Rabbi David Algaze Jewish Press November 30, 2001

The Arabs do not want to destroy Israel in order to have a state for the Palestinians in order to destroy Israel.

This twist of logic, as echoed by Reb Chaim in a different context, holds a fundamental insight into the conflict in which the Jewish people are presently engaged. The very name “Palestine” hold the key to the mystery and the underlying truth of this struggle.

Originally, the name of this land was “Canaan”. That was the name that appears in the Bible, and that is the name by which the land is first introduced to us. It has many other names, “The Promised Land”, “A land flowing with milk and honey”, “The land that the eyes of G-d are always upon her” and many others. Sometimes, it is called by its various regions: Yehudah, Shomron, the Galil, the Arava and so on. When the land is referred to as a whole, it is called “the Land of Israel” corresponding to the people to whom G-d gave this land for eternity, and who developed on that soil one of the civilizations of greatest importance in the world. The most common name, however, is the Holy Land.

Ponder these questions and you will understand. For whom is the land “holy”? To whom was the land promised? There is one answer to all these questions: the people of Israel. In what language is the name of the city of Jerusalem coined? In Hebrew, the language of Israel. What book contains most references to the Land and its cities, regions and geographical features? The Bible, the Book of Israel. Who was exiled from the land as punishment and a vehicle to correct their ways? The People of Israel. And, finally, who longs and yearns and dreams of returning and rebuilding the land? Again, the People of Israel.

So what is the origin of the name of “Palestine” being bandied around by the Arabs and their sympathizers world-wide? This word is Latin, and was used by the Romans for one purpose: to eradicate the memory of Israel form the land, just as they renamed Jerusalem, “Aelia Capitolina”. They could not find a better name than “Palestina”, the land of the Philistines, the barbarian warriors who populated the areas near Gaza and wrought havoc upon Jews for hundreds of years. The Philistines themselves were new to the land, stemming probably from the peoples who had been evicted from Greece by the new invaders, the Hellenes, circa 12th century. This is the time of the Books of Joshua and Judges, where the struggles between the Israeliets and Philistines are recorded. The word comes from the Hebrew word palash, meaning “invader”. The Philistines were long gone by the time of Alexander’s conquest, and there is no trace of their existence for at least 500 years before the Romans named the land after them.

Why did they call it “Palestina”? So taht the world would not remember Israel any longer. They very word contained the purpose. In today’s world, we are comforted by a similar goal: the destruction of the people and land of Israel. The Arabs are not excited about giving the Palestinians a place of their own. If they had been interested in this noble goal, they had ample opportunities to do so since 1947. If the goal had been to give the Palestinians a country and a flag, they could have had a Palestine rise along side Israel in 1948.

The Arabs are not excited about a new state for the Palestinians, for the Palestinians threaten them as well. King Hussein of Jordan slaughtered thousands of Palestinians when they threatened to take over his kingdom in “Black September”. The Arabs are excited about the demise of Israel, about the weakening and eventual defeat of the country of the Jews, of the memory of Israel, which they so much want to erase. It is therefore not an accident that they chose the name Palestina, the same name the Romans gave this place of land and for the same purpose. This is not about “nation-building”; this is about “nation-wrecking.”

It is very unfortunate that the United States administration has thrown its weight behind this insiduous plan. Secretary of State Powell will live in ignominy for his “vision” for the Middle East. It is one thing to hear such plans from dreamers and idealists. It is quite another to utilize the full force of the United States’ intelligence and political wisdom to foster not peace, but war; to destroy, not to build. Powell’s speech was feeble, contradictory, inchoate and unpolished. Just like his plan. And as time will tell, his caving in to Arab pressure will soil his name forever. How sad that a man who could have had an illustrious career, is destined to be counted amoung those who would erase the name of Israel!

The Arabs waged war against the State of Israel in 1967 not to create a state for Palestinians, but to destroy Israel. That purpose remains the same today. And as they were unsuccessful in 1967, and in 1973, 1992 and 1993, they will be unsuccessful today, with G-d’s help. Neither Powell, nor Arab oil, nor any other power on earth can undo G-d’s will: “G-d said (to Yaacov): “I am the L-rd. The land upon which you are lying, to you will I give it and to your descendants” (Genesis 28:13).

If you ever wondered “why Palestine?” That’s why.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 7th, 2001 and is filed under history.