Peloni: Here is the 8th installment of Joseph Shellim’s 12 Deceptions, an excerpt from his important work, “Philistine-To-Palestine”. We are posting one Deception each week, and links to the previous installments can be found at the bottom.
Joseph Shellim
Arafat (second from right) with other civil engineering students in Cairo University, 1951
- “There is not even the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish temple on this place (Jerusalem Temple Mount) in the past. In the whole city there is not even a single stone indicating Jewish history.” – Yasser Arafat; Camp David Summit, 2000.
The Christianity community should have been aghast at such statements; however, there was no repudiation or responses. Such claims are displayed across the world by the factor of silence of Christian leaders who yet supported Arafat. It is in parallel with the equally false notions of Arabs presented as Palestinians and Bethlehem as West Bank; these are contradictions of both the Christian and Islamic Scriptures and history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Roman archives remain the great exposure of such deceptions.
The Quran affirms Jerusalem as the Jews’ holy city and gives elaborate construction details of King Solomon’s Temple (Ch. 34:13); as well of the destruction of both the first and second temples (Ch.17:7).
Arafat [Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman] was an Egyptian citizen born prior to Israel’s re establishment. A member of the Islamic Brotherhood, a group established with the goal of Israel’s extermination in its charter, Arafat will emerge to create a new people hailing itself as the dispossessed Palestinians from time immemorial. Yasser Arafat who led the Palestinian Liberation Organization, claiming his place of birth was Palestine and that he was related to the Jerusalem Husseini clan, has also been shown to be a deception. The most famous Palestinian refugee was born in Cairo and attended the Cairo University, as reported by French and Palestinian biographers and the historian Said Aburish, respectively.[29]
A Historical Deception.
There are those who do respond to open falsehoods against Israel:
- “There has never been a country called Palestine. This was a nickname for the Holy Land under the Romans. The people who today call themselves Palestinians are Arabs and they referred to themselves as Arabs for centuries until they were dubbed “Palestinians” as a publicity ploy by the terrorist and founder of the PLO, Yassir Arafat, who himself did not use the title “Palestinian” until after the year 1964.” – (Courtesy Bob Siegel, ‘The Historical truths behind the Israel – Palestine conflict’; Communities Digital News; 22281/# OEizztbGfH Fpjx2L.99)
- “The PLO Reps join Arafat. Contradictions abound; Palestinian leaders claim to be descended from the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Jebusites and the first Christians. They also “hijacked” Jesus and ignored his Judean origin, at the same time claiming the Jews never were a people and never built the Holy Temples in Jerusalem.” – Eli Hertz, Mandate for Palestine: The Legal Aspects of Jewish Rights; Daled Amos, Dec 28, 11)
Both the Hebrew and non-Hebrew Canaanites were not an Arab people; and the Philistines were not a Semitic people. The ancient Egyptians and the Copts were also not Arab prior to the 7th Century invasion; nor were the Lebanese Phoenicians Arab. The Hebrew Bible that introduced the names Canaan, Jebusites, Palestine and Arab, say the ancient Jebusites and Philistines had historical connections with the Israelites and none with the Arabs. The Jebusites aligned with Joshua and later sold a hillside to King David which became part of the Jerusalem capital. This was a legal transaction between domestic groups of Canaan; it is similar to a government transacting lands owned by its citizens to build a bridge or a monument.
Both the Jebusites and Philistines became Israelites under King David and were exiled along with the ten tribes of Israel by Assyria. The Tel Dan discovery confirmed the ‘House of David’ dynasty as an Israelite nation. Thereby, there are significant historical factors that affirm Canaan, which became Israel and Judea, as the homeland of the Jews and not an Arab land. Such is evident that the claims are known as false by the Christianity community, yet they are not responded to; it is the strange plight of the Jews.
Theologically, it appears the changing of names of the landmass housing the most sacred figures of both the Hebrew and Christian groups, is an implement that seeks to overturn ancient history and theology via politically structured means in the 20th Century, rather than utilize historical, archaeological or archival proofing, or any other measures of resolving. Thus Jesus is seen as a Muslim; so is King David; figures born and buried in this land are now called as Muslim figures of the West Bank. History, as evidenced by all archaeological relics and ancient scriptures, says David and Jesus were born in Judea and spoke Hebrew; the Book of Acts (26:14) states Jesus’ cross had Hebrew inscriptions. The Tel Dan discovery mentions the ‘House of David’ by an enemy nation; and mounds of coins un-earthed from this region is embossed as ‘Shekel of Israel’; thereby King David was a Hebrew Israelite. [30]
Half-Shekel Coins of Israel used in the Jerusalem Temple.
The world has not seen a relic or a single imprint that says this is an Arab Palestinian land; it is in contradiction of Arafat’s statements and all the UN Resolutions, the historical data and the recorded archives of the Persian, Greek, Roman and Hebrew writings. When examined, it is also in contradiction of the treaties executed in the last two centuries of the modern world.
Today’s issue is substantially a theological belief that has been activated via a political frontage. One can say it is more tragic for the Arabian people; they have been turned away from their true historical and ancestral veracity and subjected to a bold and blatant travesty, promoted by a fear of confronting such deceptions. Such deceptions and anomalies have seeped into the cultural beliefs of the Arabs as factual history, including by its scholars that the nations have failed to respond to correctly:
- “The Town of Hebron is an Arab Town. There were no Jews in it before 1967” – Edward Said, Islamic Academic.
- Abraham, as recorded in the Hebrew Bible, was a Hebrew, acknowledged so in ancient relics of Egypt and the Dead Sea Scrolls; both are historical evidences that predate the advent of Islam. Hebron was a sacred town of Judea under both Rome and Christianity, perhaps equally as Jerusalem. Abraham is recorded as purchasing the Michaela cave and its surrounding fields in Hebron, which was Canaan; it is the first recorded legal land transaction and the birthplace of Judaism; these mark a sovereign Jewish state that subsisted till 1,500 years later in the Roman reign. Many of Arafat’s Egyptian Arab ancestors were recruited in those Roman legions that destroyed the Jerusalem Temple.
Numerous artifacts dating 3,000 years were discovered in the layers of the Hebron burial site of Abraham and Sarah; the large covering building structure of the cave was built by the King Herod, identifying the Hebron site as part of Judea more than 2,000 years ago. Other such legal ancient transactions are recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. Abraham’s grandson Jacob purchased Shechem (Nablus), where his son Joseph is recorded as buried; and David as purchasing the hilltop in Jerusalem from the Jebusites, who were not an Arab people. King David is recorded in ancient writings that he established Jerusalem as a Capital city, with its temple as built by his son King Solomon; a host of surrounding nations are listed in the enormous temple construction, with the notable absence of an Arab group.
Although these are theological archives, there are no negating counter archives of them and they are substantially validated by archaeological relics. There are no archives from the Arabic writing, which never existed at these periods that may justify Arafat’s claims. It is highly implausible to give any credence to a counter claim 3,000 years later than is found in the Tel Dan relic.
The Temple builders are listed as the Phoenicians and the Jews. The Roman archives, the ancient Hebrew Scriptures, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Bible all affirm Hebron and Jerusalem as the land of Israel; the entire land is also acknowledged as possessions of the Jews by prominent Islamic scholars.
How Arafat Became a Palestinian.
- “The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.” – (Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee member Zahir Muhsein, Dutch newspaper “Trouw, March 31, 1977).
How Jesus Became a Palestinian.
- “Arafat declared that “Jesus was a Palestinian,” a preposterous claim that echoes the words of Hanan Ashrawi, a Christian Arab who, in an interview during the 1991 Madrid Conference, said: “Jesus Christ was born in my country, in my land,” and claimed that she was “the descendant of the first Christians,” disciples who spread the gospel around Bethlehem some 600 years before the Arab conquest.” – (The Legal Aspects of Jewish Rights; Daled Amos.)
The Gospels that Ashrawi refers to in fact calls Judea as ‘Land of the Jews” (Matt.2:20), not land of the Palestinians. Such emboldened statements can be substantially attributed to the lack of response from the Christian community, even handing out honor degrees and promotions for what can be seen as manifest historical and theological deceptions.
There were no people or land called as Palestine or Palestinian in the first century. This name emerged in the ‘second’ century, namely by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 135 AD/CE. That Jesus was not a Palestinian says the issue is a theological one and impossible to subsist historically.
Here are links to previous installments of the 12 Deceptions:
Deception 1: The Name Deception
Deception 2: The Balfour Deception
Deception 3: The White Paper Deception
Deception 4: The Jordan Deception
Deception 5: The ‘West-Bank’ Deception
Deception 6: The Time Immemorial Deception
Deception 7: The Refugee Deception
Episode 6. The “Palestinian-Jesus” Deception.
[See Next week]
Link to the book on Amazon:
https://amzn.to/2XCR3DH
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