Anyone can
and should have the privilege to choose the name they wish to be known as. That
entitlement needs to be respected.
However, and
it is a BIG however, if the choice of name is made for the mere intention of
establishing proof of legitimacy, then the onerous task of forming such
validation rests entirely on the party that elected to be called by that name.
This
principle is, especially, important in the negotiation of historical facts. For
the sake of posterity, historical facts cannot and should not be tempered with to
win one propaganda battle or another. When they are, they become narratives of
the worst, twisted kind.
Accuracy,
particularly when it comes to the middle east conflict, is of utmost importance
regardless of which side of the conflict one supports.
The recent
Gaza war, in my view, not only reinforces this notion, but it also brings to
light, yet again, the demand of its dwellers to have a state of their own.
Regardless of whether their claim to statehood is right or wrong, I wish to address
their designated name for that political entity if and when it is founded.
Those who call
themselves “Palestinians,” which, as I stated above, have every right to call
themselves by whatever name they wish, did that with unequivocal tendentiousness.
The sole intention of adopting that name in 1967, was to “educate” the world
that they were here first, before the United Nations General Assembly voted to
create the Jewish state, in 1947. It was a means of the well-oiled Arab
propaganda machine to start the process of delegitimization of the only Jewish
state, Yisrael.
For those
who are not familiar with the history of the region, let me give you a bird’s eye
view of it.
In the year 135
C.E., a Roman emperor by the name of Hadrian, out of sheer hatred to the Jewish
nation, which was exiled out of their home in Eretz Yisrael, decided to
arbitrarily change the name of the land to “Palestine,” or more precisely, “Palaestina.”
The purpose of such a move was to sever any connection between the Jews and
their Homeland.
The name “Palestine” was selected by the Romans in a deliberate effort to add insult
to injury to the already beaten, broken and exiled Jewish nation. The Romans
named the area after the Philistines, one of the worst enemies of Am Yisrael.
The Philistines were heathen sea faring people who, as the meaning of their
names suggests, invaded (the root of the word Philistine is “to invade”) the
Levant region in the 12th century B.C.E.
Are you
still with me?
In 1920,
when the League of Nations voted to establish a National Jewish Home in Eretz
Yisrael, Britain was granted a Mandate over the area and was entrusted with the
task of preparing the ground for such an eventuality. At that time, the
original name “Eretz Yisrael” was officially added and became synonymous with “Palestine,”
as the acronym in the parenthesis on both the coin and the stamp below suggests.
Since the letter
“P” does not exist in the Arabic language, the language of those who elected to
call themselves “Palestinians,” they had no choice but to pronounce the
original name as “Falestine” and call themselves “Falestinians.” Quite a
distortion of the name, wouldn’t you say so, especially when one wishes to establish
themselves as the rightful inheritors and owners of a place called “Palestine?”
This leaves inquiring
minds such as mine with two questions.
The first is,
if anyone wishes to claim legitimate ownership over a territory, why of all
names do they choose to be called after invaders, the Philistines, which are
recorded as such in the annals of history? Strange, isn’t it?
The second question I have is, if one cannot pronounce the name which one opts
to embrace, for the mere purpose of establishing legality of ownership over a
territory or any other entity, why use that name? It defeats their goal, does
it not?
Again, I have no problem with the right of anyone to be called by the name of their choice. It should be respected. Likewise, though, no one should be denied the right to ask what sounds like valid questions, albeit uncomfortable, questions that are begging to be asked. That, too, should be respected.
