Despite the widespread claims that Israel was 'Palestinian land' misappropriated by the UN to Israel following the holocaust, the history tells a different story.
It indicates a land that was inhabited since before 1000BC, predating Islam by over 1500 years. Of course there are many historical references to this, but I want to share just a recent one that I cam across. It is a book written in the 18th century by a Dutch scholar Hadriani Relandis. The original was published in Latin and Dutch but my school latin is not good enough and my dutch is worse, so I hvae to rely on a translation from the folowing sitt,
http://remarkable-travels.blogspot.com/2013/09/hadriani-relandis-palaestina-ex.html.
There are some comments which dispute the commentary especially with regard to Relandis' travel to Palestine/now Israel, but not the translation itself.
Here are the paragraphs worth noting.
" The land was predominantly, desolate, empty;its' inhabitants few, concentrated in the towns of Acco, Gaza, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Tiberius, and Tzfat. Most of the inhabitants were Jews and the rest, Christians. There were few Muslims, and a scattering of nomad Bedouins. Nablus, called Shchem, where approximately 120 people, members of the Muslim Natsha family and approximately 70 Shomronites, lived. It is interesting and worthy to mention, that Relandi referred to the Muslims as "nomad Bedouins" who arrived in the area as construction and agriculture labor reinforcement, seasonal workers. In the Galilee capital, Nazareth, lived approximately 700 Christians and in Jerusalem approximately 5000 people, mostly Jews and some Christians. Relandi learned that not one settlement in Palestina, had a name that was of Arabic origin. Settlement names originated in the Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Roman languages.
This beautifully illustrated book contradicts any post-modern theory that claims a "Palestinian heritage," or Palestinian nation. It further strengthens and validates the connection, kinship of this country to the Jewish people, relevance, pertinence, and the absolute lack of Arab ownership, who adopted the Latin name Palestina for their own."
Of course, this is not the only source for the actual history and it would hardly be worth recording this post. But given the very real ongoing effort, and surprising success, at portraying Israelis as illegitimate colonizers, we have to take every opportunity to call it out.
Perhaps, perhaps, truth will win out, eventually.