Poet on PA TV: Palestinians descended from ancient Jebusites, "invented the alphabet and gave it to mankind," but Jewish kings only ruled in Israel for "37 years"
Official PA TV program Culture Talks, hosting poet and former Palestinian diplomat Omar Shalayel, who recites the poem “I am the Palestinian”
Poet and former Palestinian diplomat Omar Shalayel: “I am the Palestinian, the first on the ground [of Palestine]. I am the Jebusite who was the master of the noble horse. I built Jerusalem from the rocks of our land. Its rocks chiseled my hands. Before the ‘friend’ (i.e., Arab euphemism for the patriarch Abraham) arrived, and I am the proof, and there is no other man. All of the footsteps on my land, all of them were mine. I am he who invented the letters of the alphabet, and I gave them to mankind…
This is a long song. I am the Palestinian, this land is my land. The Zionist forgery and the British and American forgery, how they have changed Arab Palestine. And [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu comes out and says: ‘This is the land of the patriarchs.’ Who are your patriarchs? This is a land [peoples] have passed through: The Romans sat in it for 700 years, in Jerusalem, the Egyptian Pharaohs sat in it for 400 years, the Persians 300 years, the Muslims 1,300 years after that. David and Solomon (i.e, Jewish kings) sat in Jerusalem for 37 years (sic., David reigned for 33 years, Solomon reigned for 40 years, and the Davidic dynasty spanned hundreds of years). What are they, compared to the large empires?
…
Therefore we are in Palestine throughout history, before the Common Era and after it, the Persians, Turkish, Egyptian Pharaohs, Mongolians, Tatars, and Crusaders have passed by us. Nations have passed by us and all of them leave. The shortest period [of foreign sovereignty over the land of Palestine] is that of the Zionists. Solomon and David [ruled] for 37 years, do they stand before the huge and mighty empires that came to Palestine?”
Poet and former Palestinian diplomat Omar Shalayel: “I am the Palestinian, the first on the ground [of Palestine]. I am the Jebusite who was the master of the noble horse. I built Jerusalem from the rocks of our land. Its rocks chiseled my hands. Before the ‘friend’ (i.e., Arab euphemism for the patriarch Abraham) arrived, and I am the proof, and there is no other man. All of the footsteps on my land, all of them were mine. I am he who invented the letters of the alphabet, and I gave them to mankind…
This is a long song. I am the Palestinian, this land is my land. The Zionist forgery and the British and American forgery, how they have changed Arab Palestine. And [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu comes out and says: ‘This is the land of the patriarchs.’ Who are your patriarchs? This is a land [peoples] have passed through: The Romans sat in it for 700 years, in Jerusalem, the Egyptian Pharaohs sat in it for 400 years, the Persians 300 years, the Muslims 1,300 years after that. David and Solomon (i.e, Jewish kings) sat in Jerusalem for 37 years (sic., David reigned for 33 years, Solomon reigned for 40 years, and the Davidic dynasty spanned hundreds of years). What are they, compared to the large empires?
…
Therefore we are in Palestine throughout history, before the Common Era and after it, the Persians, Turkish, Egyptian Pharaohs, Mongolians, Tatars, and Crusaders have passed by us. Nations have passed by us and all of them leave. The shortest period [of foreign sovereignty over the land of Palestine] is that of the Zionists. Solomon and David [ruled] for 37 years, do they stand before the huge and mighty empires that came to Palestine?”