Palestine Joins Newt Gingrich’s Ranks Of ‘Invented Peoples’ – OpEd
In an interview with the Jewish Channel, Newt Gingrich’s brain once again outsmarts his mouth, as he spouts serial inanities about the Palestinians. Among them the old Joan Peters/Israeli nationalist canard that Palestinians are “an invented people.”
Right. In the same sense that Americans were an invented people in 1776, and Israelis were an invented people in 1948, and Germany was an invented people before Bismarck came along circa 1870 and united a bunch of disparate city states and principalities into a German nation. In short, modern history is replete with examples of nations and peoples that didn’t exist, especially in the minds of their enemies, until a leader or set of leaders came along to turn a concept into reality.
There is nothing sacred or permanent about the concept of nation-formation. It is an evolving process in which nations are born or disintegrate and die depending on historical circumstance and the sense of internal cohesion inside a society. That should be a warning to Israel and its slack-brained supporters like Gingrich. Nations can outlive the logic that brought them into being. They can collapse and fade away. That should be a warning to Israel to pay attention to its internal contradictions, social conflicts, as well as its ongoing hostilities with its neighbors. Nations are not forever.
Israeli kingdoms were destroyed not once, but twice. Not to mention the Midrash that states that the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans was brought about not so much by Roman strategy or superiority, but by the senseless hatred of two brothers who undermined the Judean cause.
Caveat Israel. Not to mention beware Republican presidential candidates bearing pro-Israel “gifts.”
This article appeared at Tikun Olam
Excuse my words but what a moron. I am Palestinian, my family history in Palestine stretches back THOUSANDS of years. My people are mentioned in the bible (Canaanites + Philistines), these two people inter married and became one from whom most of my people are descended.
Our name in arabic is Philistine just like in the bible and our spoken language before Islam reached Palestine and for some time after was a Palestinian version of Aramaic. Our Palestinian dialect of arabic clearly shows this in our pronouncation of arabic, it is heavily influenced of southern levantine (palestinian) aramaic.
Palestinians didnt become arabs until after most of us converted to Islam just like most other arabs who arent from the arabic penninsula. In other words we are arabisized arabs, not ethnic arabs.
If we dont exist then surely newt doesnt exist. For how long has the gingrich family been in the US? 100, 200, 300, 400 years? Try to match that with THOUSANDS of years of Palestinian history. What a disgusting man, selling his sole to the devil in exchange for getting zionist support for his pathetic campaign.
Our people are not from the Cannanites and Philistines… There is no scientific proof to back that at all. Studies have been done in the past 2 decades that have proven the Palestinians are decedent from various groups. Samaratins, Hebrews (which they deny) but it is a known fact a majority of palestians are. Also from the various semetic tribes. With additions from other groups who invaded the Greeks, Romans, Arabs etc etc. Its an old Myth the whole cannanite and Philistin idea made up for nationalistic purposes.