tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16817606331459422282024-03-12T15:03:45.351-07:00Middle East FactsYJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.comBlogger1404125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-5152288698624720222020-06-08T09:22:00.002-07:002020-06-08T09:22:59.147-07:00Jewish right to live in peace throughout the Land of Israel must be enforced - YJ Draiman<h1 style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #20124d; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 30pt; margin: 7.5pt 0in; position: relative;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Roboto Condensed"; font-size: 25pt;">Jewish right to live in peace throughout the Land of </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Roboto Condensed"; font-size: 25pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Roboto Condensed"; font-size: 25pt;"> must be enforced - </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Roboto Condensed";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">YJ Draiman</span></span></h1>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Why as a Jew does the world think it has a right to torture me? </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> was created to prevent this. Yet on my home soil someone thinks that he has a right to torture me because I am a Jew. </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> of all places in the world should be my sanctuary especially because it’s the Jewish official state for all Jews. Is it because I am a Jew that I deserve missiles to be thrown upon me? Is it because I am a Jew that another Jew has the right to prevent me from praying to my God on the </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Temple</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Mount</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">?</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Many Jewish souls died in the Diaspora and continue to die including in </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> for the sole reason that they are Jews. Their fate was in the hand of their leaders. They deserved so much more then being murdered just because they were Jewish. We do no want to repeat the Holocaust again. Nor the expulsion of over a million Jewish families from the Arab countries while confiscating all their assets and they were resettled in </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> must learn to secure the safety of every citizen under its roof. Enough of trying to be the advocate for these extremists’ evil barbaric people within the Arab-Palestinians. </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> is the home of the Jewish people. It is written in all of the holy books, the bible and history books, including archaeological excavations in </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">, International treaties and laws.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Enough of trying to accommodate the Arab-Palestinian people that thrive on hate and destruction towards me as a Jew. </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> must be strong and extremely strict in enforcing its laws and sovereignty. Hamas should have been destroyed, just like any other enemy of </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> who wants to destroy her. Order must be restored in the </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">The Arab-Palestinians in the west bank (</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Samaria</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">) thinks they can torture me because I am a Jew. They commit daily terror and violence in </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> in the name of Islam. Enough is enough. The time is not for revenge but for law and order with a clear message to Mahmmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen the convicted murderer, and his Arab P.A. that these terror and violence acts are his responsibility. If he cannot stop it, </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> will have no alternative, but to take appropriate action to stop terror and violence. Moreover, Hamas the terrorist organization must be eradicated completely once and for all.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">I am a Jew and I deserve to live in peace in my own country without threat and intimidation. I expect the respect and protection that is due to me especially by my Jewish leaders. All Jews must learn to respect each other no matter their religious practice, affiliation or opinion. A unified </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> is a strong </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Among others, I blame the government of </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> for not taking a far, far stronger and extreme stand. There is no alternative but denial of citizenship, and deportation, of everyone who is an avowed enemy of the Jewish people and the Jewish state. People will say this is extreme. I say, the situation is extreme. Living with one million plus potential and actual murderers of our men, women and children is extreme.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">How do we know who is an enemy of the State? Anyone who has participated in any act of aggression against Israeli Jews (stone throwing, rioting, vandalizing Jewish cemeteries and holy places, attacks on Jews, inciting to violence) is an enemy of the State. Furthermore, the families of these enemies of the State; the schools that teach hate and the destruction of </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">; and anyone who engages in anti-Israel hatred and violence in words or acts, must be treated as enemies of the State.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">I also blame, of course, the anti-Semitism of the rest of the world, including the US government (the State Dept), and certainly the EU (which also has trillions of dollars of Jewish assets which were not paid for) and the UN (non-binding resolutions additionally U.N. Resolutions cannot supersede International Agreements and Treaties of post WWI), whose extremely biased condemnation and pressures have restrained Israel from taking the necessary and appropriate steps to protect itself. These are Steps which any other State/Country of the world would be duty-bound and obligated to take and has taken without criticism and condemnation. Not taking these extreme steps in protecting your citizens is a dereliction of duty.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">The never ending and continuance of violence by the Arabs against </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> and its’ citizens must come to an end. How many more of our beautiful people, young and old, must be sacrificed on the altar of the world’s anti-Semitism and our own fear of appearing too self-interested?</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">If ever there was a time for self-interest, it is now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">The Israeli government needs to learn from previous mistakes that ingratiating itself to the biased international media, the world and to the Arabs only strengthens the Arab resolve and brings more bloodshed and bullying. No one has said a word about </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Egypt</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> bombing Gazan houses and building a wall because </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Egypt</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> doesn’t give a damn and everyone knows it. </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> needs to have the same attitude and do what is good for its people for a change. This will garner more respect, not less. Bullies prey on the weak.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">As for </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> (the terrorist entity) which is </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">’s problem and the government will probably be dumb enough to accept the problem as their own. </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> in hope for peace created the Arab-Palestinian people and an idea of a possible second Arab-Palestinian state west of the </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan River</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> and now they will probably take some responsibility for the people of </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> to please the biased world. Makes you sick, does it not!</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">The Arabs keep demanding the </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Samaria</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> aka </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">West Bank</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Eastern Jerusalem</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> as their new State. But nowhere in any treaties of post WWI, there is no such an agreement. They also fail to inform the world that the Arab states terrorized and expelled over a million Jewish families from their countries, confiscated all their assets personal, businesses, homes and over 120,000 sq. km. of Real estate (6 times the size of Israel valued in the trillions of dollars) most Jewish refugees families from Arab countries were resettled in Greater Israel.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">The Arab-Palestinians have a state, it is called </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan on Jewish land</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">, which about 75% of its citizens is Arab-Palestinians citizens and possess a Jordanian citizenship. While the British as trustee for the Jewish people managed the Mandate for </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">, the British violated the trust and created The State of Jordan for the Arabs in the early 1920’s. The British took about 80% of Jewish allocated land which included all the territory east of the </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan River</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">. Under the San Remo Treaty of April 1920 which adopted the Balfour Declaration of 1917 as international law with no restrictions on boundary; there was also the confirmation of the San Remo Resolution in The Treaty of Sevres Article 95; the British violated agreements and treaties, took over 77% of Jewish territory and gave it to the Arabs, in violation of the treaty and the January 1919 Faisal Weizmann Agreement. Additionally the British gave away Jewish land west of the </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan River</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> to the Arabs without authority.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">The Arab-Palestinians do not want a state; they have shown to date in deed and practice that they are only interested in the destruction of </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">. Their Charters, Schooling and Media (brainwash) educates and promotes hate, terror and violence towards the Jewish State. An </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Arab-Palestinian</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">State</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> would have to act responsibly and abide by world criteria of a responsible state, which they cannot adhere to. The Arabs cannot make peace among themselves for centuries, do you expect them to make peace with </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">It is time for </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> to fully take over all its liberated territory west of the </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan River</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"> and expel all the Arab trouble makers and their families. No violence must be tolerated. </span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">YJ Draiman</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;">P.S.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">How many holidays do the Arabs celebrate due to historical events in the land of ancient Israel. The Jewish people celebrate most of their holidays and fast days in memory of and the goal and aspiration to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem – where it was before it was destroyed and desecrated by the enemies of the Jews. Many of the Jewish prayers for thousands of years recite the love of Israel and the Jewish aspirations to return to their ancestral land and bring back its glory and holiness.</span><b><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt;"></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">Government of </span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;"> first duty is to protect the people at all costs, not run their lives.</span></b></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-71859522266247076372015-12-09T21:25:00.001-08:002015-12-09T21:25:27.813-08:00Hanukkah At The White House 2014<br />
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/2014/12/18/hanukkah-at-the-white-house/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Hanukkah At The White House"><span style="color: blue;">Hanukkah At The White House</span></a></h2>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Hanukkah_Party" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="wh_hanukkah">White House Hanukkah Party</a> is an annual reception held at the White House and hosted by the U.S. President and First Lady to recognize and celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The tradition was established in 2001, during the administration of George W. Bush. The guest list includes hundreds of American Jewish politicians, organization heads, and school and yeshiva deans. Here are President Obama’s opening remarks at this year’s party which took place on Dec. 17, 2014:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At the same event, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl said the following words: “Our founding fathers aspired to build a country that was truly a place of religious freedom and equal opportunity for all people. But I have to predict that they could not have imagined that in 2014 there would be a Female Asian-American Rabbi lighting the menorah at the White House for an African-American president…”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Hanukkah_Party#Pre-White_House_story:_George_Washington_and_Hanukkah" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="gw_wikipedia">Wikipedia article about the event</a> gives as background the story of a Jewish soldier who fought in George Washington’s army at Valley Forge in 1776:</span></div>
<ul style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; list-style: outside url("images/ul-bg.png"); margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">For centuries, the lights of the Hanukkah menorah have inspired hope and courage. They may have also been responsible for inspiring then-General George Washington to forge on when everything looked bleak when his cold and hungry Continental Army camped at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777/8. The story is told that Washington was walking among his troops when he saw one soldier sitting apart from the others, huddled over what looked like two tiny flames. Washington approached the soldier and asked him what he was doing. The soldier explained that he was a Jew and he had lit the candles to celebrate Hanukkah, the festival commemorating the miraculous victory of his people so many centuries ago over the tyranny of a much better equipped and more powerful enemy who had sought to deny them their freedom. The soldier then expressed his confidence that just as, with the help of God, the Jews of ancient times were ultimately victorious, so too would they be victorious in their just cause for freedom. Washington thanked the soldier and walked back to where the rest of the troops camped, warmed by the inspiration of those little flames and the knowledge that miracles are possible.</span><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The historical source for the above story is a second-hand account, but is nonetheless fairly credible. In December, 1778, General George Washington had supper at the home of Michael Hart, a Jewish merchant in Easton, Pennsylvania. It was during the Hanukkah celebration, and Hart began to explain the customs of the holiday to his guest. Washington replied that he already knew about Hanukkah. He told Hart and his family of meeting the Jewish soldier at Valley Forge the previous year. (According to Washington, the soldier was a Polish immigrant who said he had fled his homeland because he could not practice his faith under the Prussian government there.) Hart’s daughter Louisa wrote the story down in her diary.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The story has been quoted by several Jewish historians, including Rabbi I. Harold Sharfman in his 1977 book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jews-frontier-I-Harold-Sharfman/dp/0809278499/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418957342&sr=1-1&keywords=jews+on+the+frontier" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="jews-frontier">Jews on the Frontier</a>.</span></div>
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<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jews-frontier-I-Harold-Sharfman/dp/0809278499/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418957342&sr=1-1&keywords=jews+on+the+frontier" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="jewsfrontier" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-921" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/jewsfrontier.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="224" /></a></center>
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The children’s book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hanukkah-Valley-Forge-Stephen-Krensky/dp/0525477381/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418956904&sr=1-1&keywords=9780525477389" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="hanukkah-valley-forge">Hanukkah At Valley Forge</a> tells the same story. The author’s disclaimer is given below as well.</div>
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<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hanukkah-Valley-Forge-Stephen-Krensky/dp/0525477381/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418956904&sr=1-1&keywords=9780525477389" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="jewishsoldierhanukkah" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-913" height="199" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/jewishsoldierhanukkah.jpeg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="260" /></a><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyForge.png" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="ValleyForge" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915" height="361" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ValleyForge.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="507" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In recent years, <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/rabbijohnrosovesblog/item/a_story_of_a_jewish_soldier_fighting_in_george_washingtons_army_during_hanu" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="letter">a letter has surfaced</a> which claims to have been written by the Jewish soldier himself. The letter is probably not real, but it does convey the story in an emotional and inspiring way. Here is the text of the letter:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">It is Hanukkah in the year of 1776. The winter is hard and the cold is fearsome. We are starving for bread. We have no clothes to warm our bodies and no shoes for our feet.<br />At these moments, I am reminded of my father in Poland. I recall how much he suffered at the hands of the cruel Baron. I remember I was but a youngster and saw my father dance before the Baron. How terrible was the sight. My father was made to dress up in the skin of a white bear and he danced for the sport of the Baron and his guests. How great is my pain and shame. Father dances as a bear and the Baron jests and revels. I affirm in my heart that I will never be so humiliated myself. At my first opportunity, I set sail to America.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">It is now the first night of Hanukkah. This very night, two years ago, I fled from my father’s home in Poland. My father gave me a Hanukkah menorah and said, “When you will light, my son, these candles for Hanukkah, they will illuminate the path for you.” From that day on, my menorah was as an amulet. Wherever I go, I take it with me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Suddenly, I feel a soft, tender hand upon my head. I lift my eyes, and behold it is him, in all his majesty, General George Washington standing upon me. He asks me, “Why soldier do you cry? Is it then so very cold?”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">I forgot at that moment that I am a soldier in the presence of my superior, and spoke before him as a child to a parent. “My master the General,” I said. “I cry and pray for your victory. I am certain with the help of God, we shall prevail. Today, the enemy is strong; tomorrow they will surely fall, for justice is with us. We seek to be free in this land; we desire to build a country for all who flee from oppression and suffer abroad. The Barons will not rule here. The enemy will falter and you will succeed.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The General shook my hand. “Thank you, soldier,” he said, and sat at my side next to the menorah. “What is this?” asked the General. I told him I brought it from my parent’s home. Jews the world-over light this menorah to celebrate the great miracle of Hanukkah and the miraculous salvation of the Jews. The light of the Hanukkah menorah danced in the eyes of General Washington as he called forth in joy, “You are a Jew from the children of prophets and you declared that we shall prevail.” “Yes my master,” I answered with confidence. We will be victorious as the Maccabees of old, for our own sake and the sake of all who follow us to build a new land and a new life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The General got up; his face was ablaze. He shook my hand and disappeared into the darkness. My faith was rewarded, victory was achieved, and peace reigned in the land. My General became the leader of our new country, and I became one of its citizens.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">I quickly forgot those frightful days and nights at Valley Forge. However, that first night of Hanukkah, with General Washington, I carried in my heart always as a precious dream.<br />The first night of Hanukkah the following year of 1777, I was sitting in my house in New York on Broome Street, with the Hanukkah light in my window. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. I opened the door, and incredibly, my General, George Washington is standing in the doorway. “Behold, the wondrous flame, the flame of hope of all Jewry,” he called forth in joy as he gazed upon its light.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The General placed his hand upon my shoulder and said, “This light and your beautiful words lit a flame in my heart that night. Surely, you and your comrades will receive due recognition for all of your valor at Valley Forge. But this night, accept from me, this medallion.” He hung the medallion of gold upon my chest and shook my hand. Tears came to my eyes; I couldn’t say a word. The General shook my hand once again and left the house.<br />I stirred as if coming from a beautiful dream. I then looked upon my medallion and saw a beautiful engraving of a Hanukkah menorah with the first candle lit. Below was written, “As an expression of gratitude for the candle of your menorah.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Several articles claim that this medallion is part of the permanent collection in the Jewish Museum in New York. I have yet to verify this myself.</span></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-25041404141098751012015-12-09T21:14:00.000-08:002015-12-09T21:21:40.466-08:00Talmud and Modern Economics<br />
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/2014/12/31/talmud-and-modern-economics/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Talmud and Modern Economics"><span style="color: blue;">Talmud and Modern Economics</span></a></h2>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aumann" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="aumann">Robert John Aumann</a> (Hebrew name: ישראל אומן, Yisrael Aumann; born June 8, 1930) is an Israeli-American mathematician and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He also holds a visiting position at Stony Brook University and is one of the founding members of the Stony Brook Center for Game Theory. His website is <a href="http://www.ma.huji.ac.il/~raumann/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="website">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Prof. Aumann received Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005 for his work on conflict and cooperation through <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSVmOC_5zrE" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="gametheory101">game-theory</a> analysis. He shared the prize with Thomas Schelling. You can find his complete Nobel lecture on the incentives which lead nations to War and Peace <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2005/aumann-lecture.pdf" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="nobel-lecture">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In the following series of video lectures, Aumann makes some very interesting connections between the Talmud and modern economic theory. Prof. Aumann’s original slides from the lecture are available <a href="http://www.ma.huji.ac.il/~raumann/documents/EconomicsTalmudEngSite.pdf" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="lecture">here</a>.</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Fixing the World: Exorbitant Ransom</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The first topic is related to Prof. Aumann’s prize-winning research in the area of incentives in game-theory. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="game-theory">Game-theory</a> is a study of strategic decision making. Specifically, it is “the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Rational decision makers in game-theory prefer outcomes that maximize their gain (or minimize their loss). A person’s behavior is considered rational if his actions are in his best interests, given his information. This doesn’t mean that there is no place for altruistic motives, but we would still like to avoid negative incentives which discourage people from “doing the right thing”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At 7:10 minutes in the video, prof. Aumann explains that in the Talmud “Tikkun Olam” (תיקון עולם), which literally means “Fixing the world”, always refers to a law (Halacha) which needs to be amended because it empirically creates negative incentives. Even though the law was intended to have a positive effect on society, the negative incentives it creates result in a negative outcome for society: people find it difficult to “do the right thing”, or are incentivized to “do the wrong thing”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Aumann mentions <a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/etm/etm138.htm" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="gittin">Gittin Chapter 4</a>, which has several examples of this principle. One example deals with paying exorbitant ransoms for captives:</span></div>
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<a href="http://daf-yomi.com/Dafyomi_Page.aspx?vt=1&massechet=301&amud=89&fs=0" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="Shvuiim" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Shvuiim.png" height="131" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="408" /></a></div>
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<em style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">“No more money must be paid for the redemption of captives than what they are really worth, due to tikkun olam.”</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">As Aumann explains, paying exorbitant ransoms creates a negative incentive. Although redemption of captives (פדיון שבויים) was meant to be a humanitarian law, in reality it was found that paying exorbitant ransoms creates incentives for criminals to kidnap. We see this in modern times when Israel’s willingness to free 1,000 prisoners for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilad_Shalit" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="shalit">Gilad Shalit</a> has created an incentive for Hamas to try and kidnap more Israeli soldiers. This is what Aumann means by negative incentives, and removing such incentives is what the Talmud means by “Tikkun Olam”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Aumann even brings a reference from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonides" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="maimonides">Maimonides</a> which explicitly states that “Prisoners should not be redeemed for unreasonably high ransoms, so that enemies should not pursue people to kidnap them.” (Maimonides, Codex, Laws of Charity, Chapter 8, Section 12).</span></div>
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<img alt="rambam_captives" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-953" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/rambam_captives.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<strong style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Fixing the World: Prozbul</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In the next segment, Prof. Aumann continues an example from Part 1 about modern day Vietnam, and then explains topic of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prozbul" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="prozbul">Prozbul</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The Torah mandates a Sabbatical year, known as Shmita, every seventh year, which, among other things, cancels all debts. This is one of the many laws in the Torah meant to protect the poor and disadvantaged, affording them a chance to escape from eternal debt. But, Aumann explains, when applied in practice, the law created an unforeseen negative incentive: lenders stopped lending as the 7th year approached, because they did not want to lose their money. This had a negative effect on the economy and on the poor, and so Hillel found a way to effectively cancel the law by assigning the debt to someone else for a year and reinstating it thereafter.</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Price Control and Competition</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At 3:45 minutes, Aumann starts his second example: price control and competition. He starts by quoting the biblical source (Deutoronomy 25):</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9989/jewish/Chapter-25.htm" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="EifaVeEifa" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-935" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/EifaVeEifa.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The Talmudic discussion on this topic takes place in Bava Batra 89:</span></div>
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<a href="http://daf-yomi.com/DafYomi_Page.aspx?vt=1&id=3436" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="batra" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-937" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/batra.png" height="212" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="434" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The sage Shmuel tells his assistant named Karna (literally: Horn) to appoint supervisors to oversee the fairness of scales and measures in the marketplace but not to oversee the fairness of prices. Karna disobeys him and proceeds to enforce “fair” prices, and Shmuel curses him that he may grow a horn between his eyes (hence the playful name “unicorn” for this topic in Aumann’s slides).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Aumann claims that the Talmud was in favor of government regulation of scales and measures, but against centralized price controls. In other words: create incentives to keep the merchants honest, but don’t create incentives for fixing prices, because the free market already has the right incentives built-in: competition. The argument continues in part 3:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Aumann gives the commentary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashbam" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="rashbam">Rashbam</a> (Rashi’s grandson, who replaced his commentary when he died in the middle of Bava Batra) which states that if one person sells for an exorbitantly high price, then there is an incentive for someone else to sell at a lower price, and the buyers have an incentive to buy from that person, which will force the first seller to lower his prices as well. Here is a hebrew script of the commentary:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ateret4u.com/online/f_00949.html#HtmpReportNum0174_L2" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="rashbam_baba" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-940" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/rashbam_baba.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Aumann’s translation is as follows:</span></div>
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<img alt="rashbam_trans" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-949" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/rashbam_trans1.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At 4:00 minutes, Aumann makes the point that while you may argue that the economics of free market prices are only implicitly favored in the Talmud, you cannot deny that the idea that the market will “self-regulate” its prices is stated very explicitly in the Rashbam commentary (which dates back to the 12th century). This concept of the “invisible hand” that guides the market to fair pricing is usually credited to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="adamsmith">Adam Smith</a> in his 18th century classic <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Wealth-Nations-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553585975" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Wealth Of Nations</a>.</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Moral Hazard (Ten Stores)</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At 7:20 minutes, Aumann starts his next example: moral hazard. He brings a famous story which is repeated multiple times in the Talmud. This excerpt is from Ketubot 15:</span></div>
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<a href="http://daf-yomi.com/Dafyomi_Page.aspx?vt=1&massechet=297&amud=29&fs=0" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="nine_stores" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-944" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/nine_stores.png" height="132" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="324" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In English: “There are 10 stores, all selling kosher meat, except one, which is selling non-kosher meat. If a man buys from one, but doesn’t remember which one, then due to the doubt, the meat is forbidden; but if he found the meat, we go by the majority.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In the 4th segment, prof. Aumann explains this case using the modern concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_hazard" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="hazard">moral hazard</a>. A risky situation is said to be fraught with “moral hazard” if the outcome is determined (or may be affected) by the actions of an interested party.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The example Aumann gives to illustrate “moral hazard” is this: a person wants to buy insurance for his house which is worth $500K. He pays the premium, and then offers the insurance company to buy two policies, each for $500K. Any rational insurance company would have to refuse. Why? Because it’s a “moral hazard”: the person would then have an incentive to burn down his house, because the payoff from insurance is higher than the payoff from selling. This gets back to Aumann’s idea that real-life decisions are influenced by positive and negative incentives: “moral hazard” can occur whenever your own actions influence the probability that an adverse event will occur. This is a problem for insurance companies, because their premiums are calculated based on the assumption that there is incentive for the owner to keep his house safe.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Getting back to the Talmud, Aumann explains why this is a classic “moral hazard” situation: the person who bought the meat forgot at which store he bought it. But since <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">he</em> was the one who bought it, and he already spent the money, then, consciously or subconsciously, he has an incentive to think that he probably bought it at the kosher store, because then he won’t have to throw it away. This is the essence of the moral hazard: when results of your own actions influence what is supposed to be an independent probability calculation. Some may be able to resist the incentive to cheat, but others may not, so the Talmud takes that into account and removes the incentive.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">This is why the Talmud adds the second case: suppose he <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">found</em> the meat. In that case, the choice of which store the meat came from was not in the person’s own hands, so the probability can be computed objectively, and in this case there is a 9/10 (90%) chance that the meat is kosher, so the person can eat it (“go by the majority” means more than 50% probability).</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Median Voting (Multiple Appraisers)</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">One example that is in prof. Aumann’s slides, but not in this particular video (there are many other lectures of his online) is the case of multiple appraisers: if you get 3 appraisals for your house, should you always take the average or the median?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The surprising game-theory answer is given by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_voter_theorem" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="median_voting">Median Voting Theorem</a>: “a majority rule voting system will select the outcome most preferred by the median voter”. The median rule turns out to be the optimal aggregation strategy for single-peaked preferences, as explained by the following video:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_voter_theorem" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="median_voting">wikipedia article about the median voter theorem</a> gives a simple example to illustrate the idea, but prof. Aumann found even simpler examples in the Talmud.</span></div>
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<img alt="batra_appraisal" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-955" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/batra_appraisal.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Aumann’s English translation and explanation is as follows:</span></div>
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<img alt="social_choice" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-951" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/social_choice.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The modern-day explanation is simply that in both cases we select the median, rather than the mean, but the Talmud and commentary bring logical arguments. The latter case is actually the simplest. If one says 100, one says 80 and one says 120, then we pick the average which is 100. But what if two of them agree? In that case, the average leaves the majority unhappy. So, the Talmud adds the first part: if any two of the appraisers agree, then they choose by the majority. This is the same result as would be given by the median voter theorem.</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The Three Widows (Consistent Fair Division)</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">This example is one of prof. Aumann’s most well-known and complicated results. He was the first modern scholar to show that the Talmud’s solution can be explained with modern game-theory.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The problem and the solution are stated in Ketubot 93a (and let’s dodge the issue of how a man can have 3 wives, and why he promises them different inheritances in their ketubot):</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">“<em style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If a man with three wives dies, one has a ketuba of 100 zuz, one of 200, and one of 300, and there is only 100 in the estate, then they divide equally.</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If there is 200, then the one of 100 takes 50, and those of 200 and 300, 75 each.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><em style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If there is 300, then the one of 100 takes 50, the one of 200 takes 100, and the one of 300 takes 150.</em>”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In the following diagram, the amounts promised to each wife are shown on the top row and the amounts available for inheritance are shown the left column. Each inner cell then shows how much each widow would get in the 3 cases where the deceased left 100, 200 or 300 respectively:</span></div>
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<img alt="3wives" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-957" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/3wives.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The last case, where the man left over a sum of 300, is to be divided according to the ratios of the promised amounts. This seems obvious. But why is the first case divided equally? And why is the second case divided 50 to the first and then 75 each to the other two? At first glance, this seems inconsistent. Indeed, this has been a mystery for centuries until prof. Aumann provided the mathematical explanation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">You can read prof. Aumann’s <a href="http://dept.econ.yorku.ca/~jros/docs/AumannGame.pdf" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="3wives">paper</a>, which explains why the solution in the Talmud is consistent with game-theory, and watch him explain it in the next video segment:</span></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-84681952990971087132015-12-09T21:07:00.001-08:002015-12-09T21:07:11.112-08:00 The Real Historical Balaam<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/2015/07/04/the-real-historical-balaam/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Real Historical Balaam"><span style="color: blue;">The Real Historical Balaam</span></a></h2>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">This week’s Torah portion is <a href="http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2495769&p=1" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Balak</a>, which tells the story of a mythical non-Israelite prophet called Balaam (Bil’aam in Hebrew – בלעם).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The story of Balaam is one of the most baffling portions in the Torah.</span></div>
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BalaamDonk3.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="BalaamDonk3" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1001" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BalaamDonk3.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">First of all, it seems to have no significance to the plot of the Israelite travels in the desert. The story unfolds as a psycho-drama between Balak the king of Moab, and the (Midianite?) prophet-for-hire Balaam Ben Be’or, whom Balak is trying to convince to curse the Israelites. Finally when Balak succeeds, Balaam’s curse comes out as a blessing. In fact, this has become one of the most famous blessings in the Torah and the Liturgy:</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">מה טובו אהליך יעקב, משכנותיך ישראל<br />How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel</span></em></center>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Secondly, the story is about a non-Israelite prophet who actually converses with God. Why would the Biblical editors choose to include such a story, which seems to imply that prophecy is universal?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Thirdly, there is the supernatural story of the talking Donkey that sees visions of angels blocking its way.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">For all these reasons, it has been tempting for Biblical scholars to dismiss the story as pure fiction and treat it as a parable. In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wrote-Bible-Richard-Elliott-Friedman/dp/0060630353" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Who Wrote The Bible</a>, Richard Friedman claims that the story of Balaam comes predominantly from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohist" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">E or Elohist sources</a>, i.e. it’s a folk tale that originated in the Northern tribes of Israel rather than Judah (with the possible exception of the Donkey story, which appears to be a later addition). This view is also supported by some of the imagery in <a href="http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?AID=2495769&p=4" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Numbers 23</a>, which features a multiplicity of Altars as was the custom in Northern Israel rather than in Jerusalem-centric Judah.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">But this view of Balaam changed in 1967, when archeologists uncovered the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Alla_Inscription" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Deir Alla inscription</a>, which has been carbon-dated to around 840–760 BCE, and seems to imply that Balaam was indeed a real person. Some epigraphy experts date the writing style of the inscription to a later period around 700 BCE, which would place it after the destruction of Northern Israel, but carbon dating seems to support an earlier timeframe. The location of Deir Alla may be linked to the biblical settlement of Succoth:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-balaam-son-of-beor-inscription-tell-deir-alla-succoth-1400-750bc.htm" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-987" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/panorama-israel-archeology-succoth-deir-alla-balaam-th.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The inscription was part of a Temple (most likely Midianite) which was used to worship multiple Gods (Elohim):</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-balaam-son-of-beor-inscription-tell-deir-alla-succoth-1400-750bc.htm" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-988" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/bible-archeology-balaam-son-of-beor-inscription-tell-deir-alla-succoth-pethor-book-of-balaam-museum-section1-section2-insitu-drawing.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies describes it as “the oldest example of a book in a West Semitic language written with the alphabet, and the oldest piece of Aramaic literature.” The inscription is written in ancient Hebrew letters, in a language that seems to be a <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1356305?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">local variation on Aramaic/Canaanite</a> with some Hebrew syntax thrown in. It was painted in red and black inks on fragments of a plastered wall. The heading is in red, as are the passages that Balaam heard from God, and the rest of the inscription is in black ink.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-balaam-son-of-beor-inscription-tell-deir-alla-succoth-1400-750bc.htm" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-986" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/balaam-inscription.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">There are 12 sections in the uncovered inscription and not all of them seem to be consecutive. According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Rofe" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Alexander Rofe</a>, the fragments were discovered by a Dutch archeology team which worked in Jordan since 1960. The inscriptions were in bad shape and were painstakingly restored in Jerusalem and Holland over several years. Since 1972, the fragments are on display at the Archeological Museum in Amman Jordan:</span></div>
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/balaam-museum.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="balaam-museum" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1005" height="480" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/balaam-museum.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The writing of ink on white plaster is suggestive of another Biblical text: Deuteronomy 27:4-5: “Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with plater” (שיד or סיד).</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-balaam-son-of-beor-inscription-tell-deir-alla-succoth-1400-750bc.htm" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-985" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/bible-archeology-balaam-son-of-beor-inscription-tell-deir-alla-succoth-pethor-book-of-balaam-museum-divine-seer-of-the-gods-drawing.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Independent of the Deir Alla inscription, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Knohl" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Israel Knohl</a>, in his book Ha-Shem, dates Balaam’s main blessing poem (<a href="http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2495769&p=6" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Numbers 24:4-9</a>) to a much later period than the Sinai period. Based on verse 7: “his king shall be raised over Agag, and his kingship exalted”, he thinks this refers to King Saul’s victory over Agag the Amalekite (<a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15844" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">I Samuel 15:4-8</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">On the other hand, Knohl also cites <a href="http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?AID=2495769&p=7" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Numbers 24:17</a> as possibly referring to the fear Israel instilled in Moab, which would more likely date the poem to the time of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omri" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">King Omri</a>. This is much more consistent with the Deir Alla timing, as it dates to the 9th century BCE based on another famous inscription: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Mesha Stele</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="mesha" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-994" height="500" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/mesha.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The Mesha Stele (also known as the “Moabite Stone”) is a stele (inscribed stone) set up around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tells how Kemosh, the God of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but at length Kemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab. Mesha describes his many building projects.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Mesha Stele</a> is the longest Iron Age inscription ever found in the region, constitutes the major evidence for the Moabite language, and is a “corner-stone of Semitic epigraphy and Israelite history”.The stele, whose story parallels, with some differences, an episode in the Bible’s Books of Kings (2 Kings 3:4–8), provides invaluable information on the Moabite language and the political relationship between Moab and Israel at one moment in the 9th century BCE. It is the most extensive inscription ever recovered that refers to the kingdom of Israel (the “House of Omri”); it bears the earliest certain extra-biblical reference to the Israelite God Adonai (יהוה), and the earliest mention of the “House of David” (i.e., the kingdom of Judah). It is also one of only four known ancient inscriptions interpreted to mention the term “Israel”, the others being the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merneptah_Stele" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Merneptah Stele</a> (1200 BCE), the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Dan_Stele" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Tel Dan Stele</a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurkh_Monoliths" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Kurkh Monolith</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The Tel Dan Stele is a broken stele (inscribed stone) discovered in 1993–94 during excavations at Tel Dan in northern Israel. It consists of several fragments making up part of a triumphal inscription in Aramaic, left most probably by Hazael of Aram-Damascus, an important regional figure in the late 9th century BCE. I recently took a photo of the actual Tel Dan Stele while it was on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York:</span></div>
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TelDanStele.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="TelDanStele" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-999" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TelDanStele.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Back to Balaam. Based on the recent archeological evidence, it seems that Balaam was a real-life well-known priest (Moabite or Midianite) who lived in the 9th century BCE. He was widely believed to be a genuine non-Israelite prophet. Even the Sages acknowledge this in <a href="http://www.sefaria.org/Bemidbar_Rabbah.14.1?lang=en&layout=lines&sidebarLang=all" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Midrash Bamidbar Rabah 14:20</a> “There were three features possessed by the prophecy of Balaam that were absent from that of Moses: 1) Moses did not know who was speaking with him, whereas Balaam knew who was speaking with him; 2) Moses did not know when the Holy One Blessed Be He would speak with him, whereas Balaam knew…3) Balaam spoke with Him whenever he pleased…Moses, however, did not speak with Him whenever he wished.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Based on the Balaam inscription, his prophesies were mostly morbid apocalyptic imagery, like this excerpt: “..sew the skies shut with your thick cloud! There let there be darkness and no (7) perpetual shining and n[o] radiance! For you will put a sea[l upon the thick] cloud of darkness and you will not remove it forever! For the swift has (8) reproached the eagle, the voice of vultures resounds”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">In summary, all the evidence seems to support the theory that the real historical Balaam was a well known religious figure in the ancient Near East around the 8-9 century BCE. He had a wide reputation for delivering morbid prophesies and curses and was a high priest in his own temple. Assuming that the Biblical editors knew all this, and knew that their readers knew it as well, it becomes more obvious why they felt inclined to include the story of Balaam’s blessings to Israel in so much detail in the <a href="http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2495769&p=1" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Balak</a>portion. The story is also mentioned in Numbers 31:8,16 (where Balaam is killed in battle), Deutoronomy 23:5-6, in the book of <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16192/jewish/Chapter-6.htm" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Micah 6:5</a> (the Haftara for Balak), as well as in Joshua 13:22 and Nehemiah 13:2.</span></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-48061743800481897942015-12-09T21:02:00.001-08:002015-12-09T21:02:41.756-08:00Passover in Egypt in 419 BCE Draiman<br />
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/2014/06/21/passover-in-egypt-in-419-bce/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Passover in Egypt in 419 BCE"><span style="color: blue;">Passover in Egypt in 419 BCE</span></a></h2>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">[This article was inspired by a brilliant <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/biblefuture" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="coursera">online course</a> by <a href="http://www.candler.emory.edu/faculty/faculty-bios/wright.cfm" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="wright">Prof. Jacob L. Wright</a>]</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Many biblical scholars tell us that, so far, there is little or no archeological evidence of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and the periods which preceded it. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Finkelstein" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="finkelstein-tel-aviv">Some scholars</a> also doubt Joshua’s wars and even the scale of the Davidic monarchy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">At the other end of the timeline, the <a href="http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/about/deadseascroll/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="dead-sea-scrolls">Dead Sea Scrolls</a> prove that the entire Tanach (Hebrew Bible), as we know it today (modulo canonization), existed in Hebrew manuscript form by the beginning of the 1st Century CE (year zero of the common era). The findings at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qumran" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="qumran">Qumran</a> suggest that there existed libraries with many copies of each Biblical book, where the people of Judah were able to read them along with contemporary commentary, translation and exegesis.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The question arises, at what point during the first millennium BCE can we find hard evidence that matches the Biblical narrative on the formation of the Israelites and Judahites as a people and as a religion whose center of gravity is in Jerusalem?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">There are several carbon-dated archeological artifacts that indirectly corroborate the Biblical stories in the 9th century BCE. I discuss some of them in <a href="http://danadler.com/blog/2015/07/04/the-real-historical-balaam/" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">THIS</a> post.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Here, we will discuss an interesting piece of evidence from the 5th century BCE, which roughly coincides with the return to Zion and the rebuilding of the 2nd Temple.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">In 1907, a german professor by the name of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Sachau" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="sachau">Eduard Sachau</a> discovered the <a href="http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/westsem/passover.html" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="passover_pap">Passover Papyrus</a> at Elephantine. The papyrus is written in Aramaic using Hebrew letters, and has been scientifically dated back to 419 BCE. This is the oldest archeological document found to date (outside of the Bible) which proves that Jews celebrated Passover during the period which coincides with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_Zion" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="return-to-zion">Return to Zion of Ezra and Nehemiah</a> (from the Babylonian exile), and provides independent historical evidence that:</span></div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">A small Jewish community existed in Egypt (as described in the book of Jeremiah)</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">They worshipped a God named Yahu (יהו which is similar to יהוה)</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">They considered Judah (the land of Israel) as their religious authority</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">They wrote to Judah to ask how to celebrate Passover (maybe they had no Torah scroll, or maybe Torah scrolls didn’t exist yet)</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">One of the other Elephantine papyri mentions <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanballat_the_Horonite" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="sanballat">Sanballat</a> who is also mentioned in the Bible</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">The Passover Papyrus is the response the Elephantine community received from Judah outlining the Passover rituals</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">The timing of Passover in the papyrus and most of the rituals match what we would expect</span></li>
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephantine" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="elephantine">Elephantine</a> is a small island in the southern part of the Nile river, near today’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="aswan">Aswan</a>. Most Hebrew sources refer to it as “Yev” (יב) – for example, this <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/mahanaim/pesah/hag.htm" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="pesach-papyrus">Hebrew article</a> about the papyrus.</span></div>
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<img class="aligncenter" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Elephantine_by_Zureks.jpg/800px-Elephantine_by_Zureks.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The Passover Papyrus is part of a large collection of documents that were uncovered at Elephantine. The documents were studied by German, British, American and Israeli scholars and translated from Aramaic to many different languages.</span></div>
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PortenBook.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="PortenBook" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-836" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PortenBook.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="370" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Many of the documents deal with the history of one specific family: the family of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephantine_papyri#The_Family_Archive_of_Anaiah_and_Tamut" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="ananiah">Hannaniah</a>. Some of the papyri have been on display at the <a href="http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/752/Jewish_Life_in_Ancient_Egypt" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="brooklyn-papyrus">Brooklyn Museum</a>. They were published by the museum in a book:</span></div>
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<a href="http://shop.brooklynmuseum.org/jewishlife.html" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="Brooklyn-Elephantine" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-840" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Brooklyn-Elephantine-e1403401363829.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">However, the Passover Papyrus is not at the Brooklyn Museum, it is on display at the <a href="http://www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="berlin-egyptian-museum">Berlin Egyptian Museum</a> – which I visited last year with my family.</span></div>
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<img alt="BerlinEgyptianMuseum" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-842" height="600" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BerlinEgyptianMuseum.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="399" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The significance of the Passover Papyrus was first identified by British scholar William R. Arnold in a 1911 paper entitled <a href="http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jbl/1912_001.pdf" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="passover-arnold">Passover Papyrus From Elephantine</a> (click for full pdf).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">As Arnold explains, there are many holes in the text which have to be filled in. The English translation of the Passover Papyrus (as given by <a href="http://download.yutorah.org/2012/1053/Pesach_To-Go_-_5772_Dr_Katz.pdf" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="katz-papyrus">Prof. Jill Katz</a>) is as follows:</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">“…Now, you, thus <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">count fourteen days of Nisan</strong> and on the 14th at twilight the <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Passover make and from day 15 until day 21 of Nisan the Festival of Unleavened Bread observe</strong>. S<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">even days unleavened bread eat</strong>. Now, be pure and take heed. Work do not do on day 15 and on day 21 of Nisan. Any fermented drink do not drink. And anything of leaven do not eat and do not let it be seen in your houses from day 14 of Nisan at sunset until day 21 of Nisan at sunset. <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And any leaven which you have in your houses bring into your chambers and seal (them) up during these days</strong>. To my brothers Jedaniah and his colleagues the Jewish Troop, your brother Hananiah”</span></em></center>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The original Aramaic and Hebrew translation are given in <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/mahanaim/brand.htm" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="passover-brand">this paper</a> By Dr. Yehoshua Brand, and another important article in Hebrew is available <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/mahanaim/pesah/hag.htm" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="pesach-ivrit">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">We get some of the missing background information by reading the <a href="http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/westsem/templeauth.html" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="temple-reconstruction">Temple Reconstruction Papyrus</a>(dated 407 BCE). This scroll mentions the sons of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanballat_the_Horonite" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="sanballat">Sanballat the Horonite</a>:</span></div>
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<img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/westsem/templeauth.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<br /><span style="color: #20124d;"><em style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“…we, our wives, and our children, and the Judahites who are here, all of them—if you do this so that this temple is reconstructed. And you shall have honor before <strong style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yahu</strong>, the God of the Heavens, more than a man who offers him burnt-offerings and sacrifices worth a thousand talents of silver and gold. Because of this, we have written to inform you. We have also set forth the whole matter in a letter in our name to Delaiah and Shelemiah, the sons of <strong style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sanballat</strong>, the governor of Samaria.”</em></span></center>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">The mention of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, by name is one of the strongest corroborations of the Biblical Ezra & Nehemaiah narrative ever found in archeology. Sanballat appears in the Book of Nehemiah, which casts him as one of the chief opponents of the Jewish governor Nehemiah during the latter’s efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and carry out his reforms among the Jews. For example, Nehemiah <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16513/jewish/Chapter-6.htm" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="nehemaiah6">Chapter 6</a> says:</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">“Now it came to pass, when it was heard by Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall, and that no breach was left therein; also that until that time I had not erected doors in the gates.</span></em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d;">Then Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come and let us meet together in Kefirim in the Valley of Ono’; and they were plotting to do me harm.”</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">and verse 10 of that chapter even mentions the names of his sons: “And I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah…” which matches the Elephantine papyrus!</span></div>
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<img class="aligncenter" src="http://biblestudyoutlines.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/800-Nehemiah-6-Starting-Rebuilding.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">You can read many of the linked sources to get the full picture of the significance of the Elephantine papyri, but I think the most important point to take away is that this is a very strong corroboration of the Biblical narrative during the period of Ezra and Nehemiah which I covered in: <a href="http://danadler.com/blog/2013/12/30/jews-and-the-land-of-israel/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="jew-israel">Jews and the Land of Israel</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Several important facts clearly emerge from studying the Elephantine papyri.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">First, that a Jewish community actually existed in Egypt from around the time of the Babylonian exile of 586 BCE. The Biblical text refers to this through the words of the prophet Jeremiah. While the Elephantine Jewish community was not necessarily religious (some scholars say it was polytheistic), the papyri prove that it felt a strong affinity towards “the mother ship”, Judah, and corresponded with Jerusalem seeking help and religious advice.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Second, that the Elephantine Jews probably did not possess a Torah scroll (because it was hard to obtain one, or because it didn’t exist yet).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Third, that the religious leaders in Judah at the time were able to provide precise instructions how to celebrate Passover. Even if the Torah did not exist yet in scroll form, it is clear that the information on how to celebrate Jewish holidays existed in full detail, and the skills to write it down in Aramaic Hebrew existed in Eretz Israel during the 5th Century BCE.</span></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-79256579561082291852015-12-09T20:46:00.000-08:002015-12-09T21:46:34.549-08:00 WW I, Balfour Declaration and San Remo Conference of 1920 - Draiman<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue;"> WW I, Balfour Declaration and San Remo Conference of 1920</span><br />
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/2014/06/28/ww-i-balfour-and-san-remo/" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="WW I, Balfour and San Remo"><span style="color: blue;">WW I, Balfour and San Remo</span></a></h2>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Today is June 28, 2014 which marks the 100 year anniversary of the outbreak of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="ww1">World War I</a>, a global war centered in Europe that began in 1914 and lasted until November 1918. The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_casualties" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="37mil">37 million</a>, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. WW I paved the way for major political changes. Four massive empires crumbled in its aftermath and were divided up into nation-states: the German, the Austro-Hungarian, the Russian and the Ottoman empires.</span></div>
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<img class="aligncenter" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Europe_1812_map_en.png" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The fall of the 400 year-old Ottoman empire, which sided with Germany against the allies, created the possibility of fulfilling the aspirations of two ancient peoples who were deprived of independence for centuries: the Arab people and the Jewish people.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">On December 11, 1917, which was the eve of Hanukkah, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Allenby,_1st_Viscount_Allenby" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Allenby">General Allenby</a> led the British troops into Jerusalem. Allenby was hailed as the savior of the Jews, especially in light of the fact that one month earlier Britain had issued the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="balfour">Balfour Declaration</a>.</span></div>
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<img alt="AllenbyMaccabbee" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-863" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/AllenbyMaccabbee.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Many people know the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="balfour">Balfour Declaration</a> of Nov. 2, 1917 and the U.N. Vote on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="partition">Partition Plan</a> on Nov. 29, 1947 as the two main international political events that led to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Declaration_of_Independence" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="independence">Israel’s Declaration of Independence</a> on May 14, 1948.</span></div>
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Balfour.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="Balfour" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-869" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Balfour.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">However, there is a misconception that the Balfour Declaration was just a letter of intent, and not a binding legal document. The reason for this misconception is that most people are not aware of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Remo_conference" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="san_remo">San Remo Conference</a> which took place on April 19, 1920, lasted for seven days and published its resolutions on April 25, 1920. These seven days laid the political foundation for the creation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="arableague">22 Arab League States</a> and the one and only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="israel">Jewish State of Israel</a>. The full text of the Balfour Declaration became an integral part of the San Remo resolution as a legal entity and the British Mandate for Palestine, thereby transforming it from a letter of intent into a legally-binding foundational document under international law.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Here is a short clip explaining the legal significance of the San Remo Conference:</span></div>
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<span class="embed-youtube" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="392" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hmxm16X3DBA?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="642"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Did the Arabs oppose the creation of a Jewish State at San Remo? The answer is a resounding NO! At that time they were focused on the creation of independent Arab states and had no objection to the establishment of a tiny Jewish state in Palestine. This was formalized in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal%E2%80%93Weizmann_Agreement" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="weizfais">Weizmann-Feisal</a> agreement which led to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="leagueofnations">League of Nations</a> recognizing the Land of Israel (then Palestine) as the homeland of the Jewish people.</span></div>
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<img class="aligncenter" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Weizmann_and_feisal_1918.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="480" /></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Here is part of the text of the agreement (see link below for full text). Note that Feisal distinguishes “The Arab State” from “Palestine” which is understood to mean “The Jewish State”:</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">“His Royal Highness the Emir Feisal, representing and acting on behalf of the Arab Kingdom of Hejaz, and Dr. Chaim Weizmann, representing and acting on behalf of the Zionist Organization, mindful of the racial kinship and ancient bonds existing between the Arabs and the Jewish people, and realizing that the surest means of working out the consummation of their national aspirations, is through the closest possible collaboration in the development of the Arab State and Palestine, and being desirous further of confirming the good understanding which exists between them, have agreed upon the following articles…</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The Arab State and Palestine in all their relations and undertakings shall be controlled by the most cordial goodwill and understanding and to this end <strong style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Arab and Jewish duly accredited agents shall be established and maintained in their respective territories</strong>…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><strong style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the establishment of the Constitution and Administration of Palestine all such measures shall be adopted as will afford the fullest guarantees for carrying into effect the British Government’s Declaration of the 2nd of November, 1917 (the Balfour Declaration)</strong>…</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">All necessary measures will be taken to <strong style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">encourage and stimulate immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale, and as quickly as possible to settle Jewish immigrants upon the land through closer settlement and intensive cultivation of the soil</strong>. In taking such measures the Arab peasants and tenant farmers shall be protected in their rights, and shall be assisted in forwarding their economic development.”</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/faisaltext.html" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, the first and last pages" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-872" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Weizman-Feisal.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In the following video you can watch first-hand testimony by one of the British diplomats who was actually in the negotiation rooms about how the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal_I_of_Iraq" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="emir-faisal">Emir Faisal</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="lawrence">Lawrence of Arabia</a> both supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Israel, and how the document known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal%E2%80%93Weizmann_Agreement" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="faisal-weizmann">Faisal-Weizmann Agreement</a> came about:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At 2:30 watch how the <a href="http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2013/03/the-jewish-brigade-celebrates-passover.html" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="jewish-legion">Jewish Legion</a> fought alongside the Arabs and British to capture the east bank of the Jordan river from the Ottomans in 1918.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At 4:30 watch <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Nusseibeh" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="nusseibeh">Anwar Nusseibeh</a> explain how Arabs in Palestine saw themselves as pan-Arabists who were part of Syria. They did not have any notion of an independent “Palestinian people” and no separate identity beyond <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Arabism" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="panarabs">pan-Arabism</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">At 9:20 watch Noble Peace Prize winner <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Noel-Baker" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="baker">Philip Noel Baker</a> explain how Faisal and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="lawrence">T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)</a> convinced him to support Zionism.</span></div>
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<span class="embed-youtube" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="392" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aButh1KY2ao?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="642"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal_I_of_Iraq" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="emir-faisal">Emir Faisal</a>, the sole recognized representative of the entire Arab people in 1918, fully supported the claim of the Jewish people to their historic homeland, while he had his eyes on the bigger prize: Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt (none of which were independent before WW I). In fact, very few of today’s nation-states existed before World-War I.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><strong style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Let this sink in for a moment</strong>: before the San Remo conference there did not exist a single Arab independent nation state. Not one. All 22 Arab states that exist today (as part of the Arab League) became nation states either as a direct result of the San Remo conference, or much later. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Therefore, the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state is exactly equal or greater to the legitimacy of any of the Arab nation states</em>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Indeed, World-War I is considered the dawn of most modern nation-states. Four massive empires crumbled in its aftermath and were divided up into nation-states: The German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman empires. At that time, nations that had aspirations for self-determination stepped forward and presented their claims for independence to the League of Nations (the precursor to the United Nations). The Arabs stepped up as one single unified nation, and the Jews stepped up as another.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">As you can see from eyewitness reports in the video above, the Arabs of Palestine viewed themselves as Syrian and as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Arabism" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="panarabs">pan-Arabs</a>. They had no aspirations for independence. Only later, once they secured all the rest of their Arab lands, did the Arabs change their story and put the Land of Israel under the microscope, redefining the conflict as Jews against Palestinian Arabs within that small territory, rather than what it originally was: returning a small patch of Ottoman empire land to its rightful owners, the Jewish people, while dividing 99% of the land among the Arabs.</span></div>
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<a href="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Israel-Surrounded.gif" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Israel-Surrounded" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-886" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Israel-Surrounded.gif" height="189" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="350" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The results of the Paris (1918) and San Remo (1920) conferences of the League of Nations was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Mandate_for_Palestine_(legal_instrument)" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="mandate">Mandate for Palestine</a>, granted to the British government for the sole purpose of establishing a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/article_view.asp?articleID=175" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="league-declare">Fifty-one member countries – the entire League of Nations – unanimously declared on July 24, 1922</a>:</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">“Whereas recognition has been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.”</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">There are two key legal points in the above statement (as pointed out by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dore_Gold" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="dore-gold">Dore Gold</a> in the video at the end of the blog) which establish the Jewish people as the indigenous people of Palestine, and shatter the “Zionists are Colonialists” fallacy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">1. It recognizes that the “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine</em>” is a pre-existing right (“<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">grounds for</em>“), not a newly-granted right.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">2. It calls for “<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">reconstituting</em>” their national home, not building a new national home from scratch.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In 2003, Attorney <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Grief" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="howard_grief">Howard Grief</a> brought the minutes of the San Remo Conference and the text of the San Remo Resolution out of the dusty British Archives. Grief addresses the 90th Anniversary commemoration of the San Remo Conference about the importance the Conference and Resolution as the legal foundation of the modern State of Israel under International Law.</span></div>
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<span class="embed-youtube" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="392" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SWWvKsrb8u8?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="642"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The Mandate as issued in San Remo in 1920 included both sides of the Jordan river for the Jewish home.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/conflict/mandate_for_palestine/mandate_for_palestine.htm" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="1920-mandate_for_palestine" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-876" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/1920-mandate_for_palestine.jpg" height="355" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="505" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">It was unanimously adopted by the League of Nations (thereby ratifying the Balfour Declaration as much more than a British document).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">In 1922, with no international debate or resolution, Britain unilaterally exercised <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Mandate_for_Palestine_(legal_instrument)#Article_25_and_Transjordan_memorandum" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="article25">Article 25 of the Mandate</a>, cut off the east bank of Palestine and named it Trans-Jordan. This was not based an any explicit League of Nations decision or any explicit mandate to create an Arab state in Jordan.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Trans-Jordan, more than 3 times the size of Israel, was handed over by Britain to about 300,000<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashemite" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="hashemite">Hashemite</a> nomadic beduins, who originated in Saudi Arabia, in gratitude for their help against the Ottomans (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Revolt" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="arab_revolt">The Arab Revolt</a> as romanticized in the film <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Arabia_(film)" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="lawrence">Lawrence of Arabia</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Furthermore, Britain did not allow any Jews to settle or buy lands in Trans-Jordan, but allowed Arabs to continue and increase the rate of settling in Palestine. Thus, Jordan became the only country in the history of the world that was <a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/judenrein" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="judenrein">judenrein by design</a>, and Palestine (from the Jordan to the Sea) became the only area in dispute between Jews and Arabs. Here is the text of Article 25, and you can see that there was no intention there to create a permanent Arab state in Jordan:</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">“In the territories lying between the Jordan river and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he may consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions, and to make such provision for the administration of the territories as he may consider suitable to those conditions”</span></em></div>
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<a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/conflict/mandate_for_palestine/mandate_for_palestine.htm" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="1922-mandate_for_palestine" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-877" src="http://danadler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/1922-mandate_for_palestine.jpg" height="355" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); clear: both; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 630px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="505" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">On June 30, 1922, The US senate adopted <a href="http://www.justicenow4israel.com/lodge-fish.html" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="us-senate-360">Lodge-Fish Resolution [Joint Congressional Resolution (360)]</a>: using stronger language than the Balfour declaration favoring the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the United States of America favors the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which should prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine, and that the holy places and religious buildings and sites in Palestine shall be adequately protected.” </em>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">On September 21, 1922, President Warren G. Harding signed the joint resolution of approval to establish a Jewish National Home in Palestine. For more details, please see <a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/article_view.asp?articleID=100&order_id=11" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="us-res">this link</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The formal recognition of Israel as the Jewish national home became binding international law not in 1947 or 1948, but in 1920, when the resolutions of the San Remo conference were included as part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_S%C3%A8vres#British_Mandate_for_Palestine" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="treaty-of-sevres">Treaty of Sèvres</a> (August 1920), and were adopted and signed unanimously by all 51 countries of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="league-of-nations">League Of Nations</a>:</span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">ARTICLE 95.</span></em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">The High Contracting Parties agree to entrust, by application of the provisions of Article 22, the administration of Palestine, within such boundaries as may be determined by the Principal Allied Powers, to a Mandatory to be selected by the said Powers. <strong style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mandatory will be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2, 1917, by the British Government, and adopted by the other Allied Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people</strong>, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Here is one more video that explains in more detail why the San Remo resolution of 1920 is even more important than the UN partition plan of 1947:</span></div>
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<span class="embed-youtube" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="392" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oVsjNzXojCM?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="text/html" width="642"></iframe></span></div>
<em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">You can find more detailed information about the San Remo conference and the legal foundations of Israel as the Jewish homeland at Eli Hertz’s excellent website: <a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/index.asp" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="mythsandfacts">http://www.mythsandfacts.org/</a>. This includes a printable <a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/Conflict/mandate_for_palestine/MandateN2%20-%2010-29-07-English.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="mandate-booklet">PDF</a> and a <a href="http://www.mythsandfacts.org/Conflict/mandate_for_palestine/Mandate_for_Palestine.ppt" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="mandate-ppt">PowerPoint Presentation</a> which you can use to present this material.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Full text of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"<a href="https://archive.org/details/jstor-2213236" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration: none;">Franco-British Convention on Certain Points Connected with the Mandates for Syria and the Lebanon, Palestine and Mesopotamia</a>"</span></span></h1>
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<small style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; line-height: 1;"><a href="https://archive.org/details/jstor-2213236" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #428bca; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">See other formats</span></a></small></h2>
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</span><span style="color: #20124d;">122 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW </span><span style="color: #555555;">
</span><b><span style="color: blue;">FRANCO-BRITISH CONVENTION ON CERTAIN POINTS CONNECTED WITH THE MANDATES FOR SYRIA AND THE LEBANON, PALESTINE AND MESOPOTAMIA * </span></b><span style="color: #555555;">
</span><span style="color: #20124d;">Signed at Paris, December 28, 1920
The British and French Governments, respectively represented by the
undersigned Plenipotentiaries, wishing to settle completely the problems
raised by the attribution to Great Britain of the mandates for Palestine and
Mesopotamia and by the attribution to France of the mandate over Syria
and the Lebanon, all three conferred by the Supreme Council at San Remo,
have agreed on the following provisions: —
article 1
The boundaries between the territories under the French mandate of Syria
and the Lebanon on the one hand and the British mandates of Mesopotamia
and Palestine on the other are determined as follows: —
On the east, the Tigris from Jeziret-ibn-Omar to the boundaries of the
former vilayets of Diarbeki/r and Mosul.
On the south-east and south, the aforesaid boundary of the former vilayets
southwards as far as Roumelan Koeui; thence a line leaving in the territory
under the French mandate the entire basin of the western Kabur and passing
in a straight line towards the Euphrates, which it crosses at Abu Kemal,
thence a straight line to Imtar to the south of Jebul Druse, then a line to the
south of Nasib on the Hedjaz Railway, then a line to Semakh on the Lake of
Tiberias, traced to the south of the railway, which descends towards the lake
and parallel to the railway. Deraa and its environs will remain in the terri-
tory under the French mandate; the frontier will in principle leave the
valley of the Yarmuk in the territory under the French mandate, but will be
drawn as close as possible to the railway in such a manner as to allow the con-
struction in the valley of the Yarmuk of a railway entirely situated in the
territory under the British mandate. At Semakh the frontier will be fixed in
such a manner as to allow each of the two High Contracting Parties to con-
struct and establish a harbour and railway station giving free access to the
Lake of Tiberias.
On the west, the frontier will pass from Semakh across the Lake of Tiberias
to the mouth of the Wadi Massadyie. It will then follow the course of this
river upstream, and then the Wadi Jeraba to its source. From that point it
will reach the track from El Kuneitra to Banias at the point marked Skek,
thence it will follow the said track, which will remain in the territory under
the French mandate as far as Banias. Thence the frontier will be drawn west-
wards as far as Metullah, which will remain in Palestinian territory. This
portion of the frontier will be traced in detail in such a manner as to ensure
for the territory under the French mandate easy communication entirely
1 British Parliamentary Command Papers, Misc. No. 4 (1921).
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 123
within such territory with the regions of Tyre and Sidon, as well as continuity
of road communication to the west and to the east of Banias.
From Metullah the frontier will reach the watershed of the valley of the
Jordan and the basin of the Litani. Thence it will follow this watershed
southwards. Thereafter it will follow in principle the watershed between the
Wadis Farah-Houroun and Kerkera, which will remain in the territory under
the British mandate, and the Wadis El Doubleh, El Aioun and Es Zerka,
which will remain in the territory under the French mandate. The frontier
will reach the Mediterranean Sea at the port of Ras-el-Nakura, which will
remain in the territory under the French mandate.
ABTICLE 2
A commission shall be established within three months from the signature
of the present convention to trace on the spot the boundary line laid down in
article 1 between the French and British mandatory territories. This com-
mission shall be composed of four members. Two of these members shall be
nominated by the British and French Governments respectively, the two
others shall be nominated, with the consent of the mandatory Power, by the
local Governments concerned in the French and British mandatory terri-
tories respectively.
In case any dispute should arise in connection with the work of the com-
mission, the question shall be referred to the Council of the League of Nations
whose decision shall be final.
The final reports by the commission shall give the definite description of
the boundary as it has been actually demarcated on the ground; the necessary
maps shall be annexed thereto and signed by the commission. The reports,
with their annexes, shall be made in triplicate; one copy shall be deposited in
the archives of the League of Nations, one copy shall be kept by the manda-
tory, and one by the other Government concerned.
article 3
The British and French Governments shall come to an agreement regard-
ing the nomination of a commission, whose duty it will be to make a prelimi-
nary examination of any plan of irrigation formed by the Government of the
French mandatory territory, the execution of which would be of a nature to
diminish in any considerable degree the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates
at the point where they enter the area of the British mandate in Mesopotamia.
article 4
In virtue of the geographic and strategic position of the island of Cyprus,
off the Gulf of Alexandretta, the British Government agrees not to open any
negotiations for the cession or alienation of the said island of Cyprus without
the previous consent of the French Government.
124 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OP INTERNATIONAL LAW
ARTICLE 5
1. The French Government agrees to facilitate by a liberal arrangement
the joint use of the section of the existing railway between the Lake of Tibe-
rias and Nasib. This arrangement shall be concluded between the railway
administrations of the areas under the French and British mandates respec-
tively as soon as possible after the coming into force of the mandates for
Palestine and Syria. In particular the agreement shall allow the administra-
tion in the British zone to run their own trains with their own traction and
train crews over the above section of the railway in both directions for all
purposes other than the local traffic of the territory under the French man-
date. The agreement shall determine at the same time the financial, ad-
ministrative and technical conditions governing the running of the British
trains. In the event of the two administrations being unable to reach an
agreement within three months from the coming into force of the two above-
mentioned mandates, an arbitrator shall be appointed by the Council of the
League of Nations to settle the points as to which a difference of opinion
exists and immediate effect shall be given as far as possible to those parts of
the agreement on which an understanding has already been reached.
The said agreement shall be concluded for an indefinite period and shall be
subject to periodical revision as need arises.
2. The British Government may carry a pipe line along the existing railway
track and shall have in perpetuity and at any moment the right to transport
troops by the railway.
3. The French Government consents to the nomination of a special com-
mission, which, after having examined the ground, may readjust the above-
mentioned frontier line in the valley of the Yarmuk as far as Nasib in such a
manner as to render possible the construction of the British railway and pipe
line connecting Palestine with the Hedjaz Railway and the valley of the
Euphrates, and running entirely within the limits of the areas under the
British mandate. It is agreed, however, that the existing railway in the Yar-
muk valley is to remain entirely in the territory under the French mandate.
The right provided by the present paragraph for the benefit of the British
Government must be utilised within a maximum period of ten years.
The above-mentioned commission shall be composed of a representative of
the French Government and a representative of the British Government, to
whom may be added representatives of the local Governments and experts as
technical advisers to the extent considered necessary by the British and
French Governments.
4. In the event of the track of the British railway being compelled for
technical reasons to enter in certain places the territory under French man-
date, the French Government will recognise the full and complete extra-
territoriality of the sections thus lying in the territory under the French man-
date, and will give the British Government or its technical agents full and
easy access for all railway purposes.
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 125
5. In the event of the British Government making use of the right
mentioned in paragraph 3 to construct a railway in the valley of the Yarmuk,
the obligations assumed by the French Government in accordance with
paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present article will determine three months after
the completion of the construction of the said railway.
6. The French Government agrees to arrange that the rights provided for
above for the benefit of the British Government shall be recognised by the
local Governments in the territory under the French mandate.
article 6
It is expressly stipulated that the facilities accorded to the British Govern-
ment by the preceding articles imply the maintenance for the benefit of
France of the provisions of the Franco-British Agreement of San Remo re-
garding oil.
ARTICLE 7
The French and British Governments will put no obstacle in their respec-
tive mandatory areas in the way of the recruitment of railway staff for any
section of the Hedjaz Railway.
Every facility will be given for the passage of employees of the Hedjaz
Railway over the British and French mandatory areas in order that the work-
ing of the said railway may be in no way prejudiced.
The French and British Governments agree, where necessary, and in
eventual agreement with the local Governments, to conclude an arrangement
whereby the stores and railway material passing from one mandatory area to
another and intended for the use of the Hedjaz Railway will not for this rea-
son be submitted to any additional customs dues and will be exempted so far
as possible from customs formalities.
ARTICLE 8
Experts nominated respectively by the Administrations of Syria and
Palestine shall examine in common within six months after the signature of
the present convention the employment, for the purposes of irrigation and
the production of hydro-electric power, of the waters of the Upper Jordan
and the Yarmuk and of their tributaries, after satisfaction of the needs of the
territories under the French mandate.
In connection with this examination the French Government will give its
representatives the most liberal instructions for the employment of the sur-
plus of these waters for the benefit of Palestine.
In the event of no agreement being reached as a result of this examination,
these questions shall be referred to the French and British Governments for
decision.
To the extent to which the contemplated works are to benefit Palestine, the
Administration of Palestine shall defray the expenses of the construction of
126 THE AMEEICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
all canals, weirs, dams, tunnels, pipe lines and reservoirs or other works of a
similar nature, or measures taken with the object of reafforestation and the
management of forests.
article 9
Subject to the provisions of Articles 15 and 16 of the mandate for Palestine,
of Articles 8 and 10 of the mandate for Mesopotamia, and of Article 8 of the
mandate for Syria and the L9</span><span style="color: #555555;">
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.012px;">The phrase “in Palestine”, another expression found in the Balfour Declaration that generated much controversy, referred to the whole country, including both Cisjordan and Transjordan. It was absurd to imagine that this phrase could be used to indicate that only a part of Palestine was reserved for the future Jewish National Home, since both were created simultaneously and used interchangeably, with the term “Palestine” pointing out the geographical location of the future independent Jewish state. Had “Palestine” meant a partitioned country with certain areas of it set aside for Jews and other</span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.012px;">s for Arabs, that intention would have been stated explicitly at the time the Balfour Declaration was drafted and approved and later adopted by the Principal Allied Powers. No such allusion was ever made in the prolonged discussions that took place in fashioning the Declaration and ensuring it international approval.<br /><br />There is therefore no juridical or factual basis for asserting that the phrase "in Palestine" limited the establishment of the Jewish National Home to only a part of the country. On the contrary, Palestine and the Jewish National Home were synonymous terms, as is evidenced by the use of the same phrase in the second half of the Balfour Declaration which refers to the existing non-Jewish communities "in Palestine", clearly indicating the whole country. Similar evidence exists in the preamble and terms of the Mandate Charter.<br /><br />The San Remo Resolution of 1920 on Palestine combined the Balfour Declaration of 1917 as international treaty with Article 22 of the League Covenant. This meant that the general provisions of Article 22 applied to the Jewish people exclusively, who would set up their home and state in all of Palestine. There was no intention to apply Article 22 to the Arabs of the country, as was mistakenly concluded by the Palestine Royal Commission which relied on that article of the Covenant as the legal basis to justify the partition of Palestine, apart from the other reasons it gave. The proof of the applicability of Article 22 to the Jewish people, including not only those in Palestine at the time, but those who were expected to arrive in large numbers in the future, is found in the Smuts Resolution, which became Article 22 of the Covenant. It specifically names Palestine as one of the countries to which this article would apply. There was no doubt that when Palestine was named in the context of Article 22, it was linked exclusively to the Jewish National Home, as set down in the 1917 Balfour Declaration, a fact everyone was aware of at the time, including the representatives of the Arab national movement, as evidenced by the agreement between Emir Feisal and Dr. Chaim Weizmann dated January 3, 1919 as well as an important letter sent by the Emir to future US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter dated March 3, 1919. In that letter, Feisal characterized as “moderate and proper” the Zionist proposals presented by Nahum Sokolow and Weizmann to the Council of Ten at the Paris Peace Conference on February 27, 1919, which called for the development of all of Palestine into a Jewish commonwealth with extensive boundaries. The argument later made by Arab leaders that the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the Mandate for Palestine were incompatible with Article 22 of the Covenant is totally undermined by the fact that the Smuts Resolution – the precursor of Article 22 – specifically included Palestine within its legal framework.<br /><br />The San Remo Resolution of 1920 on Palestine became Article 95 of the Treaty of Sevres in 1920 which was intended to end the war with Turkey, but though this treaty was never ratified by the Turkish National Government of Kemal Ataturk, the Resolution retained its validity as an independent act of international law when it was inserted into the Preamble of the Mandate for Palestine and confirmed by 52 states. The San Remo Resolution of 1920 is the base document upon which the Mandate was constructed and to which it had to conform. It is therefore the pre-eminent foundation document of the State of Israel and the crowning achievement of pre-state Zionism. It has been accurately described as the Magna Carta of the Jewish people. It is the best proof that the whole country of Palestine and the Land of Israel belong exclusively to the Jewish people under international law.<br /><br />The Mandate for Palestine implemented both the 1917 Balfour Declaration and Article 22 of the League Covenant, i.e. the San Remo Resolution of 1920. All four of these acts were building blocks in the legal structure that was created for the purpose of bringing about the establishment of an independent sovereign Jewish state. The Balfour Declaration of 1917; in essence stated the principle or object of a Jewish state. The San Remo Resolution of 1920 gave it the stamp of international law. The Mandate furnished all the details and means for the realization of the sovereign Jewish state. As noted, Britain’s chief obligation as Mandatory, Trustee and Tutor was the creation of the appropriate political, administrative and economic conditions to secure the sovereign Jewish state. All 28 articles of the Mandate were directed to this objective, including those articles that did not specifically mention the Jewish National Home. The Mandate for Palestine created a right of return for the Jewish people to Palestine and the right to establish settlements and communities on the land throughout the country of Palestine in order to create the envisaged Jewish state.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.012px;">YJ Draiman</span></span></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-55858943035329439552015-10-19T13:53:00.001-07:002015-10-19T13:53:44.183-07:00Was there ever an Arab state of Palestine? - Draiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://israelmybeloved.com/was-there-ever-a-state-of-palestine/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Was there ever an Arab state of Palestine?</a></h2>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Was there ever a state of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">? Did </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> conquer </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"> <wbr></wbr>and replace it with a Jewish state?</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“In the Six-Day War, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> captured </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Sa<wbr></wbr>maria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">East Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. But they didn’t capture these territories from Yasser Arafat. They captured them from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s King Hussein. I can’t help but wonder why all these Palestinians suddenly discovered their national identity after </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> won the war.” The truth is that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is no more real than </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Never-Never</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. …</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> has never existed…as an autonomous entity. It was ruled alternately by </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Rome</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Ottoman Empire</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and, briefly, by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland.”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– J. Farah, Arab-American journalist, editor and CEO of WND</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">When Jews began to immigrate to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in large numbers in 1882, fewer than 250,000 Arabs lived there, Muslims and Christians, and the majority of them had arrived in recent decades. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was a mix of nationalities and religions, Arabic and many other languages were the language of most the population since the Romans renames Israel Palestine. The Muslim first invasion was in the seventh century. No independent Arab or Palestinian state ever existed in region of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. When the distinguished Arab-American historian, Princeton University Prof. Philip Hitti, testified against partition before the Anglo-American Committee in 1946, he said: “There is no such thing as ‘</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’ in history, absolutely not.” In fact, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is never explicitly mentioned in the Koran; rather it is called “the holy land” (<em>al-Arad al-Muqaddash</em>).</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“In a recent speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Yasser Arafat talked of ‘the need to realize justice for the Arab-Palestinian people, to restore their international status and their seat in the United Nations.’ He referred to ‘our country, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’ and expressed the hope that it would be ‘restored its freedom.'” The meaning of this message is clear: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is a country that belonged to the Arab-Palestinians until it was invaded and usurped by the Jews. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was the Arab-Palestinian capital now being Judaized by </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Justice will be served only if the Arab-Palestinians are allowed to re-establish their sovereignty in it. This was the indoctrination by the Soviet disinformation while training and educating the Arabs.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“That all this is unadulterated fiction and false has not prevented many governments from accepting it. Nor has it deterred pundits from upbraiding </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> for failing to ‘give back’ Arab-Palestinian land.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“In fact, there never has been a state called Arab-Palestine, nor have the Palestinian Arabs ever been an independent people, and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> never has been an Arab or Muslim capital. Jerusalem has always been Jewish since King David purchased it from the Jebusites, to prevent conflict and had an absolute Jewish majority for more than a century (and a plurality before that), and for the last three thousand years, only the Jewish people have called it their capital…To inveigh against ‘Judaizing’ Jerusalem is like protesting the Arabization of Cairo.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– David Bar-Illan, former Executive Editor of the <em>Jerusalem Post</em>, in an article first published in November </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">1998 in</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In what percent of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> does </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> <wbr></wbr>exist?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Arab critics of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> speak of Jewish migration to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> after World War I, neglecting to mention that there has been a substantial and continuous Jewish presence in the land for over three thousand years, and a steady Jewish majority in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Nor do they care to remember that when, after World War II, the General Assembly proposed to partition Palestine, this followed an earlier (1922) and illegal partition by the British which gave almost 80% of the land promised to the Jews by the Balfour Declaration and (the post WWI International treaties which allocated Palestine to the Jewish people) to create the Arab state of Transjordan. Thus, at the time of the 1947 partition vote in the United Nations, the Jews had already been unlawfully deprived of four-fifths of their internationally guaranteed allocation in all of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– Louis Rene Beres, Professor of International Law, Department of Political Science, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Purdue</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">University</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Who does </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> rightly belong to? Why do the Arabs, a nation which occupies 22 countries, also insist on occupying </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">History and back-ground </span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In 1920 the world organization of nations [League of Nations] adopted the San Remo Treaty and the Balfour Declaration which became international law proclaimed that Palestine was to be a homeland for the Jews. Around the same time, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Lebanon</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was made a place for Arab Christians, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Iraq</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> were to be homelands for Arab Muslims. In 1922 </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">England</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> [the occupying power in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the trustee for the Jewish people until they comprise a majority] gave all of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> east of the River Jordan [78% of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">] to the Arab Muslims, forbidding Jews to live there.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Further UN estimates put the property loses of Jews kicked out of Arab countries after 1948 at 100 times those lost by Palestinian Arabs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">[In World War I] </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Turkey</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, with an expansive empire that compassed the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Middle East</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (including </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">) and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">North Africa</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, fought with </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Germany</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the Central Powers against the Allies. At the breaking up of the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Turkish Empire</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> by the victorious Allies, both Jews and Arabs requested independent states. The world powers were generous in the extreme to the Arabs by granting them twenty-two independent Arabs states – encompassing 5,414,000 square miles. The Jews asked for less than one percent of that vast territory. The Allies agreed to this request (which included both sides of the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> 75,000 square miles) in the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1920 San Remo Conference of World Powers. There was also the 1919 Faisal Weitzman Agreement, which acknowledged Jewish sovereignty over all of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">For imperialistic interests, however, in 1921 </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Great Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> violated international treaty and reneged on the Balfour Declaration, lopped off 78 percent of the Land promised in the Balfour Declaration which was incorporated into an international treaty and set up the Arab Emirate of Transjordan. Then in 1922 the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">League of Nations</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (which violated international law and treaties) gave </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Great Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> a Mandate to prepare the remaining 22 percent of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (including </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Samari<wbr></wbr>a</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Golan Heights</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Eastern Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">) for a Jewish National Home. But under French pressure, in 1923 the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Golan Heights</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was ceded by the British to the French mandate of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. They partitioned His Land and the Lord was angry.</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Oil diplomacy </span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Oil was then discovered in the Arab countries. Consequently, “oil diplomacy” was instituted. British foreign policy simply appeased the Arabs at any cost. In 1939 the British White Paper, in violation of international law and the Mandate, banned further Jewish immigration to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Also, with brutal callousness, the United Sates and most nations refused to accept the beleaguered Jews of Europe. Consequently, 6 million Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust. The British went much further. The British under “Operation Embarrass” after WWII sent its secret service to blow up Jewish Holocaust Survivors Ships bound for </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine-</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">How many millions of these hapless victims would have found a haven in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> if </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> had not reneged and violated international law and the Mandate – with the silent consent of the other nations of the world – it violated on its own mandate obligations by banning Jewish immigration? What a heinous, collective crime of history! Lloyd George, the Prime Minister of Great Britain when the Balfour Declaration was issued, went on national radio to call the British 1939 White Paper, “an act of national perfidy which will dishonor the name of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">This time the nations actually denied the Jews any of God’s Land and the Lord was angry. Finally, the gentile nations, guilt-ridden after defaulting on their promise since 1922 and violating international law, felt a moral obligation to grant the Jews an independent state. But, unfortunately, the UN illegal Partition Plan of 1947 further reduced the size of the new </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israeli</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">State</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. They partitioned “My Land” and the Lord was angry…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">When </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> became an independent sovereign State in 1948, armies from six Arab nations invaded the newborn State. Outnumbered 100 to one, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s ragtag army pushed back the invaders and took more of its rightful Land. Divine </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Providence</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was telling the world something about whose Land it is.</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> occupied </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">East Jerusalem</span></strong><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">However; the Arab State of Transjordan captured </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">East Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, expelled all Jews and destroyed or desecrated all Jewish holy sites. This is the time when </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> became “occupied territory.” In addition to defying the U.N. Mandate, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Transjordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> also occupied the west bank aka </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Samaria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of the River Jordan. No longer limited to being “Trans” (across) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (the east bank), </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Transjordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> reduced its name to simply </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, now ruling over both the occupied west bank and the original east bank of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">But this annexation of the “</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">West Bank</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” by </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was not recognized by any nation of the world – except </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Great Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Pakistan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> <wbr></wbr>was even denounced by its Arab allies, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Lebanon</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Egypt</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> <wbr></wbr>and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Saudi Arabia</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, who wanted to expel </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> from the Arab League! It is claimed that 500,000 Arabs fled “temporarily,” at the urging of the Arab League, but temporarily became permanently when the Arab invaders failed to destroy the new sovereign State of Israel. David Ben-Gurion adamantly argued that the 500,000 figure was a lie, since about 120,000 still resided in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. “The refugee issue is one of the biggest lies; even among our own people…I have all the figures. From the area of the State of Israel, only 180,000 Arabs left in 1948. There were 300,000 Arabs altogether in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and 120,000 remain.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In the 1967 Six Day War, under the threat of being “pushed into the sea” by Egypt, Syria and Jordan, Israel actually liberated the “occupied territory” of Jerusalem and granted free access to Jews, Christians and Moslems to worship at their respective holy sites. </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> also liberated the “</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">West Bank</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” aka </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Samaria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><wbr></wbr>. How easily recent history is forgotten. By comparison, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s administration, despite its faults, has been much more humane.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">What is the history of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, where did it get its name?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The first time the name was used was in 70 CE when the Romans committed genocide against the Jews, smashed the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Temple</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and declared the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> would be no more. From then on, the Romans promised, it would be known as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The name was derived from the Philistines, a Goliathian people conquered by the Jews centuries earlier. It was a way for the Romans to add insult to injury. They also tried to change the name of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to Aelia Capitolina, but that had even less staying power. ”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> has never existed – before or since – as an autonomous entity. It was ruled alternately by </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Rome</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Ottoman Empire</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and, briefly, by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– J Farah, Arab-American journalist, editor and CEO of WND</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The name “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">”, from the Greek Palaistina, originally from the Hebrew Pleshet (Land of the Philistines): a small coastal strip north east of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Egypt</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, also called </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Philistia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The Roman term “Syria Palaestina” in the 2nd century BCE referred to the southern third of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">province</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, including the former </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The name “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” was revived as an official title when the British were granted a mandate after World War I. - Encyclopedia Britannica ill, Micropedia, vol. Vll, “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The term “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” is believed to be derived from the Philistines, an Aegean people who, in the 12th Century BC, settled along the Mediterranean coastal plain of what is now </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the Gaza Strip. In the second century AD, after crushing the last Jewish revolt, the Romans first applied the name </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Judea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (the southern portion of what is now called the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">West Bank</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">) in an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The Arabic word “Filastin” is derived from this Latin name.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The name “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” was the name the conquering Romans gave the ancient </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> so as to obliterate the Jewish presence in the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Holy Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">! Despite being conquered and controlled by the Romans, Greeks, Turks and numerous others, only two nations have ever existed there over the last 3,000 years…ancient “Israel” and again “Israel,” reconstituted in 1920 and sovereignty re-established in 1948! To the Arab people as a whole no such entity as “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” ever existed prior to the early 20th century and there was certainly never an ancient Palestinian Arab nation!</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Who are the Palestinians? Where did the Arabs of Palestine come from? Are they a separate people, historically different from other Arabs?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> has always constituted a single geographical, political and demographic unit with Greater Syria and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Egypt</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. On its soil the civilizations of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Mesopotamia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Egypt</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> <wbr></wbr>intermingled. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> also witnessed, as a land bridge linking </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Asia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Africa</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Europe</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, several movements and waves of conquerors who dominated it for different periods of time and left behind varying degrees of influence.”- By Abdul Jawad Saleh, in Transformation of Palestine, printed in Challenge, February 1995, published on the WWW by the Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Bir</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Zeit</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">University</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">West Bank</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Prior to partition, Palestinian Arabs did not view themselves as having a separate identity. When the First Congress of Muslim-Christian Associations met in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in February 1919 to choose Palestinian representatives for the Paris Peace Conference, the following resolution was adopted: ”We consider </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic, natural, economic and geographical bonds.”</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“There is no such country [as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">]! ‘</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’ is a term the Zionists invented! There is no </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”- Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, a local Arab leader, to the Peel Commission, 1937</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was part of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Province</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">…<wbr></wbr>politically; the Arabs of Palestine were not independent in the sense of forming a separate political entity.”- The representative of the Arab Higher Committee to the United Nations submitted this in a statement to the General Assembly in May 1947</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“It is common knowledge that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is nothing but southern </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”- Ahmed Shuqeiri, later the chairman of the PLO, to the UN Security Council</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Romans had changed the name of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.” But from AD 640 until the 1960s, Arabs referred to this same Land as “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Southern Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.” Arabs only started calling the Land “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” in the 1960s.Until about the eighteenth century, the Christian world called this same Land, “The Holy Land.” Thereafter, they used two names: “The </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Holy Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” and “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.” When the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">League of Nations</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 1922 gave </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Great Britain</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as trustee the mandate to prepare </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as a national home for the Jewish people, the official name of the Land became “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” and remained so until the rebirth of the sovereignty </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israeli</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">State</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 1948, which was actually reconstituted in 1920.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">During this very period, the leaders of the Arabs in the Land, however, called themselves Southern Syrians and clamored that the Land become a part of a “Greater Syria.” This “Arab Nation” would include </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Lebanon</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Iraq</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><wbr></wbr>Transjordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as well as </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. An observation in <em>Time Magazine</em> well articulated how the Palestinian identity was born so belatedly in the 1960s:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Golda Meir once argued that there was no such thing as a Palestinian; at the time, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Before Arafat began his proselytizing, most of the Arabs from the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">territory</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> <wbr></wbr>thought of themselves as members of an all-embracing Arab nation. It was Arafat who (was indoctrinated by the Soviets to use the Name Palestinian) made the intellectual leap to a definition of the Arab-Palestinians as a distinct people; he articulated the cause, organized for it, fought for it and brought it to the world’s attention.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">If there was an Arab Palestinian culture, a normal population increase over the centuries would have been expected. But with the exception of a relatively few families, the Arabs had no attachment to the Land. If Arabs from southern </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> drifted into </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> for economic reasons, within a generation or so the cultural tug of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> or other Arab lands would pull them back.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">This factor is why the Arab population average remained low until the influx of Jewish financial investments and Jewish people in the late 1800s made the Land economically attractive. Then sometime between 1850 and 1918, the Arab population shot up to 460,000, which included Christian Arabs. Not to absolve the Jews but to defend British policy, the not overfriendly British secretary of state for the colonies, Malcolm MacDonald, declared in the House of Commons (November 24, 1938), “The Arabs cannot say that the Jews are driving them out of the country. If not a single Jew had come to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> after 1918, I believe the Arab population of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> would still have been around 500,000…”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Because Arabs until the 1960’s spoke of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Southern Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> or part of Greater Syria, in 1919 the General Syrian Congress stated, “We ask that there should be no separation of the southern part of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, known as </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.” In 1939 George Antonius noted the Arab view of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 1918:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Faisal’s views about the future of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> did not differ from those of his father and were identical with those held then by the great majority of politically-minded Arabs. The representative Arab view was substantially that which King Husain [Grand Sherif of Mecca, the great grandfather of the current King Hussein of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">] had expressed to the British Government…in January </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">1918. In</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> the Arab view, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was an Arab territory forming an integral part of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Referring to the same Arab view of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 1939, George Antonius spoke of “the whole of the country of that name [</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">] which is now split up into mandated territories…” His lament was that </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">France</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s mandate over </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> did not include </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> which was under </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s mandate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syrian President Hafez Assad once told PLO leader Yassir Arafat:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“You do not represent </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as much as we do. Never forget this one point: There is no such thing as a Palestinian People, there is no Palestinian entity, and there is only </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. You are an integral part of the Syrian people; </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is an integral part of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Therefore it is we, the Syrian authorities, who are the true representatives of the Palestinian people.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Assad stated on </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">March 8, 1974</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, “</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is a principal part of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Southern Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, and we consider that it is our right and duty to insist that it be a liberated partner of our Arab homeland and of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In the words of the late military commander of the PLO as well as member of the PLO Executive Council, Zuhair Muhsin:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“There are no differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. We are all part of one nation. It is only for political reasons that we carefully underline our Palestinian identity….yes; the existence of a separate Palestinian identity serves only tactical purposes. The founding of a Palestinian state is a new tool in the continuing battle against </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The following are significant observations by Christians of the Arabs in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in the 1800’s:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The Arabs themselves, who are its inhabitants, cannot be considered but temporary residents. They pitched their tents in its grazing fields or built their places of refuge in its ruined cities. They created nothing in it. Since they were strangers to the land, they never became its masters. The desert wind that brought them hither could one day carry them away without their leaving behind them any sign of their passage through it.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Stephen Olin, D.D., L.L.D., called one of the most noted of American theologians after his extensive travels in the Middle East wrote of the Arabs in Palestine “…with slight exceptions they are probably all descendants of the old inhabitants of Syria.”</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Was </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> full of Arabs before the mass return of Jews?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“[The Holy Land was] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds – a silent mournful expanse…A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action…We never saw a human being on the whole route…There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country”- Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrim’s Progress (1869).</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The area was under-populated and remained economically stagnant until the arrival of the first Zionist pioneers in the 1880’s, who came to rebuild the Jewish land. The country had remained “The Holy Land” in the religious and historic consciousness of mankind, which associated it with the Bible and the history of the Jewish people. Jewish development of the country also attracted large numbers of other immigrants – both Jewish and Arab.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The road leading from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to the north was only a summer track suitable for transport by camels and carts…Houses were all of mud. No windows were anywhere to be seen…The plows used were of wood…The yields were very poor…The sanitary conditions in the village [Yabna] were horrible…Schools did not exist…The rate of infant mortality was very high…The western part, toward the sea, was almost a desert…The villages in this area were few and thinly populated. Many ruins of villages were scattered over the area, as owing to the prevalence of malaria, many villages were deserted by their inhabitants.”- The report of the British Royal Commission, 1913</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“We found it inhabited by <em>fellahin</em> who lived in mud hovels and suffered severely from the prevalent malaria…Large areas…were uncultivated….The <em>fellahin</em>, if not themselves cattle thieves, were always ready to harbor these and other criminals. The individual plots…changed hands annually. There was little public security, and the <em>fellahin’s</em> lot was an alternation of pillage and blackmail by their neighbors, the Bedouin.”- Lewis French, the British Director of Development</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“There are many proofs, such as ancient ruins, broken aqueducts, and remains of old roads, which show that it has not always been so desolate as it seems now. In the portion of the plain between </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Mount Carmel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jaffa</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> one sees but rarely a village or other sights of human life. ”There are some rude mills here which are turned by the stream. A ride of half an hour more brought us to the ruins of the ancient city of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Caesarea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, once a city of two hundred thousand inhabitants, and the Roman capital of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, but now entirely deserted.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“As the sun was setting we gazed upon the desolate harbor, once filled with ships, and looked over the sea in vain for a single sail. In this once crowded mart, filled with the din of traffic, there was the silence of the desert. After our dinner we gathered in our tent as usual to talk over the incidents of the day, or the history of the locality.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Yet it was sad, as I lay upon my couch at night, to listen to the moaning of the waves and to think of the desolation around us.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– By B. W. Johnson, in Young Folks in Bible Lands: Chapter IV, 1892</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Then we entered the hill district, and our path lay through the clattering bed of an ancient stream, whose brawling waters have rolled away into the past, along with the fierce and turbulent race that once inhabited these savage hills. There may have been cultivation here two thousand years ago. ”The mountains, or huge stony mounds environing this rough path, have level ridges all the way up to their summits; on these parallel ledges there is still some verdure and soil: when water flowed here, and the country was thronged with that extraordinary population, which, according to the Sacred Histories, was crowded into the region, these mountain steps may have been gardens and vineyards, such as we see now thriving along the hills of the Rhine.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Now the district is quite deserted, and you ride among what seem to be so many petrified waterfalls. We saw no animals moving among the stony brakes; scarcely even a dozen little birds in the whole course of the ride.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– By William Thackeray in From </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jaffa</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, 1844</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">So when the Arabs speak of an historical “Palestinian people,” this is a lie and they know it! The </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was virtually uninhabited when the Jews began their return [“Zionist Movement”] in the late 1800’s. The vast majority of Arabs came to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> after these Zionist pioneers began to rebuild the land and thereby creating the economic opportunities and medical availabilities which attracted Arabs from both surrounding territories and far-away Arab lands! Terrorism, slaughter, rape and carnage by the Arabs against the Jews began as soon as the Jews began to resettle the barren land and largely uninhabited lands, continued through the British Mandatory period after World War I, continued again after the Jews declared a sovereign Jewish Palestinian home [Israel] in 1948 and is still continuing today.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Palestinian claim that the Land for centuries sustained a thriving Arab-Palestinian culture is not authorized or substantiated by the facts of history. Yet the world community has given this claim a receptive hearing. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in his speech before the UN in 1974 declared, “The Jewish invasion began in 1881…Palestine was then a verdant area, inhabited mainly by an Arab people in the course of building its life and dynamically enriching its indigenous culture, forgetting to state that they were mostly nomadic, that traveled from land to land with no roots.”What happens when this claim is compared with the personal observations of the following recognized authorities? In 1738 Thomas Shaw observed a land of “barrenness…from want of inhabitants.” In 1785 Constantine Francois de Volley recorded the population of the three main cities. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> had a population of 12,000 to 14,000. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Bethlehem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> had about 600 able-bodied men. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Hebron</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> had 800 to 900 men. In 1835 Alphonse de Lamar tine wrote, “Outside the city of Jerusalem, we saw no living object, heard no living sound…a complete eternal silence reigns in the town, in the highways, in the country…The tomb of a whole people.”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In 1857, the British consul in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, James Finn, reported, “The country is in a considerable degree empty of inhabitants and therefore its greatest need is that of a body of population.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The most popular quote on the desolation of the Land is from Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad (1867), “</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies…</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is desolate and unlovely…It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">…The records of history simply do not confirm today’s Palestinian claim of Palestinian roots and culture in a “verdant area” since the Arab rule of the land (A.D. 640-1099).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Did the Jews expel the Arabs from </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">? Are there no more Arabs in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“If this piece of propaganda were true, one should indeed not find Arabs in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. That some 15% of the population of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> is Arab (Muslims and Christians, although the Christians are not technically Arabs) with full voting and civil rights with members in parliament – certainly disproves that propaganda. There were, of course, Arab refugees as a result of the War of Independence in 1948 and the Six-Day war in 1967.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“There were twice as many Jewish refugees expelled from Arab lands during this time period. The difference is that, in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, the Arab states encouraged the Arab residents to leave </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> temporarily while they exterminate the Jews. Some Arab residents went along with this scheme expecting to come back and take Jewish property after the Arab victory. But there was no victory, and no return.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The Jewish residents of Arab lands, on the other hand, were terrorized and expelled without provocation by their Arab overlords who seized vast amounts of Jewish possessions and property including over 70,000 square miles of real property. The Jewish refugees were absorbed almost immediately by </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">France</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The Arab refugees were left to rot by the Arab governments responsible for their predicament, and were put in camps which became breeding grounds for hatred and extremism. That anger at </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the Jews is misdirected.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">If the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was so important to the Jews, why did they leave?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">A common misperception is that the Jews were forced into the Diaspora by the Romans after the destruction of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Second</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Temple</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><wbr></wbr> in the year </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">70 A</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.D. and then, 1,800 years later, suddenly returned to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> demanding their country back. In reality, the Jewish people have maintained ties to their historic homeland for more than 3,700 years. A national language and a distinct civilization have been maintained. Even after the destruction of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Second</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Temple</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><wbr></wbr> and the beginning of the exile, Jewish life in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> continued and often flourished. Large communities were reestablished in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and Tiberius by the ninth century. In the 11th century, Jewish communities grew in Rafah, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Ashkelon</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jaffa</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, Safed and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Caesarea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Many Jews were massacred by the Crusaders during the 12th century, but the community rebounded in the next two centuries as large numbers of rabbis and Jewish pilgrims immigrated to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Galilee</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Prominent rabbis established communities in Safed, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and elsewhere during the next 300 years. By the early 19th century – years before the birth of the modern Zionist movement – more than 20,000 Jews lived throughout what is today </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Although the expulsions of Jews after AD 70 and 135 were massive, devotion to the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> caused some to linger just outside the borders, wait for quieter times and keep coming back. One of the so-called Early Church Fathers, Origen, during his stay in the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Holy Land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> from AD 231-254, observed that the Jews were still a majority in the Land at that time. After the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Roman Empire</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> embraced Christianity in the fourth century, a systematic dispersal of the remaining Jews began. However, between AD 614-617, the Jews actually controlled large parts of the Land. Consequently, the population of the Land was a “quilt” of minorities when the Arabs acquired it in their conquest of Byzantine Syria in AD 640. This quilt of people whose Land was dubbed “Palestine” by Imperial Rome was composed of Jews, Samaritans, dissident-Christians and the largest grouping – Syrian Orthodox Christians – none of whom were Arabs.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Although the Arabs ruled the Land from AD 640 to AD 1099 by different nations, it is questionable that they ever became the majority of the population. The historian James Parker wrote:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“During the first century after the Arab conquest [AD 670-740], the caliph and governors of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the Land [</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">] ruled entirely over Christian and Jewish subjects. Apart from the Bedouin in the earliest days, the only Arabs west of the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">…were the garrisons.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In AD 985 the Arab writer Muqaddasi complained about the large majority Jewish population in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and added, “The mosque is empty of worshippers…” Although Al-Hakim, Caliph of the Arab Empire (AD 996-1021), ordered all non-Muslims in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the area called </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to convert to Islam or be expelled, he later rescinded some of the restrictions and so the Arabs remained a minority.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The noted Arab historian Dr. Philip Hitti observed that after almost four centuries after the Arab conquest (about AD 1070), the Christians (non-Arabs) in Syria, including Palestine, were still fully as numerous as the Muslims and that the Muslims were by no means all Arab.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Crusader rule (AD 1099-1291) in the Land was followed by the non-Arab Muslim rule of the Mamelukes (AD 1291-1517). The Arab historian Hitti observed that there was a large exodus of Arabs during this period. The Arab historian Ibu Khaldun wrote in AD 1377, “Jewish sovereignty in the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> extended over 1400 years…It was the Jews who implanted the culture and customs of the permanent settlement.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Nearly 300 years after the Arab rule in the Land, the noted Arab historian Khaldun (called one of the greatest historians of all time by Arnold Toynbee) observed that the Land still was permeated with Jewish culture and customs. In AD 1400, nearly 300 years after Arab rule, there was still no evidence of Palestinian roots or established culture.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">During the period of the Mamelukes as a consequence of the Black Plague, the population of the Land west of the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan River</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> dwindled down to 140,000 to 150,000 Muslims, Christians and Jews. After the Turkish conquest in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">1517 a</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> census for tax purposes tabulated 49,181 heads of families and single men liable to tax. Professor Roberto Bacchi calculated that in the years 1553-1554 there were 205,000 Muslims, Christians and Jews.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">From his travels in 1785, Francois Comte de Volney’s figures would leave less than 200,000 for the total population of the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">land</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Both Dr. Philip K. Hitti and Alfred Bonni agree that the total population was less than </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">200,000 in</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> AD 1800. Some estimate the total population of the Land at 150,000 by 1850. This total population would include Jews, Christians and Arabs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Then Jewish funds started to flow into the Land by 1856 when Sir Moses Montefiore purchased Land outside of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to teach agriculture to the Jews in the Land. From about 1878, Edmond de Rothschild began to actually finance the establishment of Jewish agricultural colonies. At this time in history, an uninterrupted stream of Jewish funds and Jewish immigration commenced to pour into </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. This influx of resources resulted in an economic upswing that attracted Arabs from surrounding countries.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Since the Land was at that time under Turkish Muslim rule, Arabs throughout the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Middle East</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> had unrestricted access to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. By 1918 the Arab population increased to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">460,000. In</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> spite of restrictions on Jewish immigration, Jews and hundreds of thousands of Arabs illegally continued to pour into the Land until the birth of the sovereign State of Israel in 1948. Clearly, Jewish financial investments and immigration – together with laborious cultivation of the land – had put the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> on the economic map.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">…The Jews lived in the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> for seventeen hundred years virtually uninterrupted until the Roman destruction of its national polity in AD 70. At this point, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s population of over two and one-half million was abruptly decimated by massive slaughter and expulsion. But as late as AD 617, Jews controlled </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and a large portion of the Land. After that time, even though Arabs conquered the Land, as occupiers they were only a minority. Then through the centuries of Christian Crusader rule and the Mameluke period, the Land was still dominated by Jewish culture and customs until AD 1400 even though the Arabs eventually became a small majority.</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“What is important is not how many Jews were living in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> at any given moment but the huge host of those who were not, those who had to suffer for possessing no country of their own. It is because the Jews had no country that they are entitled to demand equality with those more fortunately placed.”- Jacques Givet, “The Anti-Zionist Complex”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jews were mostly living outside of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> for a long time; doesn’t that reduce their claim to the land?</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“No, it increases their claim – in proportion to the time spent wandering without a home, at the mercy of other people in foreign lands and their tyrants…”- The Society for Rational Peace</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Not because we were here two thousand years ago are we entitled to be here today, but because it has taken us two thousand years to win our freedom.”- Claude Ranel, Moi, Juif Palestinian, Laffont, Paris</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“If I am turned out of hearth and home and remain outside one night, I am legally entitled to return the following day. If I suffer for ten, twenty, five thousand or fifty thousand nights, does my right of return stand in inverse relationship to the length of my exile? Quite the contrary; my right to return and recover my freedom becomes stronger in direct proportion to what I have endured, not by virtue of some abstract arithmetic, but because of the nights spent in exile, and because I want my children, to be spared a similar experience.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> - Jacques Givet, “The Anti-Zionist Complex”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Weren’t the Arabs living in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> for hundreds of years or millennia before the Jews came?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“As I lived in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, everyone I knew could trace their heritage back to the original country their great grandparents came from. Everyone knew their origin was not from the Canaanites, but ironically, this is the kind of stuff our education in the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Middle East</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> included.”…The fact is that today’s Arab-Palestinians are immigrants from the surrounding nations! I grew up well knowing the history and origins of today’s Palestinians as being from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Christians from Greece, Muslim Sherkas from Russia, Muslims from Bosnia, and the Jordanians next door.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“…My grandfather, who was a dignitary in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Bethlehem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, almost lost his life by Abdul Qader Al-Husseni (the leader of the Arab-Palestinian revolution) after being accused of selling land to Jews. He used to tell us that his village Beit Sahur (The Shepherds Fields) in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Bethlehem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">County</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was empty before his father settled in the area with six other families. The town has now grown to 30,000 inhabitants.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– Walid, a Palestinian Arab defector, quoted from “Answering Islam”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Why did the Jews insist on returning to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">? They were doing quite well in other peoples’ countries…</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Perhaps because this is not quite true, and that in the long run those “other peoples’ countries” may be fine for other peoples, but not for the people without a country, who only had to organize their scattered members and to return to their land from which they were unjustly expelled in the first place.</span></li>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Did the Arabs invade the region by force?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Mohammed had prepared an army to invade the borders of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. When Mohammed died Abu Bakr sent an army headed by Usama Ibn Zayd and ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab. The army marched towards southern </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and invaded some parts of the land, frightened the people and captured some booty. …By the end of the year 12, Hajira Abu Bakr became interested in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (Al Sham). He issued orders to four of his great generals and designated for each one of them a country which he was given to invade. He assigned </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Damascus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Yazid</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jo<wbr></wbr>rdan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to Sharhabil, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Homs</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to Abu ‘Ubayda and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to ‘Umru Ibn al-‘As.”- in “The Rightly Guided Caliphs” by Dr. Abu Zayd Shalabi</span></li>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Did the rich European Jews take advantage of the poor Arabs and trick them into selling their best land at low cost?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“At the end of World War I, some of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s land was owned by absentee landlords who lived in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Cairo</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Damascus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Beirut</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. About 80% of the Palestinian Arabs were debt-ridden peasants, semi-nomads and Bedouins. Analyses of land purchases from 1880 to 1948 show that 73% of Jewish plots were purchases from large landowners, not poor <em>fellahin</em>.”- The Peel Commission (1937)</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The Arab charge that the Jews have obtained too large a proportion of good land cannot be maintained. Much of the land now carrying orange groves was sand dunes or swamp and uncultivated when purchased…there was at the time at least of earlier sales little evidence that the owners possessed either the resources or training needed to develop the land.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jews paid more than $20 million (at 1936 rates) to Arab landowners, mostly estate holders…In 1944, Jews paid between $1000 and $1100 per acre in Palestine, mostly for arid or semi-arid land; in the same year, rich black soil in Iowa was selling for about $110 per acre (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– The Peel Commission’s report in Land Ownership in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, 1880-1948</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">[Moreover, the Commission found the shortage was “due less to the amount of land acquired by Jews than to the illegal increase in the Arab population.” The report concluded that the presence of Jews in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, along with the work of the British Administration, had resulted in higher wages, an improved economy and standard of living and ample employment opportunities.]</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">According to British government statistics, prior to the establishment of the sovereignty of the State of Israel, 8.6% of the land area now known as Israel was owned by Jews; 3.3% by Arabs who remained there; 16.5% by Arabs who left the country, most of the land in Palestine was public government land given illegally by the British to the Arabs. More than 70% of the land was owned by the British Government. Under international law as trustee for the Jewish people, ownership passed to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 1948 when the British abandoned their obligation is implementing the Mandate for </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The public lands included most of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Negev</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Desert</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> – half of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s post-1922 total area. Source: Survey of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, 1946, British Mandate Government</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jews actually went out of their way to avoid purchasing land in areas where Arabs might be displaced. They sought land that was largely uncultivated, swampy, cheap and, most important, without tenants. In 1920, Labor Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion expressed his concern about the Arab <em>fellahin</em>, whom he viewed as “the most important asset of the native population.” Ben-Gurion said “under no circumstances must we touch land belonging to <em>fellahs</em> or worked by them.” He advocated helping liberate them from their oppressors. “Only if a <em>fellah</em> leaves his place of settlement,” Ben-Gurion added, “should we offer to buy his land, at an appropriate price.”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It was only after the Jews had bought all of this available land that they began to purchase cultivated land. Many Arabs were willing to sell because of the migration to coastal towns and because they needed money to invest in the citrus industry.</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“They [Jews] paid high prices for the land, and in addition they paid to certain of the occupants of those lands a considerable amount of money which they were not legally bound to pay.”- John Hope Simpson, May 1930</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“It is made quite clear to all, both by the map drawn up by the Simpson Commission and by another compiled by the Peel Commission, that the Arabs are as prodigal in selling their land as they are in useless wailing and weeping.”- Tran Jordan’s King Abdullah, in his memoirs</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">By 1947, Jewish holdings in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> amounted to about </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">463,000 acres</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Approximately 45,000 of these acres were acquired from the Mandatory Government; 30,000 were bought from various churches and 387,500 were purchased from Arabs. Analyses of land purchases from 1880 to 1948 show that 73 percent of Jewish plots were purchased from large landowners, not poor <em>fellahin</em>. Those who sold land included the mayors of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jaffa</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. As’ad el-Shuqeiri, a Muslim religious scholar and father of PLO chairman Ahmed Shuqeiri, took Jewish money for his land. Even King Abdullah leased land to the Jews. In fact, many leaders of the Arab nationalist movement, including members of the Muslim Supreme Council, sold land to Jews.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Did the Jewish influx improve the job opportunities, health care, standard of living, infrastructure, which made </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> an attractive place for Arabs, who would later immigrate to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“In the last decade </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> has been lifted to a new economic level, and the standard of life has risen not only among the Jews, but among the Arabs too.”- Dr. Arthur Ruppin, in “The Picture in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">1907”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, February 27, 1908</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“Those good Jews brought civilization and peace to the Arab Muslims, and they dispersed gold and prosperity over </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> without damage to anyone or taking anything by force. Despite this, the Muslims declared holy war against them and did not hesitate to massacre their children and women… Thus a black fate awaits the Jews and other minorities in case the Mandates are cancelled and Muslim Syria is united with Muslim Palestine.”- From a letter sent to the French Prime Minister in June 1936 by six Syrian Alawi notables (the Alawis are the ruling class in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> today) in support of Zionism. (Source, Daniel Pipes, Greater Syria, Oxford U Press, p. 179)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">If there was an Arab Palestinian culture, a normal population increase over the centuries would have been expected. But with the exception of a relatively few families, the Arabs had no attachment to the Land. If Arabs from southern </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> drifted into </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> for economic reasons, within a generation or so the cultural tug of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> or other Arab lands would pull them back. This factor is why the Arab population average remained low until the influx of Jewish financial investments and Jewish people in the late 1800’s made the Land economically attractive. Then sometime between 1850 and 1918, the Arab population shot up to 460,000. Not to absolve the Jews but to defend British policy, the not overfriendly British secretary of state for the colonies, Malcolm MacDonald, declared in the House of Commons (November 24, 1938), “The Arabs cannot say that the Jews are driving them out of the country. If not a single Jew had come to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> after 1918, I believe the Arab population of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> would still have been around 600,000…”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jewish contributions and Jewish immigration continued to flow into the Land. The Jews created industry, agriculture, and hospitals – a complete socio-economic infrastructure. As job opportunities increased, so did Arab immigration. In fact, in 1939 President Roosevelt observed that “illegal Arab immigration into </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> since 1921 has vastly exceeded the total Jewish immigration during this whole period.” For one specific example, in 1934 between 30,000 and 36,000 Arabs from the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Hauran</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Province</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> <wbr></wbr>left for “the better life” in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">On the other hand, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Great Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s White Paper of 1939 closed the doors of Jewish immigration to their Land, which violated international law and the Mandate terms. Simultaneously, there was a large-scale of illegal Arab immigration to the new Land of opportunity during World War II. In 1946 Bartley C. Crum, a United States Government observer, noted that tens of thousands of Arabs had entered </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> illegally “because of this better life – and they were still coming.”</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“It is absolutely necessary that an entente be made between the Zionists and Arabs, because the war of words can only do evil. The Zionists are necessary for the country: The money which they will bring, their knowledge and intelligence, and the industriousness which characterizes them will contribute without doubt to the regeneration of the country.”- Dawood Barakat, editor of the Egyptian paper <em>Al-Ahram</em></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The resources of the country are still virgin soil and will be developed by the Jewish immigrants. One of the most amazing things until recent times was that the Palestinian used to leave his country, wandering over the high seas in every direction. His native soil could not retain a hold on him, though his ancestors had lived on it for 1000 years. At the same time we have seen the Jews from foreign countries streaming to their ancestral homeland </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Russia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><wbr></wbr>, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Germany</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Austria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Spain</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">America</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.” The cause of causes could not escape those who had a gift of deeper insight. They knew that the country was for its original sons (<em>abna’ihi-l-asliyin</em>), for all their differences, a sacred and beloved Jewish homeland. The return of these exiles (<em>jaliya</em>) to their homeland will prove materially and spiritually [to be] an experimental school for their brethren who are with them in the fields, factories, trades and in all things connected with toil and labor.”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– Sherif Hussein, the guardian of the Islamic Holy Places in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Arabia</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">As Hussein foresaw, the regeneration of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, and the growth of its population, came only after the Jews returned in massive numbers. The Jewish population increased by 470,000 between World War I and World War II while the non-Jewish population rose by </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">588,000. In</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> fact, the permanent Arab population increased 120 percent between 1922 and 1947.This rapid growth was a result of several factors. One was illegal immigration from neighboring states-constituting 37 percent of the total immigration to pre-state </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> by Arabs who wanted to take advantage of the higher standard of living the Jews had made possible. The Arab population also grew because of the improved living conditions created by the Jews as they drained malarial swamps and brought improved sanitation and health care to the region. Thus, for example, the Muslim infant mortality rate fell from 201 per thousand in 1925 to 94 per thousand in 1945 and life expectancy rose from 37 years in 1926 to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">49 in</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> 1943.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Arab population increased the most in cities with large Jewish populations that had created new economic opportunities. From 1922-1947, the non-Jewish population increased 290 percent in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Haifa</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, 131 percent in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and 158 percent in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jaffa</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The growth in Arab towns was more modest: 42 percent in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Nablus</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, 78 percent in Jenin and 37 percent in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Bethlehem</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Moreover, even this growth was due to increase trade and labor with the growing Jewish population.</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Before Jewish immigration and Jewish investments spawned massive Arab immigration, Arabs were actually leaving </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Then the flow of traffic reversed. “…</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> changed from a country of Arab emigration to one of Arab immigration. Arabs from the Hauran in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as well as other neighboring lands poured into </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> to profit from the higher standard of living and fresh opportunities provided by the Zionist pioneers.” [Ernst Frankenstein, Justice for My People (London: Nicholson & Watson, 1943)] This phenomenon is confirmed by the Palestine Royal Commission Report which observed that in the period between the Balfour Declaration and the United Nations Partition Resolution of 1947, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> became </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> <wbr></wbr>of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Arab</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> immigration. As further documented by Frankenstein, substantial Arab immigration was a recent phenomenon:</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The early ‘lovers of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Zion</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’ began the stimulation of Arab immigration. Some writers have come out with the conclusion that in 1942, 75 percent of the Arab populations were either immigrants or descendants of immigrants into </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> during the preceding one hundred years, mainly after </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">1882.”</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> When Jewish immigration into </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> picked up steam and Jewish development of the land, produced economic growth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">These facts of history explain why the United Nations needed to develop a definition that a “Palestinian Refugee” is any Arab who had been in “</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” for only two years. This UN definition, in fact, is incompatible with the assumption that the Arab Palestinian roots go back one or two thousand years.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Jews themselves have dominated the Land called “</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” for over the past two millennia. The Jews themselves are as much “Palestinian” as the Arabs who falsely claim to be Palestinians. If any population has a right to the name Palestinian (if they wanted it), it would be the Jews whose ancestors had their Land renamed “</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.” When the Romans conquered the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 70 CE.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Is the Arab opposition to </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s existence an opposition to imperialism, or a fight over limited land?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement… We will wish the Jews a hearty welcome home… We are working together for a reformed and revised Near East, and our two movements complement one another. The movement is national and not imperialistic. There is room in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> for us both. Indeed, I think that neither can be successful without the other.”- Emir Feisal to Felix Frankfurter, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">March 3 1919</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Emir Faisal signed an agreement with Weitzman in January 1919, acknowledging </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as Jewish territory.</span></li>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Question:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Where is </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">? What are its borders? Is it only between the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Mediterranean</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and the river </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">?</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Answer:</span></strong><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Decapolis</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">: league of 10 ancient Greek cities in eastern </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> that was formed after the Roman conquest of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 63 BC. The name </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Decapolis</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> also denotes the roughly contiguous territory formed by these cities, all but one of which lay east of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan River</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The 10 cities of the league were Scythopolis (modern Bet She’an, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">), Hippos, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Gadara</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, Raphana, Dion (or Dium), </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Pella</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, Gerasa, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Philadelphia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (modern </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">A<wbr></wbr>mman</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">), Canatha, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Damascus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (now the capital of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">). </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Damascus</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> lay the farthest north, while </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Philadelphia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> lay the farthest south.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The cities participated in the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Decapolis</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> as a means of mutual protection and security against their Semitic neighbors. The league was subject to the Roman governor of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Syria</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, though his authority was somewhat tenuous in eastern </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. The cities of the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Decapolis</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> created a rich Hellenistic culture that produced the philosopher-satirist Menippus, among other figures. The league survived until the 2nd century AD.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– Encyclopedia Britannica, at Britannica.com <a href="http://www.britannica.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.britannica.<wbr></wbr>com</a></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“The </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Dead Sea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, as you have heard ever since you were children at school, has no outlet, and you can see at once that if it had any connection with the great body of seas and oceans, it would be an inlet. If, as Chinese Gordon proposed a few years ago, a canal were cut so that the waters of the Mediterranean Sea might pour in, they would swell the surface of the Dead Sea thirteen hundred feet up the sides of the mountains on either side; they would rise above the Jordan proportionately; the river Jordan would disappear; the Dead Sea and the lake of Galilee would disappear; and in the place of these a long body of sea water would divide western from eastern Palestine.” These characteristics distinguish the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> from all the other rivers of the earth, and make its formation a profound study to the geologist – one that has never yet been explained in attempting to trace back the history of this old world.”</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">– J. W. McGarvey, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Louisville</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Kentucky</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><wbr></wbr>, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">August 27, 1893</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“[The </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan river</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">] will not do as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">’s eastern boundary. Our duty as Mandatory is to make Jewish Palestine not a struggling State but one that is capable of a vigorous and independent national life.”- <em>The Times</em> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">London</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">September 19, 1919</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Let me start by stating that the word “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” had no clear cut geographical denotation, and, represented no political identity before the First World War. “Palestinians” are therefore all people, Jews, Arabs, Druze, Christians, Armenians, Melchites, Greek Orthodox and Bahai, etc., who live in the Territory of the Palestine Mandate as constituted in 1920. It is also a Fact that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> have emerged as successor States of the “Palestine Mandate”. The Palestine Mandate as granted to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Great Britain</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> at the San Remo Conference of 1920, confirmed by the treaty of Sevres and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Lausanne</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, confirmed by the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">League of Nations</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in 1922, covered a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">territory</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> which is 75,820 square miles East and West of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan River</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Its boundaries reached from the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Mediterranean</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in the West to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Iraq</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> border in the East. Thus, all of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was encompassed within the border of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Trans-Jordan (Jordan) was in fact what the relevant </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">League of Nations</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> file called “The Trans-Jordan Province of Palestine” until the last meeting of the League on </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">April 18, 1946</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">As everyone knows by now that on </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">September 16, 1922</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, two months after the confirmation of the said Mandate, and, in breach of its Mandatory obligations, </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Britain</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> refused to apply the “Jewish National Home” provision of the Mandate in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Eastern Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (Trans-Jordan Province of Palestine). It was under an authorization contained in Article 25 of the Mandate that the British Government which has been playing Monopoly with the land in Palestine, obtained the League’s consent to “postpone or withhold” the application of the Jewish National Home Provision of the Mandate, which violated international law and treaties.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Article 25 by its own legal terms, defines the Eastern Border of the Palestine Mandate “In the territories lying between the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> (river) and the eastern boundaries of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">” means that </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> reached its easternmost border with </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Iraq</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In what the relevant file of the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">League of Nations</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> describes as the “Trans-Jordan </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">province</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Pale<wbr></wbr>stine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">,” a local administration was established within the Palestine Mandate, headed by the Emir Abdullah, older brother of King Feisal of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Iraq</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">. Jews were not allowed from that moment on to establish or live or own property in Trans-Jordan. But, this did not mean that Trans-Jordan was legally separated from </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in any way as far as the Arab population of the country was concerned.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">There was no separate government; unlike the situation of the French Mandate of Syria-Lebanon. </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was meant to remain whole. Trans-Jordan by now called </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Transjordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> remained under the Palestine Mandate and was administered under the authority of the High Commissioner of Jerusalem. The residents of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Transjordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> traveled under the authority of the Commissioner and his protection. Under International Law their Nationality then was “Palestinian.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Transjordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> was given </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Independence</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> by the Attlee-Bevin government in </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">May 25, 1946</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">, nine months later, in February 1947, the British submitted the truncated “Palestine Mandate”, now restricted to an area of 10,100 square miles to the United Nations for its decision. About two years later, the kingdom of Transjordan, later renamed Jordan in 1950, occupied 89,342 30 square kilometers, and, the state of Israel 22,072 square kilometers. About 100 square miles were occupied by </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Egypt</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> in the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Gaza</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> district and the </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Golan Heights</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> – Hermon region 8926. Thus that first partition of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> had left the Arabs with 82.5% of the Mandate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Later the loss of the “West Bank” territory – the province of Samaria and Judea – which the British led army of King Abdullah of Transjordan occupied in 1948, and which Israel liberated in 1967 represents 4,5% of Palestine. The </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Kingdom</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> of </span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Jordan</span><span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> today occupies 78% of the country (Palestine Mandate). Considering that the whole of the “Mandated Palestine” territory according to the Balfour Declaration was to be the reestablishment of Jewish National State, the Arabs emerged with the lion’s share.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #747474; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Especially when Article 5 of the Palestine Mandate, “The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestinian Territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of, the government of any foreign power.”</span></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-58587536784812828422015-10-19T13:20:00.001-07:002015-10-19T13:20:42.440-07:00POST WWI DIVISION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE by YJ Draiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.0pt;">POST WWI DIVISION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE</span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Every
time the government of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> authorizes the establishment of a
new town in </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Judea</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Samaria</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">, aka </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">West Bank</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">, the Arabs and their blind supporters
claim</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">is infringing upon Arab territory.
However, an examination of the facts, especially the</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">post WWI division of the</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Ottoman Empire</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">,</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">proves such Arab claims are false and without merit.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Prior to
WWI the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Ottoman Empire</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> owned about 92% of the land in</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">. It is a known historical fact that the
Nomadic Arabs in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> owned no Land in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">. Approximately 8% of the land in</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">was owned by wealthy Arabs, most living
outside of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">. Approximately 2% of the land was owned by some
local Arab leaders including the Mufti of Jerusalem. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Starting
in the early 1800’s the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Ottoman Empire</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">, in need of revenues, sold land to Jews. Furthermore, most of
the land acquired by Jews after WWI, was purchased at premium prices from
wealthy Arab absentee owners, as well as some from local Arab leaders. In fact, the Mufti of Jerusalem testified in
front of the British Peel commission in 1937, stating that the Jews had
purchased their properties and no properties were taken by force from the
Arabs.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">The
recent furor surrounding Israel's government’s decision to declare nearly 1,000
acres at Gvaot in Gush Etzion as “State Land”, is a classic example of the
ignorance of history and law that governs most discussions of Israeli actions
beyond the internationally hallowed “Green Line.” It is a known fact that after
WWI the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Ottoman
Empire</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">territory
was divided by the Supreme Allied Powers in the</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Middle East</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">.
The Allied Powers set up 21 Arab states with over 5 million square miles,
and one Jewish state in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">. Thus, under international law and
treaties, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">was allocated to the Jewish people. Said
allocation was 75,000 square miles and included what is known today as </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jordan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">However, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jordan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> with the help of the British
(again in violation of the mandate and international law) enacted a law that
prohibited Jews from purchasing land and residing in the new State of Jordan. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jordan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> later expelled Jews, and illegally
confiscated about 80% of the Jewish allocated land, including all properties, homes,
businesses, and other assets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Even
though Arabs received over 5 million square miles of territory, they weren’t
satisfied. As such, other Arab states followed </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jordan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> and expelled over a million Jewish families,
most of who resettled in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">.
The Arab states also illegally confiscated all Jewish assets including
over 70,000 square miles of real property which is valued today in the
trillions of dollars.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Media
headlines around the world screamed about “annexation” and “land grab” by </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">.
However, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> or any Nation cannot be “occupiers”
in their own land. Thus, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> does not need to annex its own
territory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Of
course, the Arab-Palestinian Authority deceptively declared the “</span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">State</span></st1:placetype><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Land</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">” designation by </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> as a “crime”. Moreover, foreign diplomats around the world
demanded the reversal of the decision without examining any facts. World diplomats ignored legal precedent making
it a violation of international law and treaties to declare </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> as “occupier” of its own historical
ancestral land. Yet, few articles, press releases or communiqués mention the
crux of the matter; the legal and historical status of the land in question.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;">
<st1:place><span style="color: blue;"><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 16pt;">OTTOMAN</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 16pt;">LAND</span></st1:placetype></span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: blue;"> OWNERSHIP LAW</span><span style="color: #444444;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">It is
time to examine the facts about </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Judea</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Samaria</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">, and other parts of the legal
boundary of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">, as delineated under international
law and treaties of post WWI. The post WWI treaties allocated over 5 million
square miles to the Arabs, and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">'s 75,000 square miles to the Jewish people
as their National Homeland in 1920. Yet, over 78% of said Jewish territory
was then illegally allocated to the Arabs as the State of Jordan including all
the area east of the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jordan River</span></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">. Not only were Jews prohibited from purchasing property or residing
in the new </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Arab</span></st1:placename><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">State</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;"> of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jordan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">, Jews were expelled from their own land
with all of their assets illegally confiscated.
It cannot be ignored not one foreign diplomat protested such wanton
unlawful acts by </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jordan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16.0pt;">For many,
if not most, around the world, every inch of land beyond the 1949 armistice
lines is incorrectly thought to be automatically Arab-Palestinian. Such
misconception is a display of intentional ignorance of facts and unfamiliarity
with history, international law and executed international treaties of post
WWI. The 1919 Faisal Weizmann Agreement states in no uncertain terms the Arab
acknowledgement that all of Palestine is Jewish territory. Yet, said
proof is ignored.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.0pt;">To truly
understand the status of this territory in Greater Israel we have to
first differentiate between the personal and the national as the law of the
land in the 1800's and up to WWI.</span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">There is
very limited land privately owned by Arab-Palestinians
in Judea and Samaria, what many call the “West Bank” in seeming
deference to the Jordanian occupation, which invented the term as juxtaposition
to its eastern bank. These areas, like privately owned territory anywhere in
the world, cannot be touched unless there is very pressing reason for a
government or sovereign power to do so under the tern known as "eminent
domain". These areas, according to Ottoman and British records, constitute
no more than a small percent of the total area of Palestine, meaning the
vast majority of land in Palestine is not privately owned.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">However, to
contend that these territories are “Arab-Palestinian” on a national level is
more than problematic and seems intentionally deceptive. To claim an area
belongs to a particular nation requires the territory to have belonged to that
people, where they held some sort of sovereignty that was broadly recognized.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">All of these
criteria have been met historically by the Jewish people, and none by the
Arab-Palestinians. In the January 1919 Faisal Weizmann Agreement it was stated
that </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;"> shall be the land for the Jewish
people, while the Arab nations will own the rest of the land, and the Arabs did
receive over 5 million square miles of territory.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">In fact, the
Jewish people were provided with national rights in these territories not just
by dint of history and past sovereignty, but also by residual legal rights
contained in the San Remo Treaty of 1920. This was confirmed by the 1920 Treaty
of Sevres and</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Lausanne,
and</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">adopted by the</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">League of Nations</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">as the Mandate for</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine. The terms of the Mandate for</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> were</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;"> never canceled and are preserved by the UN
Charter, under Article 80 – the famous “Palestine Clause,” that was drafted, in
part, to guarantee continuity with respect to Jewish rights from the</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">League of Nations.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">It must be
understood the League of Nations, the UN and the ICJ cannot over-ride
international law and treaties. The UN can only recommend under its resolutions,
and those recommendations must be accepted by all the parties or those
recommendations are meaningless. The Arabs have continuously rejected all
resolutions of apportionment of the land, and therefore all those UN
resolutions which are recommendations only have no effect whatsoever.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">For the past
2,400 plus years since the destruction of the Jewish temple and the expulsion
of many of the indigenous people, Israel did not have Jewish sovereignty. Rather the land of Israel has been under foreign
control and occupied as an outpost in the territory by many global and regional
empires.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Ottomans
were the most recent to officially apportion the territory, referred to as
Ottoman Syria, which incorporates modern-day Israel, Syria, Jordan and parts of
Iraq. Before The Ottoman Land Code of 1858, land had largely been owned or
passed on by word of mouth, custom or tradition.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Under the
Ottomans of the 19th century, land was apportioned into three main categories:
Mulk, Miri and Mawat.</span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Mulk</span></b><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;"> was the only territory that was
privately owned in the common sense of the term, and as stated before, was only
a minimal part of the whole territory. It must be noted much of the privately
owned land was owned by Jews, who were given the right to own land under Ottoman
reforms.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Miri</span></b><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;"> was land owned by the sovereign, and
individuals could purchase a deed to cultivate this land and pay a tithe to the
government, which is the same as sharecroppers. Ownership to cultivate could be
transferred only with the approval of the State. <b>Miri</b> rights
could be transferred to heirs, and the land could be sub-let to tenants. Thus, an
arrangement could be executed so a tenant in an apartment or house would have rights
in the property, but not the title to the property.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Finally, <b>Mawat</b> was
State or unclaimed land, not owned by private individuals or largely
cultivated. These areas made up almost two-thirds of all territory
in Palestine.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">The area
recently declared “State Land” by the Israeli government, a process which
has been under an intensive ongoing investigation for many years, is <b>Mawat</b> land.
In other words, it has no private status and is not privately owned. Many claims to the territory suddenly arose
during the course of the investigation, but all were proven to be unfounded on
the basis of land laws.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.8pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Interestingly,
it should be clearly understood by those who deem</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Judea</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">and</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Samaria</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">liberated “occupied territory”, that
according to international law the liberating occupying power must use the
pre-existing land laws as a basis for claims. Moreover, it is exactly as</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">has done in this case, even though</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel’s official position is it does not
see itself <i>de jure</i> as an occupying
power in the legal sense of the term. It is only a liberator of its own historical
ancestral land.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">None of
these facts are even alluded to in the many reports surrounding the
government’s actions in settlement and housing. The omission of said facts is highly
biased and unjustified. An examination of the relevant background, history and
facts would provide the necessary context for what has been converted into an
international incident where none should exist.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Many nations
and people are questioning Israel’s control of its own liberated
territory. No one is mentioning that the Arab countries terrorized, persecuted
and ejected over a million Jewish families and their children (who lived there
for over 2,400 years) from their countries. No one is mentioning that Arab
countries also confiscated Jewish assets, businesses, homes and Real estate
property. Most of the expelled Jewish families and their children were
resettled in Greater Israel and now comprise over half the population. The Land
the Arab countries confiscated from the Jewish people is over 120,000 sq. km.
or 75,000 sq. miles, which is over 6 times the size of Israel, and would
have a value today in the trillions of dollars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Reviewing
Jewish title to the</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">land</span></st1:placetype><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">of</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">,</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">aka</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">,</span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">has numerous support. Historical ancestral land, International law
and treaties (post WWI), and the actual land that was purchased from the
Ottoman empire prior to WWI and after WWI the purchase of land from rich
absentee Arab land owners and local Arab leaders. Therefore, it is a forgone
conclusion that </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16.0pt;">'s rights to the land is supported by more
than enough proof to assuage any arguments to the contrary.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 9.0pt;">YJ Draiman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-59215519217775260182015-09-25T14:39:00.002-07:002015-09-25T14:39:14.620-07:00The Photogenic Sukkot Festival -- 100+ Years Ago. Another Mystery Photo<br />
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<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IsraelsHistory-APictureADaybeta/~3/wf3CP-c7Zc0/the-photogenic-sukkot-festival-100.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email" name="150066dcf31c89f7_1" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" target="_blank">The Photogenic Sukkot Festival -- 100+ Years Ago. Another Mystery Photo</a></div>
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Posted: 24 Sep 2015 02:31 PM PDT</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;">The Jewish festival of Sukkot is called by several names: the Harvest festival, the Joyous festival, and the festival of Booths. Jewish families construct temporary huts -- <i>Sukkot --</i>where they eat and some even sleep for the week-long holiday. Jews traditionally pray during the holiday while holding a citron fruit and branches of myrtle, palm and willow branches -- called the <i>lulav and etrog</i>.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG3CHPOLieWyADuLaOEyNsdBveh5zX6yK71Cw2fqVUqAkXhMpX33SPJXinDJQoGYMa5gbOEs_s7-5TQL28aONn5YxXbNM0ja5D0xz7OYQy3o_GL78rJNjo0h8Huik4Bx7q0GrV5GUIYBnP/s1600/sukka+1+samar.bmp" style="clear: left; color: #1155cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG3CHPOLieWyADuLaOEyNsdBveh5zX6yK71Cw2fqVUqAkXhMpX33SPJXinDJQoGYMa5gbOEs_s7-5TQL28aONn5YxXbNM0ja5D0xz7OYQy3o_GL78rJNjo0h8Huik4Bx7q0GrV5GUIYBnP/s640/sukka+1+samar.bmp" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Jews sitting in their <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007682719/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5421bb;">Samarkand Sukka</span></a> (circa 1870, <em>Library of Congress</em>). More on Samarkand Jewry <a href="http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2012/09/how-family-celebrated-sukkot-in.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJXLwK808Jzdo9hCxuIwcS5tGuaHlpIAhDODapFrsMnaDumoD745z0B_KI3j-XPfjUhOU3_ToD9FwP7yEdLQqbTYBamEC4Zpf1mu3z96rARmPHmIA2HAOL1YnH7lE5ZZNpltfIE5-AxCu/s1600/sukka5.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJXLwK808Jzdo9hCxuIwcS5tGuaHlpIAhDODapFrsMnaDumoD745z0B_KI3j-XPfjUhOU3_ToD9FwP7yEdLQqbTYBamEC4Zpf1mu3z96rARmPHmIA2HAOL1YnH7lE5ZZNpltfIE5-AxCu/s640/sukka5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/matpc/item/mpc2004005483/PP/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #009eb8;">Bukharan family</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in their Jerusalem sukka (circa 1900). Note the man </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">on the right holding the citron and palm branch</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times;">(<em>Library of Congress collection</em>). Compare this sukka to one photographed in <a href="http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2012/09/how-family-celebrated-sukkot-in.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #009eb8;">Samarkand</span></a> 30 years earlier</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;"><strong>And Now the Mystery Picture -- The Occasion for this Photo</strong></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;">We recently </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;">found this photograph of Australian soldiers at the Western Wall in an Australian library archives and posted it on this site. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;">The men fought in World War I in Palestine in 1917-1918.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qRExgvVLin5zOalNLOoanGzapHcyWCvOCzhTiu8tNmAQoCIabb_sfZqbxzh6JFgWfz9LNdS0rB4MeB-tUJWFkmZV1OoLSX86wibvSfK-NhiVhEI5XTcmisEPxj1mvQH8gU1yasDq8TZh/s1600/NSW+Aussie+soldiers+at+Kotel.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qRExgvVLin5zOalNLOoanGzapHcyWCvOCzhTiu8tNmAQoCIabb_sfZqbxzh6JFgWfz9LNdS0rB4MeB-tUJWFkmZV1OoLSX86wibvSfK-NhiVhEI5XTcmisEPxj1mvQH8gU1yasDq8TZh/s640/NSW+Aussie+soldiers+at+Kotel.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/_DAMl/image/23/153/a7771065r.jpg" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #009eb8;"><strong>Australian soldiers</strong></span></a><strong> at the Western Wall, picture taken by "</strong><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 34px;"><a href="http://www.acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/itemLargeCopyright.cgi?itemID=1037784&size=full&album=1&collection=1027163&parent=69833" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #009eb8;"><strong>R. F. Ingham</strong></span></a><strong>, 1st L."</strong></span><br /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 34px;"><strong> (</strong><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><em>Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Australia</em>)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;">What was going on at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City?</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><a border="0" height="376" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdBPryAT5vSRFQmrciD0kgevBCsCrFc_HtepF5BAhcxQivP4a9oHx2KzDkMV-p_CrTa_lXk3OBv9CPW26bNTM6PL-jHXyL0RJBqkIc2BzyuySh6c7SX_fmv3kMy27XrBfrLQzbNx3dX-q/s1600/NSW+Aussie+soldiers+at+Kotel.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; line-height: 18.2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" width="640"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwK6PkIXmR6eYptyG7NaAiEaGSTkSyyYw5_R21yAbErJ3D0ohkNCjgx-H6rwIo-wYRFzFBL6kmHZfCYlSXRYGGkdGwGvDspQojGxLsWyS_iP7VpQZQpbO_OMSRkxSXqVJVWOXtRfdZhdyZ/s320/kotel+aussie+kittel.JPG" width="219" /></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">The reason for the <em>kittel</em></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We went back and inspected the photo closely. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The shadows suggest it was photographed around <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_71066052" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">noon</span></span>. Several men appear to be wearing white caftans, called a <i>kittel</i>, normally worn on Yom Kippur. But if the day were Yom Kippur, where were the throngs of worshippers?</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><div align="left" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Another section of the picture may provide the answer. It suggests the day was actually the seventh day of Sukkot, a day called Hoshana Rabba, when some men have a custom to wear a <i>kittel</i>. The hour was well beyond the traditional morning prayer period so the crowd was sparse.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></div>
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<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uyXPQnbJLHNKvNNoY_e_l0VvVKJGH2DpQ28lGEgLCqiCKqs1M-tyoZZMgwFiCOLnw7yJHfi3uBFxo5OwbzyfP2aBhOAzg6elScIMt8PCKMw5q_aGqTChuG4yHRKX-CW-QY9Q2YEsftM_/s400/kotel+aussie+lulav.JPG" width="235" /></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">The lulav and etrog</td></tr>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The woman conversing with the Australian soldier may be holding a lulav (between her left shoulder and knee); the soldier may be holding the etrog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Sukkot 1918 would have been a holiday for everyone in the picture: The Jews were liberated from the oppressive Turks, and the Australians Light Horsemen were on their way home after hard-fought battles in the Sinai, Beer Sheba, and east of the Jordan River. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.2px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;" /><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"> The date: September 27, 1918.</span></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-17581299109700466472015-09-18T08:18:00.003-07:002015-09-18T08:18:56.195-07:00Kuwait Expels Thousands of Palestinians 450,000<span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span style="color: blue;">Kuwait Expels Thousands of Palestinians</span></h1>
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Much has been made of the Palestinian exodus of 1948. Yet during their decades of dispersal, the Palestinians have experienced no less traumatic ordeals at the hands of their Arab brothers. As early as the mid-1950s, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Libya expelled striking Palestinian workers. In 1970, Jordan expelled some 20,000 Palestinians and demolished their camps; in 1994-95, Libya expelled tens of thousands of long-term Palestinian residents in response to the Oslo process; and after the 2003 Iraq war, some 21,000 Palestinians fled the country in response to a systematic terror and persecution campaign. As recently as 2007, Beirut effectively displaced 31,400 Palestinian refugees when the Lebanese army destroyed the Nahr el Bared refugee camp during fighting between the militant Fatal al-Islam group and the Lebanese army.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[1]</a></div>
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<img border="0" height="262" hspace="6" src="http://cdn.israelbehindthenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/261.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" vspace="6" width="468" /><br /><em>The expulsion of Kuwait’s Palestinians was precipitated by the endorsement of Iraq’s brutal occupation of the emirate (August 1990-February 1991) by Yasser Arafat (right, here with Saddam Hussein, hands raised). Whether true or not, Palestinians were viewed by Kuwait’s rulers as “fifth columnists” and forced to leave their decades-old homes.</em></div>
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But the largest forced displacement of Palestinians from an Arab state took place in 1991 when Kuwait expelled most of its Palestinian residents in retaliation for the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) endorsement of Iraq’s brutal occupation of the emirate (August 1990-February 1991). It mattered little that this population, most of which had resided in Kuwait for decades, was not supportive of the PLO’s reckless move: From March to September 1991, about 200,000 Palestinians were expelled from the emirate in a systematic campaign of terror, violence, and economic pressure while another 200,000 who fled during the Iraqi occupation were denied return. By September 1991, Kuwait’s Palestinian community had dwindled to some 20,000.</div>
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Yet while this expulsion was near the order of magnitude of the Palestinian 1948 flight (estimated by the Israeli government at 550,000-600,000 and by the Arab League at 700,000),<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[2]</a> driving PLO chairman Yasser Arafat to declare that “what Kuwait did to the Palestinian people is worse than what has been done by Israel to Palestinians in the occupied territories,”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[3]</a> it was largely ignored by the international community with neither the U.N. Security Council nor the General Assembly doing anything to assist the newly displaced refugees and punish their ethnic cleanser.</div>
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A Settled and Integrated Community</h3>
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The first Palestinian Arab immigrants to Kuwait arrived in 1936 at the invitation of its ruler, Sheikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and the positive impression they made inclined Kuwait to accept further workers, including many displaced by the 1948 war. Between 1948 and 1960, tens of thousands of refugee and non-refugee Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza arrived in Kuwait while the sheikhdom was still a British protectorate. Many were teachers, civil servants, and unskilled workers. By June 1961, when Kuwait declared its independence, its Palestinian community had grown to some 40,000, about 12 percent of the emirate’s entire population of 321,621.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[4]</a></div>
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Palestinian immigration accelerated after 1959 when Kuwait signed an agreement with Jordan cancelling visa requirements for Jordanian citizens.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[5]</a> Many Jordanian Palestinians, from both the East and West Banks, seized the opportunity, bringing relatives and friends into Kuwait. In ten years, the Palestinian population of the emirate quadrupled. By August 2, 1990, the day Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the population had multiplied to 400,000-450,000, or four Palestinians for every five native Kuwaitis.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[6]</a></div>
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Most of the Palestinians were not given Kuwaiti citizenship but were thoroughly integrated into the economy and culture of the emirate. According to American academic Laurie Brand,</div>
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It was the Palestinians more than any other single expatriate group who helped shape the country’s social, economic, and political development. The length of their residence, the size of the community, their dedication to work in both the public and private sectors, and their consequent entrenchment in the bureaucracy, economy, professions, and the media enabled the Palestinians in Kuwait to develop into one of the most cohesive and active communities in the diaspora.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[7]</a></div>
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Unlike their brothers in Lebanon, the Kuwaiti Palestinians occupied an honorable place in local society, giving them a sense of belonging and permanence lacking in many Palestinian communities elsewhere. In the words of American Arab academic Hassan El-Najjar,</div>
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[In 1962] Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem, then foreign minister and later the emir, said that Palestinians deserved to be well treated because of their skills and hard work. “Look at them. Among them is the best surgeon, the best doctor, and the best administrator.”… In recognition for their sincere services, about two thousand of the Palestinian pioneers were granted the [sic] Kuwaiti citizenship… The 1967 war convinced Palestinians that their stay… was becoming permanent. Their behavior started to change from using practical tactics for temporary stay to adopting strategies that aimed at permanent residence there. This meant that after getting jobs, Palestinian employees would get married or bring families, rent homes or apartments, and spend most of their income wherever they lived.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[8]</a></div>
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That all changed dramatically with Saddam Hussein’s invasion of the gulf principality.</div>
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Ethnic Cleansing, Kuwaiti-Style</h3>
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Iraq’s occupation of its “nineteenth province” (i.e., Kuwait) lasted approximately seven months. But even before the invaders were driven out, a deliberate decision to expel the Palestinians had been taken at the highest levels of the Kuwaiti government. In a February 21, 1991 interview with <em>The Independent</em>, Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, Kuwait’s crown prince, still in exile, called for “cleansing” Kuwait of “fifth columnists.” By March 13, <em>The Guardian</em> cited government officials expressing the need to “clean out” the Palestinian neighborhoods, and in a speech on April 8, the emir himself urged Kuwaitis to continue the campaign of “cleansing” Kuwait of the alleged “fifth columnists.” On July 9, Kuwait’s prosecutor general Hamed Othman told <em>USA Today</em>, “Every country has the right to deport people it considers a security risk. You do it in Britain and America also.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[9]</a></div>
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Interviewed by the <em>Washington Post,</em> Kuwait’s ambassador to the United States, Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah, openly defended the expulsions:</div>
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Sabah expressed bitterness at the behavior of Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat, who embraced Iraqi president Saddam Hussein after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait last August, and at Palestinians generally who he said “helped destroy” Kuwait by collaborating with the Iraqis. Before the invasion, he said, there were 380,000 Palestinians in Kuwait… Now, he said, thousands who do not have jobs will be deported or their permits will not be renewed…. “And I think we have a perfect right to demand” it, he said. “It’s not just us in the government demanding it, it’s the people in the street who are demanding it.”… Having a large number of Palestinians in Kuwait would not be “helpful to our security,” he added.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[10]</a></div>
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The deportations decimated the Palestinian population in Kuwait from 400,000-450,000 to 10,000-22,000. “The former Palestinian neighborhoods in Kuwait now lie empty of residents,” reported <em>The Guardian</em>. “There are plans to turn the Palestinian suburb of Hawali into an amusement park. Many of these Palestinians had lived in Kuwait for decades, and generations of their children were born there. Palestinian school teachers, doctors, nurses, administrators, financiers, accountants, engineers, and university professors who helped to build Kuwait, were forcibly uprooted and expelled.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[11]</a></div>
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Many of the deportees were subjected to abuse or worse during the process of expulsion. In March 1991, the Associated Press quoted a grave digger at the Riqqa Cemetery in Kuwait, talking about mass graves: “They were all Palestinians… One man had a severed head.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[12]</a> The agency later reported that even some members of Kuwait’s ruling family were involved in the killings of Palestinians,<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[13]</a> and Kuwaiti pro-democracy activists claimed the royal family had formed private “death squads” to execute people suspected of collaborating with the Iraqis. The director of the Palestine Human Rights and Information Center reported interviews with four Palestinian men who escaped Kuwait after being imprisoned there, saying that they were beaten with metal rods, burned with cigarettes, and interrogated by Kuwaiti officials during their imprisonment in Kuwait City.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[14]</a></div>
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Palestinian children were expelled from public schools while heavy financial burdens, such as new health fees, were placed on Palestinians who wished to remain. According to the Palestinian group Badil, “About 4,000 people were killed, and 16,000 tortured in Kuwaiti detention and interrogation centers. Most of these were Palestinians.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[15]</a></div>
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Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch detailed to a congressional committee some of the economic pressures used to compel Palestinians to quit Kuwait:</div>
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Roughly half of Kuwait’s prewar Palestinian population of 350,000 fled the country during the Iraqi occupation… Those who remain in Kuwait are being subjected to a range of pressures seemingly designed to drive them out of the country. Most Palestinians have not been allowed to resume their jobs. Many have been unable to obtain new Kuwaiti license plates for their cars… Garbage has not been picked up since liberation in such Palestinian communities as Hawali, in contrast to Kuwaiti neighborhoods. Harassment at the ubiquitous checkpoints is commonplace. The combined effect of these actions and the terror unleashed by the official violence is a resignation on the part of large numbers of Palestinians that they will have to leave what for many is the only country they have ever known. But even flight is impeded by the Kuwaiti government’s refusal so far to release the one month’s salary per year of service which all workers accumulate as a form of pension although the government finally pledged last week that these funds would be made available.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[16]</a></div>
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Approximately 180,000-200,000 Palestinians who had fled Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation were not permitted to return.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[17]</a> According to an account by Palestinian academic Shafeeq Ghabra, by December 1991, Kuwait’s Palestinian population had dwindled from a pre-invasion strength of 350,000 to approximately 150,000.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[18]</a> Middle East Watch, a project of Human Rights Watch, reported that the Kuwaiti government had failed to appoint guardians to protect absentee property, and that in July 1991, the Kuwaiti cabinet approved regulations allowing Kuwaiti landlords to remove furniture and other items from rented premises previously occupied by foreigners who were not being allowed to return.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[19]</a></div>
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Drawing upon the records of the United Nations Compensation Commission, established by the Security Council in 1991 to deal with claims and compensation for losses from the Iraqi invasion, al-Jazeera filmmaker Miriam Shahin has detailed some of the economic losses inflicted on the Palestinians who were expelled or fled:</div>
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The vast majority of the Gulf war returnees [to Jordan] are close to impoverishment… Thus far only 25% of those Jordanians and Palestinians working in Kuwait have been able to get back their bank savings and pensions, or have received compensation…. 91,550 applications for financial compensation have been made to the Geneva office of the [Compensation Commission] through the Jordanian Ministry of Labour… All in all, the claimants are asking for $3bn in restitution…. A quick departure and the chaos of occupied Kuwait are frequently cited by applicants as reasons why their legal and business papers are not complete. But [the Jordanian official tasked with processing Palestinian claims] fears that the Compensation Commission in Geneva will throw out incomplete applications.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[20]</a></div>
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In the end, the U.N. Compensation Commission processed 43,975 Palestinian claims, of which 35,878-or 82 percent-were rejected. Total compensation for property lost in Kuwait claimed by evicted Palestinians was $33 billion of which $149 million were finally awarded-a compensation rate of 4.4 percent.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[21]</a></div>
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International Law Violations, Feeble Interventions</h3>
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Independent human rights organizations were more outspoken about abuses than any U.N. agency. Human Rights Watch accused Kuwait of violating major principles of international law, claiming that</div>
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These expulsions violate several provisions of the Fourth Geneva Conventions… because Kuwait has expelled some who said they would face persecution… and others who are refugees or stateless and should not be expelled…. The International Committee of the Red Cross has explicitly upheld the view that Palestinians in post-liberation Kuwait are protected persons…. According to Article 36 of the [Geneva] Convention, any repatriation must be carried out “in satisfactory conditions as regards safety, hygiene, sanitation and food.” The dumping of deportees in the middle of a mine-infested desert… hardly comports with this legal requirement…. Kuwait is making no apparent effort to ensure that the long-term residents of Kuwait who are sent to Iraq will not face persecution. Until a third country is found, refugees are entitled to the protection of the Fourth Geneva Convention, including ensuring the provision by Kuwait of the means of subsistence, through paid employment or state allowances… Kuwait has wholly ignored these legal requirements.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[22]</a></div>
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In its congressional testimony, the human rights NGO further charged that:</div>
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Because they are stateless, there is international law that requires that at least people born within Kuwait be granted Kuwaiti citizenship, and the Kuwaiti government has simply refused to recognize that fact, to admit these people back home.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[23]</a></div>
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In March, 1991, the International Committee of the Red Cross was able to begin visits to security detainees in Kuwait City.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[24]</a> A number of prisons were not accessible to the Red Cross until months later. By early December, the agency had been given access to all places of detention but still had not been permitted to see all detainees.</div>
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In July, the Red Cross reached an agreement with Kuwait to monitor the deportations of Palestinians, having alerted the Kuwaitis to the illegality of earlier deportations. <em>The New York Times</em> reported:</div>
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In early June, Kuwait began busing Iraqis, Palestinians and other foreigners from a jail in Kuwait City northward to the border with Iraq. Some of those being deported said they did not want to go. The Red Cross objected to the expulsions, saying that because it was not allowed to participate in the process, it could not determine whether the legal rights of the deportees were being respected.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[25]</a></div>
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Most of the Palestinians who were living in Kuwait when it was invaded fell under the protection of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) rather than the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Under the 1951 <em>Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees</em>, Palestinian refugees residing in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria fell under the mandate of UNRWA,<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[26]</a>but most of the Palestinians in Kuwait were under the protection of UNHCR because they were outside UNRWA’s five fields of operation authorized by the U.N. General Assembly.</div>
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Unlike UNRWA, which by the 1960s had effectively abandoned the objective of “reintegration of the refugees into the normal life of the Near East,” UNHCR considers settlement in other countries acceptable. While UNHCR believes that “voluntary repatriation [to the refugee’s country of origin]… where and when feasible, remains the most preferred solution in the majority of refugee situations,”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn27" name="_ftnref27" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[27]</a> it also consider local integration into host countries a valid and desirable durable solution. UNHCR’s Local Integration program draws its authority from the <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">1951 convention and 1967 protocol</a> relating to the status of refugees:</div>
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In cases where voluntary repatriation [of refugees] is not a viable option, finding a home in the country of asylum and integrating into the local community could offer a durable solution to their plight and the opportunity of starting a new life…. In many cases, acquiring the nationality of the country of asylum is the culmination of this process. UNHCR estimates that, during the past decade, 1.1 million refugees around the world became citizens in their country of asylum.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[28]</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="But" name="But" style="color: #005096;">But UNHCR confronted</a> formidable obstacles. While 144 states are parties to the 1951 refugee convention, among Arab states, only Egypt and Yemen have signed it. Kuwait, a non-signatory neither adhered to the convention obligations nor had national asylum laws and procedures in place. Moreover, <em>The New York Times</em>reported that as late as July 1991, UNHCR had not been allowed to set up a permanent office in Kuwait City, preventing imminent deportees from obtaining refugee status that would allow them to get U.N. assistance in finding new homes in other countries.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn29" name="_ftnref29" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[29]</a></div>
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According to Human Rights Watch:</div>
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was also initially barred from opening an office in Kuwait, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency… has not been allowed to operate. During the Iraqi occupation, the Kuwaiti government-in-exile solicited the help of international human rights organizations in monitoring violations committed by Iraqi forces in Kuwait. After liberation, the government encouraged these organizations to visit Kuwait to gain proof of Iraq’s gross abuses. But when these organizations also condemned abuses then being committed by Kuwaiti forces, the Kuwaiti authorities restricted access to the country. For six weeks, in April and May, the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington refused to issue visas to representatives from Middle East Watch and the U.S. Committee for Refugees. Thereafter, international human rights organizations obtained access to Kuwait without difficulty.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn30" name="_ftnref30" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[30]</a></div>
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Sadako N. Ogata, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees during this period, stated, “We had to move with caution, as the issue was delicate and required confidence building on all sides.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn31" name="_ftnref31" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[31]</a> But overall, UNHCR was able to do very little to prevent the uprooting of the Kuwaiti Palestinians.</div>
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UNRWA, too, tried to intervene, also with little success. During a meeting of the agency’s major donors in June 1991, its commissioner general, Ilter Turkmen, affirmed that UNRWA did have an obligation toward Palestinians who were being “persecuted, hounded, and expelled by the Kuwaiti government for supposed support of the Iraqi occupation… I consider that the responsibility of UNRWA extends to Palestinians in all parts of the Middle East [including Kuwait].”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn32" name="_ftnref32" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[32]</a> Despite UNRWA’s supposedly restricted fields of operation, Lance Bartholomeusz, former chief of the agency’s International Law Division, noted that “General Assembly resolutions do not explicitly exclude UNRWA from operating in other areas.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[33]</a></div>
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An UNRWA official, who preferred to remain anonymous, provided the following additional information:</div>
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During the spring and summer of 1991, a number of Palestinians… started to contact UNRWA headquarters… Commissioner-General Turkmen… traveled to Kuwait once or twice to discuss their plight with the Kuwaiti leadership and also extended his influence through contacts with the Arab League and other parties…. The idea of a mission came up during the spring of 1992. The purpose of the mission was to carry out a rapid survey among the remaining Palestinians in the country, and especially those originally from Gaza, who had nowhere to return to, to find out the extent to which they had links with other countries and the extent to which they would be able to financially support themselves.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn34" name="_ftnref34" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[34]</a></div>
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Turkmen later reported:</div>
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The Agency followed with interest the situation of Palestinians who had gone to Kuwait from the Gaza Strip and who carried laissez-passers issued by the Government of Egypt. Those Palestinians, although allowed to remain in Kuwait, faced particular difficulties since most could not obtain work permits. They had no Israeli-recognized residency privileges which would allow them to return to Gaza; the Government of Egypt did not seem inclined to permit them to settle in that country; and few other countries were willing to accept them. Some Palestinians subsequently left Kuwait for those few third countries that would allow them entry. A few were able to obtain residency privileges in the Gaza Strip under an Israeli program that granted such privileges to Palestinians who invested at least US$100,000 in the local economy. By the end of the reporting period, approximately 25,000 Palestinians remained in Kuwait.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn35" name="_ftnref35" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[35]</a></div>
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Turkmen concluded by admitting that, like his counterparts at UNHCR, UNRWA was able to do little on behalf of Palestinians remaining in Kuwait.</div>
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Worldwide Collusion</h3>
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Most of the world was silent in the face of this enormous expulsion, including Kuwait’s fellow members of the Arab League. A Palestinian observer lamented that, “You can call it deportation… But I call it the third catastrophe after 1948 and 1967. Imagine what would happen if Israel deported 300,000 people. The whole world would be up in arms. But when an Arab deports or kills his Arab brother, it’s all right; nothing happens.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn36" name="_ftnref36" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[36]</a></div>
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No resolutions were adopted by the U.N. Security Council or by the General Assembly. Not a word was heard from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People, or the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied Since 1967. All remained silent on the situation in Kuwait.</div>
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The General Assembly-established Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People did record twenty-four statements on expulsions and deportations of Palestinians during 1990-91,<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn37" name="_ftnref37" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[37]</a> but not one of these statements was about the 400,000 Palestinians deported by Kuwait. Instead, all twenty-four statements were angry protestations objecting to Israel’s deportation of four convicted Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands.</div>
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Similarly, the massive U.N. Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) contains over 30,000 text documents. But only three documents in this entire U.N. library concern the Kuwaiti expulsion. Two were complaints from the PLO concerning the mistreatment of Kuwaiti Palestinians and the third was a Kuwaiti denial of wrongdoing.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn38" name="_ftnref38" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[38]</a></div>
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Even the PLO was reluctant to fully confront Kuwait. Voice of Palestine Radio blamed the expulsions mostly on the United States: The internal “cause of the Kuwaiti campaign” against the Palestinians was Kuwait’s regrettable “clannishness,” but the real “decision to punish the Palestinians is a U.S., not a Kuwaiti, decision.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn39" name="_ftnref39" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[39]</a></div>
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The U.S. ambassador, Edward W. Gnehm, Jr., <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-09/news/mn-982_1_human-rights-abuses" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">did urge Kuwait</a> not to tolerate “hatred and prejudice” against the Palestinians “no matter how emotionally difficult it is. Kuwaitis must now champion justice and fairness for all people in Kuwait in the same way the entire world stood for those principles for Kuwaitis. To do otherwise will give Saddam Hussein a victory of evil proportions.”<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn40" name="_ftnref40" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[40]</a> But this was the only such statement from any official, and Washington did little beyond this.</div>
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A bipartisan delegation led by the majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives visited Kuwait one week after the war’s end, but only one of its members, Rep. Wayne Owens (Democrat-Utah), subsequently spoke out about mistreatment of Palestinians:</div>
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At that time of that visit, I heard stories of extrajudicial killings, of tortures and other ill treatment directed principally toward the 180,000 Palestinians remaining in Kuwait….These people are subjected to arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, and forced confessions. They are denied access to medical attention, legal counsel and family members. They are tried before Martial Law Courts without adequate time or assistance to prepare a defense.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn41" name="_ftnref41" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[41]</a></div>
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Owens made this statement at a hearing on human rights and democracy in Kuwait, at which various human rights organizations were permitted to address the Kuwaiti abuses. But the hearing received no attention from the press and led to no follow-up activity by the George H.W. Bush administration.</div>
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The U.N. Security Council did pass resolution 694 on May 24, 1991, condemning deportation of Palestinians, but the resolution was aimed at Israel for deporting the four Palestinian terrorists. Resolution 694 was one of eight separate U.N. Security Council resolutions devoted to condemning Israeli deportations, all of which ignored the fact that those deported by Israel were directly involved in terrorist acts.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn42" name="_ftnref42" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[42]</a> By contrast, the Security Council said nothing in 1991, nor at any other time, about Kuwait’s deportation of a far larger number of Palestinians, most of whom had committed no crimes.</div>
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But the height of hypocrisy was achieved by Kuwait itself. On December 22, 1992, just a year after it had expelled 400,000 innocent Palestinians, it had the temerity to send a Kuwaiti Students Union delegation to Lebanon to visit and express Kuwait’s solidarity with the four Palestinians deported by Israel, boasting that Kuwait thus became the first Arab country to show its solidarity with the Palestinian refugees.<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn43" name="_ftnref43" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[43]</a></div>
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Conclusion</h3>
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Kuwait’s ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians is notable not only because of its exponentially large scale but because it afforded the ultimate proof of the cynical Arab manipulation of the Palestinian cause. The Palestinian Kuwaiti community was arguably one of the most settled and economically integrated of Palestinian Arab diasporas, yet this did not prevent its uprooting in one fell swoop through no fault of its own. As such, the Kuwait expulsion constituted the greatest setback to the “reintegration of the refugees into the normal life of the Near East,” presented by successive U.N. resolutions as a crucial step toward Arab-Israeli peace.</div>
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<strong>Steven J. Rosen</strong> is director of the Washington Project of the Middle East Forum.</div>
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Chart Palestinian Residents in Kuwait (number and percentage of population) <a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftn44" name="_ftnref44" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[44]</a></h3>
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<tr><td>1957</td><td>15,173</td><td>7.3</td></tr>
<tr><td>1961</td><td>37,482</td><td>11.7</td></tr>
<tr><td>1965</td><td>77,712</td><td>16.6</td></tr>
<tr><td>1970</td><td>147,696</td><td>20.0</td></tr>
<tr><td>1975</td><td>204,178</td><td>20.5</td></tr>
<tr><td>1981</td><td>299,710</td><td>20.9</td></tr>
<tr><td>1990</td><td>400,000*</td><td>18.7</td></tr>
<tr><td>1995</td><td>26,000</td><td>0.01</td></tr>
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* Other estimates say 450,000</div>
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<a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[1]</a> See “<a href="http://www.badil.org/en/al-majdal/item/1511-art01" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Secondary Forced Displacement in Host Countries</a>: An Overview,” <em>BADIL Refugee Survey 2008-2009</em>, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Bethlehem, Summer-Autumn 2010.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[2]</a> Efraim Karsh, <a href="http://www.meforum.org/2875/how-many-palestinian-arab-refugees" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">“How Many Palestinian Arab Refugees Were There?”</a> <em>Israel Affairs</em>, Apr. 2011.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[3]</a> Daniel Pipes, “<a href="http://www.meforum.org/702/the-hell-of-israel-is-better-than-the-paradise" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">The Hell of Israel Is Better Than the Paradise of Arafat</a>,” <em>Middle East Quarterly</em>, Spring 2005, pp. 43-50.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[4]</a> “<a href="http://www.e.gov.kw/sites/kgoenglish/portal/Pages/Visitors/AboutKuwait/KuwaitAtaGlane_Population.aspx" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Population of Kuwait</a>,” Kuwait Government Online, accessed July 10, 2012.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[5]</a> Alex Takkenberg, <em>The Status of Palestinian Refugees in International Law</em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 158-62.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[6]</a> El-Najjar, “<a href="http://www.gulfwar1991.com/Gulf%20War%20Complete/Chapter%2010,%20Palestinians%20in%20Kuwait,%20Terror%20and%20Ethnic%20Cleansing,%20By%20Hassan%20A%20El-Najjar.htm" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Palestinians in Kuwait: Terror and Ethnic Cleansing</a>,” chap. 10.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[7]</a> Laurie Brand, <em>Palestinians in the Arab World</em> (New York: Columbia University Press 1991), p. 108.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[8]</a> El-Najjar, “<a href="http://www.gulfwar1991.com/Gulf%20War%20Complete/Chapter%2010,%20Palestinians%20in%20Kuwait,%20Terror%20and%20Ethnic%20Cleansing,%20By%20Hassan%20A%20El-Najjar.htm" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Palestinians in Kuwait: Terror and Ethnic Cleansing</a>,” chap. 10; Toufic Haddad, “<a href="http://www.badil.org/en/component/k2/item/1514-art07" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Palestinian Forced Displacement from Kuwait</a>: The Overdue Accounting,” BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Bethlehem, accessed July 3, 2012.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[9]</a> <em>USA Today</em>, July 9, 1991.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[10]</a> <em>The Washington Post,</em> July 4, 1991.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[11]</a> <em>The Guardian</em> (London), Sept. 12, 1992.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[12]</a> Associated Press, <a href="http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7653056.html" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Mar. 28, 1991</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[13]</a> Ibid., <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19910329&id=ZnYhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QokFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2727,6987682" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Mar. 29, 1991</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[14]</a> U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), A/45/1056 S/23033, <a href="http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/3A2BCB38B9CB9ABB05256802005A6942" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Sept. 13, 1991</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[15]</a> Haddad, “<a href="http://www.badil.org/en/component/k2/item/1514-art07" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Palestinian Forced Displacement from Kuwait</a>.”<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[16]</a> “Human Rights and Democracy in Kuwait,” testimony before the subcommittees on Europe and the Middle East and on Human Rights and International Organizations, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., June 11, 1991, pp. <a href="http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?view=image;size=100;id=mdp.39015039891745;page=root;seq=16;num=12" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">12</a> -5.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[17]</a> Takkenberg, <em>The Status of Palestinian Refugees in International Law</em>, pp. 158-62.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[18]</a> Shafeeq Ghabra, “<a href="http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/1457" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">The PLO in Kuwait</a>,” <em>Middle East International</em>, reprinted in <em>Green Left Weekly</em>(Melbourne, Aus.), May 8, 1991.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[19]</a> “<a href="http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/3A2BCB38B9CB9ABB05256802005A6942" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">A Victory Turned Sour</a>: Human Rights in Kuwait since Liberation,” Middle East Watch-Human Rights Watch, UNGA A/45/1056, S/23033, Sept. 13, 1991.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[20]</a> Mariam Shahin, “<a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2742/is_n223/ai_n25022075/?tag=content;col1" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Give us our due</a>,” <em>The Middle East</em> (London), May 1, 1993.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[21]</a> Computed by the author from five U.N. Compensation Commission reports: <a href="http://www.uncc.ch/decision/dec_207.pdf" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">S/AC.26/Dec.207 (2003)</a> ,<a href="http://www.uncc.ch/decision/dec_216.pdf" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">S/AC.26/Dec.216 (2004)</a> , <a href="http://www.uncc.ch/decision/dec_232.pdf" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">S/AC.26/Dec.232 (2004)</a>, <a href="http://www.uncc.ch/decision/dec_239.pdf" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">S/AC.26/Dec.239 (2005)</a>, and <a href="http://www.uncc.ch/decision/dec_247.pdf" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">S/AC.26/Dec.247 (2005)</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[22]</a> “<a href="http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/3A2BCB38B9CB9ABB05256802005A6942" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">A Victory Turned Sour</a>,” Sept. 13, 1991; “Human Rights and Democracy in Kuwait,” The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, testimony before the subcommittees on Europe and the Middle East and on Human Rights and International Organizations, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., June 11, 1991, p. 78.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[23]</a> “Human Rights and Democracy in Kuwait,” p. 78.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[24]</a> International Committee of the Red Cross, Information Dept., press statement 91/23, Mar. 24, 1991.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[25]</a> <em>The New York Times</em>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/08/world/kuwait-to-let-red-cross-act-as-mediator-in-deportations.html" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">July 8, 1991</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref26" name="_ftn26" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[26]</a> <em><a href="http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees</a></em> , UNHCR, 1951 and 1967, U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) res. 2198 (XXI): 1951 convention, art. 1, para. A (2); 1967 protocol, art. I.2, accessed June 26, 2012.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref27" name="_ftn27" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[27]</a> Chris Gunness, UNRWA spokesman, “<a href="http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1029" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Exploding the myths: UNRWA, UNHCR and the Palestine refugees,</a> ” interview, Ma’an News Agency, Jerusalem, June 27, 2011.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref28" name="_ftn28" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[28]</a> “<a href="http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c101.html" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Accepted by a Generous Host</a>,” Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accessed July 3, 2012.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref29" name="_ftn29" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[29]</a> <em>The New York Times</em>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/08/world/kuwait-to-let-red-cross-act-as-mediator-in-deportations.html" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">July 8, 1991</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref30" name="_ftn30" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[30]</a> <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/467fca5a23.html" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Human Rights Watch World Report 1992 – Kuwait</a>, Human Rights Watch, Washington, D.C., Jan. 1, 1992.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref31" name="_ftn31" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[31]</a> Sadako N. Ogata, <em>Turbulent Decade: Confronting the Refugee Crises of the 1990s</em> (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005), pp. 30-1.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref32" name="_ftn32" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[32]</a> Takkenberg, <em>The Status of Palestinian Refugees in International Law</em>, pp. 300-1.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref33" name="_ftn33" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[33]</a> Lance Bartholomeusz, “<a href="http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/db7f13669e3abfd885257501007e0e51/69d5fc6971e513fc8525773e0059cc46?OpenDocument" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">The Mandate of UNRWA at Sixty</a>,” <em>Refugee Survey Quarterly</em>, 2-3 (2009): 461.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref34" name="_ftn34" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[34]</a> Author e-mail correspondence, Nov.-Dec. 2011.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref35" name="_ftn35" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[35]</a> Report of the commissioner-general, UNRWA, <a href="http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/D726EA2CFFA9BF1B852563E10051F56F" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">July 1, 1992-June 30, 1993</a>, UNGA A/48/13 (SUPP), Jan. 19, 1995, para. 21.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref36" name="_ftn36" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[36]</a> Quoted in Donna E. Arzt, <em>Refugees into Citizens: Palestinians and the End of the Arab-Israeli Conflict</em>(Washington, D.C.: Council on Foreign Relations, 1997), p. 67.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref37" name="_ftn37" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[37]</a> “The Question of Palestine: <a href="http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/vSubject?OpenView&Start=1&Count=150&Expand=32.11#32.11" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Expulsions and deportations</a>,” U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, accessed July 3, 2012.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref38" name="_ftn38" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[38]</a> UNGA Security Council, A/45/1027, S/22732, <a href="http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/c337b58698dd721185256b410055911e?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,kuwait" style="color: #1f9ee7; outline-offset: -2px; outline: 0px;">June 24, 1991</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref39" name="_ftn39" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[39]</a> Voice of Palestine, Algiers, Aug. 30, 1991.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref40" name="_ftn40" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[40]</a> <em>Los Angles Times</em>, <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-10/news/mn-318_1_key-collaborators" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">June 10, 1991</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref41" name="_ftn41" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[41]</a> “Human Rights and Democracy in Kuwait,” p. <a href="http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?u=1&num=2&seq=3&view=image&size=100&id=mdp.39015039891745" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">2</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref42" name="_ftn42" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[42]</a> UNSC res. <a href="http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/un694.asp" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">694</a>. The others were UNSC resolutions <a href="http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/RES/607%20(1988)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">607</a>, <a href="http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/RES/608%20(1988)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">608</a>, <a href="http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/RES/636%20(1989)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">636</a>, <a href="http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/RES/641%20(1989)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">641</a>, <a href="http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/575/31/IMG/NR057531.pdf?OpenElement" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">681</a>, <a href="http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/RES/726%20(1992)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">726</a>, and <a href="http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/RES/799%20(1992)&Lang=E&Area=UNDOC" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">799</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref43" name="_ftn43" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[43]</a> <em>Arab Times</em> (Kuwait City), Dec. 22, 1992.<br /><a href="http://www.meforum.org/3391/kuwait-expels-palestinians#_ftnref44" name="_ftn44" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">[44]</a> Hassan A. El-Najjar, “<a href="http://www.gulfwar1991.com/Gulf%20War%20Complete/Chapter%2010,%20Palestinians%20in%20Kuwait,%20Terror%20and%20Ethnic%20Cleansing,%20By%20Hassan%20A%20El-Najjar.htm" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">Palestinians in Kuwait: Terror and Ethnic Cleansing</a>,” in <em><a href="http://www.gulfwar1991.com/" style="color: #005096; text-decoration: none !important;">The Gulf War</a>: Overreaction and Excessiveness</em> (Dalton, Ga.: Amazone Press, 2001), chap. 10, Table X.2</div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-60085950716442551402015-09-06T16:40:00.001-07:002015-09-06T16:40:44.340-07:00Why Was a Nazi Flag Flying from a Jerusalem Hotel FAST in the 1930s? - Jerusalem Pearl Hotel - Draiman<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">Why Was a Nazi Flag Flying from a Jerusalem </span><span style="color: red;">Hotel FAST</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> in the 1930s? - </span><span style="color: red;">Jerusalem Pearl Hotel </span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">- Draiman</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yOcF4Uyr7cBmh8u57SCsNiX85i1G6IHjtWy7_LQ6KAekJdrxJmM2b1AuHSDUowYsiq1Q6pijQN31WSNWvdH4vwH6tJKfdoRV8xLKCUtY54_siNezJjfjY08YcVtvGWCcqGEOEuYjmMRZ/s1600/Jerusalem+Pearl+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yOcF4Uyr7cBmh8u57SCsNiX85i1G6IHjtWy7_LQ6KAekJdrxJmM2b1AuHSDUowYsiq1Q6pijQN31WSNWvdH4vwH6tJKfdoRV8xLKCUtY54_siNezJjfjY08YcVtvGWCcqGEOEuYjmMRZ/s1600/Jerusalem+Pearl+11.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IsraelsHistory-APictureADaybeta/~3/R9-VEpVnsWQ/why-was-nazi-flag-flying-from-jerusalem.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 18px;">Why Was a Nazi Flag Flying from a Jerusalem </span><span style="color: red;">Hotel FAST</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 18px;"> in the 1930s?</span></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">It was replaced by </span><span style="color: blue;">The Jerusalem Pearl Hotel</span><span style="color: purple;"> </span><span style="color: red;">in 1995 by the Draiman family. </span><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">See picture at the bottom.</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Posted: 30 Aug 2015 11:11 AM PDT</span></div>
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We <a href="http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2015/08/a-major-19th-century-photo-collection.html" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">recently published</a> pictures from the British Library's<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <a href="http://eap.bl.uk/database/overview_item.a4d?catId=196125;r=6334" style="color: #009eb8; display: inline; line-height: 15.68px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Endangered Archives Program</a><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 15.68px;">, </span></span></span>including this incredible picture of Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem's Old City which we have dated to the mid-1890s. Only in 1898 was the wall near Jaffa Gate breached so that carriages could drive into the city.</div>
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvsWyDZ8w6jsiWgHRNyco4Oacn6mQigqACp89Xl-BMutJVny4IVf0AILF_R6QPvh-3zCBLE49V7Mn0YkqU1WqnrR4jzMGC14-5a6TL_GVUGjbUNeH8ioXysOfr41w6B0g107Lsd9PEc7g/s1600/BL+Bonfils+Jaffa+Gate.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #1155cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvsWyDZ8w6jsiWgHRNyco4Oacn6mQigqACp89Xl-BMutJVny4IVf0AILF_R6QPvh-3zCBLE49V7Mn0YkqU1WqnrR4jzMGC14-5a6TL_GVUGjbUNeH8ioXysOfr41w6B0g107Lsd9PEc7g/s640/BL+Bonfils+Jaffa+Gate.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://eap.bl.uk/database/overview_item.a4d?catId=196374;r=24464" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jaffa Gate</a> <span style="color: #20124d;">and A(braham) </span><span style="color: red;">Fast's restaurant.</span></span><span style="color: #20124d;"> <span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 12.544px;">(</span><em style="line-height: 12.544px;">Debbas Collection, British Library</em><span style="line-height: 12.544px;">)</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">We wanted to know more about the store on the left with the sign </span><span style="color: red;"><b>"A Fast. Restauranteur."</b></span><span style="color: #20124d;"> Was this a tourist establishment of Abraham Fast, who in 1907 took over a large hotel several hundred meters to the west of the building pictured above and renamed it </span><b><span style="color: red;">"Hotel Fast?"</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4lbkqLNayBQU3KlANOL0osTGJtyB4680PbUx6pSPXgqiRHFsS0p9zHviEQja3z13ZOucrYJkCdoLixfKWBtZ38HrYjXcCSLUIDbCBMt-s-9elGmhTnZ3nrIZ6aVs8aWKuOr9YBLLhszc/s1600/German+march+good+Friday+1.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #1155cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4lbkqLNayBQU3KlANOL0osTGJtyB4680PbUx6pSPXgqiRHFsS0p9zHviEQja3z13ZOucrYJkCdoLixfKWBtZ38HrYjXcCSLUIDbCBMt-s-9elGmhTnZ3nrIZ6aVs8aWKuOr9YBLLhszc/s400/German+march+good+Friday+1.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205082094" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">German troops</a> marching in Jerusalem on Good Friday, </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: red;">April 6, 1917. The </span></b><b><span style="color: red;">building on the left is<br />the Fast Hotel. (<i>Imperial War Museum, UK</i>)</span></b></span></td><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 13.2px;">It was a leading hotel with 100 rooms, built around a court yard with Ionic, Corinthian and Doric columns.</span><br />
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<b style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: red;">Hotel Fast and its kosher restaurant </span></b><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 13.2px;">was a well-known establishment in Jerusalem for decades, and was probably considered by many to be a Jewish-owned establishment because of its Jewish clientele.</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 13.2px;">Nothing could be further from the truth. </span><span style="color: red; font-size: 13.2px;">The Fasts were German Templers.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaM6jJf31ScoZoGQgj9fS6qzcIK-R4g02NUS9N52MfJ1czYFwPzhuoSEDKlJqw8zb1A7S77ucUAfCxkBf-TUa42k3USPZ4bIIGtulBQpkxLf7ATwPi6Pir6I4zzTZyOnia2bJ0e-b4lCS/s1600/Hotel+Fast+with+swastika.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #1155cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaM6jJf31ScoZoGQgj9fS6qzcIK-R4g02NUS9N52MfJ1czYFwPzhuoSEDKlJqw8zb1A7S77ucUAfCxkBf-TUa42k3USPZ4bIIGtulBQpkxLf7ATwPi6Pir6I4zzTZyOnia2bJ0e-b4lCS/s400/Hotel+Fast+with+swastika.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="388" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />The <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Swastika_flag_in_Jerusalem.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">German consulate</a> <span style="color: red;">in the Fast Hotel, 1933.</span><br />(<i>Wikimedia, </i><i>Tamar Hayardeni</i>)</span></b></td><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 13.2px;">They lived in Jerusalem's German Colony and were exiled by the British after World War I and during World War II because of their support for Germany.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 13.2px;">We recently uncovered pictures of German troops marching in Jerusalem streets on Good Friday 1917. Readers were able to identify the building on the left as the </span><b style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: red;">Fast Hotel.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 13.2px;">Our biggest surprise was finding this picture of the German consulate in </span><b style="font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="color: red;">the Hotel Fast</span></b><span style="color: #20124d; font-size: 13.2px;"> with the German Swastika flag flying from the building. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d;">During World War II, the hotel was taken over by the British army command and turned into the Australian army club. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEC4F0FRyYtRyOj56EOeRU9hRZnJvZRtDW3K6CNg9fgZIAWO9RpFr-f06l5uP64fIRfujmh6ssyG46XvA8bW39sjUjwn1VDudyIaNoCwXE6Xx-_HZkk6k91t7SKJnThVOwwh1S_z0ssgI/s1600/aussies+at+mystery+building.png" style="clear: right; color: #1155cc; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEC4F0FRyYtRyOj56EOeRU9hRZnJvZRtDW3K6CNg9fgZIAWO9RpFr-f06l5uP64fIRfujmh6ssyG46XvA8bW39sjUjwn1VDudyIaNoCwXE6Xx-_HZkk6k91t7SKJnThVOwwh1S_z0ssgI/s640/aussies+at+mystery+building.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 24.75px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><br />The Hotel Fast housed</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mpc2010006449/PP/" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: medium;" target="_blank">Australian soldiers</a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="color: #20124d;">in World War II. </span></span></span><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">H</span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">ere they are</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> greeting the Australian </span></span></span><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">Prime Minister Robert Menzies and the commander of the Australian troops in Australia, </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lt. Gen. Thomas Blamey in<span style="text-align: justify;"> </span>February 1941. The Matson Photo Service, shown on the ground </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">floor, was run by Eric Matson, originally </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">from the American Colony Photographic Department. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Matson left Palestine in </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1946 for the United States. His collection of photos were </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">bequeathed to the Library </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">of Congress where many of the pictures in this </span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">website were found. (<i style="line-height: 12.544px;">Library of Congress</i></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 12.544px;">) </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;">The </span><span style="color: blue;">Hotel Fast</span><span style="color: red;"> building was abandoned in 1967 and torn down in 1976 to make way for the </span><span style="color: blue;">Dan Pearl Hotel </span><span style="color: red;">- Built by the Draiman family in 1995.</span></b></span></span></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-71470279996600211772015-08-17T09:42:00.001-07:002015-08-17T09:42:08.062-07:00Supreme Muslim Council: Temple Mount is Jewish - YJ Draiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Supreme Muslim
Council: </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> is Jewish<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia;">The widely-disseminated Arab claim that the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia;"> isn't Jewish has been debunked - by the
Supreme Moslem Council (Waqf), in a 1925 pamphlet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Link to 1925 Waqf Temple Mount Guide
noting that the First and Second Jewish Temples were located on the Temple
Mount<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Click here for the 1925 </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;"> Mount Guide<br />
<a href="http://www.raptureforums.com/IsraelMiddleEast/guide.pdf"><span style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.raptureforums.com/IsraelMiddleEast/guide.pdf</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/israel.draiman" target="_blank">Israel Draiman</a> · Top Commenter · <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elected-Official/122015727844174" target="_blank">Elected Official</a> at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/City-of-Los-Angeles/191151187584611" target="_blank">City of Los Angeles</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Link to 1925 Waqf Temple Mount Guide noting that the First
and Second Jewish Temples were located on the <st1:place><st1:placetype>Temple</st1:placetype>
<st1:placename>Mount</st1:placename></st1:place><o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.templeinstitute.org%2F1925-wakf-temple-mount-guide.pdf&h=UAQEhqp1u&s=1" target="_blank">http://www.templeinstitute.org/1925-wakf-temple-mount-guide.pdf</a><br />
For Jews, the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> is the holiest place in the world. The Jewish
connection to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount originates in the biblical
narrative, as it is said to be the location of the binding of Isaac.[2] The
Talmud, Judaism’s supreme canonical text, says that the foundation stone on the
Temple Mount is the location from which the world was created.[3] In Samuel II
24:18-25, King David bought the bedrock for the Temple from Araunah the
Jebusite. Subsequently, Solomon, David’s son, used the bedrock to build the
First Temple.[4] Solomon’s </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> was eventually destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Babylon</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> in 586 BCE.<br />
Link to 1925 Waqf Temple Mount Guide noting that the First and Second Jewish
Temples were located on the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<br />
For Jews, the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> is the holiest place in the world.<br />
Following the destruction of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and Solomon’s </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, many Jews were sent into exile. However, under the
Persian King Cyrus, the Jews were allowed to return and began to rebuild the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. The </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Second</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> was completed in 516 BCE and expanded by King Herod
in 19 BCE. In 70 CE, the </span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Roman
Empire</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, led by Emperor Titus, laid siege to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and destroyed the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Second</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Jews have maintained an unbreakable connection to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, and the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> since that time.<br />
<br />
Today, Jews follow a number of different customs in remembrance of their fallen
</span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. When Jews pray, they pray toward </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Within the daily liturgy, there are numerous calls
for the rebuilding of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. During the week, after meals, Jews recite a grace,
which includes the recitation of Psalm 137 (“If I forget thee, O
Jerusalem…”).[5] At the end of a wedding ceremony, the groom breaks a glass,
which signifies the Jewish people’s continued mourning over the Temple’s
destruction. In addition, many have the custom of leaving a wall in their home
unfinished in remembrance of the destruction. All of these customs play a
significant part in the Jewish connection to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, which former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
stated “represents the purist expression of all that Jews prayed for, dreamed
of, cried for, and died for in the two thousand years since the destruction of
the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Second</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.”[6] In addition to the customs and ideology, the
Jewish connection to the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Land</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
of </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Israel</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> is internationally recognized.[7]<br />
<br />
ISLAMIC LITERATURE AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT<br />
<br />
Classic Islamic literature also recognizes the existence of a Jewish Temple and
its importance to Judaism. This makes Arab-Palestinian Temple Denial all the
more puzzling.<br />
<br />
In Sura 17:1 of the Koran, the “Farthest Mosque” is called the al-masjid
al-Aqsa. The Tafsir al-Jalalayn,[8] a well-respected Sunni exegesis of the
Koran from the 15th and 16th centuries, notes that the “Farthest Mosque” is a
reference to the Bayt al-Maqdis of Jerusalem.[9] In Hebrew, the Jewish Temple
is often referred to as the Beyt Ha-Miqdash, nearly identical to the Arabic
term. In the commentary of Abdullah Ibn Omar al-Baydawi, who authored several
prominent theological works in the 13th century, the masjid is referred to as
the Bayt al-Maqdis because during Muhammad’s time no mosque existed in
Jerusalem.[10] Koranic historian and commentator, Abu Jafar Muhammad al-Tabari,
who chronicled the seventh century Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, wrote that one
day when Umar finished praying, he went to the place where “the Romans buried
the Temple [bayt al-maqdis] at the time of the sons of Israel.”[11] In
addition, eleventh century historian Muhammad Ibn Ahmad al-Maqdisi and
fourteenth century Iranian religious scholar Hamdallah al-Mustawfi acknowledged
that the al-Aqsa Mosque was built on top of Solomon’s Temple.[12]<br />
<br />
This is a small sample of the Islamic literature attesting to the Jewish
connection to the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mount</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Innumerable other writings from other faiths attest
to this fact, as well.<br />
Link to 1925 Waqf Temple Mount Guide noting that the First and Second Jewish
Temples were located on the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Temple</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Mount<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span>YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-45434357220368216762015-07-24T11:45:00.001-07:002015-07-24T11:45:23.301-07:00The uninformed people about Israel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_T2fRiVFCj-FNqUKG6NC07GiQ9HRTzpYw1M6m1BDHEus58xCYh_7SUmhhNmEvse9uP7S8oRXpaMS20yKQcW331da9SYQxJgmEwmtBqd0fUMDjwHg-eG_B1jmabnFAuQIj-JgyMQoi-MNV/s1600/balfour_btn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_T2fRiVFCj-FNqUKG6NC07GiQ9HRTzpYw1M6m1BDHEus58xCYh_7SUmhhNmEvse9uP7S8oRXpaMS20yKQcW331da9SYQxJgmEwmtBqd0fUMDjwHg-eG_B1jmabnFAuQIj-JgyMQoi-MNV/s1600/balfour_btn.png" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The uninformed people about Israel</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Many uninformed
people seem to think that </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> was a pity gift, given by </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Europe</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> to the Jews because of the Holocaust.
The new and additional influx of Jewish people to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> started in the mid to early 1800 after
the Ottoman Rulers modified its existing laws to stimulate the development of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">. The </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ottoman Empire</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> owned over 90% of the land in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">. Some of the land was leased to the
Arabs as sharecroppers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">This is simply
not true. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> traces it’s legal start to many years
before Nazism. It is my belief that very few Zionists know the whole story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">The country of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> was actually created peacefully long
before 1947, and long before the Holocaust. The land was not stolen by Jews, or
conquered with blood by Jews. The land in question was part of the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ottoman Empire</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> and was lost by the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ottoman Empire</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> in WW 1 (transferred </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> to Allied control under the Sevres and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lausanne</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Treaties)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Allied
Powers at the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">San Remo</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> conference in 1920 which incorporated the 1917 Balfour
Declaration. The Treaty in essence returned the land to it rightful Nation, the
Jewish People. This was voted on at the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">San Remo</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> conference by </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> (David Lloyd George), France (Alexandre
Millerand) and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Italy</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> (Francesco Nitti) and by </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Japan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">’s Ambassador K. Matsui and this was
confirmed by the 1920 Treaty of Sevres and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lausanne</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">. The rest of the world voted for this
at the Anglo-American Convention (1924) and all the world powers at the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">League of Nations</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">. The United Nations accepted this in
full when they opened their door and replaced the </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">League of Nations</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">The </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">League of Nations</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> passed numerous resolutions (but none
of the resolutions can abrogate or modify international treaties). So you might
hear about secret meetings between countries and all kinds of conspiracies.
However none of those meetings had the right, or the status to make resolutions
that were binding in international law. The </span><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">League of Nations</span></st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> was the predecessor of the UN Security
Council.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">It was
recognized in 1922 that the Jews were the indigenous people of the land. There
was a legal binding international commitment to the Jewish people, based on the
‘historical connection of the Jewish people to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> and the grounds for reconstituting
their national home there,’ a commitment which has never been revoked. There
has been a continuous Jewish presence in that land for more than 3500 years.
Over a million Jewish families who lived in Arab countries for over 2500 years
were expelled from the Arab countries, their assets, businesses, homes and land
was confiscated, majority of those expelled families from Arab countries resettled
in Israel, today they consist over half the population in the State of Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">The British as
trustee for the Jewish people under the Mandate for </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: #003300; font-size: 14.0pt;"> violated many of the terms and that is
why we are in the mess and conflict of today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-84823647905895215142015-07-24T11:00:00.002-07:002015-07-24T12:11:30.560-07:00“Four Facts That Everyone Should Know About the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICR_spF3tnngZmXOjSs6dVjM7sGH0D2eLbDu8LVnS44MJXiwAf1gJQzBH5PeT0oqivPhAV2mZ1ydeX9KmR5Mroph5W9jjwL8K4vqmWi2-7YwyRiy7gIGAIvMNuhQnNfo39CnuwIlFoc20/s1600/0000+British+mandate+-israel-3+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICR_spF3tnngZmXOjSs6dVjM7sGH0D2eLbDu8LVnS44MJXiwAf1gJQzBH5PeT0oqivPhAV2mZ1ydeX9KmR5Mroph5W9jjwL8K4vqmWi2-7YwyRiy7gIGAIvMNuhQnNfo39CnuwIlFoc20/s320/0000+British+mandate+-israel-3+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Four Facts That Everyone Should Know About
the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></b>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">#1: </span></b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">The
challenger acknowledges that our first fact, “The Jews never left,” is
“factually correct,” but calls “highly tendentious” our “conclusion” that
“according to scholars, this gave the Zionists ‘real title deeds.'” The
challenger asks, “And what kind of ‘scholars’ [in quotes] are referred to?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">The main scholar [no quotes]
referred to is respected British historian and theologian James Parkes, who
wrote on page 266 of “Whose Land? A History of the Peoples of Palestine” that
although the Zionists are fond of citing the Maccabees and Bar Kochba, “their
REAL TITLE DEEDS” [emphasis added] were written by the less dramatic but
equally heroic endurance of those who had maintained a Jewish presence in The
Land all through the centuries, and in spite of every discouragement.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Samuel Katz, quoting this
very passage of Parkes’ “Whose Land?” in his important work “Battleground” (2d
ed., xv-xvi), lamented as an “astonishing area of Jewish neglect … the gap
between what is generally known and the facts of the continuity of Jewish life
in Palestine since the destruction of the Second Temple.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">#2:</span></b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> Our
challenger dismisses our second fact, “Who are the Palestinians? Us,” which we
cast as a rebuttal to Palestinian Arabs’ claim of Canaanite descent, by
labeling our “arguing about whether Jewish or Arab inhabitants of Israel are
descended from the prehistoric Canaanites” as “surely a fruitless quest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Eminent archeologists, for
scientific, not political, purposes, don’t regard the quest “fruitless.” They
seriously debate whether the Israelites, first identified in the land c. 1200
BCE, had “Conquest” or “Indigenous Origin” roots. Finkelstein &
Silberman, respected members of the latter camp, wrote in “The Bible Unearthed”
(p. 118): “The early Israelites were – irony of ironies – themselves originally
Canaanites!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Regarding our citations of
Palestinian Jews’ use of “Palestine” and “Palestinian” in reference to
themselves and their institutions in the 20th century, versus Arabs’ avoidance
of the term during much of that span, our challenger does not contest our
citations but simply calls “the question of ethnic continuity” and “the
political question of which groups have described themselves as Palestinian”
as “confusingly mixed.” On the contrary, such 20th century respective use and
avoidance of the term “Palestinian” is part and parcel of the Jews’ real title
deeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">#3:</span></b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> Our
challenger contests our objections to both of the terms “</span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">West Bank</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">” and “</span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">East Jerusalem</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">.” He says “talking about </span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Judea</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">
and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Samaria</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">” other than in an historical context “assumes a
certain outcome of any peace settlement.” But what of the term “</span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">West Bank</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">,” which Israeli Amb. Yoram Ettinger wrote in Israel Hayom (</span><st1:date day="16" month="12" year="2011"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">12/16/11</span></st1:date><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">) was conjured in 1950 by the Jordanian occupation “to
assert Jordanian rule and to expunge Jewish connection to the cradle of Jewish
history”? He pointed out that until 1950, Ottoman, British and prior records
referenced “</span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Judea</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Samaria</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">” [as did the U.N.’s own 1947 partition resolution]
and not “the </span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">West Bank</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">We plead guilty to our
challenger’s indictment that our article “seems to be suggesting” that
Jerusalem’s Jewish rule in ancient times, current [since the mid-1800’s] Jewish
majority population, and that “Arabs have not controlled Jerusalem since 1099
and even then were not local Arabs,” combine to “justify” Israeli rule of the
city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">#4:</span></b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> Our
challenger acknowledges our fourth fact, “The Arab-Jewish Conflict created more
Jewish than Arab Refugees,” to be a statement that “may well be true,” but
asserts that the import of this fact is somehow dissipated by “the massacre of
Arab villagers at Deir Yassin by a Jewish extremist group.” What happened to
Arabs at Deir Yassin is contested and rightly so, as per testimony of many
Arabs who witnessed the battle and testified to the truth, while what happened
to Jews at Hebron, Jerusalem and countless other places in the land of Israel
and Arab lands throughout the centuries, including the mid-twentieth century,
is not. The Arabs who left tiny </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> are remembered, while the greater number (about a
million Jewish families) of Israel-absorbed Jewish refugees from vast Arab and
other Muslim lands, forcibly expelled leaving property and businesses behind,
are forgotten. Nor is it remembered that in instances, as at </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Haifa</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, Jews made significant pleas to Arabs who were
fleeing at the urging of the invading armies of the Arab states’ while Jews urging
them to stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">We began our “Four Facts”
article: “Most Westerners, including many Jews, are unaware of four fundamental
facts about the Jewish homeland of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> that would greatly increase their support for the
Jewish State.” The letter forwarded by reader Cohen shows how deeply
misunderstanding of these facts prejudices perceptions of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">Jerusalem</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">, </span></b><st1:place><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">Judea</span></b></st1:place><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">
and </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">Samaria</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;"> and other lands in Greater Israel is Jewish territory - No annexation is required<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">If anything it may need to be
re-incorporated or re-patriated. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">Let me pose an interesting scenario. If you
had a country and it was conquered by foreign powers over a period of time.
After many years you have taken back you country and land in various defensive
wars. Do you have to officially annex those territories. It was always your
territory and by retaking control and possession of your territory it is again
your original property and there is no need to annex it. The title to your
property is valid today as it was many years before.<br />
Annexation only applies when you are taking over territory that was never yours
to begin with, just like some European countries annexed territories of other
countries.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">YJ Draiman<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Jews hold title
to the </span></b></span><st1:place><st1:placetype><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">Land</span></b></st1:placetype><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">
of </span></b><st1:placename><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">Greater Israel</span></b></st1:placename></st1:place><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">
even if outnumbered a million to one.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">The fact that more foreigners than Jews occupied the </span></b><st1:place><st1:placetype><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">Land</span></b></st1:placetype><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">
of </span></b><st1:placename><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">Israel</span></b></st1:placename></st1:place><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">
during certain periods of time does not diminish true ownership. If my house is
invaded by a family ten times larger that mine does that obviate my true
ownership? </span></b></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-83686557910160328722015-07-24T10:54:00.001-07:002015-07-24T10:57:11.111-07:00Israel must stay united and determined to preserve and maintain an unparalleled security at all cost r4 - YJ Draiman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPnMaInI3JBo8fz-FRBRuVdFzlGxEA4C_l4xAlo3TnYYOv14XQcAJjHc7lVdPjnNYtMp21FMB9LmjnBZyrBRkGB6Skei6eyVkJlEEuwxToYGrlEhsa__SLmfi9V8DBp5Su-IzKVp6XYil/s1600/united_we_stand_divide_jerusalem_we_fall_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPnMaInI3JBo8fz-FRBRuVdFzlGxEA4C_l4xAlo3TnYYOv14XQcAJjHc7lVdPjnNYtMp21FMB9LmjnBZyrBRkGB6Skei6eyVkJlEEuwxToYGrlEhsa__SLmfi9V8DBp5Su-IzKVp6XYil/s320/united_we_stand_divide_jerusalem_we_fall_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<st1:country-region><st1:place><b><span style="color: #008a17; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 24.0pt;">Israel</span></b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b><span style="color: #008a17; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> must stay
united and determined to preserve and maintain an unparalleled security at all
cost </span></b><b><span style="color: #008a17; font-family: Calibri;">r4</span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">In order to develop
and maintain a robust economy that is able to withstand violence and political
pressure, it is imperative that Israelis be united and stay united. Only
an exceedingly strong, unified government will drive the country's security and
safety up, and at the same time, drive the price of basic staples down.
One of the most important steps toward a robust economy is for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> to develop its'
energy resources and to become energy independent.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> must be a
country that will be able to stand up to anti-Israel propaganda, to rising
worldwide anti-Semitism, to the political pressure and the constant
de-legitimization and demonization of the nation state of the Jewish people.
Remember, a unified and strong </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> means a strong
and undeterred entire Jewish nation with the ability to support the country and
its citizens, and provide a safe haven for Jews worldwide.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">We have a country to
sustain and protect from external and internal enemies. We have a country to
protect from the barrages of rockets and missiles that can reach every corner
of the country. We have to protect our citizens from suicide bombers, terror
and violence. We need a country that can stand up, with dignity and pride, to
world pressure. It is imperative to be united especially at time of war,
conflict and a growing hostile world. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">But </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> must also be
united to sustain and achieve its continued survival, peace and prosperity.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">As such, I
advocate that the citizens of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> be smart in
their exercise of political power. Israeli citizens must demand, with
resolve, from their elected politicians to deliver on their promises to keep
the country strong and safe. Israelis must not let </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> be weakened
under the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">'s new "5th
column" or the political Left, whether it is the High Court or other
entities. Furthermore, Israelis should no longer tolerate the politicians, the
media, or even other citizens who delude themselves and refuse to accept
reality based upon facts, harsh truth, and past history.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israelis must fight
for the soul of our country. We must fight for our heritage and our Jewish
cause, which is for a nationalist, political, and cultural movement which
supports the continual development of the Jewish homeland in the ancestral
territory defined as the historic </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Land</span></st1:placetype><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="color: #5133ab; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">. The education
system must provide in its curriculum the study of the bible and Jewish
history.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">All Israeli politicians
and leaders must understand, any and all internal conflict which leads to
divisiveness weakens </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">. If they really care
about </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> as well as its
people and want </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> to survive in
these difficult times, they must unify in a common cause and work together to
enhance </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">'s safety and security.
They must learn how to overcome their differences, for the sake of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> and its people.
Any elected or appointed leader, politician or official that pursues
divisiveness and continues to incite conflict does not belong in a position to
govern or represent </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> and its people.
The self-serving agendas of the individual or party, which does not promote
unity must stop immediately. The future of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> depends on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">"Israel - United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not
split into factions which have got to destroy that unification upon which our
existence hangs".</span></b><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Here is a viable
alternative: re-create the historical two Jewish entities which followed King
Solomon. At that time Greater Israel was one Jewish entity,
and </span><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Judea</span></st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Samaria</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> was the second
Jewish entity. For example, this template would allow the citizens of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> the choice of living
in the entity which strictly adheres to Jewish tradition and culture, or, they
can live in the other entity which does not strictly adhere to said tradition.
The end result would be a much needed unity in the common purpose of
maintaining the security and prosperity of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> regardless of
differences. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Without total unity of
all Israelis, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;"> will be subjected to
follow the historical path of many nations which existed before, and now, no
longer exist.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">YJ Draiman</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">\<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="ecxmsonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 16.2pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 15.95pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18.0pt;">"A HOUSE DIVIDED
AGAINST ITSELF CANNOT STAND". Abraham Lincoln, 1858.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-41114351580641930632015-07-20T02:31:00.001-07:002015-07-20T02:31:01.096-07:00King Solomon's treasures revealed: Newly translated Hebrew text lists legendary riches - including the Ark of the Covenant<br />
<h1 style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
King Solomon's treasures revealed: Newly translated Hebrew text lists legendary riches - including the Ark of the Covenant</h1>
<ul style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">'</span><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">Treatise of the Vessels’ suggests artefacts were hidden in the Middle East</span></span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">Text was meant for entertainment rather than a guide to treasure's location</span></span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">Treasures mentioned include </span><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">musical instruments made of gold, ornaments from the Garden of Eden and various precious religious stones</span></b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;"></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="author-section byline-plain" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
By <a class="author" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Ellie+Zolfagharifard" rel="nofollow" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">ELLIE ZOLFAGHARIFARD</a></div>
<div class="byline-section" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-published" style="font-size: 0.9em;"><span class="article-timestamp-label" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">PUBLISHED:</span> 11:41 EST, 9 January 2014 </span>| <span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated" style="font-size: 0.9em;"><span class="article-timestamp-label" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">UPDATED:</span> 07:42 EST, 10 January 2014</span><a class="comments-count home" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2536549/King-Solomons-treasures-revealed-Newly-translated-Hebrew-text-lists-legendary-riches-including-Ark-Covenant.html#comments" style="color: #004db3; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; font-size: 1.2em; height: 40px; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 1px 0px 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; width: inherit;"></a></div>
<div class="count-text" style="display: inline !important; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10px; margin-left: 6px; margin-top: -1px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-align: right; width: 90px;">
s</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">A real life Indiana Jones has uncovered details about King Solomon's riches in a newly translated Hebrew text.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But treasure hunters may have to wait a bit longer as, unlike the film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ details about the exact location of these treasures are unclear.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Rather than a guide to lost treasure, the newly translated ‘Treatise of the Vessels’ was a legendary story written in Biblical times that was meant to entertain.</span></div>
<div class="artSplitter" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<img alt="The Ark of the Covenant is a gilded case believed to have been constructed nearly 3,000 years ago" class="blkBorder img-share" height="467" id="i-ab5e0e80" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/09/article-2536549-1A86C08C00000578-473_634x467.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-1" style="margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
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The Ark of the Covenant is a gilded case believed to have been constructed nearly 3,000 years ago</div>
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<b>TREASURES DESCRIBED IN THE TREATISE OF THE VESSELS</b></h3>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Ark of the Covenant</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Tabernacle - According to the Hebrew Bible, this was a portable dwelling where God chose to meet his people</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Musical instruments made of gold</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Ornaments from the Garden of Eden</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">77 golden tables of the Bread of the Presence - bread placed on a special table as an offering to God</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Silver trumpets</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The clothing of the high priest</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Thousands of garments of regular priests</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Gems from the 'Celestial Pavement', or Heaven</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The text, translated by Professor James Davila from St Andrews University, suggests the artefacts from King Solomon's temple were tucked away in various places throughout the Middle East.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It lists a number of treasures including the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, musical instruments made of gold, ornaments from the Garden of Eden and various precious religious stones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It describes: '77 tables of gold, and their gold was from the walls of the Garden of Eden that was revealed to Solomon, and they radiate like the radiance of the sun and moon, which radiate the height of the world.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'The number of stones was forty-six thousands and the number of pearls was the same...seven curtains of fold in which was collected twelve thousands talents of gold and the vestments of the Levites and their belts.'</span></div>
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The Hebrew text claiming to reveal the location of King Solomans hidden treasure and the fate of the Ark of the Covenant. The oldest confirmed example of the treatise, which survives to present day, is from a book published in Amsterdam in 1648 called 'Emek Halachah'</div>
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A modern-day Indiana Jones has uncovered details about the fate of the Ark of Covenant (pictured in this stone carving) in a newly translated Hebrew text</div>
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<b>THE ARK OF THE COVENANT</b></h3>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Ark of the Covenant is a legendary gilded case believed to have been constructed nearly 3,000 years ago.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">According to biblical text, the Ark holds the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses by God. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It was housed in King Solomon's Temple, which contained a variety of different treasures.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In the Book of Exodus, the Ark is a box made from a of wood generally translated as acacia, covered in gold. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The top surface of the Ark is decorated with two cherubim, or angels, who crouch facing each other with wings outstretched, forming a seat. Some say God himself occupies that seat, while the Ark served as a footstool.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">When King Solomon’s Temple was captured and destroyed by the Babylonians in 597 and 586 B.C., the coveted artefact disappeared forever.</span></b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><b>Some of the treasures were hidden in Israel and Babylonia, while others were delivered into the hands of the angels Shamshiel, Michael and Gabriel. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘The text tells us no more about where the Ark and other treasures might be than if you watched the film,’ Professor Davila told MailOnline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘But it does provide some interesting insights into Jewish legends in the Middle Ages….Mostly it tells us ways in which people understood the Bible that are not part of official interpretation.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Ark of the Covenant is a legendary gilded case believed to have been constructed nearly 3,000 years ago.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">According to biblical text, the Ark holds the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses by God. It was housed in King Solomon's Temple, which contained a variety of different treasures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But when King Solomon’s Temple was captured and destroyed by the Babylonians in 597 and 586 B.C., the coveted artefact disappeared forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Archaeologists are still unsure whether Ark was captured, destroyed or hidden, and many have searched for it throughout the centuries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The text, which dates back at least as far back as the 15th century, says the ‘treasures were concealed by a number of Levites and prophets.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘Some of these (treasures) were hidden in various locations in the Land of Israel and in Babylonia, while others were delivered into the hands of the angels Shamshiel, Michael, Gabriel and perhaps Sariel,’ he writes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The writer of the text draws on traditional methods of scriptural explanation to explain where the treasures might have been hidden.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But there are a number of inconsistencies in the text. For example, in the prologue it states that Shimmur the Levite and his companions hid the treasures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Later on the text mentions the treasures being in the keeping of, or hidden by, Shamshiel and other angels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘I believe the author looked at various legends without much concern about making them consistent,’ said Professor Davila.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">He added that the treatise is similar in some ways to the metallic ‘Copper Scroll,’ one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found near the site of Qumran in the West Bank.</span></div>
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<b>WHO WAS THE LEGENDARY KING SOLOMON?</b></h3>
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King Solomon</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">King Solomon has fascinated historians, scholars and treasure hunters for centuries.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Some have been drawn to his poetry, others to his tales of wisdom - and many to the tales of his phenomenal wealth.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Although the only accounts of him come from the Bible, many historians believe he was a real and immensely powerful figure.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The son of King David - of the David and Goliath story - and Queen Bathsheba, he was the third King of Israel and ruled for 40 years, between 965BC and 925BC.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">During his reign, Israel was at the heart of a prosperous and stable empire.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">H</span><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">e rebuilt Jerusalem, creating magnificent palaces and fortresses, and also built the first temple to store the Ark of the Covenant.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">His life was extravagant. The Book of Kings reveals he had 700 wives, including the daughter of a pharoah and 300 concubines. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Old Testament also reveals how he was visited by the Queen of Sheba, who was so impressed by his wealth that she arrived on camel with spices, gifts and tons of gold.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">According to Bible, he was a prolific writer, composing 1,005 songs and 3,000 proverbs.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Many are still in use, with the expression 'pride comes before a fall' based on one of his sayings.</span></b></div>
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Indiana Jones, right, carries away the glistening Ark of the Covenant in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark by Steven Spielberg</div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Copper Scroll, which dates back around 1,900 years, shows several ‘striking parallels’ with the newly translated treatise, Professor Davila said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The treatise says that the treasures from Solomon's Temple were recorded ‘on a tablet of bronze,’ a metal like the Copper Scroll.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Copper scroll also discusses the location of hidden treasure, although not from Solomon's Temple. Professor Davila said this might reveal a tradition of inscribing lists of treasures on metal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The oldest confirmed example of the treatise, which survives to present day, is from a book published in Amsterdam in 1648 called ‘Emek Halachah.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">However, Professor Davila is the first to translate the text into English.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5px;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2536549/King-Solomons-treasures-revealed-Newly-translated-Hebrew-text-lists-legendary-riches-including-Ark-Covenant.html#ixzz3gQFmP21K" style="color: #003399; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2536549/King-Solomons-treasures-revealed-Newly-translated-Hebrew-text-lists-legendary-riches-including-Ark-Covenant.html#ixzz3gQFmP21K</a><br />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@MailOnline on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">DailyMail on Facebook</a></span>YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-18224268645520089362015-07-20T02:22:00.002-07:002015-07-20T02:26:16.655-07:00Visiting Israel<br />
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<span class="wsite-text wsite-headline">Visiting Israel</span></h2>
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<span class="wsite-text wsite-headline-paragraph">On this page I am going to include some general information on travel to Israel which I hope might be useful if you are interested in a visit. I also am going to include some information on our trips to Israel. After all it's my site and I can put here whatever I want! OK, enough with the attitude, but I do hope you might have some interest in what I've included here.<br /><br /><em style="position: relative;">This picture is an aerial view of Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. No, I didn't take this one - I "borrowed" it from the Internet. It was much better than mine!</em></span></div>
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<em style="position: relative;">(Travel information last updated: November 22, 2014)</em></div>
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I am no travel expert but what I have presented here are some things we learned on our travels and some things researched from the Internet. My wife and I have been to Israel a number of times. Our first two trips were with Christian ministry tours, in 2008 with New Day Ministries and in 2011 with Bridges for Peace. Both were excellent trips. If you want to see pictures from these trips, I have PowerPoints from the 2008 trip and video's from the 2011 trip. Go to our <a href="http://users.eastlink.ca/~rodcorkum/travel.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" title=""><u>Travel</u></a> page and follow the links there. We recently went on our own this time for two weeks of vacation entirely in Jerusalem in September 2014. In addition My wife visited Israel in 2012 and again to Jerusalem for a month in 2013. So together we have accumulated a bit of knowledge on Israel travel.</div>
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So, would you like to visit Israel?</h2>
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OK, that's the easy question. If you're interested in this web site the answer is probably "yes".<br />
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The next question is a little more complicated. Are you ready to seriously consider making the trip? That means that you have given the matter more thought and you have the time (usually the easier part) and are financially able (often the more difficult<br />
part). If the answer is still "yes", then I hope you will find what follows here to be of some value to you in researching and planning your trip. For some it may be a chance in a lifetime trip. For others you may be fortunate enough to be able to return again. In either case, you will find it a trip you will always remember. (Even if the answer now is "no", I hope you will still find some of this page of interest.)</div>
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So assuming the answers are still a "yes", question number three then is to decide how you prefer to travel. Would you prefer to travel with a group on a tour where the itinerary is all prearranged for you? Or are you a seasoned traveler and are comfortable traveling on your own to a foreign country? We started out definitely in the "tour" category but now we are a little more confident on our own - at least traveling to Israel!<br />
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What follows is sort of a random mix of information which I hope will be a little helpful however I strongly recommend that you use the power of Google to do your own research. There is a vast wealth of information, pictures, etc. on the Internet.<br />
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<em style="position: relative;">* Some of this information based on the assumption that you are traveling from Canada.</em></div>
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If you are thinking about visiting Israel, one question I'm sure you will ask is "Is it save to visit Israel?" We say a resounding "YES" to that question. There are incidents of Palestinian violence reported in the media but what you do not hear in the media is that these incidents are not happening in the areas where the tourists normally go. If you are with a tour group, you will not be taken to any unsafe areas. If you go on your own, the normal tourist areas are safe - we recommend you do not go into East Jerusalem or Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank".) I recommend if you have any concerns, <u><a href="http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/25483/come-israel-davka-now/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=d0bf203dde-BIN+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-d0bf203dde-83511621#XFl2whtZPkWjM0w3.97" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">please read this article</a></u> published in December.</div>
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<a href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/visiting-israel---with-a-tour.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" title="">Visit Israel With a Tour</a><span style="font-size: medium;"> - Click this link for more information on this topic.</span></h2>
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<a href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/visiting-israel---on-your-own.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;">Visit Israel On Your Own</a> <span style="font-size: medium;">- Click this link for more information on this topic.</span></h2>
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Basic Israel Travel Information</h2>
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Passports, Visas, Health, Medications, Safety and Security, Weather, Water, Time and Opening Hours and Public Holidays, Communications<br />
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<a href="http://www.keshetisrael.co.il/trips/private/individuals/27-israel-information" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Keshet - The Center for Educational Tourism in Israel</strong></a> - This is an organization in Israel that offers local tourism however this page on their site has some useful information on many of the topics mentioned above all conveniently located on one page.<br />
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<a href="http://www.goisrael.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>www.goisrael.com</strong></a> - This is the official web site of the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Select "USA/Canada" in the language box, then the "Before You Go" tab and there is much useful information on the left menu for potential travellers. Check out the other tabs also. </div>
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/TOGk58fCQ4A" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The Israel App</a></strong> (2:22) - "Download Israel App for a fantastic resource on your iPad or iPhone before, during, and after your trip! You can plan your trip before you go—Israel App is the ultimate reference and trip planner. While you're in Israel, the app always knows what's around you, enriching your experience like nothing else on the market. When you come back it's the perfect multimedia memento for reliving your visit."<br />
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This app is completely free. I have downloaded this to my iPad and it's great even if you're not going to Israel. It includes many, many sites (a lot that I'm sure you've never heard of) and each has a few pictures, a text description, and an audio narration of the text ... sort of your own tour guide. It's great. However it seems to be difficult to find the app. While I did not use it extensively on our recent trip in September 2014 I did learn about some additional useful features in it. For instance, if your mobile device has GPS enabled, the Israel App's map will show you your exact location and it will also then indicate which sites are nearby.<br />
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If you have an Android phone or tablet, you can get that version from Google Play <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.israelapp.israelapp&hl=en" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">here</a>.<br />
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When I searched for it on my iPad using the "App Store" I could not find it. The only way I found it was to go to <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/tr/app/israel-app-gps-travel-tour/id680338281?mt=8#" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">this iTunes web page</a>on my PC and click the "View In iTunes" button. It opened in iTunes where you can then download to your computer and then sync it to your iPad or iPhone.<br />
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<strong>City Walk</strong> - Here is another useful app for your mobile device. This app has maps, information on things to see, shopping, restaurants, etc. There are versions available for over 470 cities so would be useful on all your travels. I have the app for Jerusalem on my iPad (Tel Aviv and Haifa also available for Israel.) The "Lite" versions are all free however the map that is included in the free version is somewhat limited in detail. I decided that I wanted a better map for Jerusalem so I spent the extra $5 to download the full version which includes a much better map. Look for City Walk where you download your apps. The GPS also works well in the map on this app. For more information check out the web site at <a href="http://www.gpsmycity.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.gpsmycity.com</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/48vH3R1iVrg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Come Find Israel in You</strong> </a>(0:32) - Very short tourism video produced by the Israel Ministry of Tourism for the North American tourism market.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/fnUgjPL2Qn0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Vacationing in Israel</a></strong> (1:59) - Just in case I haven't yet convinced you, listen to Yishai Fleisher explain why you should vacation in Israel.</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/6NmVE8VYPjk" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" title=""><strong>Landing at Ben Gurion Airport</strong><u> </u></a>(7:58) - If you haven't flown to Israel, picture yourself on this plane during the approach to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.<br />
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No I did not shoot this video. I found it on YouTube and the poster does not identify himself however this was also a flight from Canada (in 2010) so it's fairly safe to assume he's a fellow Canadian. Unfortunately he was sitting just over the wing on the left side but he still managed to get some good shots from the windows during the approach and landing.</div>
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<a href="http://www.seaofgalileeworshipboats.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Sea of Galilee Worship Boats </strong></a>- One of the highlights of a tour to Israel is sailing on the Sea of Galilee. There are various tour boats but there is only one Christian owned and operated tour boat company. Daniel Carmel, owns and operates two boats appropriately named "Faith" and "Hope" which sail out of Tiberias. We sailed with him on "Faith" both in 2008 and 2011. He is a fantastic singer / songwriter. The trip lasts about an hour and in the middle, he stops the boat and we just drift for a time while he sings some of his songs accompanied on the keyboard by Rami Zarhin. (For more information on Daniel's music, see the entry on the <a href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/music-of-israel.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" title="">Music of Israel</a> page.)<br />
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In 2008, we began our morning with a sail from Tiberias and ended at Ginosar where we continued out tour. In 2011, we ended the day with a sail about 5:00 PM leaving and returning to Tiberias. Being the last sail of the day, we appear to have gotten some extra time as it lasted about 1-1/2 hours. Here is a short video sampler from the trip. This was in February so it got dark not long after we left the dock, which made video a bit difficult.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/viehome.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Virtual Israel Experience</a></strong> - This site, part of the Jewish Virtual Library web site, contains a wealth of interesting information about visiting Israel. Click on "Enter the Holy Land" and follow the links from there.<br />
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<span class="wsite-text wsite-headline-paragraph">On this page you will find links that will take you to many web sites that contain a wealth of information on Israel. There is a variety of content so read the notes by each link for a summary of the site.<br /><br /><em style="position: relative;">This is a view of the Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes, near Tabgha taken during out tour in 2008. This is a traditional site for Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.</em></span></div>
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<a href="http://blog.judaicawebstore.com/66-fun-facts-about-israel/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>66 Fun Facts About Israel</strong></a> - In 2014, Israel is 66 years old so this article lists 66 interesting facts.</div>
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<a href="http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48951136.html?s=mpw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Age of the Universe</strong></a> - Have you ever wondered how the Bible says the world is less than 6,000 years old but science claims it is maybe 16 billion years? This article presents a biblical interpretation of how both can be true at the same time. WARNING - the more you read the deeper this subject gets so pay close attention.</div>
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<a href="http://www.aish.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Aish.com</strong></a> - The world's largest Jewish content web site. The organization is based at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem. There is much variety of content so look around a bit. Have a look at these pages: <br />
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<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.aish.com/sp/so/Marked_for_Eternity.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Marked For Eternity</u></a> - A true "Jewish" story from the Titanic's ill-fated voyage.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.aish.com/ho/i/Inside_the_Nuremberg_Mind.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Inside the Nuremburg Mind</u></a> - As a young German Jewish soldier, Howard Triest witnessed unusual intimate encounters with evil.</li>
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<strong><a href="http://amazingdiscoveries.org/11.11.22-solomons-temple-biblical-temple-exhibit" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Amazing Model of Herod's Temple</a></strong> - This retired British farmer who passed away at age 80 in 2010 built this amazing<br />
model. You can imagine all the work that he put into it over the years. <em style="position: relative;">[If for some reason that link doesn't work, use <a href="http://stmark2005.com/rod/Temple_Model.pdf" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>this one</u></a>.]</em></div>
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<a href="http://www.biblewalks.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Bible Walks</strong></a> - This has got to be one of the best web sites to view points of interest in Israel.</div>
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<a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/1349828/jewish/Jewish-Music.htm" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Chabad.org Jewish Music page</strong></a> - I haven't looked at much of this yet but it looked like possibly an interesting link to various Israeli music videos.</div>
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<a href="http://www.nertamid.ca/shalom.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Congregation Ner Tamid</strong></a> - A Messianic Jewish congregation in Halifax. We know Rabbi Avner and Pastor Leah Solomon and have visited their Shabbat service a few times. If you're not local, you can also "attend" their service via Internet - see the Internet link on the web site.</div>
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<a href="http://www.davidsstar.net/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>David's Star</strong></a> - Here is a new magazine with interesting articles about Israel. The first issue was just published in June. You can read all issues on <strong><u><a href="http://www.joomag.com/magazine/david-s-star/M0028655001398917802" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">this site</a></u></strong>.</div>
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<a href="http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Digital Dead Sea Scrolls</strong></a> - A web site where you can view some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.</div>
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<strong>Feast of Tabernacles</strong> - A 7-day festival known as Sukkot in Israel celebrated in September or October following Yom Kippur. See Wikipedia for more information. However for Christians during this time, the <a href="http://int.icej.org/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>International Christian Embassy Jerusalem </u></a>(ICEJ) holds a major celebration attended by many Christians from various countries. This is a BIG event - approximately 71,500 people in 2013 and contributed about $15 million to the Israeli economy. Here are two excellent videos showing portions of the celebrations from <a href="http://youtu.be/WjdetBBMtik" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>2008</u> </a>(9:59) and <a href="http://youtu.be/992Gh5IqIkg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>2010</u></a> (13:15).</div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.abrock.com/Greece-Turkey/FootstepsIntro.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Footsteps of Paul</a></strong> - Follow a group of travellers as they travel to the places that Paul visited on his journeys. (1998)</div>
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<a href="http://goldharschool.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Goldhar School</strong></a> - Their slogan is the "Fastest Jewish Education on Earth". This site has a number of short "crash course" videos on various subjects - Torah, Jewish History, Holidays, Tradition. The site is a work in progress - some videos are still to come.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israelupclose.org/stories.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Up Close</strong></a> - This web site bills itself as "news beyond the headlines" and this Stories page contains a long list of videos on many subjects. You might find some of them of interest.</div>
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<a href="http://www.jerusalem360.co.il/eng/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Jerusalem 360</strong></a> - A very interesting 360 degree panorama view of Jerusalem with drill downs for more information at various locations.</div>
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<a href="http://jerusalem.com/map" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Jerusalem Map</strong></a> - This is a very interesting interactive map focusing on the Old City portion of Jerusalem. While there, have a look at the 3D Tours, HD Videos, HD Photos tabs, and Jerusalem Info under the More tab.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.jerusalemp3.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Jerusalem MP3 Tours</a></strong> - You can watch videos of the various walking tours in the small view screen. You can download to play in a larger screen but you have to register first (free.)</div>
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<a href="http://www.jewishtvnetwork.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Jewish TV Network</strong> </a>- This is a US web site but it streams daily newscasts from the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), Israel's state TV network.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jewish Virtual Library</a></strong> - This web site has a wealth of information. Have a look around.</div>
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<a href="http://blog.judaicawebstore.com/jewish-wedding-customs-and-traditions/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Jewish Wedding Customs and Traditions</strong></a> - Ever wondered what everything means in a Jewish wedding ceremony?</div>
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<strong>Learn Hebrew</strong> - Are you interested in learing Hebrew? The following sites may be of interest.<br />
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<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.learnhebrewpod.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>LearnHebrewPod</u></a> - This is an excellent site to learn conversational Hebrew. It is for speaking Hebrew - it does not teach you to read Hebrew. It isn't free but you can download a few free trial lessons. Excellent value if you're serious about learning conversational Hebrew. My wife is using this course.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.hebrewtoday.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>HebrewToday</u></a> - Learn Hebrew with easy newspapers. HebrewToday offers easy-to-read Hebrew newspapers by subscription. <em style="position: relative;">(I was contacted by this publisher who saw my web page so I am including this link for them. I have no experience with this company.)</em></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/2_learn.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Ancient Hebrew Research Center</u></a> - Learning to read the Hebrew language. Click on the "Free Lessons" link to start. There<br />are 43 lessons. <em style="position: relative;">(This link is presented for information only since there is no cost.)</em></li>
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<a href="http://www.mahnishmah.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>MahNishmah</strong></a> - I include this because it looks like it might contain something interesting. Check out the Clips and Music tabs at the top. Also check out the Humour tab - there are 120 items and most are quite good.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://messianicchords.com/home/songs" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">MessianicChords.Com</a></strong> - A web site with chords and lyrics for many song - some are well known Christian songs, others are Hebrew songs.</div>
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<a href="http://www.shofarot.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Shofarot-Israel</strong></a> - This is the web site of the major shofar maker families in Israel, the Bar Sheshet and Ribak families. You can learn a lot about shofars on this site.</div>
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<a href="http://www.soundsofshalom.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Sounds of Shalom</strong></a> - Internet radio from Utica, New York broadcasting Messianic Jewish and contemporary Jewish music 24/7. Just click the Play button on the Live 365 picture.</div>
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A <strong><a href="http://www.saltshakers.com/fish/tapestry.htm" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tapestry of Gefilte Fish</a></strong> - OK, this is an interesting web site. It appears to be written by a Messianic Jewish woman in the United Kingdom based on information on some of the pages. I have linked to a page containing a number of interesting questions. These questions are part of a longer "story" and if you are interested in the whole site, click the INTRO link to go back to the beginning.</div>
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<a href="http://www.templeinstitute.org/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Temple Institute </strong></a>is dedicated to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.</div>
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<a href="http://universaltorah.com/programming/2008/01/31/exclusive-temple-mount-footage.htm" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Temple Mount Video Tour</strong></a> - Scroll down the page to the "Temple Mount Tour" links and click on Download (Play in Popup just gives you a small window). The video is in three parts and each part is about 30 minutes.</div>
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<a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Times of Israel</strong></a> - A new Israeli on-line newspaper started in 2012.</div>
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<a href="http://www.voiceofisrael.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Voice of Israel</strong></a> - Online radio as their motto says "Bringing Israel Closer". Listen to news, current affairs, and other topics from Israel. </div>
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<a href="http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/kotelcam.php" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Western Wall Web Camera</strong></a> - Live video. Double click the small video window to go to full screen (Press Esc. to return.)<br />
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66 Fun Facts About Israel</h1>
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<a href="http://blog.judaicawebstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Israel-Poster-Am-Israel-Chai-Kotel_small.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Israel-Poster-Am-Israel-Chai-Kotel_small" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-950" height="210" src="http://blog.judaicawebstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Israel-Poster-Am-Israel-Chai-Kotel_small.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="146" /></a>It’s now been 66 amazing, triumphant, heart-breaking, awe-inspiring, jubilant, soul searching, transcendent, glorious years since the Jewish people returned to their ancestral homeland. To celebrate the “miracle on the Mediterranean”, here are 66 fascinating facts about the State of Israel:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Basics</strong></div>
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1 Israel is the one and only Jewish state in the world.<br />2) The State of Israel is the youngest on the planet (only 66 years old).<br />3) Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Size</strong></div>
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4) Israel is only 1/6 of 1% of the landmass of the Middle East.<br />5) Israel is only about 290 miles (470 km.) in length and 85 miles (135 km.) in width at its widest point.<br />6) Israel’s population is half the size of Metro New York City.<br />7) While the Negev makes up 60% of Israel’s land, only 8% of the country’s population resides there.<br />8) Israel is roughly half the size of Lake Michigan.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Security</strong></div>
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9) Israel has fought seven wars since its establishment in 1948.<br />10) Israel spends more money for security than any other country in the world.<br />11) Israel has the fourth largest Air Force in the world (after the U.S., Russia and China).<br />12) Israel is the only nation in the world with an operational anti-ballistic missile defense system to intercept and destroy rockets headed for population centers within Israel.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nature</strong></div>
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13) Over 150 nature reserves and 65 national parks are established throughout the country covering some 400 square miles.<br />14) Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.<br />15) The Dead Sea in Israel is the lowest point on earth, at 1,315 feet below sea level at its lowest point.<br />16) The Sea of Galilee, at 695 ft. below sea level, is the lowest freshwater lake in the world.<br />17) Over 500 million migrating birds, more than 230 species, fly in Israeli air space on annual migrations between Europe, western Asia and Africa.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Business</strong></div>
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18) Israel’s $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.<br />19) Apart from the US and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.<br />20) With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).<br />21) Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US.<br />22) The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.<br />23) Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.<br />24) Both the Pentium-4 and Centrino processors were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel.<br />25) The first anti-virus software was developed in Israel in 1979.<br />26) Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.<br />27) Israel is the world’s largest wholesale diamond center; most cut & polished diamonds in the world come from Israel.<br />28) Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as “conflict free.”<br />29) Israeli bank notes have brail on them so the blind can identify them.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Society</strong></div>
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30) Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on Earth.<br />31) Hebrew is the only case of a dead national language being revived in all of world history.<br />32) 34 political parties participated in Israel’s 2013 elections.<br />33) One-third of Israelis are volunteers.<br />34) Israel publishes more books per capita than any other nation in the world.<br />35) Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.<br />36) Israel has more in-vitro fertilization per capita than anywhere in the world, and it’s free.<br />37) Israel is ranked first place in the world in the survival of cancer patients.<br />38) The most independent and free Arabic press in the Middle East is in Israel.<br />39) Israel receives more media coverage per capita than any other country in the world.<br />40) Israel is the only country in the Middle East where women enjoy full political rights.<br />41) Talking on a cellular phone while driving is against the law in Israel.<br />42) All Israeli citizens, regardless of race, gender or religion, have the right to vote.<br />43) Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.<br />44) Israel has more orchestras per capita than any other nation in the world.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Education</strong></div>
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45) Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.<br />46) Israel has the highest number of scientists and technicians per capita in the world.<br />47) Israel has the highest number of engineers per capita in the world.<br />48) Israel has the highest number of PhD’s per capita in the world.<br />49) Israel has the highest number of physicians per capita in the world.<br />50) Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin -109 per 10,000 people.<br />51) The Weizmann Institute of Science has been voted the best university in the world for science research.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Food</strong></div>
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52) Israel produces 93% of its own food requirements.<br />53) There are more than 40 kosher McDonald’s in Israel. (The only one outside the Jewish state is in Buenos Aires).<br />54) Israelis, per capita, are the world’s biggest consumers of fruits and vegetables.<br />55) Israeli cows produce more milk per cow than almost any country in the world.<br />56) Cherry tomatoes were originally engineered in Israel in 1973.<br />57) Breeding and raising pigs in Israel is illegal for Jews.<br />58) The glue on Israeli stamps is kosher.<br />59) Bamba, a peanut butter flavored snack made exclusively in Israel, is considered by many to be Israel’s national food.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Did You Know?</strong></div>
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60) Albert Einstein was offered presidency of Israel in 1952; however, he declined the invitation.<br />61) The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is the world’s oldest continuously used cemetery.<br />62) Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world.<br />63) Jerusalem is home to over 2,000 archeological sites.<br />64) Golda Meir was only the 3rd woman in history to serve as a country’s prime minister.<br />65) In 1984 and 1991 Israel airlifted a total of 22,00 Ethiopian Jews to the State of Israel.<br />66) An estimated one million notes are left in the Western Wall each year.</div>
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<span class="title" style="border: 0px; float: left; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Category : </span><a href="http://blog.judaicawebstore.com/category/jewish-history/" rel="category tag" style="border: 0px; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: verdana; font-weight: normal; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="View all posts in Jewish History">Jewish History</a> </div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-22463285643765731422015-07-20T02:13:00.001-07:002015-07-20T02:17:02.891-07:00History of Israel<br />
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<span class="wsite-text wsite-headline"><span style="color: blue;">History of Israel</span></span></h2>
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<span class="wsite-text wsite-headline-paragraph">On this page I have attempted to include links to various items that relate to the history of Israel.<br /><br /><em style="position: relative;">This picture is at the Western Wall taken on our tour in 2008.</em></span></div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5571925_orig.jpg?118" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5571925.jpg?118" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0dT3hqmzGw&feature=share&list=ULJ0dT3hqmzGw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>1967 6-Day War + 1973 Yom Kippur War</strong> </a>(69:55) - "A documentary concerning the Israeli 1967 - 6 day war. Israel was outnumbered, outgunned, everything was against her." Followed by a "documentary concerning the Israeli Yom Kippur war. The surprise attack on Israel in October 1973 by Egypt and Syria, this is the Fourth Arab--Israeli War. It is named after the Jewish national holiday on which it began, the holiest day of the Jewish year. Isn't it interesting that many observe the holy days of others, but they chose a holy day to attack."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3933482_orig.jpg?117" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3933482.jpg?117" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/GGpYOyRp2gY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>20th Century Battlefields - 1973 Middle East</strong> </a>(58:22) - "Watch this fascinating documentary about the Yom Kippur War and how Israel fended off a surprise attack from both Egypt and Syria, despite incurring heavy losses." A BBC documentary.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3134165_orig.jpg?120" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3134165.jpg?120" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/y0qq6dVy4-E" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Abba Eban Interview</strong> </a>(12:17) - A very interesting interview from I believe 1953 with the Israeli ambassador to the United States. Read the "about" information for background on this famous Israeli statesman.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/7403644_orig.jpg?119" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/7403644.jpg?119" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/taN_em6-ZUw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Ancient Tunnel Discovered Beneath Jerusalem</strong> </a>(3:50) - "Check out this ancient roadway which connected the modern City of Jerusalem with the Temple - just discovered in 2011!"</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5176497_orig.jpg?122" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5176497.jpg?122" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/4m7tg6y2xBQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Ark of the Covenant -- Lost or Hidden Away</strong> </a>(5:46) - "If the ark did exist, where is it now? A group of rabbis claim they found it in a 1981 excavation. But when will they ease open the lid and what waits inside?"</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8757041_orig.jpg?121" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8757041.jpg?121" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://player.vimeo.com/video/54400569" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Birth of the Israeli Air Force!</strong></a> (7:45) - This is a sample reel for 'Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force' movie. "In 1948, a group of World War II pilots volunteered to fight for Israel in the War of Independence. As members of 'Machal' -- volunteers from abroad -- this ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war, preventing the possible annihilation of Israel at the very moment of its birth; they also laid the groundwork for the Israeli Air Force."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/1137624_orig.jpg?129" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/1137624.jpg?129" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/7l1ol69rRxo" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Breakthrough to Jerusalem</strong></a> (4:20) - "InfoLive.TV brings excerpts of the wireless transmissions of paratroopers as they broke through into the Old City and the late IDF commander Mota Gur declares 'the Temple Mount is in our hands.' Posted to YouTube in 2007 on the 40th anniversary of the 1967 war."</div>
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<strong>British Pathé</strong> - This YouTube channel has a variety of historical films on Israel, most black and white. Here are some I've found (arranged chronologically.) Some of the comments in a few films show British bias against Jews. Many have no audio narration - it appears that these may have been from original footage, not from final production films where audio would have been added. Some are partial footage and may end abruptly.<br />
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<ul style="list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/Gyu7jFnj9Nw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Jerusalem 1920-1939</strong></a> (9:32)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/o6itZqTvZ_A" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>First Pictures From Palestine 1929</strong></a> (1:41) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/3-qMO4hk0aQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span id="selectionBoundary_1422119719306_9127571151691694"></span>In Palestine Today 1938<span id="selectionBoundary_1422119719304_4973094160492958"></span></strong></a> (1:30)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/dvut7C0pb18" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>British troops in Jerusalem 1938</strong></a> (1:30)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/ZARn6zPrF2Y" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Jewish Refugees In Detention Camp 1940</strong></a> (7:28)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/8W2wRhv6pzw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Palm Sunday In Jerusalem 1940</strong></a> (4:39) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="selectionBoundary_1422122170558_9505779315081825"></span><a href="http://youtu.be/0bZC0CB0H7M" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong></strong></a><strong>Jordan Valley 1940-1949</strong><a href="http://youtu.be/0bZC0CB0H7M" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><strong><a href="http://youtu.be/0bZC0CB0H7M" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Reel 1</a></strong> (10:04) <a href="http://youtu.be/0bZC0CB0H7M" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Reel 2</strong></a> (7:10)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/9uLzTnUKpxc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Bethlehem 1946</strong></a> (4:20) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span title="Palestine 1946 (1946)"><a href="http://youtu.be/KJSGOKGt9-c" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Palestine 1946</strong></a> (6:10) - Silent film</span></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/kRBziDZm1_s" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Palestine - Jews Freed By British 1946</strong></a> (4:40) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/TwURXXKdeJo" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Shots Of Jerusalem 1946</strong></a> (1:15) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/kNQxbL71H1A" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Illegal Immigrants In Haifa 1946</strong></a> (4:05) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/Ugf3khl4Cwg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Riots In Palestine 1946</strong></a> (4:47) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/rAHBNh7H0q8" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>British Troops In Palestine 1946</strong></a> (2:42) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/87krbnBwQyM" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Remembrance Day In Palestine 1946</strong></a> (6:09)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/yxS4cY38p7w" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>The Arabs Declare Holy War 1947</strong></a> (1:26)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/2UsYpVJM_c0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Palestine - Martial Law Declared 1947</strong></a> (1:55)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/RIfmzqTXyhU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Martial Law In Tel Aviv & Jerusalem 1947</strong></a> (7:00) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/Yzsc9LClwog" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Palestine Independence 1947</strong></a> (6:03) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/LdZjpenkLj0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Palestine Today 1947</strong></a> (5:35) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/ARKt8R84TBw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Haifa Refugees Ship 1947</strong></a> (3:11) - Silent film. The biggest ever Jewish refugee ship 'Exodus' arrives at Haifa.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/lxCANc0bVEY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Erected Jewish Settlement: Israel 1947</strong></a> (3:23) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/9k3r5tFVleA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Drought In Palestine 1947</strong></a> (3:52) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/afaGln3fPzw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Palestine Story 1948</strong></a> (6:36) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/6XlJYJxE2KE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Palestine Defies Solution 1948</strong></a> (1:56)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/ghPrtlnraFw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Troops In Action Palestine 1948</strong></a> (3:04) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/XuiUxAlTweU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>War In Palestine With The Arabs 1948</strong></a> (8:45) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/nlJPaxTyFJY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Last British Troops Leave Palestine 1948</strong></a> (5:56) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong><span id="selectionBoundary_1422120154210_7164497011526408"></span><a href="http://youtu.be/Ck0Lmmm9KJ8" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Building Israeli Settlement Aka Birth Of A Kibbutz 1948</a><span id="selectionBoundary_1422120154207_5896692027255882"></span> </strong>(6:16) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/Vk-DOWFOdVY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Military Demonstration In Israel 1948</strong></a> (8:29) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/Fnf_Z8ZliQA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>U.S Recognizes Israel 1948 </strong></a>(1:13) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/pf7vSz9hCPc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Jews Back In Nazareth 1948</strong></a> (3:48) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/2kQjfNsR9DY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Jerusalem Under Snow 1948</strong></a> (2:05) - Silent film - Except for one day about 5 years earlier, this was first snow in Jerusalem in 28 years.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/xNVuGuX1-eo" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Joins United Nations 1949</strong></a> (1:13)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/dcoOgMxTXvg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel 1949</strong></a> (1:10)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/At9Xa0DQalg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Palestine 1949</strong></a> (1:20) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/05T6dSaWKgw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>First Ship To Fly Israeli Flag 1949</strong></a> (0:21)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/nMVF9xC70jA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Britain Recognizes Israel 1949</strong></a> (1:23)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/ByZGSvdxFhI" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Arabs / Jews 1950-1959</strong></a> (9:12) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/FHFwJhb8Deo" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Jewish Refugees 1951</strong></a> (0:55)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/kRn19MnIR4o" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Various Scenes of Israel 1951</strong></a> (3:54) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/0fWzGrZ9PEU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel / Jordan Border Dispute 1953</strong></a> (0:47)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/EeL9_2gK1kc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Kibbutz 1955</strong></a> (2:23) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/eOCQiINJDcQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel - Girls Train To Defend 1955</strong></a> (1:12)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/KJNtXVAGhqE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Life On The Egyptian Border 1955</strong></a> (5:50) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/vCkRtUZZI74" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Bedouin Camps In Desert 1955</strong></a> (3:22) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/kRn19MnIR4o" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Beersheba Market 1955</strong></a> (1:46) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/tTe2hLbclYU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Trials Of The S.S. Israel - First German Built Ship Since War 1955</strong></a> (0:51) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/erjJF93TpfE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Independence Day 1956</strong></a> (0:50)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/fKbWZX8JI-Q" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel 1956</strong></a> (2:24) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/uvBGSUqZzeE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Trains Soldier-Farmers 1956</strong></a> (0:53)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/yF0RQBzxg0o" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel Invades Egypt - Britain Acts 1956</strong></a> (2:13)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/mYYVdYjP6eA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Strange Ceremony 1957</strong></a> (0:52) - Israel welcomes Palestinian sect of Druses as citizens</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/H9h_4VCNN94" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>First Ship Through Aqaba Since Troop Withdrawal 1957</strong></a> (1:41) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/sqTy131vOm4" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>First US Tanker Reaches Eilat / Aqaba 1957</strong></a> (0:34) - Silent film - The first delivery of American oil arrives by ship in Israel</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/M4r4F9Pez40" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israeli Patrol Boats In Aqaba 1957</strong></a> (0:31) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/udG-5Xjvt0A" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Immigration Increases 1957</strong></a> (0:58) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/KvLaJvzO9Xc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Intensifies Parachutist Training 1957</strong></a> (1:56) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/ldBcZygVCzs" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israelis Display Gaza Captured Weapons 1957</strong></a> (0:56) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/xLU2wSfTOls" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Promotes Women's Army 1957</strong></a> (0:38) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/_xNV4brs1pQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Celebrates Independence Day 1957</strong></a> (0:38) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/GI5W6t4owaQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israeli Defenses: Oil Line Completed 1957</strong></a> (1:49) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/QogoH9H_nkg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>First Oil Flows Through New Pipeline - Israel 1957</strong></a> (1:00) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/i9D58LDyVAY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Picking And Packing Oranges 1957</strong></a> (2:50) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/hpRjXNvWSKg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Israel-Syria Border Dispute 1960</strong></a> (0:50)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/6n0AzvQs1fI" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Jerusalem 1964</strong></a> (2:24) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/u0yAwCexQss" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>The Israel Museum - Jerusalem 1965</strong></a> (1:28) - Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/enJ6HOLBlfs" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel - Land Of The Four Seas 1966</strong></a> (7:32)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/owmXiRbsQO8" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>End Of War 1967</strong></a> (1:40)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/xDKU2gOlSYk" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Masada - The Last Stand Of The Zealots 1967</strong></a> (4:05) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/iOxWcI4V1xc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel Citrus 1967</strong></a> - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/B1EBSEQv67M" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Sea Of Galilee 1967</strong></a> (2:48) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/UDaqM9cCAII" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Jerusalem 1967</strong></a> (6:46) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/DL8oPlDfv6k" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>The Dead Sea 1967</strong></a> (1:07) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/FN6_SVuxolg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel - Ancient And Modern 1969</strong></a> (8:02) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/09EGG0-BMb4" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israel Situation 1969</strong></a> (2:35)</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/ElrL3vSVirc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>The Israel Story 1969</strong></a> (2:00) - Color</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://youtu.be/BmjYr5XNX0A" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israeli Troops At War 1973</strong></a> (9:21) - Color, Silent film</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/QN8xlIBJPEc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Old City Of Jerusalem 1973</strong></a> (9:26) - Color, Silent film</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="paragraph" style="font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<a href="http://www.jewishhistory.org/crash-course/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Crash Course in Jewish History</strong></a> - Articles on Jewish history. The articles on this page begin with the most recent at the top and work backwards in history as you go down the page - all the way back to Adam and Eve.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3595625_orig.jpg?119" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3595625.jpg?119" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
<div class="paragraph" style="font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<a href="http://youtu.be/9i4QSg-5Jww" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Discovery of a Second Temple Period quarry in Jerusalem - building stones for<br />the Second Temple</strong> </a>(2:14) - "Description by IAA archaeologist Yuval Baruch of the discovery in Jerusalem of a stone quarry which probably supplied the builders of the Second Temple with immense stones for the project."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/419990_orig.jpg?119" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/419990.jpg?119" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
<div class="paragraph" style="font-size: 15px !important; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">
<strong>"</strong><a href="http://youtu.be/Q2PQCNQH2lY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Downplaying the Holocaust: Arthur Hays Sulzberger and the New York Times" </strong></a>(12:32) - "Anna Blech won first prize at the New York City History Day competition for her research paper."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3544636_orig.jpg?119" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3544636.jpg?119" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/UnMwW-GAKvA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Exodus of Israel From Egypt - Hard Evidence in Red Sea </strong></a>(1:24:53) - This is an interesting documentary about the finding of evidence that supports the exodus from Egypt and the possible route that was taken.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/4395889_orig.jpg?132" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/4395889.jpg?132" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/hm42_vfJ46s" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Festival of Tabernacles</strong></a> (Sukkot) (4:24) - Watch this educational video which explains the booths, four species and other exciting elements of the holiday.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9767320_orig.jpg?117" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9767320.jpg?117" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/YVBM1_9EttY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Founding of Modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben Yehuda</strong> </a>(1:04) - From the time of the great exile by the Romans until the 19th century, most Jewish people in the land of Israel spoke Yiddish, Ladino, German, Russian or other languages. When the Zionist movement began its return to the Jewish<br />
homeland, they began to revive the ancient Hebrew language, previously used only in prayer. The initiator of this revival of modern Hebrew was Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9059225_orig.jpg?119" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9059225.jpg?119" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/iW138NkFoI8" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Hanukkah - In Those Days, at This Time</strong></a> (7:33) - "What is the miracle of Hanukkah really about? One days' worth of olive oil lasting for 8 days, was indeed, miraculous....but there is so much more to this holiday than meets the eye. Hanukkah is the miraculous story of the Jewish People, and as you will see the story never ended. "</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3874225_orig.jpg?117" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3874225.jpg?117" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.imj.org.il/exhibitions/2013/Herod/en/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Herod The Great - The King's Final Journey</strong></a> - This web site is a fantastic panoramic view of the King Herod exhibit that had been on display at the Israel in 2013. On the first page, click on the various links (I recommend following the numbered sequence) to see still pictures of the exhibit. Once finished with that, <u>then</u> click on the "Gallery Virtual Tour" link at the top left for an interactive tour through the exhibit. Follow the blue arrows to move from room to room. While in a room look for the white icons - the magnifier icon will let you read the text, and the speaker icon will turn on the narration for that area.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5313852_orig.jpg?121" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5313852.jpg?121" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/WhnWhrrc_M0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Herodian Road Aquaduct Excavation Finds</strong> </a>(2:11) - "The first is rare etching of a menorah on stone, assumed to be the Temple Menorah. The second discovery is that of a Roman sword dated to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/6108697_orig.jpg?119" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/6108697.jpg?119" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/QzdyKlmTzEk" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Herodian Road Excavation at the City of David</strong> </a>(2:06) - "In 2004, municipal workers who were repairing a sewage drain in the City of David were shocked to discover a staircase deep underneath the ground. Salvage excavations done at the site revealed that the stairs are part of an ancient thoroughfare, leading from the Shiloach Pool - the major water drawing source in Jerusalem from Biblical times, to the Temple Mount over 2300 feet to the north."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3764103_orig.jpg?123" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3764103.jpg?123" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/KVFZs0FnIbA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Heroes of Israel: Chief Rabbi Lau</a></strong> (4:31) - "Israel’s former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau was the youngest survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp. At age 7 he came to Israel an orphan and grew to become a leader of the nation. Hear his incredible story of miracles and faith."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8304321_orig.jpg?124" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8304321.jpg?124" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.herzl.org/English/Article.aspx?Item=546" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Hertzl Museum Video</strong> </a>- This is an interesting short video presentation from the Hertzl Museum about Theodor Hertzl and Israel. Double click the small player window to play it in full screen. Theodor Hertzl<br />
for those who may not know is credited as the father of modern political Zionism. Read more about Hertzl in Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Herzl" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>here</u></a>.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5735736_orig.jpg?125" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5735736.jpg?125" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<strong>History of Mossad</strong> - The Mossad is the Israeli intelligence service, officially in English "The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations". This is a five part video about its history.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/aHrvZpyW5jE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Part 1</u></a> (9:43) <a href="http://youtu.be/HVk8KSOFEO0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Part 2</u></a> (9:52) <a href="http://youtu.be/8idR1L3ollc" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Part 3</u></a> (9:36) <a href="http://youtu.be/BbSj-iHoZ7A" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Part 4</u></a> (9:11) <u><a href="http://youtu.be/SF_LsZnCFk4" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Part 5</a></u> (5:46)</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5935880_orig.jpg?123" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5935880.jpg?123" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/YTdKznTA9iY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>In-Depth Exploration of the City of David in Jerusalem</strong></a> (43:43) - "Yishai Fleisher takes us on an adventure in the famous Ir Davide (City of David) in Jerusalem. Connections between the history of the Jewish people in Israel and the modern day discovery of archaeological evidence."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9173918_orig.jpg?122" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9173918.jpg?122" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/bb5G_5sHJkk" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Inside Jerusalem: The Jebusites and the City of David with Ami Mazar and Shani<br />Atias</a></strong> (3:11) - This is a short clip from the 38-minute movie "Inside Jerusalem: Identity and the Ancient Past" available for rent or purchase <u><a href="http://www.insidejerusalemfilm.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">here</a></u>.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9340615_orig.jpg?122" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9340615.jpg?122" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/4FspfOI_YRU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel Map Throughout History</strong></a> (2:25) - This is a short silent video but it provides a good visual representation of the various empires that were in the Middle East throughout history.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3725566_orig.jpg?124" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3725566.jpg?124" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/Vy_LlKE9OMQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israeli Declaration of Independence</strong></a> (12:51) - "Israeli Declaration of Independence as read by David Ben Gurion in Tel Aviv The following day, the 1948 war started with all neighbouring Arab countries sending their armies to stop the foundation of a Jewish State."</div>
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<a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/maps/pages/israel%20in%20maps.aspx" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel's Story in Maps </strong></a>- From historic times to modern day. Presented by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are many maps here representing various time periods in Israel's history, along with some other maps. While there, check out some of the videos on their Video page.</div>
<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9192631_orig.jpg?126" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9192631.jpg?126" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/8k82FgJ8VZk" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Jerusalem 1918 </strong></a>(8:13) - "Jerusalem 1918 Jacob Gross exposure. Amateur film presents a rare and uniquedaily life in the Old City. ... The music of the desert wind Hyman Nachtshe original silent film was adapted,courtesy and the film was made by Jacob Gross. The film is from a Jewish family in Amsterdam and it is unclear whether the father collected the bits or shot them himself to encourage Jewish tourism to Jerusalemafter the British occupation. Some of the pictures were taken at the end of the Ottoman era."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8954394_orig.jpg?127" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8954394.jpg?127" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/2mR2W43t6tI" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Jerusalem: 4000 Years in 5 Minutes</strong></a> (5:16) - A quick lesson in the history of Jerusalem.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5092800_orig.jpg?132" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5092800.jpg?132" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/7durfxiyqeo" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Jerusalem Archaeological Park: Davidson Center Excavations Diary</strong> </a>(4:58) - "A brief history of 150 years of excavations in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park narrated by Professor Ronni Reich."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3767872_orig.jpg?127" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3767872.jpg?127" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/dapQ2PHfOug" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Jerusalem of Light</strong></a> (1:08:42) - From The Spielberg Jewish Film Archive, "a compilation of clips, marking<br />
the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification, depicting Jerusalem from 1911 to the 1970's." <em style="position: relative;">(There are over 2,200 films available on this YouTube channel.)</em></div>
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<strong><a href="http://ohr.edu/explore/israel_and_jerusalem/1014" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Jerusalem Quartered</a></strong> - This is an interesting article although somewhat dated now, about the four quarters of the old city of Jerusalem. (There is a PRINT button at the bottom of the page if you want to print a copy.)</div>
<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/903293_orig.jpg?124" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/903293.jpg?124" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/s1zKd7wwOj0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">King Herod's Magnificent Temple</a></strong> (44:49) - Herod was a major builder in Biblical times and this video explores his building projects. Read the YouTube description.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3926037_orig.jpg?129" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3926037.jpg?129" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/VH9ZDHUyu7A" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>King Solomon's Wall Excavated</strong> </a>(7:36) - "Gordon Robertson explores the ruins of the palace of King David and the wall of King Solomon in Jerusalem."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 148px; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5620002_orig.jpg?130" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5620002.jpg?130" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/EFD_o0-1QbQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The <strong>Life of the Jews in Palestine</strong></a> (1:00:37) - This is an old film from 1913 showing life in what is now Israel during that time.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/6401200_orig.jpg?134" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/6401200.jpg?134" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/ghWwEuHIH8w" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Line of Life with Golda Meir</strong></a> 11:47) - A film from from 1977. "Golda Meir joined the long list of inspiring Jewish heroines as Israel’s first female prime minister. This video reveals her inspiring visions for the nation, with footage of the early days of the State of Israel."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 152px; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8723949_orig.jpg?134" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8723949.jpg?134" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/oxxYmn3HpDU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Made in Israel: Agriculture </strong></a>(10:18) - "Gordon Robertson looks at Israel's remarkable agricultural innovation, with special focus on the role of the kibbutz in Israel's agricultural success, growing crops and orchards in desert, rocky land and swamps with hard work and ingenuity."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 151px; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5696149_orig.jpg?133" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5696149.jpg?133" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/qnXQ9_cMjLs" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Miracle of Israel - Land Of Promise</strong></a> (5:02) - "A great video about the history of the Jewish people and Israel!"</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/1292372_orig.jpg?133" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/1292372.jpg?133" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aAJgB4xAIw&feature=share&list=PL8592F9339A765B79&index=3" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The <strong>Mystery Of Tekhelet</strong></a> (22:59) - "A fascinating documentary that takes the viewer on a journey through history in search of the ancient blue dye, Tekhelet." <em style="position: relative;">(Three parts, will play automatically in succession.)</em></div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3859151_orig.jpg?134" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3859151.jpg?134" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/PRP-qAzLIRo" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Ophel Excavation 2013 </strong></a>(17:21) - "An exclusive behind-the-scenes video of a fascinating archaeology discovery made by Dr. Eilat Mazar"</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/_7401767_orig.jpg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/_7401767.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<strong><a href="http://palestine%20before%20israel/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Palestine Before Israel</a></strong> (2:58) - If Israel stole the land from the Arabs, where were the Arabs?</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5599375_orig.jpg?128" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5599375.jpg?128" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/XvKMVOfED1k" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Returning Home: A Jerusalem Story</strong></a> (7:44) - "Jerusalem was the original capital of the kingdom of Israel in the time of the first and second temple, and Jews have maintained a small but continuous presence in the Old City of Jerusalem for the past 2000 years. This film tells the little known story of the Jewish families who had lived in the Old City peacefully for generations prior to being besieged, forcibly evicted from their homes and taken prisoner of war by the Arab Legion in 1948 after the state of Israel was declared by the United Nations. The film follows the story of these Jewish refugees until they were able to return to their homes 19 years later after Israeli forces liberated the Old City during the Six Day War in 1967."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 146px; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9631100_orig.jpg?128" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9631100.jpg?128" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/pgjq8uqQ79E" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Revival of Hebrew</strong></a> (8:43) - "While Hebrew had remained the language of study and prayer, it had not been a spoken language for centuries. Few believed it could again become a tongue of everyday speech, but one man did, and dedicated his life to reviving Hebrew. His name was Eliezer Ben-Yehuda."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5590879_orig.jpg?127" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5590879.jpg?127" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://player.vimeo.com/video/5207246?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Revolt of the Greek Jews</strong> </a>(21:58) - A story of the Greek Jews at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2617693_orig.jpg?127" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2617693.jpg?127" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/8u87dEy-9rE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Road to Liberty </a></strong>(10:55) - "The story of the Jewish Brigade towards the end of World War II." "A new fighting unit, the Jewish Brigade Group, was created in pre-State Israel. Many of the fighters were Jewish refugees from Europe, and they fought side by side with the Allied forces in Europe. They became part of the British 8th Army, fought as Jews – as free sons of the Land of Israel. Ultimately, they formed an essential part of the building of the Israel Defence Forces that would fight back the Arab Armies in Israel’s War of Independence in 1948." This film is from the Spielberg Jewish Film Archives. <u><strong>WARNING - Some graphic holocaust scenes at the beginning.</strong></u></div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/496688_orig.jpg?125" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/496688.jpg?125" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/SqyQjTSvUZg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Second Temple Treasure Discovered In The Hills of Jerusalem</strong> </a>(3:23) - "Deep inside of the hills of Jerusalem rests the Kibbutz of Ramat Rachel ... Just a few days ago, <em style="position: relative;">[Note, this was posted in 2008] </em>15 silver coins dating from the Second Temple period were discovered inside of an ancient pot hidden in a columbarium." <em style="position: relative;">Ramat Rachel is at the southern edge of Jerusalem. We stayed at the hotel there during our second tour.</em></div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3468667_orig.jpg?127" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3468667.jpg?127" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<strong><a href="http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/secrets-of-jerusalems-holiest-sites/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Secrets of Jerusalem’s Holiest Sites</a></strong> (34:09) - National Geographic goes inside Jerusalem's holiest sites.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 143px; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5343011_orig.jpg?125" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/5343011.jpg?125" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/oGtpVjWNKfo" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Secrets of Old Acre</strong></a> (8:35) - "Akko: The Secrets of the City Above and the City Below". A well made video for adults (and children) about the history and beauty of the northern Israel city of Acre (also known as Akko).</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 146px; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2817065_orig.jpg?128" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2817065.jpg?128" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/2XivkSs_xTw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The <strong>Significance of the City of David</strong> </a>(8:54) - "Brian Warren & Laura Lynn Tyler-Thompson film an episode of The 700 Club Canada on location, discussing the significance of the City of David, site of Biblical Jerusalem."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2420471_orig.jpg?131" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2420471.jpg?131" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/3fLO1KpMKak" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Six Day War</strong></a> (5:09) - Some footage (black and white) from the 1967 war. The song is Jerusalem of Gold by Naomi Shemer.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2119005_orig.jpg?134" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/2119005.jpg?134" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/U4AkzTjVqzw" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Small Western Wall</strong></a> (2:19) - This is a segment of the Western Wall in the Muslim Quarter. This plaza is only about 20 meters long, almost the same length as the Western Wall was before the 6-day war. The open area in front of it is about the same size as the prayer plaza at the Western Wall before 1967. There are only two segments of the Western Wall accessible as the rest is buried behind buildings. </div>
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The<strong> Spielberg Jewish Film Archive</strong>. The Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive was founded in the late 1960s by Professor Moshe Davis and other historians of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1987 a generous donation was received from Steven Spielberg and the Archive was named after the American filmmaker, The web site is <a href="http://www.spielbergfilmarchive.org.il/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" title=""><u>here</u></a>. The easiest way I found to see what is available is to go to the <a href="http://www.spielbergfilmarchive.org.il/newsite/index.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Virtual Cinema</u></a> page. Click on the categories in the left menu to see what is available in each category. Here are a couple of suggestions you might like.<br />
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<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/lwXknbq6EOQ" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>The Walls of Jerusalem</u></a> (14:58) - "A historical account of the walls and gates surrounding the city of Jerusalem"</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/dapQ2PHfOug" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><u>Jerusalem of Light</u></a> (1:08:42) - "A compilation of clips, marking the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification, depicting Jerusalem from 1911 to the 1970s."</li>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/1231611_orig.jpg?128" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/1231611.jpg?128" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/6d7-zVWGfR4" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Stairway to Jerusalem</strong></a> (17:12) - The Jerusalem corridor in 1960. It's all in Spanish but sit back and watch the video.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.toldotyisrael.org/Toldot_Yisrael/Eyewitness.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Toldot Yisrael Presents "Eyewitness 1948"</a></strong> - "Toldot Yisrael is a Jerusalem based non-profit dedicated to recording and sharing the firsthand testimonies of the men and women who helped found the State of Israel." " Eyewitness 1948 is a short film series produced by Toldot Yisrael that tells the stories of Israel’s founding through the eyes of the people who lived it." I particularly recommend "Echoes of a Shofar", the story of six Jewish heroes who defiantly blew the shofar at the Kotel (Western Wall) over sixty years ago when it was illegal to do so in British Mandate Palestine.</div>
<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 136px; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3249085_orig.jpg?128" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/3249085.jpg?128" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/-yk7OavO360" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Tour of Ma'arat HaMachpela</strong></a> (25:15) - "Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron. Tour the first Jewish possession in Eretz Yisrael, Ma'arat HaMachpela, in Hebron, with David Wilder."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8163753_orig.jpg?131" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/8163753.jpg?131" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: -15px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/HHLD6RXVLaM" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Virtual Reconstruction Of Second Temple Mount</strong> </a>(7:47) - "The heart and soul of Jerusalem has always been the Temple that twice stood in Jerusalem for over 800 years. For nearly 2,000 years, the earning for the rebuilding of the Temple has stayed in the hearts of the Jewish people worldwide throughout the exiles." This fantastic state-of-the-art 3-D simulation of the Temple offers an excellent view of what walking through the Temple’s courtyards, chambers and sanctuaries might have been really like.</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/7692268_orig.jpg?133" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/7692268.jpg?133" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 5px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -5px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/kxzEGSmgYl4" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">The<strong> Volunteers: Answering the Call of History</strong></a> (14:42) - "<a href="http://www.toldotyisrael.org/Toldot_Yisrael/Home.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Toldot Yisrael </a>presents the stories of volunteers from around the world who came in 1948 to help build and defend the State of Israel."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9407216_orig.jpg?133" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/9407216.jpg?133" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/hNnwZNwRbdk" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Wake The Dawn: The Story of Jerusalem's Holy Temple</strong></a> (31:56) - "A documentary film depicting the history and significance of the Temple, through the eyes of the Talmud and Jewish tradition." A video by Chaim Clorfene who "lives in Tzfat, Israel, where he spends much of his time writing and teaching about the Third Temple."</div>
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<span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto; z-index: 10;"><a class="w-fancybox" href="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/6482059_orig.jpg?128" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="http://rcisrael.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/3/1/24310624/6482059.jpg?128" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.129412); margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 11.7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/4p0UJ643E2Q" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Yerushalayim: A Journey Through the Ages</strong></a> (8:37) - 19th and 20th century history of Jerusalem set to music.<br />
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<span class="wsite-text wsite-headline-paragraph">Few people know that Israel is a world leader in technological innovations and has contributed much new technology to the world. On this page I have included links to some which may be of interest.<br /><br /><em style="position: relative;">This picture was taken by my wife on her visit in October 2013. This is the Mount of Olives and a portion of East Jerusalem. The picture was taken from the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu on Mount Zion.</em></span></div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/yzbOnrLDuxY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Agriculture Technologies - Israeli expertise feeds the world</strong></a> (8:33) - "Israel's greatest agricultural experts and companies came together at its 18th International Agricultural Exhibition. From traditional and hi-tech agriculture to hothouses, irrigation, dairy farming, fish farming and alternative energy -- Agritech has it all."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/fAvWODm3uaE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Alpha Omega: The Largest Arabi-Israeli Hi-Tech Company</strong> </a>(5:32) - "Imad Younis, an Arab-Israeli citizen, is the founder and CEO of Alpha Omega, a leading neuroscience technology company that employs Muslims, Christians and Jews. Established in Nazareth, Imad’s hometown, Alpha Omega has become the largest hi-tech company in Israel’s Arab sector."</div>
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/DLwEw6szV2E" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ambucycles</a></strong> (4:33) - "It's a common sight in Israeli cities, but parked recently on Third Avenue near 52nd Street was a vehicle never seen before in New York." For a longer video presentation with some background history by the "inventor" of the Ambucycle, see <a href="http://youtu.be/d0LQCXCiW8g" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><u>this video </u></a>(10:45). "As a young EMT on a Jerusalem ambulance, Eli Beer realized that, stuck in brutal urban traffic, they often arrived too late to help. So he organized a group of volunteer EMTs -- many on foot -- ready to drop everything and dash to save lives in their neighborhood. Today, United Hatzlah uses a smartphone app and a fleet of "ambucycles" to help nearby patients until an ambulance arrives. "</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/V1dZYecLjDU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Anagog Parking Technology</strong> </a>(1:23) - You have to watch it to understand it but this "made in Israel" SmartPhone app is interesting in theory but will it fly in the real world? Looks like you need a lot of people in an area using it before it can give much useful results.</div>
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<a href="http://mfa.gov.il/mfa/innovativeisrael/sciencetech/pages/%27bionic-braille%27-3-nov-2013.aspx" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>‘Bionic Braille’ For The Unsighted</strong> </a>- "A bionic contact lens to help the blind see."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/OlXjn5N0IqI" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Charge SmartPhone in 30 Seconds</strong></a> (2:01) - An Israeli company invents a SmartPhone battery that can be recharged in 30 seconds. See company's web site at <a href="http://www.store-dot.com/" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.store-dot.com</a>.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/MfJciDjNWZk" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">CIMS - Counter IED and Mine System</a></strong> (3:41) - "The IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) has unveiled the latest defense against the threat facing armored vehicles from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and mines—a large rectangular multi-sensor system that is placed on the front of an armored vehicle, which can detect and then destroy hidden explosive devices from long distances"</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/siqU0iCdSSA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Created in Israel - Part of Your Life </strong></a>(1:42) - "Israeli innovation in your everyday life: "Created in Israel" may not be stamped on all the Israeli innovations that pop up during your average day, but in this short clip you can see a small sample of these anonymous inventions for yourself. "</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/fLX8qR1pmZI" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Fish Industry in the Desert</strong></a> (2:13) - "Israel's Arava desert gets just 30 millimeters of rainfall a year, but it produces 60 percent of Israel's fresh vegetable exports, 10% of cut flower exports ... and now it has a thriving ornamental fish industry, too."</div>
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<a href="http://israelupclose.org/vol_31_Generating_Electricity.html" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Generating Clean Electricity from Traffic</strong></a> (3:42) - Technology invented by an Israeli firm to generate electricity by traffic. Probably wouldn't work so well in Canada where our harsh winter climate is hard on asphalt roads.</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/k_C1iKIqi_o" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Glasses Giving the Blind a New Lease on Sight</strong></a> (2:24) - Interesting technology.</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/eK0nEV5dWBA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Growing Forests in the Desert</strong></a> (6:43) - "Watch how KKL-JNF makes the deserts bloom"</div>
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/xDWAgdtgV-Y" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Israel Exports Valentine's Day Flowers: 30 Million Flowers Shipped to Europe From Holy Land</a></strong> (3:00)</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/tVx3z0Lxbs8" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Israel: Small Country, Big Ideas</strong> </a>(2:30) - Did you know that Israel is a world leader in science and technology and has made many contributions to the world?</div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/74271995" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israelis Create ‘Guardian Angel’ Wristband To Monitor Health!</strong></a> (2:04) -<strong> "</strong>Angel is the first truly open wearable sensor for health and fitness. It is a wristband that continuously monitors heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature and physical activity."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/68XFaXXHpj0" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Israelis Use Technology to Make the Desert Bloom</strong></a> (3:19) - "When many Jews returned to the Promised Land in the 1800s it was dry and barren. But Israelis are finding unique ways to make the desert bloom and prosper."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/oxxYmn3HpDU" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Made in Israel - Agriculture </strong></a>(10:18) - Christian Broadcasting Network's "Gordon Robertson looks at Israel's remarkable agricultural innovation, with special focus on the role of the kibbutz in Israel's agricultural success, growing crops and orchards in desert, rocky land and swamps with hard work and ingenuity."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/wsXCl5tJwnM" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Made in Israel - Technology</strong> </a>(11:16) - An interesting report by the Christian Broadcasting Network on why Israel is so successful in the field of technology. At 1:30 on the counter, pay close attention to a list of some technology that at least some part came from Israel. How may do you use?</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/UJhZ7ORI-zg" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Made in Israel: Water</strong></a> (11:33) - "Because more than half of Israel is desert, the lack of clean water is a life-or-death issue. Gordon Robertson examines several of the ways that Israel conserves water, including desalination, drip irrigation and recycling." Reported by the Christian Broadcasting Network.</div>
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<span title="Natural Gas May Have Profound Impact on Israel's Geopolitics"><a href="http://youtu.be/iqAX02A9U6Q" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Natural Gas May Have Profound Impact on Israel's Geopolitics</strong> </a>(6:57) - "Israel's recent discovery of huge offshore natural gas reserves could mean a profound transformation for Israel's economy and for the region's political stability. Long-time NBC Tel Aviv bureau chief and NewsHour Special Correspondent Martin Fletcher reports from the field." PBS NewsHour report.</span></div>
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<a href="http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/InnovativeIsrael/ScienceTech/Pages/Operating-room-of-the-future-20-Oct-2013.aspx" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The (Non-Invasive) Operating Room of the Future</strong> </a>- "Israel’s InSightec has a unique technology that will transform surgery radically. For now it is focused on treating certain tumors and neurological disorders."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/k6kIJlgqezE" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Phinergy Electric Car</strong></a> (5:00) - We all know Israel is at the forefront of much technology but check out the revolutionary battery in this car developed by an Israeli company. Just add water!</div>
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<a href="http://israel21c.org/health/say-goodbye-to-surgical-stitches-and-staples/" style="color: #43a2b4; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Say Goodbye to Surgical Stitches and Staples</strong> </a>- "If a new Israeli product from IonMed gets market approval, surgeons will have a revolutionary tool in their hands for scar-free incision closure."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/2C83tbuBmWY" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>SCiO</strong></a> (2:46) - "A very handy gadget that could display calory breakdowns or chemical content of food which could literally be lifesaving for people with food allergies." "Scan materials or physical objects. Get instant relevant information to your smartphone. Food, medicine, plants, and more."</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/etyRZgEcKUs" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong>Super Cows Making Israel Flow With Milk</strong></a> (2:35) - " The Bible, no less, describes Israel as a land flowing with milk and honey. In that respect, it's been proven at least half-right: Israel has by far the most productive dairy cows in the world."</div>
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<strong><a href="http://youtu.be/W-C3UYq-UxA" style="color: #477780; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">What Does Made in Israel Mean to You?</a></strong> (3:08) - A simple video showing many items that were invented in Israel.</div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-54613613012576929892015-07-20T02:09:00.003-07:002015-07-20T02:09:58.627-07:00King Solomon's Era<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">King Solomon's Era</span></div>
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King Solomons' City</div>
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Above King Solomon's Golden Temple</div>
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As depicted by an unknown Artist.</div>
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<b>K</b><span style="color: white;">ing David's son, Solomon, inherited a unified prosperous kingdom and his reign became known as Israel's golden age. Building on David's achievements, he established an efficient centralized government, with a professional army and an advanced trade network. Above all, he lavished attention on Jerusalem, raising splendid public buildings and palaces, and carrying out his father's plan to erect a Temple for the Lord, worthy to house the Ark of the Covenant. The Bible provides a vivid description of the Temple's dedication in 1 Kings 6-8.</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan; font-size: small;">Around 950 B.C., and after seven long years of construction, all Israel came to witness this day. Solomon's Temple, House of the Lord, awaited God and king atop the holy Mount of Moriah above the city of David. The autumnal sun of the new year bathed the Temple's splendid limestone and burnished the bronze columns that framed its massive doors.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: small;">So many animals were offered during the eight days of celebrations that they can not be told nor numbered for multitudes. The flames and smoke, wafting the savor of roasting meat, rose over the city from the altar.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">In the midst of the celebrations and accompanied by the sounds of trumpet, pipe and cymbals, the Ark was brought into the Temple. For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation (Psalms 132:13). Solomon led the procession of the elders and heads of Israel's tribes behind the Ark.</span></div>
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<span style="color: olive; font-size: small;">The Temple's gold-inlaid doors swung open as the Ark was brought into the large vestibule and finally into its resting place inside the Holy of Holies.</span></div>
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<span style="color: yellow; font-size: small;">Solomon's Temple made Jerusalem not just another capital, but Israel's religious center - as it remains to this day. Later it would become a holy city' for Christians and Muslims as well.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: small;">Solomon's Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. The Temple was later rebuilt twice and then destroyed by the Romans who built a pagan temple on its site. Today a splendid Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock, covers the site. Though not a stone of Solomon's Temple has been found, it is possible to reconstruct the Temple with great accuracy due to biblical descriptions and archaeological evidence from elsewhere.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">The Temple was a most spectacular and expensive construction project. If you could walk inside, all that you would see would be gold! The walls, the ceiling, even the floors were all covered with gold. Silver was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon, He overlaid the (holy of holies) with pure gold...Solomon covered the inside of the Temple with pure gold...He overlaid the whole interior with gold...He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the Temple with gold 1 Kings 6:20-30.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: small;">The Bible also tells us that Solomon called upon King Hiram of Tyre, who had been an alley of David, to help build the Temple. Israel had no experience in designing such lavish structures so Hiram supplied not only his cedar wood but also architects and artisans. As a result, Solomon's Temple essentially followed the plan of a Phoenician temple. The hiring of outsiders to build Israel's First Temple helps to explain the use of ornate doors, columns and religious symbolism foreign to the Hebrews' long practice of artistic ritual.</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan; font-size: small;">Though the Israelites called their temple the House of the Lord, they only thought of it as the place where God's Name dwelt. The mystic presence of the name hallowed the temple as a house of prayer where God, in heaven, could also tent among His people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: yellow;">Hiram's designers had a different approach. They conceived the Hebrews' God as a sovereign in his palace. They placed the Ark under the guard of winged sphinxes of Phoenician iconography: Cherubim, mythical creatures symbolizing omnipotence. The Cherubim combined in idea and shape the strength of the lion, the swiftness of the eagle, the procreative power of the bull and the wisdom of man</span><span style="color: olive;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: olive; font-size: small;">The imported Phoenician artists delicately blended Egyptian and Asian motifs. The Egyptians supplied the idea of lighting the temple's interior only from windows under the roof - the ancient origin of the cathedral's clerestory. Babylon's reverence for the life-giving sea probably inspired the name of the Temple's great copper basin - the Molten Sea. The bowl weighed nearly 30 tons and held some 10,000 gallons of water .</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: small;">Solomon enlarged the city of Jerusalem in his renewal of the City of David. Year after year, his royal palace rose in stone, wood and gold: the House of the Forest of Lebanon, an aptly named council chamber of cedar, pillared like a grove and the adjacent Hall of Judgment, where he sat on a throne of ivory and gold to receive his guests. For his many foreign wives he built magnificent homes and shrines.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: small;">All these buildings stood as monuments to Solomon's grandeur - and to Israel's eventual bankruptcy. He drained the treasury to sustain a lavish royal court, and on the profits of selling the trapping of glory, the Phoenicians prospered.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: small;">Solomon paid on the installment plan for the skills of Hiram's artisans and for the cedars rafted to Joppa port. Each year Hiram received twenty cors of wheat...and twenty thousand cors of beaten oil (1 Kings 5:11). These payments equaled 125,000 bushels of wheat and 1,200,000 gallons of oil. After 20 years Solomon still owed Hiram. Desperate, but shrew , he ceded to Hiram twenty coastal towns in the Western Galilee.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">Ultimately, Solomon had to raise new taxes and his people were made to pay for his extravagance. Each of the 12 administrative districts of Israel provided Solomon and his court with supplies. Centralized government replaced the tribal league. Officials roamed the realm and levied taxes of all kinds, much of it in grain. They channeled Israel's wealth into store cities built in each district. Israelites also paid with their own toil: Solomon raised a levy of forced labor and sent 30,000 men to cut down cedars in Lebanon and 150,000 to hew and haul stone from the hill country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: cyan;">But he gave them what his name means in Hebrew: peace and prosperity. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon (1 Kings 4:25). Fortified cities were built around the borders. The most important were Gezer, Megiddo and Hazor. His well -equipped army of 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen never had to fight a major war</span><span style="color: lime;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: small;">For centuries Israeli farmers had reaped with flint sickles. Now grain fell under their iron blades. No longer could it be said there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel (1 samuel 13:19). For David had vanquished the Philistines, who guarded iron ores and the secret of smelting it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: small;">Solomon exploited the lodes of the Promised land, whose stones are iron, and out of his hills you can dig copper (Deuteronomy 8:9). Solomon's legendary copper mines were probably located at the Jordan Valley. There, the Temple's great copper basin, its two huge pillars and other bronze vessels were cast (1 Kings 7:46).</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">The city of Etzion-Geber, on the Kingdom's southern tip, was Solomon's Red Sea fleet home base. Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-Geber...on the shore of the Red Sea (1 Kings 9:26). The fleet was manned by Phoenicians and sailed towards Africa and Arabia. The ships brought gold, precious stones, special wood, spices, ivory and apes to amuse the court.</span></div>
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<span style="color: yellow; font-size: small;">Solomon fostered trade on land as well. The land of Israel has always been the hub of the Middle East. Through it passed caravans linking Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: small;">And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon...she came to Jerusalem (1 Kings 10:1). Romance and pageantry dramatized the queen of Sheba's summit with Solomon. Their meeting was immortalized by the Bible and modern works of art. The kings of Ethiopia still claim descent from a son of Solomon and the queen of Sheba.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: small;">The kingdom of Sheba was probably located in today's Yemen, some 1,200 miles south of Jerusalem. The queen gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones (1 Kings 10:10).</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">I believed not the words until I came said the queen, astounded by the splendor; and behold, the half was not told to me. The queen tested his wisdom to prove him with hard questions. The meetings must have gone well for Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked.</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan; font-size: small;">Solomon shone in Israel's memory as a man wiser than all men. Tradition credits him with the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: small;">As the king grew old, his hold on Israel weakened. Rebellions erupted on the border provinces. The Bible gives us the reasons for the king's downfall. He loved many strange women and he allowed them to continue their own forms of worship, defiling the Holy City with their foreign rituals and gods. And the aging Solomon not only tolerated this paganism but also indulged in it himself.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: small;">Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many of the exotic women were in fact living treaties. He maintained alliances by taking wives from the family of every potentate willing to sign a treaty. He even kept Egypt out of Israel by marrying an Egyptian princess, a daughter of a pharaoh.</span></div>
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<span style="color: yellow; font-size: small;">Nevertheless, the Lord promised, For as much as ...thou hast not kept my covenant... I will surely rend the kingdom (1 Kings 11:11). Soon after Solomon's death, in 922 B.C., the northern tribes of Israel formed an independent kingdom rival with the southern kingdom of Judah.</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan; font-size: small;">Solomon's Temple was destroyed, his kingdom split in two. But his glory - and his realm - would live on forever, in the chronicles of his temple and the sagas immortalized by the Bible. The glory would endure in the memory of the king of whom it was written: there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee (1 Kings 3:12).</span></div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-48001194382801089952015-07-20T02:04:00.005-07:002015-07-20T02:04:52.508-07:00THE WORLD BEYOND PALESTINE<br />
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial;">1. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><b>THE WORLD BEYOND PALESTINE</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Map - The World in Outline at the Time of Jess</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Key:</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Persia </strong>- major empires<br />Mexico - other centres of world population</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Other worlds and civilisations lay beyond the Palestine of Jesus and the </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Roman Empire</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> of which it formed a small part. In the Americas, the Olmec peoples of Mexico had faded away and the Mayan culture was establishing itself. The Aztec, and in South America, the Inca civilisations lay centuries in the future. Much of the vast Pacific Ocean and its many islands were being colonised by the descendants of mainly South East Asian peoples. In Asia, large empires existed in </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">China</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> (the Han dynasty), </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">India </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">(the Kushan empire), and </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Persia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> (the Parthian empire). Much of central and eastern Europe was occupied by Germanic tribes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Hindu and later the Jain religions had long been practised in India, and Buddhism was starting to spread from there into China. The teachings of Confucius and Lao-tzu (Taoism) had developed over the previous five centuries in China. In Persia, Zoroastrianism was the principle religion.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial;">2.</span><span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial;">THE ROMAN EMPIRE</span><span style="color: #0000a0;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Map - The Roman Empire at its Greatest Extent, c AD117</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Key:</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><strong>SPAIN, GAUL, ASIA MINOR</strong> - each area consisted of a number of Roman provinces<br /><strong>AD43</strong> etc - territories captured by Rome after the Birth of Jesus<br /><strong>black area </strong>- part of Germania lost to Rome after the Battle of Teutoberg AD9</span></div>
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<img height="286" src="https://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CNM35-Rome.gif" width="520" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Roman Empire which by the birth of Jesus controlled most present-day countries bordering the Mediterranean basin including North Africa, was still expanding. Territories remaining to be conquered before the Empire of Rome reached its greatest extent under Trajan (emperor AD98-117) included:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Mauretania - present day Morocco and parts of Algeria,<br />Britannia - Britain,<br />Dacia - Rumania and part of Hungary,<br />Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria - which includes present day Iraq,<br />Arabia - modern Jordan.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The works of Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were widely circulated, and the people of the Roman Empire worshipped a variety of gods. Mithraism - a version of Zoroastrianism - became widespread for a time.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="part3"></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial;">3. A HISTORY OF PALESTINE</span><span style="color: #0000a0;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Map - Jewish History in Outline, c 1,800BC-AD</span></div>
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<span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Key:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <b>1</b>. Sequence of events. Also in text in</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> [red square brackets]</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<img height="269" src="https://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CNM36-JewishHistory.gif" width="584" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">At the time of the Roman Empire,</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[1] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Judea </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">was a small eastern province. Approximately 1,800 years earlier, the patriarch Abraham journeyed there from</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[2]</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Ur of the Chaldees </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">(present-day Iraq), via</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[3] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Haran</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">to</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[4] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Canaan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and grandfather of Jacob.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Jacob's children migrated to Egypt where their younger brother Joseph ("of the coat of many colours") previously sold by them into slavery, had become only second in importance to the Egyptian Pharaoh. Jacob's descendants became the twelve tribes of Israel.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Around 1,200BC, following the Exodus from</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[5] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Egypt </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">led by Moses and completed by Joshua (of the "battle of Jericho"), Canaan was the "promised land" of the twelve </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[6]</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Tribes of Israel </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">After c 1,000BC, by which time King David and his son Solomon had established a</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[7]</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">United Kingdom of Israel and Judah </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">both nations went their separate ways until conquered by other empires.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In c 721BC,</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[8]</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Israel </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">was defeated by the</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Assyrians </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">and these Jews went into permanent exile. Then in c 587BC,</span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[9] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Judah </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">fell into the hands of the </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Babylonians</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">, but their exile to</span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[10] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Babylon </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">was temporary. The Babylonians were conquered by the</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[11] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Persians </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">and the Jews allowed to return to Judea to rebuild</span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[12] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Jerusalem</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">By the time of Jesus, most Jews were spread throughout the </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[13] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Roman and Parthian Empires</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">, but Jerusalem with a new Temple being built by Herod the Great remained central to the Jewish religion.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Jesus of</span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">[14] </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Nazareth in Galilee </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">was therefore born a Jew, into nearly 2,000 years of Jewish history, religion and culture in the land of Palestine.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="part4"></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0000a0; font-family: Arial;">4. THE TERRITORIES and RULERS OF PALESTINE</span></div>
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<img height="795" src="https://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CNM37-Palestine.GIF" width="455" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>Palestine</b></span><span style="color: #af0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">is a small but varied land, often harsh in character and with a long and complicated history. Understanding something of its physical and political geography helps to explain the volatile situation into which Jesus came and preached, and the terrain over which he travelled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">When Israel in the north ceased to exist in c 721BC, part of the area later became a territory known as </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Samaria</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">. Most of Judah in the south, defeated in c 587BC, was later referred to as </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Judea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">By the time of Jesus,</span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">PALESTINE</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> comprised various territories. From north to south these were:</span></div>
<span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1. Chalcis</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> and </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Abilene</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> in the Roman province of Syria, north of ancient Iturea;</span><br />
<span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Iturea, including Panias and Ulatha, and Trachonitis with Batanaea, Gaulanitis (the modern Golan Heights) and Auranitis, all in south eastern Syria. Hereafter, they are referred to as </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Iturea and Trachonitis;</span><br />
<span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">3. Galilee</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> with the Sea of Galilee in modern northern Israel, which played an important part in the recorded life and ministry of Jesus;</span><br />
<span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4. Samaria, Judea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> and </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Idumea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">, that is much of modern central Israel plus the west bank of the River Jordan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The chief city of the Roman rulers was <em>Caesarea</em> on the Mediterranean coast of <em>Samaria</em>. The Jewish capital was <em>Jerusalem</em></span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">in <em>Judea</em>, where Jesus came a number of times, finally to be arrested, tried and crucified by the Jewish and Roman authorities.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">5. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The semi-independent </span><span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Decapolis</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> in modern northern Jordan, was a roughly defined area that included within its boundaries, most of the federated "Ten Cities" established by Alexander the Great.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">One such city was <em>Philadelphia</em> - modern Amman, capital of Jordan. Other cities, one of which was <em>Damascus</em>, capital of modern Syria, were outside the boundaries;</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0000af; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">6. Perea </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">included much of the present east bank of the Jordan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">During New Testament times, these territories were ruled, at various dates in a variety of ways:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">- Direct from Rome through Roman province administrators or governors known as <em>procurators</em>;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">- Through the Roman governor of Syria, such as The Decapolis; and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">- By Roman-appointed Jewish kings, <em>ethnarchs</em> or rulers, and <em>tetrarchs </em>or rulers of a fourth part of a province.</span></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-51659521905978385962015-07-20T02:02:00.000-07:002015-07-20T02:02:14.186-07:00Israel is Wasted Its seed is no more!<br />
<div class="post-365 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized tag-anti-semitism tag-david tag-egypt tag-hebrews tag-israel tag-jew-hatred tag-judea" style="background-color: #f2e2c1; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">
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<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/israel-is-wasted-its-seed-is-no-more/" rel="bookmark" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;">Israel is Wasted Its seed is no more!</a></h2>
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<a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/3747merneptah_stelae.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-364" height="199" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/3747merneptah_stelae.jpg?w=470&h=199" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="3747MERNEPTAH_STELAE" width="470" /></a></div>
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<strong>The History of the Hebrew ancestors of the Jews is murky. Its so murky that its even the Jew haters an opening to declare the pre 9th century BCE null and void, Any excuse to deny the Jews their place in history brings the shiver of excitement to the Jew haters, whether they be western Nazis or Islamists. It began with the book, the Bible Unearthed by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman. In summing up decades of Israel archaeology, they could not find much evidence of the Exodus, Joshua, Kings David and Solomon. Anti-Semites cried with great glee the Bible is bogus. Although many of these very same anti-semites are scripture quoting automatons.</strong></div>
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<strong>Silberman and Finklestein could discover no evidence of any journey of the Hebrews from Egypt. The time scale for Joshua’s conquest of Cana’an could not be found. Either the burned cities were too early in the Bronze Age or much later in the Israelite kingdom.</strong></div>
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<strong>They theorized with much supporting evidence than Hebrews were revolutionaries that overthrew the Cana’anite upper classes. They fled to Judea and Samaria to live simple yet free lives with a personal relation to God. One <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">God.The</span> first evidence of advanced civilization appear in Samaria as the Kingdom of Israel. By the In short time it grew powerful with megalithic buildings and palaces. The evidence supports this and supports that once destroyed by the Assyrian Empire the small virtually non-existent Kingdom of Judah replaced it. Just before or just after this destruction work was done on writing the most important piece of literature in Western civilization-The Old Testement of the Bible. Considering that much of the Bible is verified after the 8th century; its very likely that the older material is based on some facts. The cosmopolitan nature of King Josiahs Kingdom contrasts to the village existence 100 years previously.</strong></div>
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<strong><br /><a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/israel-david.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-366" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/israel-david.jpg?w=470" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="ISRAEL-DAVID" /></a></strong></div>
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<strong>Silberman and Finketein theorize the David was more a Robin Hood figure than a great king. Ditto with Solomon.</strong></div>
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<strong>There is no evidence for Kingdoms just confederations of tribes.</strong></div>
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<strong>But military historians point to the undeniable war strategies placed in real locales in Israel having to do with the war campaigns of Joshua, the Judges Gideon, Deborah, Samson, David and his son. Strategies from the Bible were followed in World war Two resulting is allied victories. So there was a realness here</strong></div>
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<strong><a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/ipuwer_papyrus.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-367" height="302" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/ipuwer_papyrus.jpg?w=470&h=302" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="ipuwer_papyrus" width="470" /></a></strong></div>
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<strong>To silence the OT deniers there is tiny bits of evidence. Theres the Ipuwer Papyrus which indicates a great upheaval in Egyptian society about the same time as The mega-volcano at Thera exploded. Excavations on Crete have shown that the megavolcano nearly destroyed the Minoan seafaring civilization by tsumami! So its easy to see tsumamis wreaking havoc and deluging the Nile Delta. The 10 plagues recited every Passover can be explained by the effects of such a catastrophe, Canadian Jewish film-maker, Simcha Jacobovici, has made it one of his largest projects to prove the Exodus. He take on it includes another exodus of Hebrews to Mycenae. Where he feels the Ark of the Covenant ended up. Supporting this is a letter written decades after Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East. Its from King Arius of Sparta to the High Priest Onias of Judea indicating a common ancestry. from the Avatar film-maker James Cameron has worked on this with Jacobovici. Explaining the Pillars of Fire/Light other have theorized that Mr Sinai was a volcano in whats now Saudi Arabia. Possible land bridges crossing the Red Sea have been found at the Eilat side of the Gulf of Aqaba and across the straits of Tiran as well.Josephus points to the origin of the Jews with the Semitic invasions of the Hyksos that lasted 300 years and may have ended in a great exodus. And Egyptian historian Manetho mentions two Exoduses One involving the Hyksos. The other one has been linked to a possible exile of monotheist Pharoah Akhenaten after an overthrow. This might explain the Hebraic one god Concept as developed from Akhenaten ong god aton Concept. This was all very circumstantial.</strong></div>
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<strong><a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/3737-moses-1.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-368" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/3737-moses-1.jpg?w=470" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="3737-moses (1)" /></a></strong></div>
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<strong>WHo was Moses? Was he the brother of Ahmose? Was he Akhenaten? Or was he the brother of Ahmose mentioned in the Ipuwer Papyrus? Or possibly an exiled Hyksos monarch. We dont know at this point. To say the Exodus was fiction is a little premature considering the leads. The Exodus is certianly not proven but neither has it been disproven like Joshua’s conquests. When Greeks visited Judea after Alexander took the area from Darius they remarked the how obsessed the Judeans were with this ancient figure Moshe. Considering the the names of Egyptian Pharoahs, Ahmose, Tutmose, (Tothmoses), Rameses (Ramoses). Kmose (Kamoses) all around the era of a possible Hebrew or Hyksos emigration, was it a cooincidence about Moses? And notice the bank place before the name Moses.</strong></div>
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<a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/08-ark-of-the-covenant.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-377" height="336" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/08-ark-of-the-covenant.jpg?w=470&h=336" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="08-Ark of the covenant" width="470" /></a></div>
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<strong>A space possibly indicating belief in an invisible God. Its similar to depictions of the Ark of Covenant, where the two angels or sphinxes towards an empty space representing that invisible deity.</strong></div>
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<a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/house-of-david-inscription.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-369" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/house-of-david-inscription.jpg?w=470" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="house-of-david-inscription" /></a></div>
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<strong>OT deniers suffered at setback when a stelae was found in Tel Dan in Northern Israel. This inscribed stone celebrated the King of Syria or Arams victory of the Houses of Israel and David. Notice it was David and not Judah. So David was such an impressive figure that his name preempted the name of Judah.</strong><br /><a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/378px-mesha_stele.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-370" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/378px-mesha_stele.jpg?w=470" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="378px-mesha_stele" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/meshasteleinscrip10cmh.gif" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-371" height="860" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/meshasteleinscrip10cmh.gif?w=470&h=860" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="MeshaSteleInscrip10cmh" width="470" /></a></div>
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<strong>Another stelae from the same period celebrates the King of Moab’s victory over the Kingdoms of Omri (Israel) and David (Judah). You might be able to infer that so dominating were the Hebrew kingdoms that stelae comemmorating setbacks were important to ther <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">enemies.So</span> however insignificant Judah was it was a frequent ally or it dominating neighbor. And for some reason despite the clashes they did have Judah was never conquered despites it Rhode Island size to Israel.</strong></div>
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<strong>The most dramatic evidence of Israel emerging out of the murkiness is the Merneptah stelas. The Pharoah mentions a list of nations he defeated starting with the most powerful Libyans. The Libyans were allies of the mysterious combination of Seafaring nations, the Sea Peoples.</strong></div>
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<strong>That particular age was marked by the end of the use of bronze which was the whole purpose of the Sea trade with the use of iron. That brought in land empires like Egypt later on. The Sea Peoples included Greek peoples and Semitic peoples. The Egyptians were the only nation to survive these age of anarchy as the Hittite Empire crumbled and the coast of Cana’an was depopulated with survivors moving inland where the Hebrews later emerged.</strong></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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<strong>One Sea People the Egyptians soundly defeated was the Peleshet. They forced the invaders to settle in Gaza and became the Phillistines associated with the Israelites wars and David and Goliath.</strong></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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<strong>The Merneptah document of stone was of a series of wars between two greater wars the Egyptians barely won against the Sea peoples confederation.</strong></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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<strong>Before the Sea People wars nomads called Habiru had tormented the ruler of a pre-Hebrew Jebusite Jerusalem, so that he pleaded for help from the Pharoah. The Pharoah had evidented picked him as a local <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">vassal.This</span> was documented by the Armana letters dated to Akhenaten’s reign.</strong></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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<strong>Was there some connection to Biblical rulers like Priest-King Melchizedek?</strong></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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<strong>The King of (Jeru)Salem who was very personally involved with the patriarch Abraham.Abraham is dated to an earlier Bronze age period coinciding with Hyksos domination of Egypt</strong></div>
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<strong>Merneptah mentions many large to small victories. The defeated are Cana’an, Ashkelon (the Phillistines), Gezer and Israel. They aren't referred to as a country but as a people. Silberman and Finklestein think that Israel was most likely nomadic or semi-nomadic people as indicated by their settlements resembled a circle of wagons turned into stone houses</strong></div>
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<a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/stele2-psd.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-372" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/stele2-psd.jpg?w=470" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Stele2.psd" /></a></div>
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<strong>The people of Israel’s defeat in 1208-9 bce is described as “Israel is laid waste, its seed is no more”. There is even a heiroglyph of Merneptah metaphorically whipping his enemy. It practically sounds genocidal but it was common for the Pharoah to exaggerate because it enhanced his standing back in Memphis. Much like the Palestinians and Arabs do <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">today.What</span> I find particularly striking is that Israels first mention, despite being a conglomeration of nomads, is the declaration of their destruction. This theme of utter destruction was repeated by Haddad of Arab (Syria) Mesha of Moab, The Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Seleucid Syrian Greeks, the Romans (twice), Crusaders, Kingdom of Spain, the Cossacks, The Russian Empire, Nazi Germany and manmy Jew haters on the internet today. Thats 3000 years of unfulfilled promises of extermination.</strong></div>
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<strong>No people or country can match that resistance to obliteration.</strong></div>
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<strong><br /><a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/3747merneptah_stelae1.jpg" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-373" height="199" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/3747merneptah_stelae1.jpg?w=470&h=199" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="3747MERNEPTAH_STELAE" width="470" /></a></strong></div>
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ON JANUARY 12, 2010 AT 9:27 AM <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/israel-is-wasted-its-seed-is-no-more/#respond" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEAVE A COMMENT</a> <br />TAGS: <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/anti-semitism/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ANTI SEMITISM</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/david/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">DAVID</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EGYPT</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/hebrews/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HEBREWS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/israel/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ISRAEL</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/jew-hatred/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">JEW HATRED</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/judea/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">JUDEA</a></div>
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<div class="post-300 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized tag-anti-semitism tag-bigots tag-egypt tag-espionage tag-israel-six-day-war tag-jew-haters tag-sinai tag-united-states tag-uss-liberty" style="background-color: #f2e2c1; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">
<h2 class="storytitle" id="post-300" style="font-size: 30px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin: 15px 0px 5px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/the-uss-liberty/" rel="bookmark" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;">The USS Liberty</a></h2>
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<a href="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/2424freeliberty1.gif" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-299" height="117" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/2424freeliberty1.gif?w=470&h=117" style="border: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="2424FREELIBERTY" width="470" /></a></div>
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<strong>When it comes to all types of Jew haters, big rallying call is to REMEMBER THE USS Liberty.</strong></div>
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<strong>The USS Liberty was a monitoring vessel anchored off the Sinai coast during the Six Day War in which Israel</strong></div>
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<strong>attacked Syrian, Jordanian, and Egyptian troops massing for an attack on the Jewish state. This preemption</strong></div>
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<strong>shocked Arab forces bent on a second try at genocide of the Jews in Palestine.</strong></div>
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<strong>The American ship in the course of the war was accidently attacked by Israel warplanes. 34 American sailors died and 174 were wounded. Anti-semites have accused Israel of doing this on purpose thousands of times. Yet they have never given a decent reason why Israel might do this.</strong></div>
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<strong>Of course the main reason theory give is that Jews hate everybody.</strong></div>
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<strong>A very poor and incredible story. Many sailors have called for more investigations but the American military has said the first investigation was thorough enough.</strong></div>
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<strong>It key fact dismissing wild stories of purposeful Israeli involvement is what I use here.</strong></div>
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<strong>ALL THE SURVIVORS HAVE NEVER SIGNED ANY DOCUMENT CONDEMNING ISRAEL.</strong></div>
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<strong>AND THE SURVIVORS WERE THERE.</strong></div>
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ON NOVEMBER 18, 2009 AT 10:27 PM <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/the-uss-liberty/#respond" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEAVE A COMMENT</a> <br />TAGS: <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/anti-semitism/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ANTI SEMITISM</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/bigots/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">BIGOTS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EGYPT</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/espionage/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ESPIONAGE</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/israel-six-day-war/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ISRAEL. SIX DAY WAR</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/jew-haters/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">JEW HATERS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/sinai/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SINAI</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/united-states/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">UNITED STATES</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/uss-liberty/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">USS LIBERTY</a></div>
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<h2 class="storytitle" id="post-269" style="font-size: 30px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin: 15px 0px 5px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/269/" rel="bookmark" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;">Who Created the Jewish State? Why it was the Arabs of Course</a></h2>
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<strong><img alt="888-BINATIONAL-PALESTINE (1)" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-267" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/888-binational-palestine-1.jpg?w=470" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="888-BINATIONAL-PALESTINE (1)" /></strong></div>
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<strong><img alt="888-BINATIONAL-PALESTINE (3)" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-268" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/888-binational-palestine-3.jpg?w=470" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="888-BINATIONAL-PALESTINE (3)" /></strong></div>
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<strong>Who Created the Jewish State? Why it was the Arabs of Course. Invented myths are abundant on the internet and reused by Israel haters, Jew haters, Arabs, Palestinians,and pro-Palestinians about some Jewish invasion that displaced peaceful prosperous Palestinians.</strong></div>
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<strong>Purportedly this was done massacre, expulsion, and threats of such resulting in the vague term ethnic cleansing brought into popular verbage by the Bosnian genocide in the nineties. Huge lists of Arab towns that are now Jewish towns are offered as evidence.</strong></div>
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These are purposeful creations by the Palestinians in an effort to achieve victimhood. A victimhood that give them worldwide sympathy just like the Holocaust gave their enemies, the Jews, sympathy. Today they have added a modern fictional genocide as well in this pursuit. Its such a well done media creation it eclipses real genocides in Chechniya, Darfur, and Myanmar.</div>
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If you examine the long lists of towns the fiction becomes apparent such as the extinct town of Al Quds. Thats really Jerusalem which had been Jewish for decades before the mythical invasion.</div>
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What really happened?</div>
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By 1948 there was a 3 sided war in Palestine. There was the occupation force of the British. There was the Arab militias led by Grand Mufti al-Husseini. And there was the various JEwish militias, the Palmach, Hagganah. Irgun, etc. The Grand Mufti had been fighting by them 28 years to expel, subdue or destroy the Jews who simply began buying scrap land and settling down in 1878. Arab Muslims in Palestine had begun to realize much like modern Arabs in North Africa and Asia, European Muslims and other Asian Muslims that Islam is a fragile religion and culture that would crumble before the temptation of Western Culture. This fragility had to be counteracted by segregation and fundamentalism. It continues today.</div>
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The Grand Mufti had been unsuccessful in his massacres, riots and attacks, He had alienated the upper class Arabs and moderates by attacking them as well. When Jews began to arrive in great numbers due to the persecution in Europe, he stepped up the war. The British capitulated and immigration virtually ceased.</div>
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The previous November the United Nations in an effort to stabilize the area tried to segregate the Jews from the Arabs by creating Arab and Jewish states in Resolution. The Arab Palestinians rejected the proposal but it still passed. The Grand Mufti thought that once the British left the Jews were vulnerable with all there kibbutz and urban militias. He appealed to the Arab League to destroy the Jewish state once it was declared. The Arab League organized 5 Arab Armies from Iraq (which is not near Israel), Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. These armies invaded Palestine. Their mission was to “drive the Jews into the sea” which was lingo for genocide. A second genocide to the very same people in 10 years. They warned the Arab Palestinian that lest they become collateral damage by being in the crossfire; they should leave temporarily. Many did. They left for the hills of Judea and Samaria now called the West Bank. They were bolstered by reports on Arab radio that Deir Yassin was the beginning of terrible massacres. Deir Yassin was exaggerated from its position of history as a battle into a massacre by mainstream Jewish forces opposed to the radical groups Irgun and Lehi as well as Arab Radio. It was an effort to discredit radical forces and centralize Jewish forces. There were some expulssions like in Lydda now called Lod due to murders of Jews. But the evacuation was mostly an Arab operation. Today the Fatah and PA leader Abbas admits his family fled Galilee with his fearing retribution for local massacres in 1929 incited by the Grand Mufti. There were Arabs who remained. They are known as Israeli Arabs and live in Israel unlike the Palestinians who do not.</div>
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The strange thing was that the 5 Arab Armies were halted and defeated by the Jewish <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">militias. By</span> 1949 the Arabs sued for an armastice which the UN mediated. The front became the border of what it now Israel. Huge empty expanses where Arabs lived were apparent. The Arab refugees, who were not called Palestinians until the 1960’s, remained in the hills. Most dared not attempt s to return. They knew that they were complicit in an attempted genocide.</div>
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The Arabs in an effort to destroy the Jews actually created Israel. They set up country with emptied of a hostile populace. The rejected bi-national proposals of statehood and would only accept Jews as subservient to a Muslim state or no Jews in Palestine at all. Their intractability created the Jewish state. It set up a blue dot in an Arab Muslim sea of green, black, red and white.</div>
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There were Arab Jews or Mizrachi Jews in Arab countries from Morocco to Iraq. Most were expelled as punishment for being of the same religion as the Jews who defeated the Arab League. But the joy of a Jewish state brought many who weren't expelled. They filled the gap left by the Arab Palestinians who were so confident of the destruction of Palestinian Jews. For them it was an unanticipated horror of their own making.</div>
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Did the Arab Palestinians set up their own state once there was a truce?? No the the areas conquered by the 5 Arab Armies were annexed by Egypt (Gaza) and Jordan (the West Bank)</div>
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Today their descendents live in Palestine and around the world. Politically they have created a war of terror once they felt the Arab states was not serious in helping them.</div>
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The first phase was by the Palestine Liberation Front (1970-1993) and the second by Hamas and assorted allies (1995-the present).</div>
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ON NOVEMBER 9, 2009 AT 7:35 PM <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/269/#respond" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEAVE A COMMENT</a> <br />TAGS: <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/arab-league/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ARAB LEAGUE</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/deir-yassin/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">DEIR YASSIN</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EGYPT</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/el-nabka/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EL NABKA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/hamas/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HAMAS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/iraq/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">IRAQ</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/islamic-jihad/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ISLAMIC JIHAD</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/israel-jews/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ISRAEL. JEWS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/israeli-war-of-independence/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ISRAELI WAR OF INDEPENDENCE</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/jordan/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">JORDAN</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/lebanon/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEBANON</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/mizrachi-jews/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">MIZRACHI JEWS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/palestine/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">PALESTINE</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/plo/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">PLO</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SYRIA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/the-grand-mufti-of-jerusalem/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">THE GRAND MUFTI OF JERUSALEM</a></div>
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<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/similiarities-between-nazis-and-hamas/" rel="bookmark" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;">Similiarities between Nazis and Hamas</a></h2>
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<strong><img alt="616HAMAS_NAZIS_HAMAS_SIG11 (1)" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-210" height="395" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/616hamas_nazis_hamas_sig11-1.jpg?w=470&h=395" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="616HAMAS_NAZIS_HAMAS_SIG11 (1)" width="470" /></strong></div>
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<strong><img alt="616HAMAS_NAZIS_HAMAS_SIG11" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-211" height="306" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/616hamas_nazis_hamas_sig11.gif?w=470&h=306" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="616HAMAS_NAZIS_HAMAS_SIG11" width="470" /></strong></div>
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<strong>Perusing the internet you can practically hear the wailing lament of those labeling Israel as terrorist. This is called turnspeak. You take a negative characteristic of something you advocate or hold dear and copy and paste it<br />on the to something you want to denigrate. You are so familar with the subject you knoe how to falsely glue these negative attributes on to an innocent party. You see this when white supremacists call Jews, Jewish supremacists. It works so well with Nazis labels pasted on Israel despite the obvious inaccuracies. Varieties of Jew haters from the left and right react with such enthusiasm and glee in <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">this.The</span> list continues; so you see there is a strategy here. Gaza suddenly becomes a concentration camp when it has no similarities in suffering or size or environment with Auschwitz, Dachau or others. Arab riots against Jews are transformed into a Invasion of Jews in the post Holocaust years.A recurrent tactic is to minimize the Holocaust of 6 million Jews by proclaiming the very same Jews are enacting a Holocaust against the Palestinian people. They describe the military opeartion against Hamas deep within crowded urban settings as similar to the executions in the death camps. The ratio of survivors to the entire population in both concentration camps and Gaza is so different as laughable. Few survived the death camps almost all survived Gaza. Even Colonel Kemp, a British officer, remarked considering the total population to the casualties inflicted by the operation the Gaza Operation was the most humane in military history!!! To this add the Hamas strategy of using the Gaza population in a variety of Human Shields. I often point out that the Palestinian Holocaust is the only one where the victims tripled in population. That ridiculous their tactic and takes the air of of their balloon until they can parrot it later in their typical robotic fashion. If you know history you ether laugh or cry.<br />But here I deal with those who call Israel a terroristic <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">state.You</span> ask what is terror. Terror is uncertainty. Never knowing whether the man next to you is a suicide bomber is terror. Palestinians generally know once they commit an act they expect a reaction fron Israel, this has been going on since the 1920s. But Hamas first in its suicide bombing phase 1995-2006 and later the missile stage (2000-9) attacks unannounced and unprovoked. Of course they always use anything as an excuse from insult to hoax for launching an attack. My cartoons here compare this strategy to where Arabs spiritually inherited this from; Nazi Germany. The Nazis were aided by Arabs such as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. And the later his or even employed Nazi War Criminals. They adopted many philosophies from the Nazis that can be seen in heil salutes by Hamas and Hezbullah.<br />So the conclusion in a rationally, is that Israeli operations are not random therefire not teroristic while Hamas whether by suicide bomber or by random Qassam rocket is the defintion of terror.</strong></div>
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ON NOVEMBER 1, 2009 AT 7:18 PM <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/similiarities-between-nazis-and-hamas/#respond" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEAVE A COMMENT</a> <br />TAGS: <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/ashkelon-colonel-kemp/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ASHKELON. COLONEL KEMP</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/bigotry/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">BIGOTRY</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/cast-lead/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">CAST LEAD</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/disformation/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">DISFORMATION</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EGYPT</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/gaza/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">GAZA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/hamas/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HAMAS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/hamas-gaza/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HAMAS GAZA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/idf/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">IDF</a>,<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/islamists/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ISLAMISTS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/jew-hatred/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">JEW HATRED</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/muslim-brotherhood/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/nazis/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">NAZIS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/qassams/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">QASSAMS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/sderot/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SDEROT</a></div>
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<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/183/" rel="bookmark" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;">The Empire of Greater Israel</a></h2>
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<img alt="333-Find Israeli Empire (1)" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-180" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/333-find-israeli-empire-1.jpg?w=470" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="333-Find Israeli Empire (1)" /></div>
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<img alt="333-Find Israeli Empire" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-182" height="209" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/333-find-israeli-empire.gif?w=470&h=209" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="333-Find Israeli Empire" width="470" /><img alt="333-Find Israeli Empire (2)" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-181" src="https://kreplach.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/333-find-israeli-empire-2.jpg?w=470" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="333-Find Israeli Empire (2)" /></div>
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<strong>Jew Haters, Israel haters but not Anti-Zionists (few if any) always distort the size of the Jewish state by semantics. They use elaborate language meant to inflame the ignorant, confused and other newbies about Israel expansion. But these people are very good with propaganda and use socialist/leftist terminology, or ancient christian anti-semtic terminology, depending on whether they left wing or right-wing, to misrepresent the reality of Israel in the middle-east.. Islamist Arabs and other anti-Israeli Muslims use both approaches.</strong></div>
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<strong>Another word that's incorrect and meant to outrage is “aparthied”.</strong></div>
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<strong>I encounter the hardcore types on forums. They are hardcore on the left and right. But the lines get blurred as rightist pretend to be left and vice versa. But many have no ideology except hatred of Jews.</strong></div>
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<strong>They repeat incessantly that Israel is expanding and confiscating Arab lands all over the Middle East. A good example is the absurd Greater Israel post that Israel has it’s goal on an Empire from the Euphrates to the Nile, since King David had such a realm. I’ve already written about this.</strong></div>
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<strong>Those a little more practical go on to point out examples like Israel conquering Lebanon since they “occupy” Sheba’a Farm disputed boundary issue on the Golan Heights. Since Lebanon and Syria never resolved the problem BEFORE 1967 its now ballooned into a major international outrage of occupied Lebanon.</strong></div>
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<strong>They also mention the Israel-PLO War invasion of Lebanon in 1982. But they NEVER mention that the PLO controlled their own section of Lebanon from 1976 to 1983 and launched Katyushya rockets AT Northern Israel in 1978 and AGAIN in 1982. The 1982 incident led Israel's to attempt to destroy the PLO by surrounding Beirut. To prevent future attacks Israel set up a Christian state in southern Lebanon. This too is pointed at as expansion despite no settlements ever existing. So they ignore the point of Israeli withdrawal in 2000 which sparked the 2nd intifada as Arabs salivated at perceived Israeli weakness.</strong></div>
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<strong>The 2006 Hezbullah War is mentioned as a land grab attempt when its quite clearly a self defense measure to stop missiles raining on Northern Israel for a month. They also point to the territories in the West Bank and Gaza which were never annexed. In fact they are silent when you mention the Expulsion of Jewish settlers from Gaza.</strong></div>
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<strong>But whats pointed out with great glee is the territories conquered in the 6 Day War. Thats expansion they cry with pretend wounded cries. Sinai was occupied but after Anwar Sadat went to Jerusalem and later signed a peace treaty, that resulted in his assacination, Israel withdrew section by section from the Sinai including dismantling settlements like Yamit.</strong></div>
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<strong>Yes Israel DID annex the Golan and East Jerusalem. Those areas when occupied by Arabs were exploited and used as launchpads for weapons fire INTO Israel. The West Bank or Samaria/Judea remained settler free for most of the first 10 years. And since Jordan refused to negotiate LAND FOR PEACE it remain in Israel hands. King Hussein sat on his hands capitulating to the Arab League and their proxies the PLO. Eventually all rights to that part of Jordan was given to the PLO.</strong></div>
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<strong>Jewish settler consider these lands part of Jewish history and they create settlements between Arab towns most of the time on fallow Arab land. This I must concede is the only expansion I can see.</strong></div>
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<strong>But if you look at Israel in comparison with its hostile neighbors on a map you are astonished</strong></div>
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<strong>You can barely see Israel and the proto-state of Palestine. Only Lebanon is smaller. Egypt, Jordan (which initially WAS part of Palestine), Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and Algeria loom like Soviet Russia over Poland! They are humongous mega expanses. Israel haters MAKE sure never to bring maps into the debate! The Arabs are greedy in not being able to recognize a tiny sliver of a non-Muslim state in their midst.</strong></div>
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<strong>They consider this a loss for Arab Muslim heritage. These lands once conquered should alway remain Muslim,. Its their UMMA lands forever! This applies to other losses like Spain. and the Balkans too but in a much lesser way. Those loses aren't as fresh and raw like Israel! They view the area from Morocco to Persia (Iran) as a great Arab carpet mosaic with reds, greens, blacks and white suddenly infected by alien blue Israel. So in reality 19 mile wide Israel is very small but its exaggerated to a huge size by the outraged psychology of the Arab mind.</strong></div>
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ON OCTOBER 26, 2009 AT 6:57 PM <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/183/#respond" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEAVE A COMMENT</a> <br />TAGS: <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/david-and-solomon/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">DAVID AND SOLOMON</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EGYPT</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/eurphrates/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EURPHRATES</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/gamal-nasser/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">GAMAL NASSER</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/gaza/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">GAZA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/hamas/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HAMAS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/holy-land/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HOLY LAND</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/iraq/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">IRAQ</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/islam/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ISLAM</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/judea/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">JUDEA</a>,<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/lebanon-sinai/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LEBANON. SINAI</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/libya/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">LIBYA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/nile/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">NILE</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/samaria/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SAMARIA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/saudi-arabia/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SAUDI ARABIA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SYRIA</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/the-sudan/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">THE SUDAN</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/umma-lands/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">UMMA LANDS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/west-bank/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">WEST BANK</a></div>
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<div class="post-57 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized tag-antisemism tag-david tag-egypt tag-jew-haters tag-maps-greater-israel-euphrates tag-nile tag-river-in-egypt tag-solomon" style="background-color: #f2e2c1; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">
<h2 class="storytitle" id="post-57" style="font-size: 30px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin: 15px 0px 5px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/the-absurd-accusation-of-greater-israel/" rel="bookmark" style="color: #5b211a; text-decoration: none;">The Absurd Accusation of Greater Israel</a></h2>
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<strong>Bigots often bring up the accusation that 13 mile wide Israel is expanding and threatening to gobble up the Fertile Crescent or the Middle East. They don't mention Israeli withdrawals from the Sinai. Lebanon and Gaza. That would ruin the basis of their lies.</strong></div>
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<strong>Not that Israel has not expanded since the 6 Day /Yom Kippur Wars ceasefire lines. They have annexed the Golan and East Jerusalem. But an Israeli Empire that still remains a quick drive across; its not.</strong></div>
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<strong>They adopt Hitler’s strategy of the big lie and repeatedly post the same accusation. Posting perpetually in forums and yahoo groups mainly; their aim is to confuse and enrage the ignorant.</strong></div>
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<strong>Of course like most Jew hater accusations they are easily dismissed and superficial.</strong></div>
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<strong>They base this idea on the fact that fundamentalist Jews and therefore , in their eyes all Jews, want to recreate the David and Solomon Empire that stretched from the Euphrates to the River of Egypt. What shows the bigots up as ignorant themselves is that they often state the River of Egypt is the Nile, when biblically it was a wadi near El Arish.<br />So here I posted 3 graphics that began their existences as graphics created by Jew haters.</strong></div>
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ON OCTOBER 6, 2009 AT 4:00 PM <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/the-absurd-accusation-of-greater-israel/#comments" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">COMMENTS (3)</a> <br />TAGS: <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/antisemism/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ANTISEMISM</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/david/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">DAVID</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/egypt/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">EGYPT</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/jew-haters/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">JEW HATERS</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/maps-greater-israel-euphrates/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">MAPS. GREATER ISRAEL. EUPHRATES</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/nile/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">NILE</a>, <a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/river-in-egypt/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">RIVER IN EGYPT</a>,<a href="https://kreplach.wordpress.com/tag/solomon/" rel="tag" style="color: #5b211a; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SOLOMON</a></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-84851942420959814272015-07-20T01:42:00.001-07:002015-07-20T01:42:28.379-07:00"Why Jerusalem is the Jewish capital of Israel"<br />
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<section class="slide show" data-index="1" itemprop="image" slidenumber="1" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 0px; height: 472px; min-height: 50px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><img alt="The Case for an Undivided
Jerusalem
" class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-1-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-1-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-1-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-1-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="2" slidenumber="2" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem: Biblical History
&#x2022; Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism. It
is mentioned 638 times in the Bible
&#x2..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-2-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-2-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-2-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="3" slidenumber="3" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem After the Temple
&#x2022; 135 CE: After the Bar Kochba revolt, Jews are
forbidden from entering Jerusalem and Ro..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-3-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-3-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-3-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="4" slidenumber="4" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="The Beginning of Modern Jerusalem
&#x2022; 1858-1860: Mishkenot Sha'ananim, built by Montefiore,
becomes first Jewish neig..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-4-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-4-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-4-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="5" slidenumber="5" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="War of Independence
&#x2022; 1948: Jordan captures the Old City of
Jerusalem during the War of Independence
&#x2022; The J..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-5-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-5-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-5-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="6" slidenumber="6" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jordanian Rule
&#x2022; 1948-1967: The Armistice lines drawn at
the end of Israel&#x2019;s War of Independence
gave contro..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-6-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-6-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-6-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="7" slidenumber="7" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Religious Discrimination Under
Jordanian Rule
&#x2022; Non-Muslim institutions and individuals are
legally prohibited acqu..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-7-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-7-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-7-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="8" slidenumber="8" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Six Day War (1967)
&#x2022; Jerusalem is reunified, following Israel&#x2019;s victory in
the Six Day War.
&#x2022; Ministe..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-8-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-8-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-8-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="9" slidenumber="9" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem Neighborhoods
" class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-9-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-9-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-9-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="10" slidenumber="10" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: The Old City
&#x2022; During the Roman period,
following the destruction of
the Second Temple, th..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-10-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-10-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-10-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="11" slidenumber="11" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Gilo
&#x2022; Gilo is a 40,000 resident neighborhood in
southern Jerusalem.
&#x2022; In 2000, Gil..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-11-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-11-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-11-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="12" slidenumber="12" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Ma&#x2019;ale Adumim
&#x2022; The first Jewish city founded in Judea
and Samaria after the Six Da..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-12-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-12-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-12-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="13" slidenumber="13" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Mt. Scopus
&#x2022; The Hebrew University campus is located on Mt.
Scopus in the eastern part of ..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-13-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-13-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-13-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="14" slidenumber="14" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Jerusalem Basic Law (1980)
&#x201C;The Holy Places shall be
protected from desecration
and any other violation and
from an..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-14-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-14-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-14-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="15" slidenumber="15" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Terror in Jerusalem: Past
&#x2022; Jerusalemite Palestinians were exploited for their
Israeli identity cards and knowledge..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-15-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-15-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-15-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="16" slidenumber="16" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Terror in Jerusalem: Present
&#x2022; Local cells initiate and carry out attacks
without external direction.
&#x2022; Lone..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-16-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-16-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-16-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="17" slidenumber="17" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Terror Trends
&#x2022; 28% of total terror arrests during the
Intifada were in 2008.
&#x2022; 2001-2007: 270 East Jerusale..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-17-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-17-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-17-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="18" slidenumber="18" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Terror Trends
" class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-18-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-18-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-18-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="19" slidenumber="19" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Dealing with the Threat
&#x2022; Increasing options for deterrence:
&#x2013; Strengthening sanctions against
families of t..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-19-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-19-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-19-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="20" slidenumber="20" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="ConsequencesConsequences
" class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-20-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-20-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-20-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="21" slidenumber="21" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Rejecting Jewish Ties to Jerusalem
&#x2022; Denying Jewish Ties to Jerusalem and
the Temple Mount has become a
central the..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-21-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-21-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-21-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="22" slidenumber="22" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="PA Politicians: Yasser Arafat
&#x2022; &#x201C;That is not the Western Wall at all, but a
Moslem shrine&#x201D; (Ma&#x2019..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-22-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-22-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-22-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="23" slidenumber="23" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="PA Politicians: Mahmoud Abbas
&#x2022; &#x201C;They demand that we forget what happened 50
years ago to the refugees &#x20..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-23-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-23-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-23-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="24" slidenumber="24" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="PA Religious Leaders:
Tayseer Al-Tamimi
&#x2022; &#x201C; [the Al-Aqsa Mosque] is
subject to an [Israeli] conspiracy
that ..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-24-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-24-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-24-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="25" slidenumber="25" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="PA Religious Leaders:
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri
&#x2022; &#x201C;There is not [even] the smallest
indication of the existence of..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-25-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-25-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-25-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="26" slidenumber="26" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="PA TV
" class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-26-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-26-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-26-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="27" slidenumber="27" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="PA Academic: Shamekh Alawneh
" class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-27-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-27-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-27-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="28" slidenumber="28" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="PA Study
&#x2022; &#x201C;The Zionist occupation falsely
and unjustly claims that it owns
this wall, which it calls the
We..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-28-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-28-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-28-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="29" slidenumber="29" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Summary
&#x2022;Only under Jewish sovereignty has there been respect
for all religions.
&#x2022;Creating a Palestinian cap..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-29-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-29-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-29-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section><section class="slide" data-index="30" slidenumber="30" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 629px;"><span class="fa fa-spinner fa-spin" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation: fa-spin 2s linear infinite; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span><img alt="Sources
&#x2022; Jerusalem History: http://www.jafi.org.il/education/jerusalem/timeline.html
&#x2022; War of Independence:..." class="slide_image" data-full="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-30-1024.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-normal="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-30-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" data-small="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/85/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-30-320.jpg?cb=1406289985" src="http://www.slideshare.net/joshzoa/jerusalem-presentation2" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; content: url(http://public.slidesharecdn.com/images/1x1.gif?cb=1437184403); display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 629px;" /></section></div>
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<h1 class="notranslate slideshow-title-text" itemprop="headline" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.2rem 0px 0.3rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; transform: translate(0px, 0px);">
<span style="color: blue;">Why Jerusalem is the Jewish capital of Israel</span></h1>
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<h3 class="transcript-header" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1.78571rem; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.2rem 0px 0.3rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; transform: translate(0px, 0px);">
<span style="color: #504c48; font-weight: 300;"><span class="fa fa-file-o" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; font-family: FontAwesome; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1; text-rendering: auto; transform: translate(0px, 0px);"></span> Transcript of </span><span style="color: #20124d;">"Why Jerusalem is the Jewish capital of Israel"</span></h3>
<ol class="j-transcripts transcripts no-bullet no-style" itemprop="text" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #3b3835; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.6; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.42857rem 1.4rem; padding: 0px;">
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1. The Case for an Undivided Jerusalem</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-2-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem: Biblical History
• Jerusalem is the holiest city...">2. </a>Jerusalem: Biblical History • Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism. It is mentioned 638 times in the Bible • Binding of Isaac- First time Jerusalem is explicitly mentioned in the Bible (Mt. Moriah) • 1003 BCE : King David makes it the Jewish capital • King Solomon builds the Temple in Jerusalem, and establishes it as a major city • Jerusalem remains the capital for 400 years until the Babylonian invasion, when the First Temple is destroyed. • 538 BCE: After the Babylonian exile, Jews are granted return to Israel by King Cyrus. Temple is rebuilt. • 70 CE : Jerusalem remains the Jewish capital until the destruction of the 2nd Temple by the Roman Empire.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-3-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem After the Temple
• 135 CE: After the Bar Kochba r...">3. </a>Jerusalem After the Temple • 135 CE: After the Bar Kochba revolt, Jews are forbidden from entering Jerusalem and Romans rename it Aelia Capitolina. • 324 CE: Byzantine Rule under Emperor Constantine • 634 CE: Muslims invade and in 691 CE the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque are built. • 1099-1187: Crusades- Jews and Muslims are killed and their holy places are destroyed or transformed into churches. Jerusalem is established as the capital of the Crusader Kingdom. • 1187: Saladin, Kurdish Muslim, captures Jerusalem • 1260: Mamluks begin rule in Jerusalem, making Jerusalem an exclusively Muslim city, and running it into economic failure. • 1517: During the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent builds up the city (including the walls around the city)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-4-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Beginning of Modern Jerusalem
• 1858-1860: Mishkenot Sh...">4. </a>The Beginning of Modern Jerusalem • 1858-1860: Mishkenot Sha'ananim, built by Montefiore, becomes first Jewish neighborhood outside the Old City walls. • 1917-1948: Jerusalem is built up during the British Mandate, establishing a new city that pushes Westward from the Old City. • 1929: Thousands of armed Arabs attack the residents of Jerusalem’s Old City during the Western Wall Uprising, initiating a week of riots in which at least 116 Arabs and 133 Jews are killed. • 1936-1939 Arab Revolts: The three-year Arab uprising results in the deaths of more than 5,000 Arabs, 400 Jews, and 200 Britons. • 1937: The British offer the Peel Commission Partition Plan: a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a British corridor in between, including Jerusalem. The Jews accept, but the Arabs reject the Peel Commission and continue to riot.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-5-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="War of Independence
• 1948: Jordan captures the Old City of...">5. </a>War of Independence • 1948: Jordan captures the Old City of Jerusalem during the War of Independence • The Jews of eastern Jerusalem were either forced out or killed • The 58 synagogues in the Jewish Quarter are all destroyed • The 2,500 year old cemetery on the Mount of Olives is desecrated when a road is dug through it, and Jewish tombstones are used to make a path to a latrine. • The Arabs decree that selling land to a Jew is a crime punishable by death.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-6-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jordanian Rule
• 1948-1967: The Armistice lines drawn at
th...">6. </a>Jordanian Rule • 1948-1967: The Armistice lines drawn at the end of Israel’s War of Independence gave control of Eastern Jerusalem to Jordan. Israel retains control over Western Jerusalem. • The city is divided by concrete walls and barbed wire between 1948-1967. • In open violation of the Armistice Agreement, Jordan refuses to set up a special committee for rule and order in Jerusalem, and bars Jews from their Holy Places. It is the only time since King David made it the capital that there are no Jews in the Old City.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-7-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Religious Discrimination Under
Jordanian Rule
• Non-Muslim ...">7. </a>Religious Discrimination Under Jordanian Rule • Non-Muslim institutions and individuals are legally prohibited acquisition of property in the Old City, and Christian schools are required to teach the Quran and the Arabic language and to close on Friday, the Muslim holy day. • There are limits on the numbers of Christian pilgrims permitted into the Old City and Bethlehem during Christmas and Easter. Muslim Israeli Arabs are unable to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Jews are not allowed to visit the Western Wall.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-8-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Six Day War (1967)
• Jerusalem is reunified, following Isra...">8. </a>Six Day War (1967) • Jerusalem is reunified, following Israel’s victory in the Six Day War. • Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan orders soldiers to remove an Israeli flag that had been raised over the Temple Mount, and immediately cedes control of the Temple Mount to the Jordanian Waqf. • Prime Minister Levi Eshkol meets with spiritual leaders of different faiths and issues a declaration of peace, including giving various religions internal management of their own Holy Places. • The Knesset passes the Protection of Holy Places Law, granting special legal status to Holy Sites and making it a criminal offense to desecrate them or impede access to them.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-9-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem Neighborhoods
">9. </a>Jerusalem Neighborhoods</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-10-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: The Old City
• During the Roman pe...">10. </a>Jerusalem Neighborhoods: The Old City • During the Roman period, following the destruction of the Second Temple, the Old City was divided into Jewish, Armenian, Muslim, and Christian Quarters. • Since 1967, the Waqf, the Islamic Movement, and various Islamic groups have exploited their control of the Temple Mount, and have seriously damaged Temple Mount antiquities in renovations and disregard for the archaeological finds they turn over.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-11-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Gilo
• Gilo is a 40,000 resident n...">11. </a>Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Gilo • Gilo is a 40,000 resident neighborhood in southern Jerusalem. • In 2000, Gilo suffered from unprovoked nightly shooting from the bordering Christian Arab neighborhood of Beit Jalah. • Residents stayed away from their windows and reinforced them with sandbags. A reinforced wall was built around the area of Israeli schools to protect children from the shooting during the day. (insert photo) • “In the beginning, the Palestinian Authority claimed that the shooting was being done against their will and against their efforts to stop it. We have good evidence that in the last few days not only is it not done against their will, but it is coordinated and encouraged by the officials of the Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem.” – Jerusalem Mayor, Ehud Omert Oct. 24, 2000 (briefing)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-12-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Ma’ale Adumim
• The first Jewish c...">12. </a>Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Ma’ale Adumim • The first Jewish city founded in Judea and Samaria after the Six Day War, Ma’ale Adumim is a suburb of Jerusalem. • Located four and half miles east of Jerusalem, Ma’ale Adumim connects the Judean desert to Jerusalem making it a strategic defensive point for Jerusalem. • Named after the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin which gave off a reddish hue from the rocks. • In 2005, Ma’ale Adumim’s population was 32,000.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-13-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Mt. Scopus
• The Hebrew University...">13. </a>Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Mt. Scopus • The Hebrew University campus is located on Mt. Scopus in the eastern part of Jerusalem. • Hebrew University opened in 1925, but was shut down from 1948-1967 during the Jordanian occupation • Hadassah Hospital was founded by Hadassah, the Woman’s Zionist Organization. • Different stones were used in the building of the hospital due to an Arab riot at the excavation site. These differences are noticeable today during rain storms. • Hadassah is used as Hebrew University’s teaching hospital. • Hadassah Hospital was used to treat patients in WWII. • April 13th, 1948- a group of doctors and nurses were ambushed by Arabs on their way to the hospital and 78 of them were killed. • The hospital was shut down after this ambush, and did not reopen until 1978.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-14-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jerusalem Basic Law (1980)
“The Holy Places shall be
protec...">14. </a>Jerusalem Basic Law (1980) “The Holy Places shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings towards those places.”</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-15-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Terror in Jerusalem: Past
• Jerusalemite Palestinians were ...">15. </a>Terror in Jerusalem: Past • Jerusalemite Palestinians were exploited for their Israeli identity cards and knowledge of the area and population. They were used to gather information for the planning of attacks, acquiring arms and materials not available in Judea and Samaria, and for transporting terrorists to the locations of terror attacks, under the direction of organized groups (ie: Fatah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad). • Between 1949 and 1956, 1,300 Israelis all over the country, including Jerusalem, were killed and wounded by Fedayeen, Arab militants. • Terror attacks continued until the Six Day War in 1967. • Since 1967, 2,149 people have been killed in Palestinian terror attacks all over Israel, including in Jerusalem.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-16-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Terror in Jerusalem: Present
• Local cells initiate and car...">16. </a>Terror in Jerusalem: Present • Local cells initiate and carry out attacks without external direction. • Lone Wolf attackers • Most attacks involve shootings, vehicular borne assaults, and stabbings. • Significant Recent Attacks – Vehicle Attack: July 2, 2008. Husam Dwayat plowed a tractor into a crowd of pedestrians on Jaffa Street killing 3 Israelis and wounding 42. – Shooting Attack: March 6, 2008. Ala’ Abu Dahim opened fire with an automatic assault rifle in the Mercaz Ha Rav Yeshiva (Jewish seminary). He killed 8 Israeli students and wounded 12 others.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-17-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Terror Trends
• 28% of total terror arrests during the
Inti...">17. </a>Terror Trends • 28% of total terror arrests during the Intifada were in 2008. • 2001-2007: 270 East Jerusalem residents involved in terror were arrested. • January-September 2008: 104 East Jerusalem residents involved in terror arrested. • Increases not just in number of arrests, but also in the escalating severity of attacks.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-18-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Terror Trends
">18. </a>Terror Trends</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-19-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Dealing with the Threat
• Increasing options for deterrence...">19. </a>Dealing with the Threat • Increasing options for deterrence: – Strengthening sanctions against families of terrorists. – Greater presence of security forces (strategy which has succeeded in curbing attacks from originating in Judea and Samaria). – Strengthening existing laws against the illegal sale or transfer of arms.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-20-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="ConsequencesConsequences
">20. </a>ConsequencesConsequences</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-21-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Rejecting Jewish Ties to Jerusalem
• Denying Jewish Ties to...">21. </a>Rejecting Jewish Ties to Jerusalem • Denying Jewish Ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount has become a central theme of Palestinian Propaganda. • This pattern stretches back many years and was central to Yasser Arafat’s rejection of the Israeli peace plan at Camp David in 2000. • Denial of Jewish ties has manifested itself in Palestinian media, speeches by politicians and religious leaders, and even academia.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-22-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="PA Politicians: Yasser Arafat
• “That is not the Western Wa...">22. </a>PA Politicians: Yasser Arafat • “That is not the Western Wall at all, but a Moslem shrine” (Ma’ariv, October 11, 1996) • “For 34 years they [Jews] have dug tunnels, the most dangerous of which is the great tunnel. They found not a single stone proving that the Temple of Solomon was there, because historically the Temple was not in Palestine [at all]. They found only remnants of a shrine of the Roman Herod.” (Al Hayat, October 5, 2002, Translation: MEMRI)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-23-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="PA Politicians: Mahmoud Abbas
• “They demand that we forget...">23. </a>PA Politicians: Mahmoud Abbas • “They demand that we forget what happened 50 years ago to the refugees – and I speak as a living, breathing refugee – while at the same time they claim that 2000 years ago they had a temple. I challenge the assertion that this is so [that there has ever been a Jewish Temple}.” (Kul Al-Arab (Israel), August 25, 2000; Translation: MEMRI) • Adnan Husseini, advisor to Mamhoud Abbas: “This is part of Islamic heritage that cannot be given up, and it must be under Muslim control,” Husseini told Israel’s NRG website, adding that all of Jerusalem’s Old City should be part of a future Palestinian state” (‘Abbas aide: Western Wall is ours,’ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, October 11, 2007).</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-24-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="PA Religious Leaders:
Tayseer Al-Tamimi
• “ [the Al-Aqsa Mo...">24. </a>PA Religious Leaders: Tayseer Al-Tamimi • “ [the Al-Aqsa Mosque] is subject to an [Israeli] conspiracy that threatens its structure and identity, to cause it to collapse and to establish the "alleged Jewish Temple" upon its ruins.” (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), July 29, 2009)</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-25-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="PA Religious Leaders:
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri
• “There is not [...">25. </a>PA Religious Leaders: Sheikh Ikrima Sabri • “There is not [even] the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish Temple on this place in the past. In the whole city, there is not even a single stone indicating Jewish history... The Jews cannot legitimately claim [the Western] wall, neither religiously nor historically.” [Die Welt, January 17, 2001]</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-26-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="PA TV
">26. </a>PA TV</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-27-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="PA Academic: Shamekh Alawneh
">27. </a>PA Academic: Shamekh Alawneh</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-28-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="PA Study
• “The Zionist occupation falsely
and unjustly cla...">28. </a>PA Study • “The Zionist occupation falsely and unjustly claims that it owns this wall, which it calls the Western Wall or Kotel… Al-Buraq Wall is in fact the western wall of Al-Aksa Mosque… This wall was never part of the so-called Temple Mount, but Muslim tolerance allowed the Jews to stand in front of it and weep over its destruction” [Jerusalem Post, November 22, 2010]</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-29-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Summary
•Only under Jewish sovereignty has there been respe...">29. </a>Summary •Only under Jewish sovereignty has there been respect for all religions. •Creating a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem would pose significant security threats. •It is not simple to divide Jerusalem into East and West due to the mixture of neighborhoods. •The cause of an Undivided Jerusalem has near uniform support in the Jewish community (94% in last month’s AJC survey of American Jewish Opinion). •The Arab world never declared Jerusalem as its capital city during its time ruling the city. •Divided cities have never worked anywhere else in the world.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/jerusalempresentation2-140725120507-phpapp02/95/why-jerusalem-is-the-jewish-capital-of-israel-30-638.jpg?cb=1406289985" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Sources
• Jerusalem History: http://www.jafi.org.il/educati...">30. </a>Sources • Jerusalem History: http://www.jafi.org.il/education/jerusalem/timeline.html • War of Independence: CAMERA: Jennings’ Jerusalem Jihad. December 31,1996. Andrea Levin. • Jordanian Rule: CAMERA: BACKGROUNDER: History of Jerusalem. August 28, 2007. Ricki Holander. • Terrorism: http://www.jewishagency.org/NR/exeres/86314008-E729-4282-AD78- 8B0C0E24B36B http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism- +Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Which+Came+First- +Terrorism+or+Occupation+-+Major.htm • Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts%20About %20Israel/State/JERUSALEM • Old City Map: http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Michael_Zank/Jerusalem/35.gif • Gilo Photo: http://www.honestreporting.com/a/images/communiques/upload1/gilo.jpg • Six Day War Photo: http://www.judaicaposters.com/Images/jp71.jpg • 2nd Temple Model Photo: http://holylandarchive.com/section_images/387_TempleMap01.jpg • Crusader Map: http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/f/f3/Jerusalemcrusades.jpeg • Dome of the Rock Photo:</li>
</ol>
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</div>
YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-17765095839104941912015-07-20T01:28:00.005-07:002015-07-20T01:36:38.106-07:00Jerusalem, David's Holy City - Temple & palaces; scale models, reconstructions<br />
<span style="background-color: #cc0000; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: large; line-height: 30px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Jerusalem, David's Holy City - Temple & palaces; scale models, reconstructions</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Temple of Jerusalem was a place of worship, but unlike modern churches it was not designed for communal use. Its inner chamber was a focal point for the deity's presence, and entrance was prohibited to ordinary people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The First Temple was completed in 957BC, the Second Temple in 515BC, and Herod's Temple was completed in 26AD. Solomon completed the First Temple, the exiles returned from Babylon built the Second Temple, and Herod the Great completed a rebuilding of the Temple during the Roman era.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">The commanding site</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><img align="bottom" alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:a threshing floor used to process grain" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/4.The_2.jpg" height="321" width="485" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The site of the Temple was probably originally a threshing floor (see an example above), used to process grain after the harvest. The rock floor on which the Temple was built provided a solid foundation for monumental buildings.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Jebus or Jerusalem,the original city of David" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/1-Jerusalem-Jebus.jpg" height="673" width="582" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Jebus, the walled area in the lower right of the diagram,<br />marks the original city of David. It sat on a small spur of land that juts out from the flat rock plateau to its north.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">Solomon's Temple: the First Temple</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The architecture of the First Temple reflected designs used in surrounding cultures - the inhabitants of Israel/Palestine never developed a style unique to themselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:the moveable Tabernacle with the Holy of Holies" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/4.The_14.jpg" height="328" width="464" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Until the time of Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant was housed in a moveable tent, suitable for a nomadic people</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/1-Jerusalem-tabernacleJPG.jpg" height="468" width="507" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The floor plan of the Temple was based on the layout of the moveable Tabernacle in which the Holy of Holies had been housed, up until David gave it a more permanent home in his new capital, Jerusalem. The Tabernacle was well suited to the needs of a nomadic people, as it could be set up and dismantled quickly. The plan of the Tabernacle was similar to the layout of tribal tents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">David's son Solomon completed the First Temple in 957BC - see <a href="http://www.bible-people.info/Solomon.htm"><b>King Solomon</b></a> for a short version of his life. The building was not large. It had three rooms: a porch, the main room of worship, and the Holy of Holies where the Ark was kept. A storehouse surrounded three sides of the Temple. This Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586BC. The Temple treasures, including the Ark, were lost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:model of Solomon's Temple" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Reconstruction_Sols_Temple_Bible_Museum_Amsterdam.jpg" height="626" width="586" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:ground plan of the Temple of Solomon and its precincts" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/2proposed_mapSolomons_Temple.jpg" height="338" width="419" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Detailed ground plan of the Temple of Solomon and its precincts</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Egyptian Temple of Dendur" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Temple-of-Dendur-Egypt.jpg" height="345" width="584" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Reconstructions of Solomon's Temple are often over-large. The First Temple was probably of a more modest size, perhaps similar in scale, or smaller, to the Egyptian Temple of Dendur pictured here.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Judging from the description in the Bible, the central building in Solomon's Temple had a floor-plan similar to the one above</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Interior of the Temple with a view into the Holy of Holies" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/solomons-temple-interior.jpg" height="420" width="588" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Interior of the Temple with a view of the Holy of Holies - the curtain was normally closed.<br />The walls of the sanctuary were lined with expensive wooden panels, with gold overlay.<br />The real Temple would probably have been more modest in scale.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Temple of Jerusalem is talked about as if it was a single building, but in fact the term refers to separate buildings built during different eras.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the early years of the Israelite kingdom, the <a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/ark_covenant.htm"><b>Ark of the Covenant</b></a> was periodically moved about among several sanctuaries, for example those at Shechem and Shiloh. But after David moved his court away from Hebron into the fortress/city of Jerusalem, the Ark was moved there as well. By doing this, he joined Israel's major religious object to himself and the monarchy - he was trying to consolidate the loosely governed tribes into accepting him as a king. It also turned the city of Jerusalem into a central symbol of union for the tribes. David chose Mount Moriah, now known as the Temple Mount, as the site for his temple, largely because it was believed to be the place where Abraham had built the altar on which to sacrifice his son Isaac.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The First Temple was built during the reign of David's son Solomon, and completed in about 957BC. It was built primarily as an abode for the Ark and a place of assembly for the people. The building itself was not large - as modern cathedrals are - but the courtyard made up for this, far outdoing the surrounds of a modern church. The courtyard, or series of courtyards, was the place of assembly for the people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Temple building faced east. It was oblong and consisted of three rooms of equal width: the porch or vestibule, the main room of religious offering, or Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies in which the Ark rested. A storehouse surrounded the Temple except at its front (east) side.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The First Temple had five altars: one at the entrance of the Holy of Holies, two others within the building, a large bronze one in front of the porch, and a large tiered altar in the courtyard. A huge bronze bowl in the courtyards was used for the priests' ablutions. Within the Holy of Holies, two cherubim of olive wood stood with the Ark. This innermost sanctuary was considered the dwelling place or focus of the Divine Presence and could be entered only by the high priest, and then only on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">From Solomon to Hezekiah</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In 604BC and then again in 597BC Jerusalem was attacked and taken by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. The city was sacked, the Temple treasure was stolen, and the Temple itself was totally destroyed. A large section of the Jewish population, including all the educated and wealthy people, were deported to Babylon - Nebuchadnezzar had a policy of population resettlement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This might have been the end of it, but in 538BC Cyrus II, founder of the Achaemenian dynasty of Persia, issued an order allowing the Jewish population to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple. This they did, but on a more modest scale than Solomon had been able to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The rebuilt Temple, for which there is no exact description, was surrounded by two courtyards with chambers, gates and a public square. It did not have the ritual objects of the First Temple. The Ark had been lost, and money was short, since the whole of Jerusalem had fallen into a state of ruin and had to be rebuilt. To compensate, ritual became even more elaborate than before, and it was conducted by hereditary families of Levites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">During the 4th-3rd centuries BC, the Temple was respected by Judea's foreign rulers. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, however, desecrated it by offering sacrifice to Zeus on the altar in 168BC, sparking the Hasmonean revolt, led by the Maccabees. Judas Maccabaeus cleansed and rededicated the Temple, and this is celebrated in the annual Jewish festival of Hanukka.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Jerusalem as it was in the period from Solomon to Hezekiah" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/3-Jerusalem-Solomon-Hezekiah.jpg" height="599" width="511" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Map of the city as it was in the period from Solomon to Hezekiah</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Excavations of the Stepped Stone Structure" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Excavations_stepped_stone.jpg" height="488" width="574" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Excavations of the Stepped Stone Structure, circa 10thcentury BC,<br />believed to be part of Jerusalem's walls</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Quoted from <i>'David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings'</i>, Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, p269-70:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">'Beginning with the assumption that the biblical narratives were reliable historical sources, the researchers identified these ruins as features mentioned in the Bible. And they used the hypothetical identifications as archaeological "proof" that the biblical descriptions were true.<br />A prime example is the so-called "Stepped Stone Structure," first uncovered in the 1920's. It is an imposing rampart of fifty-eight courses of limestone boulders, extending for more than fifty feet, like a protective sheath or reinforcement over the upper end of the eastern slope of the City of David. Later excavations by Kenyon and by Shiloh discovered a network of stone terraces beneath it, probably constructed in order to stabilize and expand the narrow flat surface on the spine of the ridge, and perhaps to support a large structure built there. The early excavators suggested that the Stepped Stone Structure was part of the fortification of the Jebusite city that David conquered.....<br />Yet the pottery retrieved from within the courses of the Stepped Stone Structure included types of the Early Iron Age to the ninth or even early eighth centuries BC. It seems therefore that this monument was constructed at least a century later than the days of David and Solomon. Who used it, when exactly, and for what purpose still remains - archaeologically, at least - a mystery.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Water system including Hezekiah's tunnel" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/WatersystemHezekiah.jpg" height="415" width="586" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Above and below: the water system including Hezekiah's tunnel</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:The rock tunnel of Hezekiah" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/rock_tunnel.jpg" height="474" width="360" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The rock tunnel of Hezekiah</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When Solomon died, the ten northern tribes broke away from the federation, setting up their own kingdom in the north. Solomon's son Rehoboam was left with sovereignty over only two tribes. But he still had Jerusalem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In 922BC the Egyptian pharaoh Sheshonk I led a raid into Judah, and sacked the city, stealing the treasure of the Temple (and probably the royal women's jewelry as well). He was followed in the next century by the Philistines and Arabs, and then in 786BC Joash of Israel invaded Judah and tore down part of the wall surrounding Jerusalem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After Hezekiah became king of Judah, he built new fortifications and an underground tunnel (see illustration at left), which brought water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the city. This was an extraordinary engineering achievement, done with what are primitive tools by modern standards. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In 1880 an inscription was discovered. It had been cut into the tunnel wall, and describes the meeting of the two groups of stone-cutters who were digging from opposite ends of the tunnel: <b>'And this was the way in which it was cut through: While [...] (were) still [...] axe(s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellows, for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1200 cubits.'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Despite his best efforts, Hezekiah was no match for the Assyrians, and in 701BC Sennacherib of Assyria 'came down like a wolf on the fold', extracting a heavy tribute from Jerusalem. Eight years later Jerusalem was laid waste and its king deported to Babylon. In 586BC the city and Temple were completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the long exile in Babylon began.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">The post-Exilic period</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Layout of the city as it would have been " border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Reconstruction_of_Nehemiah_5thcenturyBC.jpg" height="526" width="456" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Layout of the city as it would have been in Nehemiah's time - 5th century BC</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:rough stone wall similar to the earliest city fortifications" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Jerusa1.jpg" height="346" width="437" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">'Then Eliashib the high priest and the other priests started to rebuild at the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set up its doors, building the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and the Tower of Hananel.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Comparison of the Post-Exilic Temple and the laterTemple built by Herod the Great" border="0" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Jerusa3.gif" height="277" width="396" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Comparison of the modestly rebuilt Post-Exilic Temple (at left) and the later, grander Temple of Herod the Great</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">The buildings of Herod the Great</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Quoted from '<i>Jerusalem, One City, Three Faiths'</i>, Karen Armstrong, p128:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">'Herod did not begin the real transformation of Jerusalem until about 23BC, when he had just won a good deal of respect in Palestine by his efficiency in providing food and grain for the people during the famine of 25-24BC. Many Jerusalemites had been ruined and were able to find employment as builders once work had begun in the city. Herod began by building a palace for himself in the Upper City on the Western Hill; it was fortified by three towers, which he named after his brother Phasael, his beloved wife Mariamme the Hasmonean, and his friend Hippicus. ..... The palace itself consisted of two large buildings, one of which was called Caesareum in honor of Octavian, which were joined by enchanting water gardens, where the deep canals and cisterns were lined with bronze statues and fountains. Herod seems to have also redesigned the streets of the Upper City into a gridded system, which made traffic and town planning easier. In addition, the Upper City had a theater and a hippodrome, though we do not know the exact location of these buildings. Every five years, games were held in honor of Augustus, which drew crowds of distinguished athletes to Jerusalem.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Go to </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.bible-people.info/Herod.htm">Herod's story</a></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"> for a brief version of the life story of this extraordinary man: one of the ancient world's greatest builders, yet also a paranoid murderer who killed most of his family </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="The city of Jerusalem in the Herodian period" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Copy_of_Herodian_city_of_Jerusalem.jpg" height="675" width="476" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The city of Jerusalem in the Herodian period</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:A model of the city in King Herod's time" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/ALLPICS_056_2a.jpg" height="280" width="583" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>A model of the city in King Herod's time. All available land within the walls<br />would once have been covered by buildings</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:the view across Jerusalem towards the Temple of Herod the Great,with Antonia Fortress" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/2TempleMountModel.jpg" height="150" width="586" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">A model showing the view across Jerusalem towards the Temple of Herod the Great.<br />At left is the Antonia Fortress; in the middle is the palace of the Judean royal family</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Herod the Great rebuilt the Second Temple on a grand scale. It took 46 years to build, and was completed in 26AD. It was used not only for worship, but as a repository for the Scriptures and a meeting place for the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish law court. This Temple was destroyed in 70AD after the Jewish Revolt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">The Temple of Jerusalem: general information</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">During the Roman conquest, Pompey entered the Holy of Holies but did not damage or steal from the Temple. However, in 54BC Crassus plundered the Temple treasury.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Most people know Herod the Great as the king who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents at roughly the time of Jesus' birth. But as well as this he was one of the greatest builders of the ancient world. Probably acting out of political expediency (the people did not accept him as fully Jewish), he decided to rebuild the Temple on a grand scale.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Construction began in 20BC and lasted for 46 years. The area of the Temple Mount was doubled and surrounded by a high wall with massive gates. The Temple was raised, enlarged, and faced with beautiful white stone. Its courtyards served as a gathering place and its shaded porticoes sheltered merchants and money changers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A stone fence and a rampart surrounded the inner consecrated area which was forbidden to Gentiles. The Temple itself began with the Court of Women, each side of which had a gate. The court was named for a balcony running around the courtyard from which women watched the annual celebration of Sukkot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The western gate of the courtyard, approached by a semicircular staircase, led to the Court of the Israelites, open to all male Jews. Next came the Court of Priests which contained the sacrificial altar and a copper laver or basin for the priests to wash in. The Temple building was wider in front than in the rear. Its eastern facade had two pillars on either side of the gate to the entrance hall. Within the hall, a great door led to the sanctuary, and the western end of which was the Holy of Holies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Temple was not only the center of religious ritual. It was also the place where the Holy Scriptures and other important Jewish literature was held. It was the meeting place of the Sanhedrin, the High Court of Jews during the Roman period.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In 66AD rebellion broke out. It was focused on the Temple, and when the rebels were defeated the Romans destroyed almost every part of the Temple, stone by stone. All that remained was a portion of the Western Wall, called nowadays the Wailing Wall. This spot is the focus of Jewish pilgrimage and prayer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:facade of the Temple of Herod the Great" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/2TempleModel.jpg" height="510" width="588" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">A reconstruction of the Temple built by Herod the Great and the surrounding city<br />of Jerusalem as it was at the time of the Roman occupation</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:coin struck by Bar Kochba in 132AD, showing facade of Temple " border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/4.The_27.jpg" height="507" width="490" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-size: small;">Reconstruction of the facade was based on the image found on this coin,<br />which was struck by Bar Kochba, leader of the revolt in 132AD</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Ground plan of the Temple built by Herod the Great" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/4.The_2.gif" height="496" width="347" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Ground plan of the Temple built by Herod the Great</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:model of the southern face of the Temple" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Recons_Jerusalem_Museum_Castle.jpg" height="432" width="584" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">A model of the southern face of the Temple, showing the grand stairway<br />leading to the<i> stoa</i> or entrance portico. Model by Professor Avi-Jonah</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Temple built by Herod the Great surrounded by the Court of the Gentiles" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Temple1_Jerusalem_Herod.jpg" height="432" width="573" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The Temple built by Herod the Great was surrounded by the Court of the Gentiles.<br />Note the vast stone platform on which the Temple precinct stood.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:Women's Court and surrounding Court of the Gentiles:also shown is Court of the Priests and Court of the Israelites" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Temple2_Jerusalem_Herod.jpg" height="393" width="588" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Women's Court (with patterned floor) and surrounding Court of the Gentiles.<br />At right is the Court of the Israelites and the Court of the Priests<br />(reconstruction by Alec Gerrard) </span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />It was within one of these courts that Jesus was confronted with the woman taken in adultery -<br />see <a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/2.7.Adulterous_woman.htm"><b>Adulterous Woman and Jesus</b></a> for her story. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:The Court of the Priests with the sacrificial altar" border="2" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/2TempleModelCourtOfIsrael.jpg" height="600" width="419" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The Court of the Priests with the sacrificial altar</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="JERUSALEM:BIBLE ARCHITECTURE:The Wailing Wall" border="0" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/wailing_wall_2.jpg" height="308" width="454" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The Wailing Wall, all that is left of Herod's magnificent Temple,<br />formed part of the platform on which the Temple stood</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">The ancient city of Jerusalem - its story</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jerusalem is one of the oldest continuing cities in the world. There were people living there as early as the 4th millennium BC, but the fortress/city began to be famous after David captured it and made it his capital. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Hebron, to the south, had been his capital, but he had good reasons for moving his court. Jerusalem was in a better geographical position on the border between Judah and the northern tribes, and despite the fact that he himself had taken the citadel, its position atop steep cliffs made it difficult to overrun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At David's death, the city was still quite small. David had been too busy with court intrigue and hard-fought battles to think about renovations. His son was more ambitious. Solomon used Phoenician craftsmen and enforced labor to carry out the great construction program that resulted in the building of the First Temple and the palace in Jerusalem (1 Kings 7.52, 5.27). Nothing but the best. He imported wood (cedar) from Lebanon, and the Temple was embellished and decorated with the over-the-top style then fashionable. Less was definitely not more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The royal palace probably stood north of the city. There are no traces of this site now, since Herod demolished everything that was there to extend the astonishing Temple he built. But according to 1 Kings 7:1-12, the royal palace was built from Lebanese cedar, with a vestibule hall of columns, a throne room, residential quarters and a luxurious palace for the women of the harem - Solomon's 'thousand wives'. There would also have been extensive courtyards, onto which the palace rooms opened. The palace was quite independent of the city, with a high wall surrounding it. It was necessary to pass through a guard-house to enter it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">According to 1 Kings 6:2-3, the First Temple was a long-room temple with a vestibule hall and a separate room for the Holy of Holies (see illustration at left). There were two columns in the vestibule hall, and splendid furnishings and fittings. The walls were covered with wooden panels embellished with gold-leaf overlay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The houses of the citizens of Jerusalem were far simpler. Of course, this meant that people were crammed together closely, and as time passed the more affluent citizens began to build houses just outside the city walls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">All these buildings are long gone - destroyed in war or demolished to make way for later buildings. The only part left from David and Solomon's reigns may be ramparts from the city wall. Excavations have revealed a stepped stone structure, possibly foundations, dating from the 10th century BC.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Eventually, in 538BC, the people were allowed to return to Jerusalem. The once magnificent city was a sorry sight. Nothing seemed to remain, just a few small buildings and a demoralized peasantry living in huts, where once there had been the Temple, palaces, houses and commercial buildings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Bit by bit the people, led by Zerubbabel of the house of David, began to rebuild Jerusalem. They were determined to re-establish their sacred city. The Temple was restored by 515BC, and Jerusalem once more became the center of the new state. Its position was strengthened when Nehemiah restored the fortifications surrounding the city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With the coming of Alexander the Great, Jerusalem entered the world of Western power politics. After Alexander's death, Palestine was taken over by his marshal, Ptolemy I, who had occupied Egypt and made Alexandria his capital. In 198BC Jerusalem was taken over by the dynasty descended from Seleucus I, another of Alexander's marshal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This was significant in cultural terms, since the new rulers promoted Greek culture and religious ideas, and tried to suppress Jewish practices. In 167BC Antiochus IV desecrated the Temple, and a revolt against the Seleucid rulers broke out. This revolt was led by the Maccabees, who were able to expel the Seleucids. Jerusalem regained its position as the capital of an independent state ruled by the priestly Hasmonean family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then came the Romans. They had for some time been expanding into the eastern Mediterranean world, and in 63BC Pompey captured Jerusalem. The way for peaceful co-existence was smoothed by the machinations of the Herod family, and in 40BC Herod, who had distinguished himself as governor of Galilee, was appointed a 'client king' of Judaea by the Roman Senate. He was the friend of Mark Antony, and when Mark Antony was defeated at the Battle of Actium and committed suicide, the wily Herod was able to persuade Octavian, later Augustus, that he should remain as king of Judaea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Herod was king for the next thirty-six years, and in this period Jerusalem enjoyed its greatest period of greatness. The Temple Mount esplanade was artificially enlarged with supporting walls (including the Western Wall, now called the Wailing Wall), to provide a platform for Herod's greatest achievement, the new Temple, which took more than a generation to build. The new royal palace was strengthened by immense towers that were built into the older walls, and the Temple was defended by a new citadel. Jerusalem also acquired a Hellenistic amphitheatre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jerusalem was now the religious center, the goal of obligatory pilgrimages, the capital of the ruler, and the seat of the autonomous court of the Sanhedrin or Jewish Council of Elders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Nothing lasts forever. In 66AD the Jewish people rebelled against Rome and in 70AD the city was besieged and almost completely destroyed by the Roman forces under Titus. The Temple, Herod's most splendid building, was reduced to ashes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">A Biblical city</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A city in biblical times could be anything from 6 hectares (15 acres) -<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/bible_city_megiddo.htm"><b>Megiddo</b></a>, to 10 hectares (25 acres) - Ai, Gezer and Arad. It was protected by a ring of walls, with gates or posterns. The fortification could be a wall or a rampart. Inside the walls there were houses of varying shapes and sizes, but also monumental buildings which covered a substantial part of the area inside the wall. Among these were the temple and the palace, often at the center of the settlement or in a prominent position. All the houses were accessible via streets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A city had to be situated near a water supply, with wells in the nearby plains or valleys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">City walls had different methods of construction and size. There are mud brick walls from 2 to 6 meters thick on stone foundations, with projecting semicircular or rectangular towers. In another case, the walls were 8 to 10 meters wide. The gate had towers flanking it on either side.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The earliest type of house was the wide-room house. Its floor was below ground level and the house was entered by two steps. Benches ran along the walls. This basic form was enlarged by the addition of annexes and additional rooms, and a house often had several rooms, in which the entrance from the street was in the shorter wall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Who</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Hezekiah, Nehemiah, King Herod, Jesus of Nazareth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>What</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The great Holy City of the Bible: political capital, religious center, focus of pilgrimage, and seat of administration and law.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Where</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jerusalem lies on the southern spur of a plateau in the Judean Mountains, surrounded by valleys and dry riverbeds. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">When</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jerusalem is one of the oldest continuing cities in the world. People have occupied the site for at least six thousand years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">The Temple of Solomon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">On this page</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#What's the evidence?"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">What's the evidence?</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#Where was the Temple?"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Where was it?</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#Solomon's Temple"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Solomon's Temple</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#Sections of the Temple"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Temple Sections</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#Furnishings"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Furnishings</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#The "Sea of Bronze""><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The "Sea of Bronze"</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#Jachin and Boaz"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Jachin and Boaz</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#Analogies and Influences"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Who designed it?</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm#Seat of the Divine Presence"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Divine Presence</span></b></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">After King David captured the hill fortress of Jebus/Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant was installed in a sanctuary on Mount Moriah, or the Temple Mount. It was there that David's son Solomon constructed the First Temple, completed in 957BC.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The building was not large. It had three rooms: a porch, the main room of worship, and the Holy of Holies where the Ark was kept. A storehouse surrounded three sides of the Temple.<br />This Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586BC. The Temple treasures, including the Ark, were lost.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="What's the evidence?"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">What's the evidence?</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The first Temple in Jerusalem and its furnishings are described in three passages in the Old Testament: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">1 Kings, mainly chapters 5-7</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The corresponding passages in 11 Kings Ch. 2-4 (in greater detail)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ezekiel 40-43. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Unfortunately, the only information we have comes from the Bible texts</b>. <b>Nothing remains of the actual building itself.</b><img align="right" alt="Priests pray before the Ark of the Covenant" border="1" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Tissot_Moses_and_Joshua_in_the_Tabernacle.jpg" height="322" width="371" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The first two descriptions in the Bible are relatively the same; the fact that Chronicles gives more details than Kings is attributed to the fact that documents which were almost contemporary with the time of construction were available to the Chronicler. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Opinions are divided as to the description in Ezekiel. Some scholars regard it as purely fictitious, while others believe it to be an eye-witness description from the time of Zerubbabel. It is also possible that Ezekiel described the Temple as it was near the time of its destruction in 587 BC, after many alterations and improvements had been made after Solomon's reign. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Where was the Temple?"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">Where was the Temple?</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The site of the Temple was on that part of the eastern hill of Jerusalem now occupied by the large platform (35 acres) known as the Haram-es-Sharif. A large number of scholars place the Temple close to the sacred rock (see below) which is enclosed in the Dome of the Rock. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="View looking down onto the sacred rock enclosed in the Dome of the Rock. " border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/The_Dome_of_the_Rock.jpg" height="506" width="410" /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">The sacred rock enclosed within the Dome of the Rock</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="The sacred rock enclosed within the Dome of the Rock" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/OCR0001.gif" height="516" width="412" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The rock (above) may have been the site of the altar of burnt offerings identified by I Chronicles 22:1 as the threshing floor of Ornan which would locate the Temple west of this rock. The problem with this view is that the hill slopes away steeply from the rock, requiring the elevated Holy of Holies (<b>debir</b>, see below) to be supported by an enormous substratum. Another old theory (confirmed to some extent by a rabbinical tradition that the surface of the rock broke through to the debir) places the great altar over the rock. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The rock was called '<b>eben shtiyah</b>' (foundation stone) and was considered the foundation stone of Heaven and earth.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Solomon's Temple"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Solomon's Temple</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">According to the Bible, the construction of Solomon's Temple took seven years, from the 5th to the 11th years of his reign (I Kings 6:37-38). He was assisted in his work by Phoenician craftsmen lent for the purpose by Hiram, King of Tyre, who also supplied him, by contract, with timber from Lebanon. The Israelites were conscripted to provide the bulk of the labour force but the skilled workmen were Phoenicians (II Chronicles 2:7-14). Some of the materials, including the gold ingots which were to be used for the sacred objects, had been prepared by David (I Chronicles 22).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/OCR0006.gif" height="323" width="591" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As far as we can tell, the Temple was an oblong structure consisting of three parts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">the <b>ulam</b> (vestibule) marked in the diagram above as <b>A</b>, </span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="line-height: 30px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">the <b>hekhal</b> (main sanctuary for worship), later called the Holy Place, <b>B</b>, </span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="line-height: 30px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">and the <b>debir</b>, <b>C</b>, (the Holy of Holies) reserved for Yahweh and containing the Ark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">These sections stood one behind the other in a straight line. The whole Temple was laid out with an east west orientation, the ulam or outer hall facing east. The Temple was constructed of hewn stone (at the base) and cedarwood, i.e. masonry locked together by beams, which stood on the stone base.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Cutaway model of the ulam (vestibule), the hekhal, and the debir" border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/771px-Close-Up-Without-Ceiling.jpg" height="456" width="586" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cutaway model of the <b>ulam</b> (vestibule), the <b>hekhal, </b>and the <b>debir</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Sections of the Temple"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sections of the Temple</span></a><br /><br /><b>Ulam</b>: this was the outer hall, which served as a vestibule, and was designed as a barrier between the secular and the sacred portions of the sanctuary. It was about 10 cubits long and 20 cubits wide (the cubit is approximately 0.45m. or 1.5ft.). The entrance door was in its broad side, and was 14 cubits wide. The entrance faced the rising sun, and was flanked by the two free-standing pillars, Jachin and Boaz. The height of the ulam is not given, but it must have been about 20 cubits.<br /><br /><b>Hekhal</b>: The word <i>hekhal</i> is derived from a Mesopotamian term, <i>ekallu</i>, a temple or sanctuary. From the ulam, a cypress door 10 cubits wide led into the hekhal. Both ulam and hekhal are treated as one whole (I Kings 6:2). Properly speaking, they formed the 'house' or Temple. The hekhal was by far the largest room in the Temple, and was 40 cubits long, 20 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. It was dimly lit by latticed windows, and had wide openings which narrowed towards the interior.<img align="right" alt="Gold figures resembling cherubim, found in the Tomb of Tutankhamun" border="1" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/tutshrine9.jpg" height="266" width="278" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Debir</b>: The third and inner section was the Holy of Holies. The room, measuring 20 cubits in each dimension, was designed to hold the Ark of the Covenant and the Cherubim. According to Isaiah 6:1 its floor level was higher than the rest of the Temple and it was windowless. (In ancient oriental temples, the <b>Cella</b> stood somewhat higher than the level of the room, or if this were not the case, the symbol of worship itself stood on a raised platform.) A flight of stairs led to the Debir from the hekhal, and it was entered through a door 6 cubits wide. Some scholars believe that it was separated from the hekhal by a thin wall (Ezekiel 41:3) or by a veil.<br /><br /><b>The Yatzia</b> (Side-Building): The 'yatzia' was an exterior building buttressing the sanctuary, and surrounding the Temple on three sides (except the ulam and the facade). It had three very low storeys, each storey a cubit wider than the one below. Thus the bottom one was 5 cubits wide, the second 6 cubits, and the third seven cubits. The total height of the yatzia was only 15 cubits, so it was lower than the central building. Every floor had about 30 rooms or vaults, in which were kept all the vessels and instruments employed in the sacrificial rites and other objects which were not in regular use, as well as the gifts to the Temple. See the diagram above.<br /><br />The total length of the Temple has been reckoned as 100 cubits, and its width as 50 cubits. The proportion between length and width was 2:1, a common measurement in temples of the ancient Near East. There was also a set proportion between the doors, which became narrower as one penetrated inward: the outer door was 14 cubits wide, the middle door 10 cubits, and the inside door 6 cubits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/OCR0002.gif" height="681" width="455" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Furnishings"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Furnishings</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Ark of the Covenant</b>: The Ark stood in the Debir with the Kapporeth and Cherubim, and represented the throne of Yahweh.<br /><br /><b>Altars</b>: There were two altars in the Temple. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The smaller one was of cedarwood and was decorated with gold leaf; it stood in the <i>hechal</i> before the entrance to the Debir and was used for offering incense. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The larger altar, made of bronze, was for burnt offerings. It stood in front of the Temple in the inner courtyard, surrounded by a ditch. It was 10 cubits high and was built in the form of stages, superimposed one on top of the other, with an incline leading from one stage to the next. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="The larger altar from which burnt offerings were made" border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_2_of_OCR0003.gif" height="380" width="560" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The foundation or lowest stage was named 'Bosom of the Earth' and the uppermost 'Har'el', meaning 'mountain of God', a remnant of cosmic symbolism, possibly influenced by foreign concepts which regarded the temple as the microcosm of the world. At the four corners of Har'el were affixed four horns, the use of which is not quite clear. Similar horns were discovered in large numbers on top of limestone incense altars at<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/bible_city_megiddo.htm"><b>Megiddo</b></a>, Gezer and other places. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Some scholars regard this altar as a later addition put up by Ahaz and modelled on an altar he saw in Damascus when he went there to meet Tiglath-Pileser. This theory is backed up by the fact that the names of its various parts resemble those in Mesopotamian terminology. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="The "Sea of Bronze""><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">The "Sea of Bronze"</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the courtyard south east of the Temple stood a large molten sea of bronze 'wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily'. It was held up by four groups of sculptured bulls, three bulls in each group. According to I Kings, its capacity was 2000 'bat', while II Chronicles puts it at 3000 bat (scholars suggest a bat was 22 litres, or 5 gallons). The best parallels which have been found are the stone basins from Amathonte in Cyprus and from <a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/bible_city_megiddo.htm"><b>Megiddo</b></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Copy_3_of_OCR0003.gif" height="466" width="451" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Bible also mentions ten wheeled pedestals, each supporting a bronze laver used to wash the sacrificial victims. Such pedestals have also been found in Cyprus and Megiddo. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Jachin and Boaz"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">Jachin and Boaz</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In front of the Temple, before the vestibule, were two bronze columns called Jachin and Boaz. They were free standing and purely decorative, with no functional purpose. They were elaborately decorated and crowned by bronze capitals, similar to the capital of a column found at Megiddo (see below), and were 23 cubits high and 12 cubits in circumference. Scholars suggest they were traditional stele or 'mazebot' which always had a place in the Canaanite sanctuaries. The name of the columns remains a riddle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_OCR0004.gif" height="490" width="348" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The capital of a column found at Megiddo</span></b></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Analogies and Influences"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">Who designed it?</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">How and where the plan of the Temple originated is not known for certain, but it probably came from Phoenicia, the home of the Temple's artisans and builders. The tripartite division into ulam, hechal and debir was very common among the Canaanites, for example in the "Fosse temple" at <a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/bible_city_lachish.htm"><b>Lachish</b></a> belonging to the pre-Israelite period. Several recently discovered sanctuaries follow the plan of the rooms standing one behind the other in a line.<br /><br /><b>A Prototype in Hazor</b>: Another temple, somewhat better preserved than the others, has been uncovered at <a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/bible_city_hazor.htm"><b>Hazor</b></a>. This temple (below) also contained three rooms, each leading into another, and its general plan was almost identical with that of Solomon's Temple. It dates from the Late Bronze Age (13th century BC), thus preceding the Jerusalem temple. This may well have been the prototype of the Temple of Solomon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/a.gif" height="383" width="576" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Temple at Hazor. The outline of three rooms of descending sizes is clearly visible.</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Seat of the Divine Presence"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Seat of the Divine Presence</span></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Solomon's Temple, like other temples in the ancient Near East, was intended for ritual purposes. Only those who belonged to the priestly order were allowed-within its precincts. The lay worshipper could not enter the Temple. In this respect, it was quite different from the synagogues and Christian churches which replaced it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Though the Temple was erected primarily as a royal chapel adjoining the king's palace (a common practice in the Near East), it had national significance throughout its history, even though during the Divided Monarchy rival shrines existed in Bethel and Dan. On several occasions the vessels and equipment of the Temple were stolen by conquerors or surrendered as tribute. Only after the fall of the Northern Kingdom and the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah did the Temple assume paramount importance as the religious and symbolic focus of the nation. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="AND ISAAC LOVED HER"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">Bible Study Resource</span></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Circumcision in the ancient world"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Ark of the Covenant</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC. It may or may not have survived. There has been much speculation about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">What was the Ark?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Ark had its place in the Holy of Holies in the centre of the tabernacle, and was removed only when the whole shrine was dismantled to be moved somewhere else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> As to its religious significance, different scholars have put forward two conflicting interpretations: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">according to one school, it was a lidded chest </span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 30px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img align="right" alt="Ark of the Covenant, Auch Cathedral, gilded panel" border="1" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/ark-covenant-relief.jpg" height="256" width="361" />according to another, a sort of throne. </span></div>
</li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Both views draw their evidence from different passages in the Bible text. In Exodus 25:10-11; 37:1-9, the Ark is described as a chest made of acacia wood, about 4 ft. long and 2.5 ft. wide and high, covered with gold plates and fitted with rings through which poles could be fixed so that it could be carried. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Kapporeth"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Kapporeth</span></a> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">— Mercy Seat and Cherubim</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Over the Ark was the Kapporeth, a gold plate the same size as the Ark, called in some translations the 'mercy seat'. The golden cherubim stood one at either end of the 'mercy seat' covering it with their outspread wings. This tradition is clearly influenced by the realities of the Temple of Solomon where the Ark stood in the Holy of Holies, sheltered by the wings of the cherubim. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Creatures strongly resembling the Bible's description of the cherubim, on the side of the Egyptian pharoah Tutankhamun's tomb" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/tutshrine9.jpg" height="397" width="419" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Creatures on the shrine doors in the Egyptian pharoah Tutankhamun's tomb.<br />They strongly resemble the Bible's description of the cherubim. </span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="The Bible specifies 'two cherubim of hammered gold with wings spread upward, facing each other at the ends of the cover'" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Cherubim1.jpg" height="352" width="480" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Bible specifies 'two cherubim of hammered gold with wings spread upward,<br />facing each other at the ends of the cover'</span></i></b><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Deuteronomy 10:1-8 simply refers to an Ark made of acacia wood as a container for the two stone tablets of the Law. This became known as the Ark of the Covenant, and Deuteronomy gives no further description of it, and does not connect it with either tent or tabernacle. Archaeology has furnished many parallels to the placing of the tablets of the Law in the 'holy place' of the nation. Among ancient peoples, legal bonds and documents were frequently deposited beneath statues of the gods who were witnesses to the agreements. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Ark was the oldest of the symbols. It stood, apparently without being covered by any tent, in the camp of Gilgal (Joshua 7:6) right at the beginning of the Conquest. It was transferred to Bochim near Bethel (Jud. 2:1-5), then Bethel (Jud. 20:27) or according to Joshua 8:33 to Mt. Ebal near Shechem. In Samuel’s time it was kept at Shiloh (ll Samuel 1-3) until it was taken into the Battle of Aphek (1 Samuel 4:3) and captured by the Philistines (4:11). They returned it to the Israelites at Beth-Shemesh (6:11-l4) and from there it was taken to Kiriath-Gearim (7:1) where it remained until David took it to Jerusalem and installed it in "his" city. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Floor plan of the Temple of Jerusalem" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Temple_plan_5.jpg" height="442" width="589" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Floor plan of the Temple of Jerusalem. The Ark was kept in the inner-most part of the sanctuary</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Remains of the Great Temple at Palmyra" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Temple_Bel_Palmyra.jpg" height="444" width="581" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Remains of the Great Temple at Palmyra. Though this particular temple was looted hundreds of years ago, its most sacred objects would have been kept in the now-open niche (above) at the rear of the temple cella. The same was done with the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple of Jerusalem.</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After the Temple had been built, the Ark was placed in the innermost sanctum (I Kings 8:3-4, 6-8) and lay there until it was destroyed along with the Temple in 587-586 BC. No new Ark was made for the post-Exilic Holy of Holies (Jeremiah 3:16) but in the post-Exilic period, the phrase, 'the room for the mercy-seat' (<b>Kapporeth</b>) stands for the Holy of Holies of Solomon"s Temple. Its memory remained, but Josephus (Wars 5, 5, 5) records that in Herod's Temple, there was nothing in the Holy of Holies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The Wanderings of the Ark</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">While biblical tradition insists that the Ark was housed in a tent or tabernacle and was, therefore, clearly portable, there is never any notion of taking it out of the sanctuary. Before their settlement in Canaan, the Israelites had no sanctuaries (Deuteronomy 12:8-11). Presumably, when the Israelites halted during their wanderings, the Ark containing the Covenant was temporarily covered by tent curtains and this remained the situation until it reached a more permanent resting place at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In Shiloh, the Ark provided the cultic centre for the tribal federation. By the period of the early chapters of I Samuel, it was housed in a sanctuary under the care of the priest, Eli. Some time in the middle of the 11th century BC, the Philistines defeated the Israelite tribes, destroyed Shiloh and captured the Ark. In fact, the period after the destruction of Shiloh is largely a gap in the story of the central sanctuary. It seems likely that after its return and until the building of the Temple, the Ark continued to be housed in a temporary tent, not a permanent shrine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Some fifty years later, David formed his new official cultic centre. He connected the new worship with the ancient desert traditions of a tabernacle, and transferred the Ark to his new shrine in Jerusalem (II Samuel 6:17; 7:2), thus preserving all the awe and authority of the old sanctuary. The tent in Jerusalem under which the Ark was housed was evidently meant to represent the desert sanctuary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="What was the Ark like? ">What did the Ark look like?</a></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="What was the Ark like? "> </a><br /><br />There is a detailed description in the Bible, but of course no-one knows exactly what it looked like. On the other hand...<br /><br />People tend to think of the Temple in Jerusalem and its furnishings as unique, different from anything around at that time. That was not so. Then, as now, sacred architecture was influenced by what was happening in nearby countries and states.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Take an example: every Christian church is different - designed by a different architect, catering to different congregations and beliefs. But then again they are all similar, or have features in common. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So it was in the ancient world - and the Temple of Jerusalem and its ancient furnishings were no exception. The people who built probably borrowed ideas and designs from surrounding cultures. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Specifications for the Ark"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Specifications for the Ark</span></a> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">of the Covenant</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">What are the specifications in the Bible description of the Ark, in Exodus 25:10-21? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">a chest of acacia wood</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">an overlay of pure gold, inside and out, with gold molding</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">four gold rings fastened to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">poles of acacia wood overlaid with gold, inserted into the rings</span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="left" class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 30px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">an atonement cover of pure gold</span></div>
</li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">two cherubim of hammered gold with wings spread upward, facing each other at the ends of the cover.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>See the full <a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/ark_covenant.htm#Exodus">Bible text</a>, listing the specifications, at end of this page. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Shrine of Anubis from the tomb of Tutankhamun; note the poles at either side" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Anubis-shrine.jpg" height="640" width="441" /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Shrine of Anubis from the tomb of Tutankhamun; note the poles at either side,<br />used for carrying the shrine from place to place</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Shrine of Anubis was clearly meant to be portable" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Shrine33.jpg" height="389" width="293" /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Shrine of Anubis was clearly meant to be portable, as the Ark of the Covenant was</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">These are the specifications. So what was around at the time? What might the designers of the Ark been influenced by?</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Tutankhamun's Tomb"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Tutankhamun's Tomb</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One of the most startling examples comes from the tomb of Tutankhamun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When Howard Carter opened the inner chamber, he found a statue of Anubis, Egyptian god of the dead, sitting on top of a large box covered with pure gold. It had poles inserted into rings so that it could be easily carried.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Bible tells us that the Ark was originally transported from shrine to shrine, before David's son Solomon built a permanent home for it in the Temple in Jerusalem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The poles of acacia, specified in the Bible, were used in much the same way as the poles on the Shrine of Anubis - to lift and carry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The outer casings around Tutankhamun's coffin were covered with hammered gold leaf. At each corner, and on the doors, were winged female figures (cherubim?) who stretched their wings out and over the surface of the casings, as if to protect its contents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Surely this cannot be coincidence? Each item described in the Bible</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">the winged protectors</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">the hammered gold and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">the poles fitted onto moveable shrines</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">appears in Tutankhamun's tomb. One must assume that the Egyptian designs were copied and adapted by the Hebrew tribes of the time when they created their own religious artifacts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Bible Text describing the Ark">Bible Text describing the Ark</a>: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Exodus">Exodus</a> 25:10-21 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="James Tissot, 'Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle'" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Tissot_Moses_Joshua_Tabernacle.jpg" height="379" width="437" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">An artist's recreation of the Ark: James Tissot, 'Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle'</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">10 Have them make a chest of acacia wood--two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.<br />11 Overlay it with pure gold, inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.<br />12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.<br />13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.<br />14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it.<br />15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.<br />16 Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.<br />17 Make an atonement cover of pure gold--two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.<br />18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.<br />19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.<br />20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.<br />21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="JERUSALEM, ANCIENT CITY"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">Jerusalem, ancient city</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Jerusalem lies on the southern spur of a plateau in the Judean Mountains, surrounded by valleys and dry riverbeds - one of the oldest continuing cities in the world, occupied for at least six thousand years. It was, of course, the <b>sacred city of the Bible</b> and focus of the Jewish people for thousands of years,</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">a religious center for the passionately devoted Jewish people</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">the goal of pilgrims ready to walk hundreds of miled to pray there</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">the capital city of the ruler of the Jewish people, and </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">a busy seat of administration and law.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Though there were people living on the site as early as the 4th millennium BC, the fortress/city only became prominent in biblical history after <a href="http://www.bible-people.info/David.htm"><b>David</b></a>captured it and made it his capital. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="David and Jerusalem"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">David and Jerusalem</span></a><img align="right" alt="Ground plan of Jebus, the original fortress captured by David, and the rock area on which the Temple would later be built" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Jebus.jpg" height="452" width="391" /></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">David's first capital had been in the city of Hebron, but<b>Jerusalem had certain advantages</b>. It was in a better geographical position, lying on the border between Judah and the northern tribes, and despite the fact that he himself had taken the citadel, its position atop steep cliffs made it difficult to overrun. The diagram at right shows the walled area, Jebus, which was the original fortress captured by David. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">At David's death, the city was still quite small. David had been too busy with court intrigue and hard-fought battles to think about renovations. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Solomon and Jerusalem"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Solomon and Jerusalem</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">His son was more ambitious. <b><a href="http://www.bible-people.info/Solomon.htm">Solomon</a></b> used Phoenician craftsmen and enforced labor to carry out the great construction program that resulted in the building of the First Temple and the palace in Jerusalem (1 Kings 7.52, 5.27). </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">For both Temple and palace, Solomon would have nothing but the best. He imported wood (cedar) from Lebanon, and the Temple was embellished and decorated with the over-the-top style then fashionable. Less was definitely not more. In fact, <b>both palace and Temple were political statements</b>: look at how wealthy we are, what resouces we can muster, how clever and creative we are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Photograph of the Temple of Dendur, Egypt, taken in the 19th century before transportation to the Metropolitan Museum in New York" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Dendur-early-photograph.jpg" height="498" width="543" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">There have been many fanciful reconstructions of the Temple of Solomon, but it was probably modelled on Phoenician or Egyptian temple designs similar to the Temple of Dendur, above</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Winged figure, stone, in the 7th century BC Temple at Eshmun in ancient Phoenicia" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/ThroneofAstarteprofile.jpg" height="448" width="354" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The 7th century BC Temple at Eshmun in ancient Phoenicia has a winged guardian figure<br />at each side of a stone throne; this may be similar to the cherubim in the Bible - see above and below</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Ancient ivory plaque showing a winged guardian figure, from the excavations at Megiddo" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_ps098822luz7.jpg" height="395" width="443" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Winged guardian figure, ivory plaque excavated at the ancient city of Megiddo</span></b></i></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Solomon's Palace"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Solomon's Palace</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">The royal palace probably stood north of the city. There are no traces of it now, since Herod demolished everything that was there to extend the astonishing Temple he built. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">But according to 1 Kings 7:1-12, the palace was built of Lebanese cedar, with a vestibule hall of columns, a throne room, residential quarters and a luxurious palace for the women of the harem - Solomon's 'thousand wives'. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">The rooms would have opened onto extensive courtyards. The palace itself was quite independent of the city, with a high wall surrounding it. You had to pass through a guard-house to enter it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="A reconstructed ground plan of the palace at Persepolis" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Persepolis_Recon_Drawing.jpg" height="481" width="581" /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A reconstructed ground plan of the palace at Persepolis. Solomon's palace would have been much smaller and more modest, but it may have followed the same design of audience hall with living and service quarters behind.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Middle Eastern building with lattice windows" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Samaria_Cairo_house_16th_century_Ottoman.jpg" height="600" width="450" /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>The living quarters of Solomon's palace probably had latticed windows like these,<br />to cool the building and provide privacy</i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Solomon's Temple"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Solomon's Temple</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;">According to 1 Kings 6:2-3, the <a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm"><b>First Temple</b></a> was a long-room temple with a vestibule hall and a separate room for the Holy of Holies (see the ground plan of Solomon's Temple below). There were two columns in the vestibule hall, and s</span><img align="right" alt="Ground plan of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/2proposed_mapSolomons_Temple.jpg" height="313" width="388" /><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">plendid furnishings and fittings. The walls were covered with wooden panels embellished with gold-leaf overlay. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">The houses of the citizens of Jerusalem were far simpler, situated on terraces, with the ancient Israelite type of building retained. Of course, this meant that people were crammed together closely, and as time passed the more affluent citizens began to build houses just outside the city walls.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">All these buildings are long gone - destroyed in war or demolished to make way for later buildings. The only part left from David and Solomon's reigns may be the stones illustrated at left, which are possibly ramparts from the city wall. Excavations have revealed a stepped stone structure, possibly foundations, dating from the 10th century BC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Excavation of the Stepped Stone Structure" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Excavations_stepped_stone_structure_10thC_BC_foundation_for_walls.jpg" height="488" width="574" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Long distance photograph of the Stepped Stone Structure, showing its position in Jerusalem" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_CityofDavidAreaGfromsoutheasttb091306302labeled.jpg" height="409" width="572" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="19th century photograph of Jerusalem taken from the air, showing the Kidron Valley, the Temple Mount and the position of excavations of the Stepped Stone Structure" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Jerusalem-Kidron-Valley-19th-c-photo.jpg" height="425" width="571" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1. Excavation of the Stepped Stone Structure. 2. The Structure in its surroundings.<br />3. A 19th century photograph of Jerusalem, showing the area (middle right) before excavations began</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><img align="right" alt="Bible Archaeology: Jerusalem: ground plan of city in period from Solomon to Hezekiah" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/FromSolomontoHezekiah.jpg" height="415" width="354" />When Solomon died, the ten northern tribes broke away from the federation, setting up their own kingdom in the north. Solomon's son Rehoboam was left with sovereignty over only two tribes. But he still had Jerusalem. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">In 922BC the Egyptian pharaoh Sheshonk I led a raid into Judah, and sacked the city, stealing the treasure of the Temple (and probably the royal women's<b><a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/jewelry.htm">jewelry</a></b> as well). </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">He was followed in the next century by the Philistines and Arabs, and then in 786BC Joash of Israel invaded Judah and tore down part of the wall surrounding Jerusalem.</span><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Hezekiah's Jerusalem"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Hezekiah's Jerusalem</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;">After Hezekiah became king of Judah, he built new fortifications and an underground tunnel (see illustration below), which brought water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the city. This was an extraordinary engineering achievement, done with what are primitive tools by modern standards. </span><img align="right" alt="Photograph of the entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnel" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/rock_tunnel.jpg" height="474" width="360" /></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">In 1880 an inscription was discovered. It had been cut into the tunnel wall, and describes the meeting of the two groups of stone-cutters who were digging from opposite ends of the tunnel:</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">'And this was the way in which it was cut through: While [...] (were) still [...] axe(s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellows, for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1200 cubits.'</span></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><img alt="Drawing of the ancient water system in Jerusalem, including the entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnel" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_WatersystemincludingHezekiahs_tunnel.jpg" height="410" width="579" /></span></b></i></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Water system including Hezekiah's tunnel</span></b></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="The Assyrians destroy Jerusalem"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The Assyrians destroy Jerusalem</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Despite his best efforts, Hezekiah was no match for the Assyrians, and in 701BC Sennacherib of Assyria 'came down like a wolf on the fold', extracting a heavy tribute from Jerusalem. Eight years later Jerusalem was laid waste and its king deported to Babylon. In 586BC the city and Temple were completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the long exile in Babylon began.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Panel from the Lachish relief in the British Museum showing captives being led away from " border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_k.gif" height="369" width="594" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">This panel from the Lachish relief in the British Museum shows captives being led away from<br />the city of Lachish - but the scene at Jerusalem must have been similar</span></b></i></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Eventually, in 538BC, the people were allowed to return to Jerusalem. The once magnificent city was a sorry sight. Nothing seemed to remain, just a few small buildings and a demoralized peasantry living in huts, where once there had been the Temple, palaces, houses and commercial buildings. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><img align="center" alt="Plan of the much diminished Jerusalem as it was in Nehemiah's time - 5th century BC, after the return from Exile" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Reconstruction_of_Nehemiah_5thcenturyBC.jpg" height="566" width="485" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Plan of the city as it was in Nehemiah's time - 5th century BC</span></b></i></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Bit by bit the people, led by Zerubbabel of the house of David, began to rebuild Jerusalem. They were determined to re-establish their sacred city. The Temple was restored by 515BC, and Jerusalem once more became the center of the new state. Its position was strengthened when Nehemiah restored the fortifications surrounding the city.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">With the coming of Alexander the Great, Jerusalem entered the world of Western power politics. After Alexander's death, Palestine was taken over by his marshal, Ptolemy I, who had occupied Egypt and made Alexandria his capital. In 198BC Jerusalem was taken over by the dynasty descended from Seleucus I, another of Alexander's marshal. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">This was significant in cultural terms, since the new rulers promoted Greek culture and religious ideas, and tried to suppress Jewish practices. In 167BC Antiochus IV desecrated the Temple, and a revolt against the Seleucid rulers broke out. This revolt was led by the Maccabees, who were able to expel the Seleucids. Jerusalem regained its position as the capital of an independent state ruled by the priestly Hasmonean family.</span><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Herod the Great and Jerusalem"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Herod the Great and Jerusalem</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Then came the Romans. They had for some time been expanding into the eastern Mediterranean world, and in 63BC Pompey captured Jerusalem. The way for peaceful co-existence was smoothed by the machinations of the Herod family, and in 40BC <b><a href="http://www.bible-people.info/Herod-King.htm">Herod</a></b>, who had distinguished himself as governor of Galilee, was appointed a 'client king' of Judaea by the Roman Senate. He was the friend of Mark Antony, and when Mark Antony was defeated at the Battle of Actium and committed suicide, the wily Herod was able to persuade Octavian, later Augustus, that he should remain as king of Judaea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Ground plan of Jerusalem in the time of King Herod the Great" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Herodian_city_of_Jerusalem.jpg" height="734" width="517" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The city of Jerusalem in the Herodian period</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Bible Archaeology: Jerusalem: Western or Wailing Wall, Jerusalem" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/wailing_wall_2.jpg" height="325" width="484" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The West Wall - all that is left of Herod's magnificent Temple</span></b></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.bible-people.info/Herod-King.htm"><b><span style="color: black;">Herod </span></b></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">was king for the next thirty-six years, and in this period Jerusalem enjoyed its greatest period of glory. The Temple Mount esplanade was artificially enlarged with supporting walls (including the Western Wall, now called the Wailing Wall), to provide a platform for Herod's greatest achievement, the new Temple, which took more than a generation to build. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">The new royal palace was strengthened by immense towers that were built into the older walls, and the Temple was defended by a new citadel. Jerusalem also acquired a Hellenistic amphitheatre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Ancient coin struck during the Bar Kochba Revolt, showing the facade of the Temple in Jerusalem as it had been before destruction" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Coin.jpg" height="465" width="424" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Reconstructions of the Temple built by Herod the Great rely heavily on this ancient coin,<br /> showing the facade of the Temple; it was struck during the Bar Kochba Revolt 132-135AD</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Reconstruction of the central Temple area in Jerusalem, 1st century" border="2" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_2_of_5-Jerusalem-HG-Temple-recons-5.jpg" height="321" width="595" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Reconstruction from an aerial perspective of the central area of the Temple of Jerusalem" border="0" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Copy_of_Temple2_Jerusalem_Herod.jpg" height="388" width="581" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">(Above) Two reconstructions of the Temple of Herod the Great</span></b></i></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Jerusalem was now the religious center, the goal of obligatory pilgrimages, the capital of the ruler, and the seat of the autonomous court of the Sanhedrin or Jewish Council of Elders.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Nothing lasts forever. In 66AD the Jewish people rebelled against Rome and in 70AD the city was besieged and almost completely destroyed by the Roman forces under Titus. The Temple, Herod's most splendid building, was reduced to rubble.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="AND ANOTHER THING..."><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;">And another thing...</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">'Beginning with the assumption that the biblical narratives were reliable historical sources, the researchers identified these ruins as features mentioned in the Bible. And they used the hypothetical identifications as archaeological "proof" that the biblical descriptions were true.<br />A prime example is the so-called "Stepped Stone Structure," first uncovered in the 1920's. It is an imposing rampart of fifty-eight courses of limestone boulders, extending for more than fifty feet, like a protective sheath or reinforcement over the upper end of the eastern slope of the City of David. Later excavations by Kenyon and by Shiloh discovered a network of stone terraces beneath it, probably constructed in order to stabilize and expand the narrow flat surface on the spine of the ridge, and perhaps to support a large structure built there. The early excavators suggested that the Stepped Stone Structure was part of the fortification of the Jebusite city that David conquered.....<br />Yet the pottery retrieved from within the courses of the Stepped Stone Structure included types of the Early Iron Age to the ninth or even early eighth centuries BC. It seems therefore that this monument was constructed at least a century later than the days of David and Solomon. Who used it, when exactly, and for what purpose still remains - archaeologically, at least - a mystery.'</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Quoted from '<i>David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings</i>', Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, p269-70</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">'Herod did not begin the real transformation of Jerusalem until about 23BC, when he had just won a good deal of respect in Palestine by his efficiency in providing food and grain for the people during the famine of 25-24BC. Many Jerusalemites had been ruined and were able to find employment as builders once work had begun in the city. Herod began by building a palace for himself in the Upper City on the Western Hill; it was fortified by three towers, which he named after his brother Phasael, his beloved wife Mariamme the Hasmonean, and his friend Hippicus. .....<br />The palace itself consisted of two large buildings, one of which was called Caesareum in honor of Octavian, which were joined by enchanting water gardens, where the deep canals and cisterns were lined with bronze statues and fountains. Herod seems to have also redesigned the streets of the Upper City into a gridded system, which made traffic and town planning easier. In addition, the Upper City had a theater and a hippodrome, though we do not know the exact location of these buildings. Every five years, games were held in honor of Augustus, which drew crowds of distinguished athletes to Jerusalem.'</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Quoted from '<i>Jerusalem, One City, Three Faiths</i>', Karen Armstrong, p128</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Ground plans, excavations, information: <a href="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Jerusalem.htm"><b>BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: JERUSALEM</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">King Solomon's Temple, King Herod's Temple: <b><a href="http://www.jesus-story.net/buildings_NT.htm">BIBLE BUILDINGS</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Solomon's Palace in Jerusalem: <a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/Jerusalem_Solomon_palace.htm"><b>BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: PALACES</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">For information on Jerusalem in later centuries, see <a href="http://www.islamic-architecture.info/WA-IS/WA-IS.htm"><b>ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE</b></a>Jerusalem</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Circumcision in the ancient world">What was the Tabernacle?</a><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="AND ISAAC LOVED HER"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Bible Study Resource</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The 'tabernacle' (<i>mishkan</i> in Hebrew) was the portable tent shrine containing the Ark of the Covenant, carried by the wandering lsraelites before they settled in Israel. According to tradition, it was erected as a temporary structure at the Shiloh sanctuary and carried by David’s followers to Jerusalem where it remained until Solomon’s Temple was built. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The combination of Ark and Tabernacle represented Yahweh‘s dwelling place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The priestly traditions of the monarchy kept the old name of the desert tent of assembly (<i>ohel mo‘éd</i> Exodus 33:7-11) but also called it the<i>mishkan</i> (abode) to indicate the manner in which God who dwelt in heaven might also make a home on earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the opinion of some scholars, there was a process of development: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">First came the oldest tradition, the Elohistic. lt stressed the role of the Mosaic tent where Yahweh talked to Moses 'face to face' (Exodus 33:11) or 'mouth to mouth' (Numbers 12:8) but gave no details of what it looked like or how it was furnished. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A later (priestly) tradition (Exodus 25-31, 35-39) is that of the ideal<i>mishkan</i> (tabernacle). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">These traditions crystallized into their present form at a relatively late stage. With the passage of time, the original meaning became obscure. The priestly picture of the tabernacle is, nevertheless, more than merely a reflection of the ideas of the later period. lt contains an echo of authentic pre-Jerusalem tradition which can be disentangled from all the later accretions and distinguished within the traditions in the Pentateuch and the historical books (Samuel, Kings, Chronicles).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Moreover the motif of the desert Tent, whatever its shape and size, continued as the central religious institution, from the earliest times right through to the Tent of David. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" height="497" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Tabernacle2.png" width="586" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">A modern re-imagining of the portable Tabernacle in the pre-Davidic period.<br />The post-Exodus Tabernacle may have been more modest than this reconstruction</span></b></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Traditional Description"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Traditional Description</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25-31 and 35-39 shows ascending degrees of holiness from its perimeter, the outer court, through the holy place, to the holy of holies, right at the centre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The Court</b>: the Tabernacle stood in the centre of the camp in a rectangular<br />enclosure measuring 100x50 cubits, (approx. 150x75 feet). The entrance was closed by a colourful embroidered screen. Embroidered curtains hung from pillars standing in sockets of bronze to screen off the rest of the area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The Altar</b>: in the centre of the court stood the altar of burnt offering, made of a hollow chest of acacia wood sheathed with bronze. At each corner was one of the four horns of the altar. A bronze grating covered the lower half of the altar, from the ground to a projecting ledge halfway up the side. This allowed for sacrificial blood to be dashed against the sides and base of the altar. The altar was also fitted with rings and poles so that it could be carried. Beside the altar stood the bronze <i>laver</i> of water for the ablutions of the priests. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The Holy Place</b>: the inner sanctum was furnished with <b>1</b>. the table of shewbread, (the bread of the presence), with its golden plates, dishes or cups for frankincense, and other flagons and vessels needed for the ritual; <b>2</b>. a golden candlestick (possibly a seven-branched lampstand or <i>menorah</i>) which faced the table of shewbread and was supplied with golden snuffers for dressing the wicks of the lamps; <b>3</b>. the square altar of incense, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, also fitted with rings and poles. This stood in front of the veil which separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies and upon it incense made of sweet spices was offered night and morning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="the temple at Bel Palmyra, with the most sacred area, the cella, at the rear" border="2" height="444" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Temple_Bel_Palmyra.jpg" width="581" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The lay-out of the Tabernacle, and later the Jerusalem Temple, was probably similar to many other temples in the ancient world (see the temple at Bel Palmyra above), with ascending degrees of holiness culminating in the Holy of Holies at the back of the cella</span></b></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="The Holy of Holies"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The Holy of Holies</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This was a square of approximately I5 ft. which contained the Ark of the Covenant and the golden slab of the mercy seat (<i>kapporeth</i>) with a cherub made of pure beaten gold at either end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">These priestly descriptions of gold, silver and bronze work, magnificent edifices and sumptuous carvings and decoration <b>present obvious difiiculties</b>. They are not appropriate to the materially poor community liberated from Egypt and they are quite unreal in terms of technical skills before the l0th century BC. Many scholars regard the descriptions as an ideal picture drawn by later priestly writers either to serve as a model for the Temple before it was built, or based on what actually existed in Solomon’s Temple. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The use of the actual Temple of Solomon as a model for imaginative descriptions of the earlier Tabernacle, according to the first view, is particularly apparent in connection with the forms of the altars. To begin with, bronze only came into use in Israel for building and decoration during Solomon"s reign (I Kings 7:l3-l4). Similarly, the horns which figure so prominently in the accounts of the altar’s decoration (Exodus 30:3-4) appear from archaeological finds to have come into vogue in Israel only at the beginning of the monarchy. The Bible only mentions them (apart from this one instance) against the background of the monarchical period (I Kings 1:50-51; Psalms 118:27; Jeremiah l7:l ; Amos 3 :14). It seems, therefore, that they belonged to the Temple, not to its forerunner, the Tabernacle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many of the other items mentioned in the priestly description of Exodus 25-31 and 35-39 cannot be fitted into any realistic picture of a portable shrine such as the Mosaic Tent and Ark which travelled in front of Israel (Numbers 10:35-36). Instead, it seems more likely that the desert sanctuary was conceived as a collapsible version of the Temple of Jerusalem, measuring exactly half as long as that structure, but keeping the tradition that God‘s earthly dwelling was a 'Tent'. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Archaeology of the Tabernacle"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Archaeology of the Tabernacle</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">What the tent in fact looked like may perhaps be suggested by the bas relief on the Temple of Bel at Palmyra (Tadmor), dating to between the 3rd and lst centuries BC and showing a portable tent shrine (see below)<span style="font-size: medium;">.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Bas relief on the Temple of Bel at Palmyra" border="2" height="516" src="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/Palmyra_tabernacle.JPG" width="585" /></span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Bas relief on the Temple of Bel at Palmyra</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This, again, is very reminiscent of the pre-Islamic '<i>qubbah</i>’, a big red leather tent with a domed top in which the sacred objects of the tribe were housed. It accompanied the tribe into battle and was believed to guide them during periods of wanderings. The holiness of the tent was second only to that of the objects it contained. It was both a container for these protective objects, and the focal point of worship where priests gave oracles. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/index.htm"><span style="color: #cc3300; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">See other fascinating links between<br />Archaeology and the Bible</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/index.htm"><span style="color: #cc3300; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">See other fascinating links between<br />Archaeology and the Bible</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Find"><span style="font-size: large;">Find</span></a> <span style="font-size: large;">out more</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/ark_covenant.htm"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Ark_140.jpg" height="105" width="140" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/ark_covenant.htm"><b>Ark of the Covenant</b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/jerusalem.htm"><img alt="Model of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/1st_Temple_140.jpg" height="149" width="140" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/jerusalem.htm"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Archaeology of Jerusalem</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm"><img alt="Two golden columns stood at the entrance to Solomon's Temple" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Basemath_140_2.jpg" height="143" width="140" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_solomon.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Solomon's Temple</span></a></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-people.info/Herod-King.htm"><img alt="King Herod the Great, as portrayed in the TV series 'Rome'" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/BadNT_140_3.jpg" height="158" width="140" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-people.info/Herod-King.htm"><b>Herod the Great</b></a><b>Mad, bad, dangerous</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/palaces.htm"><img alt="Ornate architectural details on an ancient palace" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Bathsheba_140_2.jpg" height="83" width="140" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bible-archaeology.info/palaces.htm"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Ancient palaces</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/maps_jerusalem.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Maps of ancient Jerusalem" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Jerusalem_map_a.jpg" height="160" width="123" /></span></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/maps_jerusalem.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Jerusalem maps</span></a></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Deborah_140_h.jpg" height="116" width="140" /></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Herodium.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Herodium, palace fortress </span></a></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Stories about the Temple of Jerusalem<br />________</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/2.4.Elizabeth.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Zechariah" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Zechariah_140.jpg" height="168" width="140" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"> <b><a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/2.4.Elizabeth.htm">Zechariah & the angel</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.jesus-story.net/young_people_NT.htm"><img alt="Young Jewish boy" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/boy-jesus.jpg" height="166" width="140" /></a></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.jesus-story.net/young_people_NT.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Jesus lost in Jerusalem</span></a></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/2.7.Adulterous_woman.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Jesus and the Woman taken in Adultery" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/Jesuswriting_140.jpg" height="123" width="140" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.womeninthebible.net/2.7.Adulterous_woman.htm"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Adulterous Woman</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.islamic-architecture.info/WA-IS/WA-IS-003.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><img alt="Dome of the Rock, present-day Jerusalem" border="1" src="http://www.bible-architecture.info/03.jpg" height="124" width="140" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">For information on the architecture of Jerusalem in later centuries, see <a href="http://www.islamic-architecture.info/WA-IS/WA-IS-003.htm"><b><br />Islamic architecture</b></a></span></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-80904691306242580492015-07-20T01:05:00.002-07:002015-07-20T01:15:38.080-07:00Jerusalem - The future of a city with history - Jerusalem is holy to Jews for over 3,000 years - First Jewish Temple<br />
<img alt="Jerusalem: The future of a city with history" border="0" src="http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2010/graphics/jerusalem/headline.gif" height="151" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" width="780" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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By DON MORRIS and NATALIE WATSON of the Times Staff</div>
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Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians and has been under each of their control at points in its long history. Settling the "Jerusalem question" is at the core of any possible peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. </div>
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Here is a look at the city at the center of it all.</div>
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A high and holy place</h2>
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This 35-acre plateau that towered over ancient Jerusalem is important to Jews as Temple Mount, site of the first and second temples, to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and to Christians.</div>
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First Jewish Temple</h3>
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Jewish tradition holds that 3,000 years ago Solomon, son of King David, built the first Temple on the site of a threshing floor, the place where David originally erected the Tabernacle, a huge tent that housed the Ten Commandments. The Babylonians destroyed it 400 years later.</div>
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Second Jewish Temple</h2>
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A few generations after the First Temple's destruction, Jews returned from exile and built the Second Temple on Temple Mount, which became the site of holy places for all three religions. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 A.D.</div>
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Dome of the Rock</h2>
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Muslims call the site Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). They believe Mohammed was transported from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he was lifted to heaven and received instructions on how to pray. The Dome of the Rock was built over the spot. With Al-Aqsa Mosque, the site is Islam's third holiest after Mecca and Medina.</div>
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TIMELINE: Jerusalem</h2>
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<strong>3000 B.C. </strong>A settlement dates from this era, near Gihon Spring.<br />
<strong>2000 - 1500 B.C. </strong>Abraham settles in Canaan. Christians and Jews believe Jerusalem is where God orders Abraham to sacrifice Abraham's son Isaac to him.<br />
<strong>Around 1000 B.C.:</strong> David, founder of the joint kingdom of Israel and Judah, captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites and makes it his capital. David's son, Solomon, builds the First Temple.<br />
<strong>586 B.C. </strong>The Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple and exile the Jews.<br />
<strong>64 B.C.</strong> Pompey conquers Jerusalem for Rome. Herod, made king in 40 B.C., begins a building program, including refurbishing the Second Temple.<br />
<strong>Around 28 A.D.</strong> Jesus of Nazareth arrives in Jerusalem, where he will be crucified. He foretells the destruction of the Temple.<br />
<strong>70 A.D. </strong>Romans destroy the Temple following a Jewish revolt. In 135, they put down another revolt and rename the city Aelia Capitolina.<br />
<strong>313</strong> The city comes under the control of Constantine I, who restores its name and with his mother, Helena, builds the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.<br />
<strong>638 Muslim Arabs capture Jerusalem;</strong> the Dome of the Rock is built by 691.<br />
<strong>1099</strong> European Christians capture Jerusalem during the First Crusade.<br />
<strong>1187</strong> Muslim leader Saladin recaptures Jerusalem. Jews return and the layout of the Old City into quarters is fixed.<br />
<strong>1517</strong> The Muslim Ottoman Turks capture the city.<br />
<strong>1917</strong> The British conquer Jerusalem during World War I and make it the administrative seat of Palestine.<br />
<strong>1947 </strong>The British turn over Palestine's future to the new United Nations, which partitions it into Arab and Jewish states. Jerusalem would be an international city.<br />
<strong>1948</strong> Rejecting the U.N. plan, Arab forces attack the newly proclaimed state of Israel. By war's end, Israel controls West Jerusalem, which it makes its capital. Jordan controls East Jerusalem and the Old City.<br />
<strong>1949 - 1967</strong> Jews are barred from from praying at the Western Wall and some Jewish areas vandalized.<br />
<strong>1967</strong> During a second Arab-Israeli war, Israel captures East Jerusalem, reclaiming Temple Mount and the Western Wall. It annexes East Jerusalem and some 17,500 acres.<br />
<strong>TODAY</strong> The future of East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel but regarded by Palestinians as the eventual capital of their own state, remains one of the most sensitive hurdles in peace talks.</div>
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<strong>Sources: </strong>World Book, Encyclopedia Britannica, BBC News, USA Today, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peace Now, B’Tselem, InfoPlease Almanac, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs<br />
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<a class="logo active" href="http://www.jewishagency.org/places-israel/content/25502" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102) !important; display: inline !important; font-stretch: normal !important; line-height: 1 !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Jerusalem During the Second Temple Period</a></h1>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm21.jpg" height="277" style="border: 0px; height: 199px; vertical-align: middle; width: 366px;" width="473" /></span></td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">Jerusalem in the year 66 CE: Four years later, on Tisha B'Av, the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed the city during the period of the Great Revolt against Rome.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm22.jpg" height="316" style="border: 0px; height: 192px; vertical-align: middle; width: 365px;" width="495" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">Herod's palace: Herod was responsible for building ambitious structures such as Herodion, Massada, and the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Both sides of the palace were symmetrical. In between are pools and fountains. Many of the rich in Jerusalem lived a comfortable life with their own pools.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm23.jpg" height="340" style="border: 0px; height: 173px; vertical-align: middle; width: 367px;" width="530" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">The Upper City, or Western District: This area was reserved for the rich (the Sadducees, Jewish aristocracy of that period) who lived in multi-storey mansions with wooden roofs. This area was situated on a hill across from the Temple mount, which can be seen in the backround.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm24.jpg" height="257" style="border: 0px; height: 186px; vertical-align: middle; width: 370px;" width="452" /></span></div>
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<span id="text">The Holy Temple and its large courtyard, and rear view of the Temple Mount: Herod began rebuilding the Temple in the year 19 BCE. The construction took seven years. Some say that it did not rain during the day throughout those seven years so as not to disturb the construction. Notice the Antonia fortress (named after Herod's Roman ally Mark Antony) overlooking the Temple.</span></div>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm25.jpg" height="187" style="border: 0px; height: 112px; vertical-align: middle; width: 371px;" width="486" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">The Antonia fortress: The structure was built originally during the period of Ezra and was strengthened by the Hasmoneans. Herod rebuilt it completely on top of a rock 82 feet high.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm26.jpg" height="237" style="border: 0px; height: 136px; vertical-align: middle; width: 371px;" width="498" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">A close up look at the Temple: The Temple was built on Mount Moriah and Herod built the Temple floor 100 feet above street level. The Temple complex was very large with Herod building new walls on the outside, supported by rooms , buildings and tunnels on three levels. Isaiah said the Temple Mount is built like a lion, narrow in front, broad behind. For him, Jerusalem was the Lion of G-d, or "Ariel."</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm27.jpg" height="243" style="border: 0px; height: 200px; vertical-align: middle; width: 372px;" width="419" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">The Phasael Tower, Hippicus Tower and Miriamne Tower: These three towers are situated close to where Jaffa gate is today. These towers protected the main entrance to the city. Phasael tower was named after Herod's brother, Hippicus was named after Herod's friend who fell in battle, while Mariamne tower was named after Herod's wife. The only remains of these towers today is the base of Phasael's, found in the Tower of David.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm28.jpg" height="141" style="border: 0px; height: 108px; vertical-align: middle; width: 372px;" width="488" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">During Herodion times: There were social tensions during Herod's time with the upper class Sadducees living in luxurious accomodation while the lower class Pharisees lived at the bottom of the city having to climb up to reach the Temple.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm29.jpg" height="381" style="border: 0px; height: 323px; vertical-align: middle; width: 372px;" width="419" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">A Saducee bathroom in the year 66 CE, Jerusalem.</span></td></tr>
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<span id="text"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewishagency.org/sites/default/files/jlm210.jpg" height="356" style="border: 0px; height: 294px; vertical-align: middle; width: 373px;" width="455" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px;"><span id="text">A Saducee living room in the year 66 CE, Jerusalem.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #ffcc99; font-size: 36pt;">The Temple of God </span><span style="color: #ffcc99; font-size: 36pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In earliest times there were no permanent buildings such as temples where people could worship the One True God. The heavenly Father just needed a sanctuary, which is a dedicated place where He could dwell with His children. </span></b><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">(Ex. 25:8)</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness they could not build a permanent place of worship. God would reveal Himself to them and let them know where they could erect a sacrificial altar (Deut. 112:11-14). </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/tabwild.htm" style="color: purple;">The Tabernacle In The Wilderness</a></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">was a Tent of Meeting for the people. The Tabernacle became the pattern for the first Temple of God to be built in Jerusalem. King David had the desire to build the temple but God chose his son King Solomon who completed it in about 960 B.C. (2 Sam. 7:1-17; 1 Kn, 6:1-38). It was a magnificent temple.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: maroon; font-size: 20pt;">The Old Testament Temple<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Temple of God was used primarily for worship on the Sabbath day. God had warned Israel that if it violated the Sabbath commandment He would destroy the gates and palaces of Jerusalem (Jer. 17:27). Israel did not heed God’s warning so He allowed the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar to burn </span></b><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions.” (2 Chron. 36:18-19). </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Those that survived became slaves in Babylon </span></b><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">“until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” (2 Chron. 36:20-21). <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">At God’s appointed time the Persians permitted the Jews’ return from the Babylonian captivity about 538 B.C., they began to rebuild the Temple, which was completed about 15 years later. While almost certainly not as grand as the original Temple of Solomon, it survived over 450 years. It was this Temple that the Syrian king <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/antioiv.htm" style="color: purple;">Antiochus IV</a> desecrated in 168 B.C., triggering the revolt by<a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/macab.htm" style="color: purple;">The Maccabees</a>. This Temple was largely destroyed by the conquering Romans under Pompey in 63 B.C. (see <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/emprome.htm" style="color: purple;">Ancient Empires - Rome</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The Herodian Temple, a rebuilding of the earlier Temple by <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/herod.htm" style="color: purple;">Herod The Great</a>, was the magnificent structure that existed at the time of <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/christ.htm" style="color: purple;">Jesus Christ</a>. It was there that The Lord drove out the money changers and had numerous confrontations with the <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/pharisee.htm" style="color: purple;">Pharisees</a> and <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/sadducee.htm" style="color: purple;">Sadducees</a>. This Temple was completely destroyed by the <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/legion.htm" style="color: purple;">Roman Legions</a> in 70 A.D., exactly as Jesus Christ prophesied, nearly 40 years earlier, that it would be (Matthew 24:1-2) (see <a href="http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/falljeru.htm" style="color: purple;">Fall of Jerusalem In 70 A.D.</a>). Since then, there has been no Temple in Jerusalem.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: maroon; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt;">Will the Physical Temple in Jerusalem be Rebuilt?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">There are a number of Jewish groups working toward the rebuilding of a physical Temple in Jerusalem. Their preparations are genuine, professional, and well financed. They would begin building today if the political situation permitted it. But will it happen? Many Christians reject the thought of any such possibility, because their Christian perspective of "Temple" is now purely spiritual, and so they disregard the minds and actions of the Jewish people. But Jews aren't Christians. Jews have a religious perspective of their own, and since 1948, the Jewish state of Israel has been a reality. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Whether or not the physical temple will be rebuilt depends on factors that relate to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Consider the incident on September 28, 2000 when the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount <i>(Haram al-Sharif in Arabic) </i>regarded as Islam’s third holiest place. He made this statement which is considered highly provocative to the Arabs:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">:</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">'The Temple Mount is in our hands and will remain in our hands. It is the holiest site in Judaism and it is the right of every Jew to visit the Temple Mount.'. </span></b> <b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Since that time, Palestinians have engaged in a violent insurrection that has been dubbed the "al-Aksa intifada” which continues to this day. Read “The Struggle for the Temple Mount” <a href="http://www.meforum.org/article/10" style="color: purple;"><img border="0" src="http://www.oocities.org/templegod_ark/image002.gif" height="19" v:shapes="_x0000_i1062" width="70" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It is beyond the time limitation and scope of this sermon to deal with this issue of whether or not the physical temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt. I have made a special study on this subject in the ARK Forum. If you are interested in this study please <a href="http://www.oocities.com/templegod_ark/rebuilt.html" style="color: purple;"><img border="0" src="http://www.oocities.org/templegod_ark/image002.gif" height="19" v:shapes="_x0000_i1026" width="70" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Link to another web site on this issue please <a href="http://www.oocities.com/templegod_ark/titanictemple.htm" style="color: purple;"><img src="http://www.oocities.org/templegod_ark/image002.gif" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #003300; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt;">May God bless you</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">After the 70 <span class="SpellE"><span class="GramE">babylonian</span></span> captivity God allowed the Jews to return to</span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Jerusalem</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> to rebuild the temple that must be built over the original foundation. (Ezra 2:68; </span></b><st1:time hour="16" minute="12"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">4:12</span></b></st1:time><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">; Amos 9:11)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Here is a super-colossal problem. There is only one genuine and valid site for the temple - on </span></b><st1:place><st1:placetype><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Mount</span></b></st1:placetype><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></b><st1:placename><span class="SpellE"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Moriah</span></b></span></st1:placename></st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> where Abraham had offered Isaac as an offering to God. In the Seventh Century when the Islamic forces occupied the land, Caliph Omar built the Dome of the Rock over the same site of Solomon's temple. This building is still standing there and has become one of the chief tourist attractions in </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Jerusalem</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">. In order to rebuild the temple in its proper place the Dome of the Rock must be demolished. The temple site in </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Jerusalem</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> is considered a holy place for the Islamic religion, second only to </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Mecca</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">. How can the Dome of the Rock be removed without provoking all the Islamic nations of the world to anger and start a "Jihad - holy war?" Several suggestions have been made to choose an alternate site that is close to the </span></b><st1:place><st1:placetype><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Temple</span></b></st1:placetype><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></b><st1:placename><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Mount</span></b></st1:placename></st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">, but so far none have been acceptable to the religious Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">6.</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">In the fourth year of Solomon's reign (c. 960 B.C.) the temple began construction. It was completed in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign. It took seven and a half years to complete the construction of the First Temple. The </span></b><st1:place><st1:placename><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Second</span></b></st1:placename><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></b><st1:placetype><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Temple</span></b></st1:placetype></st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> that was reconstructed by King Herod took much longer. Herod began his work in his eighteenth year (20-19 B.C.) When the Jews said to our Lord Jesus Christ that the temple had been under construction forty six years (<span class="SpellE">Jn</span>. </span></b><st1:time hour="14" minute="20"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">2:20</span></b></st1:time><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">); it was not until A.D.64 - more than thirty more years before it was finally completed. Why did it take so long? Those were large hewn stones and fine construction. How long do you think it will take modern technology to complete the temple if it were to be rebuilt today? It depends on the materials and the construction system. So, how long do you think it will take to rebuild and reconstruct the original temple that was destroyed in A.D.70? The length of construction time is not important!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">We shall come back to this question - "Will the </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Temple</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> in </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Jerusalem</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> be<span class="GramE">Rebuilt</span>?" All I can say is this - "God has not given us a clear and positive answer". Up till the present time I am not convinced the </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Temple</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> in</span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;">Jerusalem</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt;"> will ever be rebuilt.</span></b></div>
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The Struggle for the Temple Mount</h1>
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<b>A briefing by Gershom Gorenberg<br />May 2, 2001</b></div>
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<i>Gershom Gorenberg, author of <i>The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount</i> (Free Press), is senior editor and columnist for <i>The Jerusalem Report</i>. In addition, he is a regular contributor to The New Republic and an associate of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University. He was a co-author of <i>Shalom, Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin</i>, which won the National Jewish Book Award. American-born, Mr. Gorenberg has degrees from the University of California and the Hebrew University. He spoke to the Middle East Forum on May 2, 2001.</i><br />
<br />
<b>The Temple Mount in Context</b><br />
<br />
The Temple Mount is an area of only thirty-five acres in the southwest corner in the old City of Jerusalem, but it is the most contested real estate on earth.<br />
<br />
By calling it the Temple Mount, I am already standing in one political corner. Muslims call it al-Haram ash-Sharif, which includes the Dome of the Rock and al-Masjid al-Aqsa, or "the furthest mosque." People ask me if there is a neutral term for the Temple Mount. The answer is no. There is no neutral term or neutral story.<br />
<br />
As a journalist, I have a standard paragraph to describe the Temple Mount: It is the site of the first and second temple in ancient Jewish times. It is also the place that the prophet Muhammad, according to the Qur'an, was said to have stepped before taking his "night journey" to heaven, where he met Allah, and received the Islamic commandment to pray five times a day.<br />
<br />
<b>A Nationalist Symbol</b><br />
<br />
Israelis and Palestinians have both constructed their national narratives around the Temple Mount. In each narrative, an ideal past is seen as a time when the Temple Mount was under their sovereignty. In both cases, the present is seen as a disruptive time when the site is disputed. The ideal future is then seen as a time when the Temple Mount will be theirs again. The Temple Mount is now an emblem of the hopes and aspirations for both peoples.<br />
<br />
In early Palestinian nationalist history, the Temple Mount was used as a rally cry: to protect the al-Aqsa mosque from the dangerous presence of Zionists in Palestine. That cry for liberation intensified after 1967 when Israel conquered the Temple Mount.<br />
<br />
During the 1967 Six Day war, an Israeli colonel proudly announced "the Temple Mount is in our hands." For Israeli nationalists, this was seen as the ultimate achievement; the Jewish people had reclaimed their homeland.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, Jewish homes have traditionally been adorned with a landscape of the Temple Mount, as a symbol of national yearning. Since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has intensified, the same landscape has become a symbol among Palestinians.<br />
<br />
<b>Recent Events</b><br />
<br />
Last July at the Camp David peace talks, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators came together and attempted to discuss the final status of the Temple Mount. They couldn’t do it because the issue is too loaded with symbolism for either side to negotiate.<br />
<br />
Prime Minister Ehud Barak suggested that the mount come under de jure Palestinian administration but under the roof of Israeli sovereignty. For him, this was a concession. For Palestinians, it was a demand and a threat.<br />
<br />
After the summit, the Palestinians stated publicly that the historic Jewish temple never stood on the Temple Mount; that there was no Jewish historical link to that area. This Palestinian provocation served as an engraved invitation to a nationalist Israeli leader who wanted to assert Jewish control of the Temple Mount.<br />
<br />
This is exactly what Ariel Sharon did on September 28, 2000, when he toured the compound, accompanied by hundreds of policemen. Palestinians claimed Sharon's visit was proof that Israel never intended to give up sovereignty over the al-Aqsa mosque. Sharon, however, says that the uprising that followed had nothing to do with his visit to the Temple Mount. Rather, it resulted from a decision by the Palestinians to gain concessions.<br />
<br />
<b>Violence and the Temple Mount</b><br />
<br />
There is a precedent of violence around the Temple Mount. In 1929, the first major outbreak of violence in the Arab-Israeli conflict spawned from conflict over the site, as Jews attempted to assert control over the Western Wall. In hindsight, the Temple Mount was somewhat incidental to this struggle, which was mostly an expression of the nationalist struggle between Arabs and Jews.<br />
<br />
In the 1980s, Israeli authorities uncovered a Jewish extremist plot to destroy the Dome of the Rock. In the end, it was discovered that the Dome of the Rock was ancillary to the plot. The conspirators were really protesting Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. Still, the symbolism of the Temple Mount was there and significant.<br />
<br />
In early 1996, the Palestinian "Tunnel Riots" took place, when Israeli antiquity authorities began excavating beneath the Temple Mount. While there was little to no chance of damaging the structure of the Temple Mount, the riots were really symbolic of the breakdown of the peace process.<br />
<br />
Similarly, the current al-Aqsa intifada is less about the al-Aqsa mosque and more about a crisis in peacemaking.<br />
<br />
<b>Symbolism and the Temple Mount</b><br />
<br />
To exclude religious symbolism surrounding the Temple Mount, however, is a mistake. That would be equivalent to saying that the conflict is only about practical issues like control, power, and territory. Indeed, the Temple Mount is a symbol of the hopes, fears, and aspirations on both sides.<br />
<br />
It matters little whether the Prophet Muhammad actually ascended to heaven from the Temple Mount on his "night journey." The important thing is that millions of Muslims believe it. This is the imagined past of Islam. Historians ponder at what time Muslims agreed that the "furthest mosque" mentioned in the Qur'an became the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It’s an interesting question, but today it is politically irrelevant. What’s relevant is that millions of people believe it.<br />
<br />
Today, there are Palestinians who argue that the Jewish temple never stood on the Temple Mount. From an archaeological and historical perspective, I would say they are completely wrong. But this is also irrelevant, because the Jewish people believe it is the holiest spot in Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
According to Jewish tradition, the Temple Mount is also where Abraham was said to have bound Isaac in the story of Genesis. It is the place where the ultimate religious individual underwent the ultimate religious test and founded the faith. Similarly in Islam, al-Haram ash-Sharif is where the ultimate religious individual underwent the ultimate religious experience, ascended to heaven, and founded the ultimate religious faith.<br />
<br />
<b>The Site of the End of Days</b><br />
<br />
While the Temple Mount is seen as the site where two faiths began, it is also seen as the place, according to all three monotheistic religions, where the world will end.<br />
<br />
In Jewish tradition, since the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, saying that the Temple will be rebuilt is tantamount to saying that the messiah will come and that God's kingdom on earth will be established.<br />
<br />
In Islam, it is also the place of the end. According to one oral tradition, or hadith, final judgement will take place at al-Haram ash-Sharif when a thread will be stretched from the Mount of Olives to the Temple Mount. Thereafter, the souls of all who have ever lived must walk it. Those who were good will make it across and go to heaven. Those who were evil will fall off and be damned for eternity.<br />
<br />
There is also an interpretation embraced by millions of evangelical Christians in which the Temple Mount is central to the scenario of the end of days. According to this theology, the temple of the Jews must be rebuilt in order for Jesus Christ to return and bring an end to the world as we know it.<br />
<br />
<b>Fundamentalism</b><br />
<br />
All traditions around the Temple Mount can be interpreted metaphorically and allegorically and have been throughout history. Today, however, we live in an age of fundamentalism.<br />
<br />
"Fundamentalism" is originally a Christian term for those who believe that the bible is completely accurate in its literal interpretation. Fundamentalists, then, are those who assert that they do not make moral judgements because the text makes those judgements for them.<br />
<br />
Christian fundamentalist theology sees the creation of Israel and the subsequent history as heralding the end of days. There are also those who call themselves "fundamentalists" in Islam. They, too, take a literal interpretation of the sacred texts.<br />
<br />
Today, Christian fundamentalists support radical Jewish fringe groups who seek to destroy the al-Aqsa mosque so that the third temple can be built and herald the messiah. While they are a minority, this is enough to keep Muslims paranoid. That is to say, the assertion that all Jews want to rebuild the temple is wrong, but there are some out there that provide proof to the contrary.<br />
<br />
Fundamentalists today are encouraged by the current mini-war. They believe that this so-called battle for Jerusalem is the battle that will lead to the end of days.<br />
<br />
<b>What if the mount were destroyed?</b><br />
<br />
This question was widely discussed by Israeli experts after the plot to destroy the Temple Mount was uncovered in the 1980s. Some assert that this could prompt the entire Muslim world to attack Israel. Others say it could bring a second holocaust. Those interpretations are too radical, however.<br />
<br />
The implications of damage to the site depends on the political context. If this happened during a period of dialogue, it is possible that leaders could maintain control. The effect could be far worse during times of tension. In any case, Israeli security forces are very careful to ensure the safety of the entire compound.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
The struggle for the Temple Mount is a complicated one. If Palestinians and Israelis are to make progress towards peace, each side must begin to understand the narratives of the other as a point of departure for mutual understanding.<br />
<br />
<i>Summary account by Jonathan Schanzer, research associate at the Middle East Forum<br />.</i></div>
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YJ Draiman Articleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01649666996973434531noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1681760633145942228.post-1015606053164264102015-07-20T00:55:00.001-07:002015-07-20T00:59:33.668-07:00Transcript of "The Ancient Israelites" --- Old Testament Map & History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Transcript of "The Ancient Israelites"</span></span></h3>
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<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">1. The First Israelites Chapter Three, Section One</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-2-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=" About 1200 BC, great
changes took place around
Mediterr...">2. </a> About 1200 BC, great changes took place around Mediterranean ◦ Empires fell and new people entered the region 1000 BC, Israelites built a kingdom in Canaan Canaan lies along the Mediterranean Sea in Middle East.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-3-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=" Small population of people.
Israelites believed in God...">3. </a> Small population of people. Israelites believed in God—only one; monotheism Israelite faith become Judaism; known as Jews ◦ Influenced Christianity and Islam ◦ Shaped beliefs and practices of societies in Europe and Americas. Spoke Hebrew; wrote their beliefs in the Hebrew Bible Came from Mesopotamia-herders and traders; settled in Canaan</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-4-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=" Abraham—father of the
Hebrews. Believe God told
Abraham...">4. </a> Abraham—father of the Hebrews. Believe God told Abraham to go to Canaan. God promised the land to Abraham and the Hebrews. Jacob—grandson of Abraham; also called Israel ◦ Had 12 sons; Divided his family into 12 tribes. 12 Tribes of Israel Lived in Israel for 100 years; moved to Egypt to escape famine</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-5-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=" While in Egypt they were enslaved
by Pharaoh.
They we...">5. </a> While in Egypt they were enslaved by Pharaoh. They were subject to infanticide— murder of their infants Moses led his people out of Egypt; 10 plagues on Egyptians Ten Commandments—at top of Mt. Sinai, received the laws from God. The commandments were an important part of the Torah; most important in shaping moral laws of many nations. Torah—first part of the Hebrew Bible; describes a covenant</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-6-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=" Took 40 years to reach Canaan;
Moses had already died
...">6. </a> Took 40 years to reach Canaan; Moses had already died Joshua took over leadership after Moses; brought Israelites to Canaan Canaanites were living there when they arrived. Joshua and his army took the city of Jericho and other lands in three wars. ◦ The territories were divided among the 12 Tribes of Israel</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-7-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=" Judge—An Israelite military leader
that guided the 12 tr...">7. </a> Judge—An Israelite military leader that guided the 12 tribes after Joshua’s death. Usually they guided 1 or 2 tribes; Deborah—only known woman judge. ◦ 1125 BC—Deborah and her troops destroyed King Jabin and his army of Canaanites. Over time, the judges gained control over all the hilly regions of Canaan. The Canaanites only controlled the coastal areas.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-8-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title=" Led by Abraham, the Israelites settled
in Canaan. They l...">8. </a> Led by Abraham, the Israelites settled in Canaan. They later moved to Egypt and were enslaved, but then escaped. The Israelites used the Ten Commandments as rules to live by. Joshua and the judges, including Deborah, won back territory in central Canaan for the Israelites.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-9-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Kingdom of Israel
Chapter 3; Section 2
">9. </a>Kingdom of Israel Chapter 3; Section 2</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-10-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Israelites Choose a King
1000 BC—
Philistines
stronges...">10. </a>Israelites Choose a King 1000 BC— Philistines strongest in the region of Canaan Israelites believe they need to choose a king to unite the tribes and become stronger</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-11-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Rule of King Saul
1020 BC—
Israelites asked
Samuel to ...">11. </a>Rule of King Saul 1020 BC— Israelites asked Samuel to choose a king. Samuel—a judge and prophet Samuel selects Saul a warrior and farmer; first king of Israel Hebrew Bible says Saul lost favor with God and the people</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-12-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="King David
David—was in charge of
Saul’s army; known fo...">12. </a>King David David—was in charge of Saul’s army; known for his bravery and leadership; David and Goliath 1000 BC—David takes the throne of Israel David as King ◦ Drove Philistines from the region ◦ Created an Empire ◦ Conquered nations paid a tribute—added to Israel’s wealth</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-13-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="King David
◦ Taxes the Israelites
heavily
Wanted to ex...">13. </a>King David ◦ Taxes the Israelites heavily Wanted to expand Jerusalem Wanted to build a temple for the Jews in Jerusalem</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-14-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="King Solomon
Solomon—last king of a
united Israel; note...">14. </a>King Solomon Solomon—last king of a united Israel; noted for his wisdom, but hated for his taxation ◦ Built the great stone temple in Jerusalem Becomes a symbol and center of Jewish religion ◦ Known for his proverbs— wise sayings ◦ 1000-922 BC—the period of kings.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-15-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="After Solomon
When Solomon died,
Northerners rebelled
...">15. </a>After Solomon When Solomon died, Northerners rebelled ◦ 10 of the 12 tribes set up their own nation in the north—Kingdom of Israel (922 BC) ◦ Samaria—capital of Kingdom of Israel. Kingdom of Judah ◦ Two tribes ◦ Jerusalem remained the Capital</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-16-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Fall of Israel
◦ 722 BC—Assyrians
conquered Israel and
s...">16. </a>Fall of Israel ◦ 722 BC—Assyrians conquered Israel and scattered 10 tribes across their empire. ◦ They are known as the “Lost Tribes of Israel”</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-17-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Fall of Judah
◦ 620 BC—Egyptians conquered the Kingdom of ...">17. </a>Fall of Judah ◦ 620 BC—Egyptians conquered the Kingdom of Judah Israelites kept their king but paid tribute to Egypt ◦ 605 BC—Chaldeans conquer Egypt; Egyptians and Jews unite but fail ◦ 597 BC—Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem Punished Jews severely—10,000 forced to leave and live in Babylon A second rebellion was crushed and the Temple was destroyed. Time in Babylon called the Babylonian Exile—597-538 BC ◦ 538 BC—Persian king Cyrus allows Jews to rebuild Jerusalem</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-18-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Review the Main Ideas
Saul was the first king of the Isr...">18. </a>Review the Main Ideas Saul was the first king of the Israelites. He united the 12 tribes into one kingdom. King David built an Israelite empire and made Jerusalem his capital. Solomon built a great temple at Jerusalem, but after he died, the Israelites split into two kingdoms—Israel and Judah The Assyrians and then the Chaldeans conquered Israel and Judah, and forced many Israelites to leave their homeland.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-19-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Growth of Judaism
Chapter three, section three
">19. </a>Growth of Judaism Chapter three, section three</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-20-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Exile and Return
During the exile (586-538 BC) in
Babyl...">20. </a>Exile and Return During the exile (586-538 BC) in Babylon the Israelite religion became what we call Judaism Sabbath—small groups of Jews would meet for a day of worship and rest at the synagogues 538 BC—Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Judah; some stayed in Babylon, many went home They rebuilt Jerusalem and the temple. Were not allowed to have their own king Religious leaders ran their society Scribes became religious scholars Ezra—wrote five books of the Torah on pieces of parchment— scrolls; Torah and writings added later made up the Hebrew Bible.</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-21-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jews Look to the Future
Story of Daniel reminded
Jews t...">21. </a>Jews Look to the Future Story of Daniel reminded Jews that God would rescue them Daniel was important to the Chaldean rulers but he refused to worship Babylonian gods. They threw him into the Lion’s den but God protected Daniel from the Lions. Jews believed that evil and suffering would</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-22-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jews and the Greeks
331 BC, Alexander the Great
(Greek)...">22. </a>Jews and the Greeks 331 BC, Alexander the Great (Greek) defeated Persians so Judah came under his control Jews were allowed to stay in Judah; Hebrews were introduced Greek language and culture Jews were living throughout Alexander’s empire at this time; This became known as diaspora During diaspora, Jews learned Greek ways and copied the</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-23-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Maccabees
168 BC—Greek Ruler Antiochus
controlled J...">23. </a>The Maccabees 168 BC—Greek Ruler Antiochus controlled Judah; He decided to make Jews worship Greek gods. Judas Maccabeus—a priest that led a rebellion against Antiochus Maccabees fled to the hills and formed an army. After many battles they drove the Greeks out of Judah and destroyed all traces of Greek gods. Hanukkah—Jewish festival that celebrates the Maccabees and their victory. Judas Maccabeus’s family became new rulers and they took over land that had been part of</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-24-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Roman Rule
Jews and the Romans
63 BC—Romans conquered...">24. </a>Roman Rule Jews and the Romans 63 BC—Romans conquered Judah; renamed it Judaea At first, Romans allowed Jewish rulers to run Judaea King Herod—most famous ruler of Judaea ◦ Added to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem ◦ Became one of the most awe-inspiring buildings in the entire Roman world Romans replaced the Jewish king with Roman officials when Herod died. Jews were divided over how to deal with the Romans</span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://image.slidesharecdn.com/israelitespowerpointcombined-141028094315-conversion-gate02/95/the-ancient-israelites-25-638.jpg?cb=1414489482" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #008ed2; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Jewish Revolts
60’s AD—Jewish hatred of Roman rule was a...">25. </a>Jewish Revolts 60’s AD—Jewish hatred of Roman rule was at its peak Jews waited for a messiah—deliverer sent from God Zealots—wanted to fight the Romans for Freedom 66 AD—Zealots revolted against the Romans and drove them out of Jerusalem; 70 AD—Romans returned and killed thousands of Jews and forced many others to leave; Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem; The Western Wall is all that remains today 132 AD—Jews revolted again; Revolt was crushed in 135 AD; Romans forbade the Jews to live in or even visit Jerusalem; Started calling Judah by the name Palestine. Name refers to the Philistines. 1947 AD—Jews return to Judah and form the state of Israel.</span></li>
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<u>Old Testament Map & History</u></h1>
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<b>OLD TESTAMENT MAP OF KING DAVID</b> was born in Bethlehem, in the south of Judah to Jesse, the son of Obed (<b>Matthew 1:5</b>). David was the youngest son of Jesse's and grew up tending the sheep. However, it was as a youth in the Valley of Elah where David showed what was to come. He fearlessly fought and killed the Philistine giant-champion Goliath, cutting off his head after sinking a stone from his sling in the giant's forehead.</div>
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King Saul took David in, only to turn against him out of jealousy and <b><i>"an evil spirit"</i></b>. The old prophet Samuel had anointed Saul king years earlier, only to have him disobey the word of the Lord. Thus a new king was to be anointed, and God had chosen His servant David.</div>
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Samuel aided David in his flight from Saul. Earlier he had condemned Saul per God's instruction. Saul had been rejected, and thus David's rise to the throne was ordained by Yahweh making David the righteous and chosen king. Indeed his kingdom would usher in the golden era of Israelite/Jewish history. The kingdom established by he and his son Solomon stretched from the Red Sea in the south to the Euphrates River in the extreme north.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/kingdavidgeoevents.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="Most of the Biblical narrative took place in Egypt, Israel, Syria and Jordan. This Old Testament map highlights the life of King David and where certain events took place."><img alt="An Old Testament map of the feats and events of King David." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/kingdavidgeoevents.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: none;" title="An Old Testament map of the feats and events of King David." width="320" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2Fkingdavidgeoevents.jpg&description=Most%20of%20the%20Biblical%20narrative%20took%20place%20in%20Egypt%2C%20Israel%2C%20Syria%20and%20Jordan.%20This%20Old%20Testament%20map%20highlights%20the%20life%20of%20King%20David%20and%20where%20certain%20events%20took%20place." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_0" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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This Old Testament Map depicts the movements of David over the course of his life. The concentration of David's movements were centered in the central hill country within the tribal allotment of Judah. David was a southern boy, and intimately familiar with the desert wildernesses south of his boyhood Bethlehem. David was anointed king in Hebron, and oftentimes sought shelter in the area as King Saul pursued him with his army.</div>
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<h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; margin: 8px 0px 14px; text-align: center;">
OLD TESTAMENT MAP PAGE CONTENTS</h3>
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<br /><a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-bible-maps.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><em><b>CLICK TO VIEW MORE OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE MAPS</b></em></span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-timeline.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Old Testament Timeline</b></span></a>: Click on the link to view when the Old Testament narratives took place against the backdrop of world history.</div>
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<b>Click on a link to visit that Old Testament Bible Map.</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#Bible." style="color: #0000ee;">The Holy Land in the Modern Day</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#%3CB%3EENOCH%3C/B%3E" style="color: #0000ee;">Enoch & The Watchers</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#%3CB%3ETABLE%20OF%20NATIONS%3C/B%3E" style="color: #0000ee;">The Table of Nations</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#%3CB%3EPALESTINE%3C/B%3E" style="color: #0000ee;">Palestine</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#Peninsula." style="color: #0000ee;">Abraham's Journey to Canaan</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#occasion." style="color: #0000ee;">Early Canaan</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#ground." style="color: #0000ee;">Jacob & Esau</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#The%20Negev%20-%20Home%20of%20Abraham" style="color: #0000ee;">Old Testament Map of the Negev - Home of Abraham</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-map.html#Land%20of%20the%20Patriarchs" style="color: #0000ee;">The Land of the Patriarchs</a></div>
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<a href="http://preceptaustin.org/" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Preceptaustin.org - An excellent site for Old Testament & Bible Study</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="<B>EDEN</B>" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;">
<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>EDEN</b></span> Scholars have sought for centuries to locate the Garden of Eden. The below map provides a look at what many feel may have represented the Bible's description in <b>Genesis 2:10-14</b>. Though this cannot be verified to any degree of certainty, it is interesting to note that geologists and scholars have concluded the Persian Gulf was at one time a dry river bed. The southern location is just one theory, however, concerning the location of the Garden of Eden.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/EdenSouthernLocationFilledIn.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="This map of Eden depicts the geographical state of the area around 10,000 - 12,000 years ago. According to author Graham Hancock; "A great river...the Gulf around 10,000 or 12,000 years ago could have been...indeed a secret garden...""><img alt="An Old Testament map of the Garden of Eden's possible location - based on Genesis." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/EdenSouthernLocationFilledIn.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; max-width: none;" title="An Old Testament map of the Garden of Eden's possible location - based on Genesis." width="315" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FEdenSouthernLocationFilledIn.jpg&description=This%20map%20of%20Eden%20depicts%20the%20geographical%20state%20of%20the%20area%20around%2010%2C000%20-%2012%2C000%20years%20ago.%20According%20to%20author%20Graham%20Hancock%3B%20%22A%20protected%20valley...a%20great%20river...the%20Gulf%20around%2010%2C000%20or%2012%2C000%20years%20ago%20could%20have%20been...indeed%20a%20secret%20garden...%22" data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_1" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<b>Genesis 2</b> provides the first Old Testament map of the Bible. It is the first geographical reference in the history of man. The Bible is giving a description of where the Garden of Eden was. Thus, the first Old Testament map is that of Eden, and for centuries scholars have sought to draw that map.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif;"><b>THE PISHON & HAVILAH</b></span> The Pishon is said to have flowed through the whole land of Havilah. <b>Genesis 2:12</b> makes special mention of Havilah's gold being of the finest quality. Interestingly, the river bed detected through new satellite imagery ran through an ancient site known as Mahd adh Dhahab. This ancient mine was one of antiquity's most well known and profitable gold mines. </div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/EdenGeoWithPishonandHavilah.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="Satellite images have produced evidence of a dried up ancient river bed buried beneath hundreds of feet of sand running from the mouth of the Persian Gulf, through Saudi Arabia and emptying into the Red Sea."><img alt="A possible map of the Garden of Eden's Pishon River." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/EdenGeoWithPishonandHavilah.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; max-width: none;" title="A possible map of the Garden of Eden's Pishon River." width="300" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FEdenGeoWithPishonandHavilah.jpg&description=Satellite%20images%20have%20produced%20evidence%20of%20a%20dried%20up%20ancient%20river%20bed%20buried%20beneath%20hundreds%20of%20feet%20of%20sand%20running%20from%20the%20mouth%20of%20the%20Persian%20Gulf%2C%20through%20Saudi%20Arabia%20and%20emptying%20into%20the%20Red%20Sea." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_2" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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King Solomon is believed to have obtained his gold from this mine. The massive amount of gold mined from this area is staggering. Could this area be the Biblical Havilah? Could the dried up river bed be the ancient remains of the River Pishon? The circumstantial evidence certainly matches the Biblical description of Eden given in the Bible.</div>
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<b>THE HOLY LAND</b> Many of the events on any Old Testament map took place in modern day Israel and Jordan. The ancient kings <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/rephaim.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Og and Sihon</a> , defeated by Moses, ruled kingdoms occupying much of modern day Jordan. The West Bank has been an area of dispute since Abraham. The <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/history-of-jerusalem.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">history of Jerusalem</a>is dominated by conflict.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/israelmoderndaymarble.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="The contested West Bank is home to Palestinians & Jews, and a site of frequent conflict and unrest. The area is heavily patrolled by the Israeli military."><img alt="A modern day map of Israel and its neighbors." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/israelmoderndaymarble.jpg" style="border: 3px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; max-width: none;" title="A modern day map of Israel and its neighbors." width="309" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2Fisraelmoderndaymarble.jpg&description=The%20contested%20West%20Bank%20is%20home%20to%20Palestinians%20%20%26%20Jews%2C%20and%20a%20site%20of%20frequent%20conflict%20and%20unrest.%20The%20area%20is%20heavily%20patrolled%20by%20the%20Israeli%20military." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_3" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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The mighty Anakim occupied the land during the time of Abraham and the Conquest of Joshua. Hebron was their capital city, said in <b>Joshua 14:15</b> to have been previously called Kiriath-Arba. Arba was the greatest among the Anakim, descendants of the <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/nephilim.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Nephilim</a>found in <b>Genesis 6:4</b>. It is no coincidence the violence in this region continues today, in these very same areas, and for many of the same reasons! The battle is one of a spiritual nature; as it was in the Old Testament, so it is today.</div>
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<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;" /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="<B>ENOCH</B>" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></span><div class="ImageBlock ImageBlockLeft" style="background-color: white; float: left; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/EnochScenario2.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="According to Enoch, the Watchers descended from the heavens atop Mt. Hermon. He journeyed to confront them on behalf of God Almighty, delivering bad news to the gathered fallen assembly."><img alt="A possible scenario of Enoch the prophet as he confronted the Watchers, according to the Book of Enoch." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/EnochScenario2.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; max-width: none;" title="A possible scenario of Enoch the prophet as he confronted the Watchers, according to the Book of Enoch." width="220" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FEnochScenario2.jpg&description=According%20to%20Enoch%2C%20the%20Watchers%20descended%20from%20the%20heavens%20atop%20Mt.%20Hermon.%20He%20journeyed%20to%20confront%20them%20on%20behalf%20of%20God%20Almighty%2C%20delivering%20bad%20news%20to%20the%20gathered%20fallen%20assembly." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_4" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>ENOCH</b></span> <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/the-book-of-enoch.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">The book of Enoch </a>is one of the most fascinating pieces of literature ever written. It was written by <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/enoch-the-prophet.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Enoch the prophet</a> , found in <b>Genesis 5:21-24</b>. Enoch was one of only two people in the Bible to not die. God took him up. I Enoch expands on the brief reference to the<b><i>"sons of God"</i></b> and <b><i>"daughters of men"</i></b>found in <b>Genesis 6</b>. Though not included in the modern era Bible, I Enoch was a part of <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/greek-septuagint.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">the Greek Septuagint</a> , and would have been read by Jesus and His disciples. Indeed, I Enoch is recognized as hugely influential in the writing of the New Testament. In fact, many scholars discredit Enoch as the writer because of the New Testament style and sounding of the book. In his book, Enoch describes the fallen Watchers, the <b><i>"sons of God"</i></b> in the Bible. He says they touched down on the peak of Mt. Herman, and migrated out from there. The kingdom of Og was located in Bashan, just south of Mt. Herman. Og was of the Rephaim, identified with the Anakim in <b>Deuteronomy 2:11</b>, and a people of great stature. The Temple at Baalbek has puzzled scholars since its discovery. It is one of the world's oldest sites, and has massive stones weighing 1200 tons! Could this be an ancient temple of the fallen Watchers? Enoch was ordered by God to confront these Watchers. A comparison of Enoch's geography correlates with an Old Testament map of the region mentioned. By the waters of Dan, Enoch received a vision from God. He then ventured to confront the congregation of Watchers to give them God's verdict at Mt. Hermon.</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="<B>TABLE OF NATIONS</B>" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;">
<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>TABLE OF NATIONS</b></span> An Old Testament map of <b>Genesis 9</b>, commonly referred to as The Table of Nations. The events in <b>Genesis 6</b> and I Enoch triggered God's judgment of the flood. After the flood, it was up to <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/sons-of-noah.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Noah and his three sons </a>to re-populate the earth. The above map shows their migration; <span style="color: green;">Ham's descendants are seen in green.</span> <span style="color: red;">Shem's clans are in red.</span>Japheth's kin are seen in black. Notice the tendency to stay relatively close to immediate family. The Old Testament map below shows some other clans, those that migrated further away.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/TableOfNations12.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="The Canaanites were descendants of Canaan, a son of Cush who was a son of Ham - one of the sons of Noah. Ham's descendants were the primary peoples & nations of the Old Testament."><img alt="An Old Testament Map demonstrating the settlement of Canaan by the Canaanites." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/TableOfNations12.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: none;" title="An Old Testament Map demonstrating the settlement of Canaan by the Canaanites." width="325" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-6&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FTableOfNations12.jpg&description=The%20Canaanites%20were%20descendants%20of%20Canaan%2C%20a%20son%20of%20Cush%20who%20was%20a%20son%20of%20Ham%20-%20one%20of%20the%20sons%20of%20Noah.%20Ham%27s%20descendants%20were%20the%20primary%20peoples%20%26%20nations%20of%20the%20Old%20Testament." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_5" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/TableOfNations22.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="The descendants of Ham also settled in Africa, including South Africa, and Arabia. Shem's descendants also settled in the area, though on a lesser scale. Many of Shem's descendants settled up and down the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers."><img alt="A map of the Sons of Noah who settled in Africa & Arabia." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/TableOfNations22.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: none;" title="A map of the Sons of Noah who settled in Africa & Arabia." width="325" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-7&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FTableOfNations22.jpg&description=The%20descendants%20of%20Ham%20also%20settled%20in%20Africa%2C%20including%20South%20Africa%2C%20and%20Arabia.%20Shem%27s%20descendants%20also%20settled%20in%20the%20area%2C%20though%20on%20a%20lesser%20scale.%20Many%20of%20Shem%27s%20descendants%20settled%20up%20and%20down%20the%20Tigris%20%26%20Euphrates%20Rivers." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_6" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0000ee; font-size: 11px;"><em><b>THE SONS OF NOAH & THEIR DESCENDANTS SPREAD UPON THE EARTH FROM ARARAT. THESE MAPS DEMONSTRATE THEIR MIGRATION & SETTLEMENT. SHEM AND HAM TENDED TO DWELL AMONGST EACH OTHER MORESO THAN JAPHETH & HAM.</b></em></span></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="<B>PALESTINE</B>" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;">
<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>PALESTINE</b></span> Palestine was occupied long before the Israelites arrived in the land, and even long before the patriarch <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/abraham.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Abraham </a>arrived. An Old Testament map of Palestine, also called the land of Canaan, shows a diverse landscape. Every known geographical region exists in Canaan. From the coast of the Mediterranean, to the desert regions of Judah and the Negev; from the lowlands of the Shephelah, to the mountains of the Central Highlands, Palestine covers the spectrum of geography. </div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/PalestineGeoRegions.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="The Holy Land and its geography. The Levant is a diverse region of mountains, valleys, desert, rivers & seas. It is in these lands the Bible unfolded thousands of years ago."><img alt="A map of the geography of Palestine." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/PalestineGeoRegions.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; max-width: none;" title="A map of the geography of Palestine." width="229" /></a><div class="pinit">
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Valleys cut through the land in various places. The Jezreel Valley has seen bloodshed since the beginning of time. It's strategic importance lay in the fact it led to the heartland of Palestine if approaching from the north. It is in the Jezreel Valley the Battle of Armageddon will one day take place. Megiddo, an ancient city of importance, commands the Jezreel. The Jordan Valley slices through Canaan on a north-south axis, providing the eastern border of the Promised Land. The Philistines occupied the plain of Philisitia. The five cities under Philistine control made up what was known as the Philistine Pentapolis. These cities were Ekron, Gath, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod. These Philistine cities dominated the Coastal Plain, forcing the Israelites into the Western Mountains.</div>
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An Old Testament map may list the Western Mountains as the Central Highlands. The Hill Country of Ephraim was also located in this region. Jerusalem and Shechem dominated the Western Mountains. Shechem became the capital of the Northern Kingdom, while Jerusalem became the capital of the Southern Kingdom of <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/tribe-of-judah.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Judah. </a>The Central Ridge Route ran along the top of the plateau, and was a vital road in antiquity, as it remains today. Abraham spent much of his time in the southern Negev country. Beersheba was a major city of the Negev, and was home to Abraham for a time. Much of the Abraham narrative, and that of<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/abraham-and-isaac.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Isaac </a>as well, takes place between Beersheba in the Negev, and Mamre, near Hebron, both located south of Jerusalem.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AncientRoadsandCities2.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="Ancient Canaan was a busy land, interconnected by roads with big,fortified cities. The Israelite spies reported back to Moses, "we appeared as grasshoppers in our sight!" - indicating the people of Canaan were of great stature & size."><img alt="Ancient Canaan was a land interconnected with roads and cities, though occupied by a wide array of peoples." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AncientRoadsandCities2.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; max-width: none;" title="Ancient Canaan was a land interconnected with roads and cities, though occupied by a wide array of peoples." width="292" /></a><div class="pinit">
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>ANCIENT PALESTINE</b></span> Any Old Testament map will reveal the land of Canaan was a well connected land even in ancient times. Many routes of ancient importance criss-crossed the land. Running on a north-south route, three vital ancient highways dissected Palestine. Starting in the west, along the Mediterranean Coast was the International Coastal Highway. This ancient highway carried trade goods which were vital to the economy of the Ancient Near East. Many different armies traversed this route en route to battle, or perhaps returning from defeat. The ancient city of Megiddo sat astride the Aruna Pass; where the I.C.H. enters the ever strategic Jezreel Valley. Megiddo, perhaps more so than any other city of the time, saw blood shed and war regularly in attempts to control this vital route.</div>
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</td><td class="column_1" style="padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 311px;">The writer of Revelation foresaw the last battle, the Battle of Armageddon, as being fought in this area. Along the Western Mountains ran the Central Ridge Route. This route pierced the heart of Jerusalem, and connected the ancient city to Shechem, in Samaria. The two cities were Canaanite rivals for control of this ancient route before Abraham arrived. </td></tr>
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East of the Jordan, in what would become known as the Transjordan region, The Kings Highway ran from north to south. This route is mentioned in<b>Numbers 21:22</b> by name. This route ran from Ezion-geber, at the top of the Gulf of Aqaba, northward to Damascus. Caravans ran this route carrying spices and perfumes, along with other products from the Arabian Peninsula.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>ABRAHAM</b></span> was called from the land of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia. The Old Testament map of Israel began with Abraham's journey into Canaan. It is believed by some scholars Ur was suffering a depression of sorts near the end of the third millennium B.C., which would have explained God's call to leave Ur. Abraham and his father, Terah, along with his nephew Lot, and their wives, left their home and journeyed to Haran. It is widely held they made this trip around 2000 B.C., though the exact dates vary from scholar to scholar. Haran is likely named after Abraham's brother, who had died unexpectedly in Ur, leaving his only son Lot behind for Abraham to raise. The most likely route they took from Ur led through the ancient city of Mari.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbrahamFromUrToCanaan.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="Abraham & Lot likely would've traveled up the Euphrates with their father, Terah, on the way to Haran. After a stay in Haran, Abraham left his father and journeyed to Canaan. His descendants occupy the land today."><img alt="An Old Testament map of Abraham's journey from Ur to Canaan." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbrahamFromUrToCanaan.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; max-width: none;" title="An Old Testament map of Abraham's journey from Ur to Canaan." width="315" /></a><div class="pinit">
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/akkadians.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">The Akkadians </a>founded an empire in Mari. An alternate possibility would have taken Abraham and Terah up the Tigris River to Nineveh. From Nineveh, another city of Old Testament significance, the party would have traveled west to Haran. This Old Testament map of Abraham's journey depicts a long and arduous journey. After the crew arrived in Haran, the Bible indicates they stopped for an untold amount of time. <b>Genesis 12</b> opens up with God's call for Abraham to leave his father's household and Haran, and to journey <b><i>"To the land which I will show you"</i></b>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AramNaharaim3.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="An Old Testament map of Aram-naharaim. The OT indicates this was the homeland of Abraham's family. Abraham sent his servant there to find a wife for Isaac. Jacob fled there to his kin to escape Esau's wrath."><img alt="An Old Testament map of Aram Naharaim." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AramNaharaim3.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; max-width: none;" title="An Old Testament map of Aram Naharaim." width="320" /></a><div class="pinit">
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>ARAM-NAHARAIM</b></span> This Old Testament map of the Land of the Patriarchs shows the importance this area played in shaping the early narratives in<b>Genesis</b>. It is from this region Abraham's family lived. Scholars have noted at least two cities, Haran and Nahor, which bear names of Abraham's kin. Abraham sent his servant to this region to fetch a wife for his son, Isaac. Purity was essential to the ancient Hebrews, later to be Israelites. Intermarriage was forbidden, and oftentimes led to conflict and unrest. It was to this area Jacob, Isaac's youngest son, fled in haste to escape the wrath of Esau, the oldest of the twin boys. Jacob spent twenty years in the region, before returning to Canaan with two wives from among his kin. The Old Testament map is crisscrossed with journeys by different patriarchs to the same areas.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbramEntersCanaan3.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="Abraham descended from the banks of the Jabbok River to the Jordan Plain. After crossing the Jordan River, he used the Wadi Ferah to ascend into the land of Canaan."><img alt="Abraham entered the land of Canaan using the Wadi Ferah." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbramEntersCanaan3.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; max-width: none;" title="Abraham entered the land of Canaan using the Wadi Ferah." width="325" /></a><div class="pinit">
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<b>ABRAHAM</b> entered Canaan by way of the Jabbok River. He crossed the Jordan where the two rivers meet. This Old Testament map shows how Abraham and party followed the Wadi Farah into the Central Highlands.<b>Genesis 12:6</b> records Abraham stopping near Shechem at <b><i>"the oak of Moreh"</i></b>. Shechem, thus, became a significant part of the early history of Israel. Two of Jacob's sons would put to death the residents of Shechem in retaliation for the rape of their sister. After stopping at the oak of Moreh, the Lord appeared to Abraham in an act of reassurance. Abraham built an altar to commemorate the occasion.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbrahamEarlyCanaan2.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="The land of Canaan was a land occupied by powerful residents with great cities, and big walls built to the sky when Moses and the Israelites approached it from the Transjordan thousands of years ago. Joshua led his people against great odds."><img alt="The land of Canaan was a diverse and interactive land in antiquity." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbrahamEarlyCanaan2.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: none;" title="The land of Canaan was a diverse and interactive land in antiquity." width="325" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-13&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FAbrahamEarlyCanaan2.jpg&description=The%20land%20of%20Canaan%20was%20a%20land%20occupied%20by%20powerful%20residents%20with%20great%20cities%2C%20and%20big%20walls%20built%20to%20the%20sky%20when%20Moses%20and%20the%20Israelites%20approached%20it%20from%20the%20Transjordan%20thousands%20of%20years%20ago.%20Joshua%20led%20his%20people%20against%20great%20odds." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_12" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>EARLY CANAAN</b></span> was a diverse and busy land. Any Old Testament map attests to the number of cities, towns, and villages which sprang up near ancient trade routes, intersections, water sources, hill tops, and valleys. As Abraham entered Canaan, the Central Ridge Route would have led southward to Jerusalem. Bethel, Ai, and Gibbeon sat along this route. Jericho lay 18 miles to the east of Jerusalem. Continuing along the same route to the south of Jerusalem sat Hebron, and Beersheba in the Negev lay to the southwest of Hebron. This Old Testament map makes evident the choice of Joshua to invade Canaan through <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/jericho-israel.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Jericho</a> . Before crossing the Jordan, Joshua and the Israelites encamped at Abel-shittim. Jericho was a strategic city, as the Israelites would have been able to access the Central Highlands by way of three routes, if the city could be taken. Upon seizing Jericho, Joshua chose the route leading northwest, to Ai and Bethel. They were defeated initially at Ai; a consequence of the sin of Achan. However, the second attempt delivered a fatal blow. This began the southern campaign of the Conquest. </div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/NortheasternInvasion.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="King Chederlaomer conquered the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah, taking Lot captive. Abraham and 300 of his men rescued Lot by surprising the enemy with a night attack. After their victory, Abraham met the mysterious Melchizedek outside of Salem."><img alt="An Old Testament map of the invasion of King Chederlaomer in Genesis in which Lot was taken captive." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/NortheasternInvasion.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: none;" title="An Old Testament map of the invasion of King Chederlaomer in Genesis in which Lot was taken captive." width="262" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-14&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FNortheasternInvasion.jpg&description=King%20Chederlaomer%20conquered%20the%20cities%20of%20Sodom%20%26%20Gomorrah%2C%20taking%20Lot%20captive.%20Abraham%20and%20300%20of%20his%20men%20rescued%20Lot%20by%20surprising%20the%20enemy%20with%20a%20night%20attack.%20After%20their%20victory%2C%20Abraham%20met%20the%20mysterious%20Melchizedek%20outside%20of%20Salem." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_13" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<b>CHEDERLAOMER</b> and his alliance of kings from Mesopotamia subjugated the kings of <a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/sodomite.html" style="color: #0000ee;" target="_blank">Sodom and Gomorrah</a> . The story, found in <b>Genesis 14</b>, indirectly involves Abraham when his nephew Lot is taken captive by the invading army. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with an alliance of the kings of Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, refused to pay tribute in the thirteenth year of their subjugation. Their refusal was met by a brutal offensive by Chederlaomer. He ravaged the neighboring countries on his way southward to the cities of the Plains. This Old Testament map depicts his likely route of invasion. Chederlaomer utterly destroyed the alliance of rebel kings, taking many of the inhabitants captive, destined to likely become slaves, or worse. Abraham was told of Lot's fate by one who had managed to escape. Along with his Amorite friends, among others, Abraham tracked down the army and over ran them near Dan. He rescued Lot, and scattered the invading force. This led to the interesting encounter with the mysterious Melchizedek.</div>
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OLD TESTAMENT MAP</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="The Negev - Home of Abraham" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"></span><div class="ImageBlock ImageBlockCenter" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px; margin: 1em 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbrahamInTheNegev2.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="Abraham and his family dwelt in the Negev, where Abraham built water wells for his flocks and men. Isaac, Jacob & Esau also spent time in the region. David later hid throughout the Dead Sea and Negev fleeing from King Saul."><img alt="The Negev, Israel's desert region in the south, was home to Abraham. He built many wells in the area." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/AbrahamInTheNegev2.jpg" style="border: 4px solid rgb(7, 110, 36); margin: 0px; max-width: none;" title="The Negev, Israel's desert region in the south, was home to Abraham. He built many wells in the area." width="318" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-15&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FAbrahamInTheNegev2.jpg&description=Abraham%20and%20his%20family%20dwelt%20in%20the%20Negev%2C%20where%20Abraham%20built%20water%20wells%20for%20his%20flocks%20and%20men.%20Isaac%2C%20Jacob%20%26%20Esau%20also%20spent%20time%20in%20the%20region.%20David%20later%20hid%20throughout%20the%20Dead%20Sea%20and%20Negev%20fleeing%20from%20King%20Saul." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_14" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>THE NEGEV</b></span> was home to Abraham and Isaac throughout their sojourn in Canaan. This Old Testament map shows the land Abraham and Isaac journeyed in. The primary city of the Negev, or Negeb, is Beersheba. Remains of the store facility and gate complex at the ancient site date back to the time around Abraham, from the Iron II period dating 900-600 B.C. This region only receives ten to twelve inches of water a year, thus water is a scarce resource in this region. Because of this fact, numerous wells have been dug along the major wadis. Abraham is recorded in <b>Genesis</b> as digging many wells throughout his travels. The Amalekites, and other nomadic tribes, roamed the Negev as well. <b>I Samuel 30</b> depicts David and his men defeating the Amalekites in Ziklag, a city of the Negev between Gerar and Beersheba. Scripture records the Amalekites had raided Ziklag, overthrown the city, and burnt it to the ground.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 17px;"><b>JACOB & ESAU</b></span> grew up in the Negev, in and around Beersheba and Hebron. The Central Ridge Route connected the two cities. Esau was an outdoorsman, and sought the wild game found nearby. Jacob, however, preferred to stay with the tents.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/JacobAndEsauHomeland.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="The desert Negev was a favorite of the Patriarchs, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Esau all dwelt within the southern bounds of Israel. Often they are depicted migrating south into Egypt, as was the case with Jacob to find his son, Joseph."><img alt="Jacob & Esau, like their father and grandfather, dwelt in the Negev during their lives." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/JacobAndEsauHomeland.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(30, 99, 7); margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: none;" title="Jacob & Esau, like their father and grandfather, dwelt in the Negev during their lives." width="310" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-16&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FJacobAndEsauHomeland.jpg&description=The%20desert%20Negev%20was%20a%20favorite%20of%20the%20Patriarchs%2C%20as%20Abraham%2C%20Isaac%2C%20Jacob%20and%20Esau%20all%20dwelt%20within%20the%20southern%20bounds%20of%20Israel.%20Often%20they%20are%20depicted%20migrating%20south%20into%20Egypt%2C%20as%20was%20the%20case%20with%20Jacob%20to%20find%20his%20son%2C%20Joseph." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_15" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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This worked to his advantage in <b>Genesis 25:29</b>. Esau had been in the fields all day hunting, and came in famished. He begged Jacob for some of the food he had just cooked. Jacob replied he would only feed Esau in exchange for his birthright. Esau flippantly obliged, and ate his fill. Esau became the favorite of Isaac, while Jacob was his mother's favorite. Eventually, Jacob and his mother would conspire together to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob rather than Esau. This would prove too much for Esau, and in <b>Genesis 27:41</b> he was overheard uttering threats against his brother's life. Rebekah, fearing for Jacob's life, urged Isaac to send him away to obtain a wife from their kin in Aram-Naharaim.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/JacobsFlight.jpg" rel="gallery[pageGallery]" style="color: #0000ee;" title="After Jacob deceived Isaac and stole Esau's inheritance, he fled northwards to escape Esau, who sought to kill Jacob. They had family in Aram-naharaim, where multiple cities today bear the name of Abraham's descendants and kin."><img alt="A map of Jacob's journey to Aram-naharaim to escape Esau's wrath." src="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/images/JacobsFlight.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: none;" title="A map of Jacob's journey to Aram-naharaim to escape Esau's wrath." width="287" /></a><div class="pinit">
<a class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_en_20_gray PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_inline_20 PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_beside_20" data-pin-config="beside" data-pin-href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?guid=K4MXfoCq_vf_-17&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fold-testament-map.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.israel-a-history-of.com%2Fimages%2FJacobsFlight.jpg&description=After%20Jacob%20deceived%20Isaac%20and%20stole%20Esau%27s%20inheritance%2C%20he%20fled%20northwards%20to%20escape%20Esau%2C%20who%20sought%20to%20kill%20Jacob.%20They%20had%20family%20in%20Aram-naharaim%2C%20where%20multiple%20cities%20today%20bear%20the%20name%20of%20Abraham%27s%20descendants%20and%20kin." data-pin-log="button_pinit" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/pinit_bg_en_rect_gray_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px -20px; background-size: 40px 60px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block !important; height: 20px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: 40px !important;"><span class="PIN_1437379116402_pin_it_button_count" id="PIN_1437379116402_pin_count_16" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position: 0px 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; background-size: 45px 20px !important; color: rgb(119, 119, 119) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10px !important; font-stretch: normal !important; height: 20px !important; left: 41px !important; line-height: 20px !important; padding: 0px 3px 0px 10px !important; position: absolute !important; top: 0px !important;"><i style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(https://s-passets.pinimg.com/images/pidgets/count_east_white_rect_20_1.png) !important; background-position-x: 100%; background-position-y: 0px !important; background-repeat: no-repeat !important; height: 20px !important; position: absolute !important; right: -2px !important; top: 0px !important; width: 2px !important;"></i>327</span></a></div>
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<b>JACOB</b> took flight on a route which must have been very familiar to the Patriarchs; the route to Aram-Naharaim, some 500 plus miles to the Northeast of Canaan. This route is engraved on the Old Testament map of the early Patriarch's. Jacob took out in haste, fleeing the wrath of Esau. It is interesting to keep in mind Scripture's description of Jacob as a quiet man, a man that chose to stay among the tents. He was not an out doors type. This journey, taken in haste, would have tested him in ways he had never been tested before. This Old Testament map of Jacob's flight illuminates the route he would have most likely taken. As stated above, this route was well known by Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob. Jacob would not return this way for another twenty years.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-bible-maps.html" style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="font-family: 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, serif; font-size: 15px;"><em><b>Continue to view more Old Testament Bible maps.</b></em></span></a></div>
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