The country called Palestine

Submitted by Ed S (Canada), Dec 30, 2005 at 07:15

Palestine as a "country" came to exist, first in the mind of Yasser Arafat, and by agitation he and his Hashemite Arab partners kept the name in the public eye for long enough that an entire generation has grown up hearing the name.

Dr. Goebbels, now remembered by just a few, told us that any lie, repeated often enough, becomes the truth. This is so with the name of the region called Palestine. I wonder what would have been the name of the "Palestinian People", if this group of Hashemite Arabs had been graciously allowed to settle in say Libya or any other place. False and incomplete histories have been taught in schools.

I have been quite shocked at the ignorance of Canadian students when it comes to their perceptions of what has happened in the Middle East. So this pop culture repetition of Palestine in reference to a country or nation, combined with ignorance of history, results in false beliefs. Most people that I know in Canada under the age of 25, actually believes that Palestine is a State, Nation or Country.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".