The Conflict — Part 1

If it were not for the Qur’an’s (Koran) part in urging Muslims to fight and kill Jews, whom its god Allah has “cursed” and turned into “sons of pigs and monkeys,” according to several entries in this supposed holy book, we could safely leave the whole Arab-Israeli conflict on the doorstep of Britain. However, it is here that we need a brief but accurate history lesson, which will no doubt differ greatly from the rehashed, rewritten version that is served up by the lame-brain, inherently anti-Semitic leftist media, along with some encyclopedias whose editors have allowed so-called Arab ‘historians’ to rewrite history in accordance with the Arab world’s anti-Israel narrative, which has become so very acceptable to people who neither use their brains to think nor reason.

The aggressive attempt to usurp the entire history of the ancient Jewish nation in favor of a more palatable Arab version has borne fruit. Newscasters worldwide now propagate the reversal of the heroic biblical story of a brave David who fought Goliath the giant. Today’s media’s version is now one of the giant Israel who beats up on little Arab kids.

Thucydides, a Greek historian who lived in the fifth century BC, wrote in his History of the Peloponnesian War: “Most people will not take pains to get at the truth of things, and are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear.” The observation of Thucydides is as true today as it was 2,500 years ago. This writer cannot repeat often enough that those who control the people’s information will, ultimately, control their judgments, opinions and actions. This has proven so true in Israel’s case, therefore this writer, who is himself an historian, will endeavor to blow some of the dust and cobwebs away and give short, simplified facts rather than colorful fantasies, which have proven to be mere products of overly fertile Arab minds.

In 1917 Britain’s General Edmund Allenby, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, succeeded in routing the Turkish forces defending what was then called Palestine, which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. Fighting on different fronts during World War One the Turkish empire, which had spanned more than 600 years was brought to its knees and it ended in 1922 when it was replaced by today’s Turkish Republic.

Palestine was formally the territory of the sovereign biblical nation of Israel, which had been conquered by Pompey of Rome in 63 BC and came under Roman civil administration. Rome’s occupation of Israel was wracked by civil disturbances and wars against the Jews which Rome was forced to wage against the rebellious Jews, and which brought about the destruction of the magnificent holy temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, together with the deaths of countless hundreds of thousands of Israelites – in execs of one million Jewish souls. Rome renamed Jerusalem Ælia Capitolina after the Emperor Hadrian (Ælias Hadrianus) and the god Jupiter Capitolinus and had also built a temple to Jupiter on the site of the Jewish temple, after which it began offering swine on its altar. The desecration of the holy site was more than the Jews could bear and they rebelled. The beautiful temple that had taken Herod the Great forty-six years to build (John 2:20) was burnt to the ground; not a single stone was left standing upon another because the Romans tore the stones apart to get at the gold which had melted and run down between the cracks.

After being subdued by Rome the Jews continued to chafe at the bit under Roman occupation; their discontent under Rome’s rule culminated in the great Jewish Revolt, which broke out in the year 130 AD. The revolt lasted until the Jews were finally vanquished in 135 AD.

Rome paid dearly for its wars against the Jews; thousands of Roman soldiers died and one entire legion was wiped out by the Jewish fighters during the final revolt. According to legend, that legion was never replaced. Rome became enraged with the Jews and some two million Jews either died in the fighting or were simply slaughtered in revenge taken by Roman soldiers. Jews were banned from Jerusalem and its environs; around 100,000 were taken to Rome as sport for gladiators in the great arenas; thousands fled abroad, away from the wrath of Rome. In a bid to break the intense patriotic connection between the Jews and their land, which was a divine inheritance given by God Almighty, Rome renamed Israel and Judea Syria-Palæstina, which centuries later became known simply as Palæstina, the Latin form of Philistia – the land of the ancient Philistines – and this finally morphed into the Anglicized Palestine that we all know, hear, and read about in the news headlines of today.

At no time was the land of Israel ever bereft of its Jewish inhabitants. Even after the wars, slaughters, deportations, expulsions, and used as sport for gladiators in Rome, some thousands remained in the land, living mainly in small communities in the peripheral areas. Jews have lived continuously in their ancient land for far longer than 3,000 years – the Bible bears witness that King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel around 1,000 BC, but other kings had ruled Israel for centuries before that. Rome’s banishment of Jews from Jerusalem and its name change effectively ended more than 1,100 years of uninterrupted Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. However, the Jews still remain the only people who have continuously inhabited the land for longer than 3,000 years.

Following the Muslim conquest of Palæstina in the 7th century AD the name Ælia Capitolina gradually faded from use. Arabs called the city Al Quds and still do so today. Christians and Jews reverted back to the original name, Jerusalem, and today the city is universally known by that name.

To be continued

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