Arab youth expressing their ‘Palestinian’ identity
I’ve said on numerous occasions that the ‘Palestinian people’ only exist as a distinct people by virtue of their opposition to the Jewish presence in the land of Israel.
What makes these Arabs, whose ancestors mostly came from Syria or Egypt in the 19th or 20th centuries ‘Palestinian’ is that they have dedicated themselves to the struggle against the Jews. There is very little ‘Palestinian’ content to their culture apart from their aspiration to destroy Israel.
It isn’t surprising, then, that they won’t compromise on their demands for a right of return, stop the vicious incitement in their media, or recognize Israel as a Jewish state. These acts would contradict their identity as ‘Palestinians’.
This isn’t just my little right-wing conceit. The Palestinians themselves agree. The official Facebook page of Fatah, Yasser Arafat’s original gang which now dominates the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, proudly published this bit of poetry yesterday (thanks to Palestinian Media Watch for the translation):
“My mother taught me that my stone is my weapon;
that I am Palestinian only through my struggle;
she taught me to shout that this is my land, so get out!”
[Facebook, “Fatah – The Main Page”, July 2, 2014]
I couldn’t say it any better.
