as the article in TIME magazine, I'm not a bit surprised that it's biased. Many of the major American and especially, the European outlets tend to be anti-Semitic. In fact, the LA Times is notorious for spreading anti-Jewish propaganda. If you would like to get some media sources that are more balanced in their reporting of the Arab-Israeli conflict, I suggest the website I mentioned earlier, and also, you can contact the people at www.camera.org for sources that perhaps I don't know about.
If you would like to ask more question on this subject, feel free to contact me any time.
Answer Hello again.
RE when the whole "hate the Jews" thing start, that's a very interesting question. Unfortunately, it belongs under the same catagory as "What is the meaning of life?" And the answer to both questions is, I just don't know. One could go back to the time that the Jews were made slaves in the land of the Pharaohs, or perhaps the persecution under the Phillistines, or when the Jews were exiled from their homeland and taken into captivity in Babylonia, or perhaps the constant persecutions under the Syrian Greeks, the Pagan Romans, the Catholic Romans and other Christians, the Byzantines, the Arabs, etc. It's really impossible to pinpoint exactly when it all started except that, and the consequent massacres that ofttimes accompanied the hatred, has been going on since time immemorial and justified by every excuse imaginable that was based on nothing except shear hate.
RE the article on Arafat, I honestly haven't read it so I'm sure you can educate me on what the article said. I'll admit, I'm sort of surprised that TIME, of all magazines, would actually allow an article showing Arafat's true nature. That's so unlike it.
