Editing Palestine (section)

=====Biblical Narrative=====

In the Bible, the Israelites' greatest enemy was the Philistines. The Philistines, who lived also in the land of Canaan (which is roughly the same land today in what is called the "Palestine region") have no direct relation to modern Palestinians. However, after thousands of years, modern Palestinians still have a genetic makeup comprised of Levantine, Eastern Mediterranean, Iranian, Arabian, and North African-- showing that they have deep ancestral roots in the region dating back as far as ~3700 years ago to groups like the Canaanites (descendants of Canaan, son of Ham and grandson of Noah).

In Genesis, Abraham was called to journey to the promised land from his native Mesopotamia, likely some 4000 years ago. God promised to Abraham and his descendants the lands of Canaan. God tested Abraham's faith, and in offering his son Isaac, he passed the test. God then reassured Abraham, "I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:17-18) 

God didn't say "Some nations will be blessed" through Abraham, He said "all". Thus, it was not just the Hebrews, not just the Jews who were blessed through Abraham, nor even was this blessing limited to His religious followers. 

If, in this verse, He meant that Abraham's descendants were blessed ''forever'', then Abraham's descendants include all nations. If He meant only Abraham's immediate ancestors were blessed, then they procreated so many times as to render his descendants one with the rest of humanity ''as a whole'', thus blessing all nations. In either possible interpretation, all of humanity has an equal or ''universal'' Biblical claim to the land of Caanan (modern-day Israel and Palestine).

The Quran refers to Abraham (Ibrahim) as a prophet of Allah. The Tanakh calls him Avram. Thus, we can see that three of the major religions of the world today (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) regard the land as sacred through Abraham their prophet, and the blessing bestowed upon him by God/Allah/Yahweh. They are united in their faith in God and the prophets as the "Abrahamic" religions. 

Akin to the Philistines and their non-relation to modern Palestinians, the Bible narrates the history of the "nation" of Israel, the Hebrews, who left Egyptian slavery in the book of Exodus 505 years after the story of Abraham. The twelve tribes descended from Abraham eventually formed the Kingdoms of Israel in the north and Judah in the south. United for some hundred years as the "United Kingdom of Israel" before a revolt around the 10th century BC split the rule, these kingdoms were founded in the Iron Age in the southern Levant. Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals of the two kingdoms, fell to the Assyrians in 722/721 BC. Sargon II of Assyria exiled almost 30,000 Jews-- a fifth of the population-- from these lands. After the land fell under control of Babylon (the Chaldean empire), the Jews of Judah revolted, leading to the destruction of Judah entirely. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon's temple, which stood on the sacred Temple Mount (where Al-Aqsa Mosque today stands). The Hebrews were taken captive by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II for their revolt, and exiled from the land of Judea. The key difference between the deportation by the Assyrians and that executed by the Chaldeans was this: the former scattered the population about its empire in small groups, whereas the latter gathered them all into a single place so they could retain their national identity and religion. Soon enough, the Hebrew population integrated with the Assyrians, assimilating culture and customs and giving up their worship of their God (Yahweh). These Hebrews are referred to as the "ten lost tribes of Israel". The southern Hebrews who were enslaved by Babylon (the Chaldeans) were freed and returned to the Land of Judah after the Persians (Achaemenids) conquered Babylon. Cyrus the Great, leader of the Persians, issued the Edict of Cyrus in 539 BC, which allowed Jews to return to the Land of Judah as an autonomous Jewish province under the Persian empire. (It's worth noting here that modern Iranians are descended from the Persians, and many Jews assimilated and gained protected ((''dhimmi'')) status under the Persian Empire because of Cyrus' benevolence, with their treatment varying from ruler to ruler.) This is called the "return to Zion", the namesake of the future Zionist ideology. The ten tribes of the North which were assimilated into the Assyrian empire never returned, hence their being "lost".

Fifty-thousand Jews returned to the province, called Yehud, while the rest stayed behind in Babylon. More exiles returned alongside Ezra later. During this period, the three main leaders of the Jews returned: "Zerubbabel reconstructed the temple (Ezra 3:8), Nehemiah rebuilt the walls (Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2), and Ezra restored the worship." Ezra was financially supported by the Persian king Artaxerxes, who later helped Nehemiah "restore respectability" to Jerusalem. The Second Temple was reconstructed between 516 BC and 70 AD by Cyrus' edict, completed during the reign of Persian king Darius I, and later refurbished and expanded by Herod the Great under the Romans. 

Thus, after so much time, intermarrying, and tribulation, the ancient Israelites closely descended from Abraham bare little direct relation to modern Israeli Jews (most of whom are Ashkenazim who emigrated from their motherlands to the State of Israel). (This is returned to in the section on Islamic Rule.)

In the Bible, New Jerusalem is mentioned numerous times. New Jerusalem is not a land or physical place; it is a metaphorical city in Heaven in the Yahweh religion. Thus, when the modern State of Israel attempts to steal land from others in their attempt to "realize" New Jerusalem, they reduce New Jerusalem to a geographical place and simultaneously break the covenant. "After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, 'The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.' No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." (Deuteronomy 9:4-5) In the end, New Jerusalem is wherever the faithful and righteous are, and signifies to multiple prophets the heavenly paradise that awaits the faithful and righteous followers of God to rule.

In the Torah, the descendants of Abraham were commanded to destroy the seven nations which lived in the holy lands. These were the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, and the Perizzites. They were slain for pagan religious practices at the command of God, echoing His words that the Israelites gained the land not out of their righteousness, but out of the pagans' wickedness.