If you have read my blog long enough, you will have noted that I make mention of the fact that I carry Native ancestry. My father’s family is of Nahua (Aztec) ancestry. My mother’s family carries some Cherokee, along with an ancestress whose background is still a mystery. Seems she was half Irish, half Native, from Alabama, and married a white man from a prominent Missouri family, much to his family’s abject horror. I mean, it was the 1800s, so of course the young couple faced some rather harsh discrimination. Nor is it a surprise that her tribal affiliation was never divulged. It happened a lot in those days, sad to say.
Given this, it goes without saying that I do have some rather strong opinions when it comes to the history of this nation, as it relates to the Native tribes that inhabited North America when the Europeans first stumbled across it. For clarification, while I am a proud American patriot, I am also very much a realist. What was done to my ancestors was beyond the pale in terms of horror, brutality, and evil. Make no mistake, I also recognize that those ancestors were doing much the same things to their neighbors, though on an admittedly smaller scale.
Our peoples were lied to, manipulated, and denied their basic human rights in various ways. They were ethnically cleansed from lands that they had occupied for millennia, which is heinous to say the least. Of course, I am referring to what was happening before the Europeans showed up on the scene and joined in the fray. Everyone took turns enslaving, marauding, conquering, and outright destroying each other in a way that clearly shows how and why the Europeans were so easily able to take over. Our ancestors had only themselves to blame, as tech was clearly not an issue.
Having covered that base, I want to ask a question that has been weighing on my mind for the last few weeks. Why do I see so many Native people supporting the Palestinians, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.? How is it that I see so many YouTube channels run by Natives, showing that (of course) they have access to the internet, and through it, to the sum and total of human existence, in all its messy and egregious glory, but so very few of us have caught on to the truth of the Israel-Palestine issue?
I am aware of the narrative that holds that the Jewish State, founded in 1948, was founded on what people refer to as “Palestine”, and the claim that these Jewish people stole this land from the native Palestinians. Anyone with more than five minutes of instruction in American History, OUR history, can see where the natural sympathy would go. According to this narrative, anyone with even a drop of Native blood in their veins ought to be outraged at what appears to be Europeans colonizing and usurping an indigenous population, and that outrage would be 100% warranted, IF that narrative were the slightest bit true. However, it really is not. The Palestinian narrative is based on no small number of historical lies, and we must now examine those lies, in the light of the truth, to better inform ourselves.
I will begin by stating that I fully support Israel. I do so without qualification, without an ounce of shame, embarrassment, or trepidation. As a man of Native ancestry, their story, which is fully supported by the evidence, hits somewhere in my DNA. There is a land grab taking place. There is an apartheid being perpetuated. There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing taking place. However, Israel is not the perpetrator. Israel is the victim. I intend to show how and why I say that, in the hope that other Natives might be persuaded to place their support behind the true victims of this horrific crime. If you are reading this, and are not Native, make no mistake, I encourage you to examine my argument and see for yourself, too.
Where we begin is in the Torah. Among other things, the Torah is an historical record. It covers many of the events that helped to form and shape the people we know today as “Jews”, and their religion, Judaism. It begins with a man from what is now known as Southern Iraq, Abram, a man from the city known as Ur of the Chaldees.
One thing we learn from the Torah is that the modern day Semitic peoples (including Arabs) descend from Shem ben Noach (Shem son of Noah) (Gen. 10:21-31). This is a hugely important element to the story, because the Hebrew and Arabic people are cousins. They descend from the same man, Avram ben Terach (Abram son of Terah), father of Isaac and Ishmael. It is from Yitz’chak (Isaac) and Yishma’el (Ishmael) that we get the Hebrews and Arabs, as they are the sons of Isaac (Hebrews), and the sons of Ishmael (Arabs).
According to the Torah, God promised Abram that his descendants would be numbered like the stars. He says, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” (Gen. 15:5) Later, God would come to Abram, and formalize the covenant that would ensure the promise that he would be the father of many nations (Gen. 17). This Covenant would also be marked by the changing of Abram’s name from Avram (exalted father) to Avraham (father of many).
The land given to the descendants of Abraham is laid out in Genesis 15,
“And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Gen. 15:17-21)
There is something very important of note here. The land God describes here encompasses all or part of the modern nations of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt; in addition to those of the modern Jewish State of Israel. How many of those nations are occupied by the sons of Isaac? Additionally, God states in Genesis 17 that this promise, this Covenant, is to be eternal (Gen. 17:7). There is no expiration date on that promise. It is to remain their land, but there is a bit more.
Abraham had at least two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. The Israelite people descend from Yakov ben Yitz’chak, or Jacob son of Isaac, who would later be renamed to Yisra’el, or Israel. The Arab peoples descend from Jacob’s brother, Ishmael. Both were to be blessed by God, and both were to be the fathers of many nations. Ishmael was blessed when he was still in his mother’s womb (Gen. 16), while Isaac would be blessed much later. It is worth noting that their blessings included land, and that their lands were to be separate. We should also note what is said of Ishmael, and his descendants, in terms of their behavior,
“And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” (Gen. 16:12)
The term used to describe Ishmael here is פֶּ֣רֶא אָדָ֔ם (Pere aDam, wild man), which makes clear that he would spend life in constant conflict with his brethren, as would his descendants. These would be the modern day Arabs, among other groups. The Arabs derive their name from the place of their origin, the Arabian Peninsula. This places them close to Israel, but not from it. Furthermore, the text shows that the Arabic people would live AMONG their brethren, which is true given that millions of Arabs live in Israel, and they are not all so-called Palestinians.
According to modern biblical archeology, the earliest reference to Israel is found on the Merneptah Stele, dated to 1205 BC, which lists the military victories of Pharaoh Merneptah. Israel is listed among the countries his forces defeated in battle. What is not listed on that stele is a country known as Palestine. That dates to more than 3,200 years ago.
The stele says,
Canaan is captive with all woe.
Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized,
Yanoam made nonexistent;
Israel is laid waste, bare of seed,
What we have then is an historically verifiable basis for the existence of Israel. Funnily enough, many Muslim scholars today dispute the idea that Israel ever existed, despite the evidence to the contrary. Interesting, is it not?
Moving forward, there is an historical basis for a place named Palestine, but there is a catch. The modern English word “Palestine” derives from the Latin “Palestina”, which in turn comes from the Greek “Philistia”. In Arabic, it is called “Filistin”. Where the name Palestina enters our lexicon is in 135 AD, when Hadrian, Emperor of Rome, chose to rename the Province of Judea to Syria-Palestina as punishment to the Jewish people for rising up against Imperial Rome. This was known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt (133 AD – 135 AD), which brought an end to Jewish resistance against Rome.
The intent behind renaming Judea was to drive a permanent wedge between the Jewish people and their lands. History shows that Hadrian failed miserably. The Jewish people persisted in Syria-Palestina, and remained there into the modern day. In fact, Mark Twain took a trip to the Holy Lands in the 1860s, and wrote about it. The resultant book, “The Innocents Abroad”, makes mention of Jews, Christians, and Arabs, but never makes mention of Palestine as a nation, or of a distinct people group calling themselves “Palestinian”. He refers to Palestine as a “country” in the same way that we would refer to a region, or a general area, but never as a distinct nation. (At the time, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, so it was not an independent nation) As Mark Twain wrote this at a time when no one was seeking to establish a Jewish State, he did not exactly have a dog in that fight, which certainly makes him an impartial observer.
Another aspect of Palestine that was covered in Innocents Abroad was the emptiness of the region. He took note of the fact that there was very little by way of agriculture, or wildlife. The entire region seemed to be awaiting something, and its depression showed in the people. He noted that the people there seemed to be as muted as the land. How interesting considering the land came back to life when the Jewish State was reconstituted in 1948.
Where did the Greek Philistia come from? It was their pronunciation for the country of people known as “Philistines”. Think David and Goliath. Hadrian chose to rename the Jewish homelands after their ancient, and no longer existent, enemies. He added insult to literal injury there.
They were a good and proper nation, but they had passed out of existence long before the events of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Between the fact that they ceased to exist before that time, and the fact that the Philistines were most certainly NOT Arabs, it is clear that the so-called Palestinians of today have no historical claim on the land, beyond the few descended from people who lived there prior to the reconstitution of Israel. It gets better.
On the day that Israel officially became a country, all of the surrounding Arab nations declared war and told their Palestinian brethren to leave, so that they may avoid being injured in the bloodbath that was about to ensue. At the same time, the newly formed Israeli government asked the Palestinian people to remain and live with them in peace, with full citizenship. Those Palestinian Arabs all left, entirely by choice, forfeiting any chance at being a part of the new Jewish State, and effectively rendering themselves stateless. Their descendants now live in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and various other countries. They are also universally reviled as being terrible people in those countries.
Today, we are expected to believe that the Israeli government evicted these people from their homes and lands, and that is EXACTLY what did NOT happen. In fact, all Israeli Arabs not only enjoy full citizenship rights, but they occupy all levels of Israeli life, including serving on the Knesset. They serve as judges, and even serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. At this time, Muslim Arab members of the IDF are facing off against members of Hamas and Hezbollah in direct and close combat. (Prior to the “pause” in fighting) You must ask yourself why. Why would they face off against people of the same religion and ethnicity if Israel is such a horrible place for them? Trust and believe that the answer is not as complicated as one might think.
Another point to consider is the so-called genocide of the Palestinian people. Population figures have shown that the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank have not been in decline. In fact, they continued to experience population growth until the war Hamas started on October 7. If Israel were seeking to exterminate the Palestinian people, they have clearly lost the plot.
Until the resumption of hostilities on October 7, there had been a longstanding ceasefire in effect for several years. During that time, Israel provided Gaza with food, water, fuel, electricity, medical supplies, etc. Gaza was also receiving large amounts of assistance from the US, the UN, various Muslim nations around the Middle East, and had no good reason to be suffering at all. Israel had honored an agreement that required they pull out of Gaza entirely.
When they pulled out, they left behind fully functioning infrastructure and more than enough resources for the Gazan people to jumpstart their own economy. They could have been an independent nation living in peace with their neighbors, and they would have been prosperous. What happened? Hamas. Hamas happened. The Gazan people elected them as their government, and everything went downhill from there. They destroyed all the infrastructure, made life wretched for the Gazan people, and used the money and resources to carry on an unremitting war against Israel.
Finally, I want to address the specific targeting of civilian infrastructure by the IDF, because I know that is a huge sticking point for a lot of people. It is true that intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure is a war crime under the Geneva and Hague Conventions. It is also true, under the same body of laws, that using civilian infrastructure for offensive purposes in war nullifies any legal protection said infrastructure enjoys. If a military force chooses to store weapons, munitions, and/or troops in or near a hospital, place of worship, school, residential area, etc., then targeting said structures become entirely legal.
No small number of videos have come out of this current conflict showing clearly that Hamas has been using the Gazan people as human shields, and as propaganda fodder. Furthermore, Hamas has not been shy about using outright lies to push international opinion against Israel. For example, there was the supposed bombing of a hospital in Gaza City that they claimed took the lives of over 500 medical staff and patients.
The problem with this story is that the rocket came from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), that the rocket had malfunctioned mid-flight, and had impacted in a parking lot outside the hospital causing minimal damage and reportedly killing a few dozen people. The images from the next morning showed that there was not much of an impact crater, and that all cars that had been parked there were burnt out. They also show that there is little to no damage to surrounding buildings. Even trees are still standing. If you examine this picture, you will see what I am referring to.
Note that there is a disparity between the strength of Israeli rockets, and Palestinian ones. Israeli rockets are far more powerful. Had it been an Israeli rocket, the cars not vaporized by the explosion would have been rather efficiently relocated several hundred meters away, most likely in several pieces. The hospital and surrounding buildings would have taken far more significant damage, and the actual death toll would have been far higher. In short, Hamas lied about what happened there, so that people like you can sympathize with them and condemn Israel. There are more examples of this running around the news cycle.
In recent days, the IDF has routinely released videos showing the tunnels they found under Al-Shifa Hospital, along with the weapons they have stored under there. According to Geneva and Hague, those are war crimes. Hamas simply does not care. They will do it again if given a chance. The civilian casualties said actions cause benefit them tremendously.
Compare that with the IDF going above and beyond to avoid civilian casualties by warning the Gazan civilians ahead of time. They use leaflets, phone calls, and specially designed missiles to warn the civilians. When they issue their warnings, they include where and when they are going to strike, which direction will take them to safety, and how they will deliver the final warning. They are demonstrating more care for the Gazan people than Hamas is, and it really boggles my mind that people cannot seem to see past Hamas’ obvious lies.
TEP336 