Nadene Goldfoot
There seems to be a problem with Jews settling in their ancient original homeland of Judea and Samaria. The Palestinians, whose main body had moved into the region along with returning Jews who had been living in Russia and other surrounding countries of Eastern Europe, want the land as a Palestine. The question is, who has the right to the land? It's been divided into areas A, B, and C. Palestinians have been building in the Jewish section. Jews get attacked in their own section. Too many Israeli politicians haven't been religious enough to recognize the value of the land to their religion or culture, and Palestinians want it all. They even deny that Jews were ever there historically. Judea and Samaria were in the original plans with the English of the Jewish Homeland. From expectations of having 100% of the valued land, Jews got 10%. Prince Abdullah got most, and out of what was left, the West Bank has taken almost all the rest allowed to the Jews. Areas A,B, C, was to correct that, somewhat.
The 1995 Oslo II Accord established the administrative division of the West Bank into areas A, B, and C as a transitional arrangement, pending a final status agreement. The divisions persist, with Area A administered by the Palestinian Authority, Area C by Israel, and Area B under joint control.
The Oslo Accords envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian interim self-government in the Palestinian territories. Oslo II created the Areas A, B and C in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority was given some limited powers and responsibilities in the Areas A and B and a prospect of negotiations on a final settlement based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The Accord was officially signed on 28 September 1995. There are no resolutions as yet, as they continue to shell Israel, their way of saying No, No, No.
The Israelites had entered Canaan, also called Eretz, Eretz Yisrael, after a 40 year walk from Egypt in about 1271 BCE led by Moses (1391-1271 BCE). The Israelites had been in Canaan for many years before having a king, ruling themselves with judges, such as the woman, Deborah of great renown, Othniel, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson. King Saul was Israel's 1st king in the 11th century of the tribe of Benjamin, son of Kish. This would be in the 1050's BCE. David was the next king from from the tribe of Judah from 1000 to 960 BCE , youngest son of Jesse, born in Bethlehem. David's son, Solomon, was king from 961- 920 BCE who's death caused a Civil War between the North and the South of Israel.
His large kingdom was from Egypt to the Euphrates River; amazing since Abraham and Sarah had left Ur on the Euphrates River across the way from the Tigris. Solomon's ancestors were Abraham and Sarah. His realm was the most energetic in the entire region. In the cultural sphere, the arts of historiography, parable, and elegant writing were developed, and several biblical works such as Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Psalm 72, were later attributed to Solomon, who had maintained his reputation of wisdom.
The Jews suffered a great loss when King Solomon, the wise, died and the land of Israel was divided after having a Civil War over the king's heir as to how he would govern and who would take the throne in 933 CE. The northern Kingdom of mainly 10 of the 12 tribes kept their title of Israel, but the largest tribe, Judah, which contained Jerusalem, broke away along with much of the tribes of Benjamin and presumably absorbed the tribe of Simeon as well, which was isolated in the extreme South. Judea was able, with Jerusalem and the Temple, to preserve their Mosaiac monotheism in a purer form. The Southern section then became the land of Judah, which the Romans later dubbed as Judaea.
Jews experienced the terrible loss of the land of Israel first when the Assyrians had attacked in 721 BCE and had carried away much of the northern Israelite population. The Babylonians followed the Assyrian's attack and took away much of the southern population of Judah around Jerusalem in 597-586 BCE, which included the destruction of Solomon's Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, but they managed to return in 538 BCE.
The ongoing Assyrian expansion was then happening, like Russia is trying again today, and it had overwhelmed the northern Kingdom of Israel, but was checked before the walls of Jerusalem in 701 BCE, but the city and state succumbed to the Babylonians in 586 BCE, again seeing large numbers of the inhabitants being deported. Then the fall came in 70 CE when the Romans had occupied, then destroyed Jerusalem and the 2nd Temple. Jews were dispersed by the Romans, taken to Rome as slaves, and not allowed to remain in Jerusalem, the main center of Judah.
The northern section, Israel, had a name change to Samaria. Originally, there was a Samaria (Shomron)---the new capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, founded in 880 BCE by king Omri on a hill bought from Shemer(1 Kings 16:24). Remember, Jerusalem, the original capital of Israel, was in Judah, now the Southern kingdom. Samaria had withstood the siege of the Syrians but fell in 721 BCE to Sargon II of Assyria who resettled it with the Cutheans, these, intermingling with the remnants of the former population, were the ancestors of the SAMARITANS.
The Jews had a history of entering the land in 1271 BCE and losing in in 70 CE, a total of 1,341 years. They had been led to this land by G-d. From that moment on of loss as their country-which never did lose a Jewish population, as there were Jews who remained, escaping the extreme punishment of foreigners for doing so, the rest had prayed 3 times a day for the time to come when they could return.
Thus, today we have Samaria and Judea. The Kingdom of Jordan has changed these names to the West Bank, which refers to the side of the Jordan River on the West side. We Israelites took on the name of Jews from originating from Judah. We had lost the 10 northern tribes, so could also actually have genes from Benjamin or Simeon, too.
Many kingdoms have dominated the land without living there, allowing it to turn into land of weeds, mosquitoes and swamps. When eastern European Jews found their living was unbearable, they returned to their homeland despite the fact that the Ottoman Empire was then the dominant ruler collecting all the taxes in 1881. Jews bought land at extremely high prices, but this was land of their religion, land of their history, their ancestors blood and tears. They paid the prices for the love of the land.
Joan Peters, journalist, investigated this very situation I bring up today, of Jews living in Judea and Samaria which has been given to Palestinian Arabs by England's 30 year mandate who were told to help the Jews to create their homeland. Some help that was, giving away most all the homeland originally promised to Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Born April 29, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, died January 2015 there.
Joan Peters wrote her famous book in 1984 that came out of her inclusive research that should be help up as an example of PhD work at its best, called FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL--the origins of the Arab-Jewish conflict over Palestine. It's been pooh-poohed by naysayers like Noam Chomsky and his pal, Norman Finkelstein, but held up in esteem by our presidents Ronald Reagan, and others who wanted the truth.
Barbara Tuchman, an American historian and author who won the Pulitzer Prize twice, said that this book is a historical event in itself. Lucy Dawidowicz, right , an American historian and writer who wrote books on modern Jewish history, in particular books on the Holocaust, said, "It will surely change the way we think about that still fiercely contested land once called Palestine. (It was named by the Romans when angry at the Jews (Bar Kokhba) who had retaken Jerusalem and had held it for 3 years.) For Joan Peters has dug beneath a half-century's accumulation of propaganda and brought into the light the historical truth about the Middle East. With a wealth of authoritative evidence, she exposes the tangle of lies and false claims by which the Arabs have tried to justify their unending violence. Everyone who hopes for peace in the Middle East between Jews and Arabs will want to read this book----will have to read this book."
Joan shows through her research that the Arabs came looking for work. Arabs who had been living there gladly sold their land to Jews who paid their high prices. The Jews were staying and building up the land. The Ottoman Empire lost the land in WWI being on the wrong side, the German side.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Born November 30, 1835, died April 21, 1910, known for his books of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Even Mark Twain did some accidental research by taking an excursion to the Holy Land, Egypt, The Crimea, Greece and intermediate points of interest, leaving Brooklyn, NY on February 1, 1867 and writing what he saw in detail about the Middle East. It's all recorded in his book, "The Innocents Abroad." He saw the barren land and who was living there. Read from p. 186 to 203.
The Jews were kidnapped from the land, then returned and the land responded to them only, as if wanting them to return and take over. No other people have ever had their religion and culture so tied up into land. They were taken there deliberately, led by G-d ! They are the religion of which Christianity says their Jesus had been born into. Muslims took in Jews but kept them as Dhimmis, 2nd class citizens also with the Christians, and copied much of Judaism when Jewish tribes lived so close to Mohammed. They had all the time in the world to make something out of the neglected land before 1881, but they didn't. Arabs had no thoughts of creating their own state. They called themselves Palestinian Syrians.
At the moment, we are celebrating Passover, when the Exodus was about to take place. Every year we have holidays of remembering our past history. Our memories are centered on Moses and the 631 commandments he brought to us, which goes back to at least 1350 BCE. That's 3,272 years ago. That's how important a hold the land has over us. It's in our DNA. Israel must survive not only all the enemies such as Hamas of Gaza, but the Iranians and the lack of contact with our holy sites that sit on holy ground to us.
Resource:
Stone Edition, Tanakch
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Peters
Book: From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters
Book: The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
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