Jewish history rewritten

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Rewriting history

Jewish history rewritten

Rewriting history

Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel's right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the Terror War in 2000, the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history. This rewriting has two central goals:

1- Erase the Jewish nation's 3,000 year history in the Land of Israel;
2- Invent ancient Palestinian, Muslim and Arab histories in the land.

The goal of this historical revision as a political strategy was first expressed publicly at a conference of Palestinian historians in 1998, when rewriting history was linked to the political goal of denying Israel's right to exist:

"Dr. Yussuf Alzamili [Chairman History Department, Khan Yunis Educational College] called on all universities and colleges to write the history of Palestine and to guard it, and not to enable the [foreign] implants and enemies to distort it or to legitimize the existence of Jews on this land... [History lecturer Abu Amar] clarified that there is no connection between the ancient generation of Jews and the new generation." [Al-Ayyam, Dec. 4, 1998].

Erasing Jewish history in the land of Israel is followed by the PA’s invention of ancient and modern histories that support its political ideology and claim to the land of Israel. The Holocaust and other aspects of Jewish history are alternately denied, downplayed or distorted. Another distortion is to hide from Palestinians that Jesus was a Jew who lived in the Land of Judea/Israel. PA leaders repeatedly define Jesus as a Palestinian who preached Islam, thus denying not only Jewish history, but also the history and legitimacy of Christianity.

Citing numerous examples, this section will document that these and other historical revisions are an integral part of Palestinian policy and are used to create political ideology.

Jewish history rewritten

Denial of 3,000 years of Jewish history in the land of Israel is the foundation of all PA political ideology. To accomplish this, the PA systematically distorts both ancient and modern history, ignoring both archeology and historical documentation, and replaces them with an odious fictitious history. The new history demonizes Jews, accusing them of having been evil and destructive throughout history, and thereby triggering non-Jews to justifiably hate, persecute and expel them. This rewriting forms the basis for the Palestinian Authority denial of Israel’s right to exist.

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1- Jewish history in Land of Israel erased

2- Jerusalem's Jewish history and the Temple denied

3- Zionism – European plot to get rid of Jews

1- Jewish history in Land of Israel erased

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Denial the Jewish history and connection to the Land of Israel has been policy since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.
This video is a recent example of a PA academic, denying the existence of thousands of Hebrew language coins, Hebrew texts and Hebrew Bullas (seals) carrying biblical names that that have been found in the Land of Israel.

Lecturer, Urban Planning, Bir-Zeit University, Dr. Jamal Amar:

"There is a view that where it [the Dome of the Rock] stands was the Holy of Holies of the fictitious Temple – and by the way, that is merely an illusion. There is no remnant of it. It's a myth. A story of no value, like the Arabian Nights, and other legends… Only in Palestine… [after] 60 years of digging, and they've found nothing at all. Not a water jug, not a coin, not any earthen vessel, no bronze weapons, no piece of metal, absolutely nothing of this myth, because it's a myth and a lie. This digging has not left a single meter [unturned], but it has achieved absolutely nothing.” [PATV, June 23, 2009]

Jordan conference: 'Zionist' history of Palestine must be rewritten

Source: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), Nov. 15, 2009

Headline: "...Al-Quds [Jerusalem] Conference Religion and History in Jordan calls for inclusion of the history of Jerusalem in the Arab curriculum."
"Participants at the congress called upon Western historians and Western research centers to revisit the ancient history of Palestine and of Jerusalem in a critical, fair and accurate manner, since this history was written in accordance with Torah - and Talmudic thought, which is far removed from accuracy and objectivity. [The conference participants] also called upon researchers of the city of Jerusalem to relate to the commentary on the findings of the archaeological excavations carried out by the occupation - with great diligence, and with renewed investigation of the reports and commentaries that are the basis for the studies which have been dominated by the Zionist institutions of the world."

Arab employees slander Israeli 'version' of history as false

Source: Palestinian TV (Fatah), Nov. 13, 2009

Palestinian TV broadcast an interview with two employees of the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem, in whcih they defined the Israeli historical narrative regarding the Jewish connection with Jerusalem, which they are meant to convey to tourists, as "false," and testified that they teach different information instead:

Host (addressing tour guide Rubin Abu Shamsiya): "Mr. Rubin, when you accompany groups of tourists, how do you treat [the subject] - especially when you see the [museum's] history full of lies, the artificial and alleged history - how do you relate to these groups of [Arabic speaking] tourists in presenting the history that is found there?"
Tour guide Abu Shamsiya: "From my tour-guiding experience in the Tower of David Museum, I see many historical deceptions, which are displayed on the [museum] walls... Obviously, if I try to treat it in a more neutral way, from a historical point of view, I try to show the neutral historical point of view by means of information which I have drawn from a number of [other] historical institutions. I do not rely exclusively on that which is written on the museum's walls and texts. It is more important to me to convey the Arab point of view, but by means of greater historical neutrality."

PA historian denies Jewish thousand year history

Source: Palestinian TV (Fatah), Oct. 22, 2009

Nabil Alqam, PA historian:
"Why does the occupation [Israel] concern itself with stealing, [cultural] theft, distorting and erasing the Palestinian heritage? Because it [Israel] seeks a history [in the land] while [Palestinian] heritage is a history that proves our connection to the land... [The Palestinian heritage] has historical depth of 4,000 to 5,000 years. And here [Israel] attempts to steal these symbols to create fake Israeli symbols and identity." Click here to view

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2- Jerusalem's Jewish history and the Temple ...

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Denial of the Jewish history in Jerusalem and the existence of the Jewish Temple is a central component PA political ideology. This denial started with Yasser Arafat and continues to be reiterated by academics, politicians and religious leaders. The PA systematically distorts the ancient history of Jerusalem, ignoring the vast historical documentation and thousands of archeological finds related to Jewish history that have been found in Jerusalem.

This music video, broadcast regularly on PA TV through 2008 and 2009, denies any historical connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, repeats the libel that Israel is planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque and calls on Allah to protect the mosque. “Oh [Sons of] Zion, no matter how much you dig and no matter how much you destroy, your imaginary Temple will not come into being… [Allah protect Al-Aqsa] from every thief and every oppressor.”

Full text: “Al-Aqsa [Mosque] is ours, Oh Muslims, Al-Aqsa is ours, our Al-Aqsa screams and shouts, Al-Aqsa is ours. Oh Arabs and Muslims, no, no, Al-Aqsa is ours. Oh [Sons of] Zion, no matter how much you dig and no matter how much you destroy, your imaginary Temple will not come into being… My land, my Jerusalem, my blood and my honor will not be scorned. Al-Aqsa is ours, how you suffer! How you have bleed for years! How you scream! How you call out to the millions! What are you hoping for, what are you crying for? Saladin [Muslim conqueror of Jerusalem in 1187] ! Al-Aqsa is ours. Oh Allah, protect Al-Aqsa, Oh Allah, Al-Aqsa is ours, [protect Al-Aqsa] from every thief and every oppressor.” [PA TV (Fatah) Sept. 23, 2008 – Sept. 25, 2009]

Jews have no right to mourn at wall of Al-Aqsa

Source: Al-Ayyam, Apr. 28, 2009

“[Dr. Hasan Sun'-Allah, a scholar at the Center of Modern Research] criticized the use of the term 'Wailing Wall' instead of 'Western Wall' [of Al-Aqsa], and stated that the occupation falsifies the facts, and has no rights over the walls of Al-Aqsa mosque, to use them as a site for mourning."

Jordan conference: 'Zionist' history of Palestine must be rewritten

Source: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), Nov. 15, 2009

Arab employees slander Jewish Temple as false

Source: Palestinian TV (Fatah), Nov. 13, 2009

Palestinian TV broadcast an interview with two employees of the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem, in whcih they defined the Israeli historical narrative regarding the Jewish connection with Jerusalem, which they are meant to convey to tourists, as "false," and testified that they teach different information instead:

PA TV Host, Khuloud Al-Afifi: "[Speaking about the site known as David's Citadel] So we've spoken about its importance, its location, and its connection to the Christian religion, and that it's an Islamic structure, but what, inside this Citadel... is [related to] the alleged Israeli history, which the Israelis claim? What exactly is inside the Citadel?"
History scholar Abir Zayyad: "... In the hall pertaining to the Bronze Age, which they [the museum] call the [period of the] "First Temple" - and this appellation is not correct - in that period they focus on the issue of Palestine - that the Jews, comprising 12 tribes, entered it, and how Palestine was divided in this period between the 12 tribes, and the process of the conquest of the city of Jerusalem by David, and the construction of the alleged First Temple by Solomon."
[Zayyad goes on to say that the archaeological findings indicate that David and Solomon did not live in Jerusalem or in "Palestine," and that there are no structures in Jerusalem that can be attributed to them.]

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3- Zionism – European plot to get rid of Jews...

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The PA created an odious alternative history to denigrate the rebirth of the State of Israel and deny Israel’s right to exist. Since Jews, they say, never had a history in the Land of Israel and therefore never would have started the Zionist movement on their own, an imaginative story had to be created to explain Jewish renaissance in Israel. Accordingly, they teach that Jews were so evil in every country they inhabited for thousands of years that the nations of the world were forced to persecute and often expel them – as acts of self-defense. According to the PA libel, the repeated persecutions and expulsions of Jews are proof that the world agrees about the evil nature of Jews. Britain and Europe were suffering last century from their Jews in their countries, and therefore created Zionism in order to be rid of their Jewish “burden.” The Land of Israel was chosen by the Europeans, in this scenario, as the place to send the Jews in order to control and steal the “natural resources” of the Middle East. This is what the PA is referring to in its schoolbooks and official media when they refer to Israel as an imperialist colonial implant.

This article is an early expression of this ideology in the official PA daily in 1998:

“The difference between Hitler and [British Foreign Minister] Balfour was simple: the former [Hitler] did not have colonies to send the Jews so he destroyed them, whereas Balfour… [turned] Palestine into his colony and sent the Jews. Balfour is Hitler with colonies, while Hitler is Balfour without colonies. They both wanted to get rid of the Jews… Zionism was crucial to the defense of the West’s interests in the region, [by] ridding Europe of the burden of its Jews.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), June 12, 1998]

This video is a recent expression of this PA ideology, on PA TV:

“Europe, led by Britain, founded Israel... We, as Arabs, as negotiators, as Palestinians when we meet with Europeans [should say]: 'You created and implanted a thieving entity upon Palestinian land...' As they implanted [Jews here] they got rid of [Jews there] and I do not wish to elaborate on this. The Jews in the time of Herzl caused European societies to lose sleep. They wanted to be rid of them, and implanted them in Palestine."
[Fathi Buzia, PA political commentator, PATV, June 17, 2009]

A Zionist state solved the Jewish problem in Europe

Source: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), Nov. 15, 2009

Column by Khalil Al-Tamizi, entitled "Why did we fail where the Israelis succeeded?,' describing the history of Zionism:
"The Jews sought a land to settle as a solution to their situation; Europe applauded this trend because it wanted to get rid of the Jews and their problems, and thus arose the Zionist movement with a secular leadership... and Herzl began to employ the myth of the land promised by the Torah, which became the most important principle of Zionist thought."

Britain started Zionism to get rid of British Jews

Source: Palestinian TV (Fatah), May 13, 2008

Ibrahim Mudayris, Official, PA Ministry of Religious Trusts and Religious Affairs:
“Britain is the one who promised them [the Jews] the establishment of a national home on the land of Palestine. Why? Because Britain was upset by the Jewish presence in Britain and wanted to be relieved of them.”

Israel established to rid Europe of Jews

Source: Palestinian TV (Fatah), May 14, 2008

Abbas Zaki, PLO Ambassador to Lebanon:
"We must understand why Israel was established… [The Europeans] wanted to get rid of the Jews… At that same time, energy [oil] was discovered in the Arab region… They solved the [Jewish] problem by exporting [the Jews to] Israel [and at same time] they imposed their hegemony on the region’s natural resources. The [purpose of the] State of Israel is not for the Jews, but is an ongoing [colonial] project, an outpost of Imperialism.”