Letters to the Editor, December 31, 2003

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God is not a real-estate agent, and the Bible is not a Registry of Deeds. The Palestinians of today are the descendents of the Canaanites, Jebusites, Philistines and other tribes who lived in this land since history began. The Hebrew tribes came to the Land of Canaan , as invaders and were driven out by other invaders, the Romans. Palestine has been invaded throughout history by the Hebrew tribes, the Greeks, the Romans, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Ottomans, and the British, amongst others. Invasion and occupation does not give legal title, anymore than the Romans have legal title to Britain or the Arabs to Spain, and their rule was much longer than the Hebrew tribes to The Land of Canaan.

The statement by Professor Maxime Rodinson, Professor of History at The Sorbonne University in Paris, and he is Jewish, is compelling: "The Arab Population of Palestine was native in all the senses of the word and their roots in Palestine can be traced back at least 40 centuries." {"Israel and the Arabs", 1968, Penguin}. He also stated in the same book : " The Arabs of Palestine used to have the same rights over Palestinian territory as the French exercise in France and the English in England. These rights have been violated without any provocation on their part. There is no evading this simple fact."

Editor: I agree that the Palestinian people are the descendants of all the people who lived in Palestine, as you mentioned, but I emphasize that this includes the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Jesus Christ was followed by descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who became Christians. They even had their own state, Ghassan. Then, the vast majority of them accepted Islam and became Muslims.

The main point here is that the Palestinian people have not only historical right in Palestine, because they have been living there since time immemorial, but also have a religious right to the land, according to the Bible.

This is of great importance because Zionists have been using the Bible to persuade Christians in the West to support not only their invasion of Palestine but also their oppression of the Palestinian people. It is important to point to these supporters of Israel that they are committing a terrible mistake. They are supporting Zionists against the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Palestinian people, and that is a blasphemy that should stop.

The December 30 letter of Mr. Bokhaut in apparent response to earlier comments on Zionism demands further responses:

My first is to the idea of the "homeland" of the Jewish people. The land first settled by the people of Moses was taken, or least attempts were made to take it, by brutal force and conquest. This appears well-documented in "the book," no?

My second would be a recommendation to consider the idea of "state" in other than political or geographic senses, perhaps to consider ways of improving a state rather than trying to codify it into a rigid cultural structure or to fence it off.

Third, "America" is neither a "country" nor a way of government. Some have observed that the United States of (part of) America is itself in a fairly sorry state these days.

Finally, it seems fairly clear that there is no reason why a "socialist" establishment might not also be "imperialist." Equally clear is that "democracy," that shibboleth of modern times, might also be.

Perhaps the Jew, and others too, might take a cue from the Roma, who traditionally deny not only the existence of a "homeland," but of the very idea.

Let us govern the world as we must, but AS A WORLD, not as feuding genetic strains (families) coveting others' properties and jealous of their achievements! To do this perhaps we need not destroy governments but merely to supercede them.

There is an irritating radio talk show host on knew910 am. His name is Michael Savage (real name Michael Steiner), who said "I HATE THE ARAB WORLD", yesterday. Today he is laughing at the earthquake that hit Iran. Say "We should be dancing in the streets at their deaths. I emailed a lot of people to get him off the air.

I think that someone needs to find out if Israel sent an underground Nuke. I have a strong feeling that they did this to cause an earthquake in Iran. When I get feelings like this I'm usually right. I don't know how to reach the Iranian Government, but this needs to be investigated. Sorry for the loss of so many people in Iran.

Editor: You're right. He shouldn't be allowed to host any show. But I don't think you're right in thinking that Israel did it. Iran is known for earthquakes for a long time.

The quake is not caused by an Iranian bomb either. Nuclear testing watchdog centers all over the world would have reported it right away. Read the following from President Khatami:

TEHERAN - President Mohammad Khatami has denied that the killer quake, which struck southeast Iran on December 26, was caused by a secret nuclear test, newspapers reported on Wednesday.

“These allegations have spread, but they are completely unfounded,” said the president, who on Monday and Tuesday visited the Bam region at the epicentre of the quake that he estimated had cost 40,000 lives.

“Our religious principles, our security and defence doctrine leave no room for nuclear arms,” he said, quoted by the Iranian media.

Iran is building its first nuclear reactor but has repeatedly denied accusations from the United States and Israel that it has embarked on a covert nuclear arms programme.