Palestine (geographic region): Difference between revisions

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	===Origin of the term===		===Origin of the term===
	:''See also:'' ]		:''See also:'' ]
	The term ''Palestine'' is derived from {{lang-gr\|Παλαιστινη}}/{{lang-la\|Palaestina}}, which refers to the biblical ], a people of ] origin who settled in what is now the ] and the southern coastal plains of ~~what is now~~ ] in the ]. After crushing Bar Kochba's revolt in 132-135, the ] applied the name to the entire region that had formerly included ]. The ] ] ''Filasteen'' (فلسطين) is also derived from the Latin name.		The term ''Palestine'' is derived from {{lang-gr\|Παλαιστινη}}/{{lang-la\|Palaestina}}, which refers to the biblical ], a people of ] origin who settled in what is now the ] and the southern coastal plains of ] in the ]. After crushing Bar Kochba's revolt in 132-135, the ] applied the name to the entire region that had formerly included ] as a means to erase the region's Jewish identity and add further insult to the Jewish people. The ] ] ''Filasteen'' (فلسطين) is also derived from the Latin name and has never been used to refer to any actual state.

	===Palestine in history and geography===		===Palestine in history and geography===
	In historical contexts, especially predating the establishment of the ], ''Palestine'' was ~~mostly~~ a ]al term, particularly used in Greek, ], ], and other languages taking their geographical vocabulary from them; it comprised the ] sub-province of ], roughly equivalent to ancient ] (including the ] kingdoms of ], ], ], ], and ]) and thus included much of the land on both sides of the ] although with further political sub-divisions along the Jordan River valley .		In historical contexts, especially predating the re-establishment of the ], ''Palestine'' was a purely ]al term, particularly used in Greek, ], ], and other languages taking their geographical vocabulary from them; it comprised the ] sub-province of ], roughly equivalent to ancient ] (including the ] kingdoms of ], ], ], ], and ]) and thus included much of the land on both sides of the ] although with further political sub-divisions along the Jordan River valley .

	See also: ].		See also: ].
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	See also: ] and ]		See also: ] and ]

	===Is Jordan part of historical Palestine?===		===Jordan as a part of historical Palestine===
	Before the establishment of the British mandate (see below), most of the area that is today Jordan was part of the ] ] of ] (previously called the Vilayet of Damascus), the southern part of Jordan was part of the Vilayet of ]. ~~Palestine~~ was divided between the Vilayet of ] and the ] of Jerusalem. Sometimes the rift valley comprising ], the ] and ] has formed a political and administrative frontier, even within ]s which controlled both territories and sometimes not. The ancient ] and the ] state for example included territories on both sides of the river. During the period of the ] what is today southern ]/] and southern Jordan were termed ''Jund Filasteen (جند فلسطين)'' and the northern parts of these land as ''Al Jund al Urdun''. In 1920, most of modern Jordan was incorporated into the planned ] ] termed Palestine. Trans-Jordan became a separate political unit on ] ] and the Mandate came into force in September 1923 as the Emirate of ]. 19th Century sources refer to Palestine as extending from the sea to the caravan route, presumably the Hejaz-Damascus route east of the Jordan River valley. Others refer to it as extending from the sea to the desert.		Before the establishment of the British mandate (see below), most of the area that is today Jordan was part of the ] ] of ] (previously called the Vilayet of Damascus), the southern part of Jordan was part of the Vilayet of ]. Israel was divided between the Vilayet of ] and the ] of Jerusalem. Sometimes the rift valley comprising ], the ] and ] has formed a political and administrative frontier, even within ]s which controlled both territories and sometimes not. The ancient ] and the ] state for example included territories on both sides of the river. During the period of the ] what is today southern ] and southern Jordan were termed ''Jund Filasteen (جند فلسطين)'' and the northern parts of these land as ''Al Jund al Urdun''. In 1920, most of modern Jordan was incorporated into the planned ] ] termed Palestine. Trans-Jordan became a separate political unit on ] ] and the Mandate came into force in September 1923 as the Emirate of ]. 19th Century sources refer to Palestine as extending from the sea to the caravan route, presumably the Hejaz-Damascus route east of the Jordan River valley. Others refer to it as extending from the sea to the desert.

	===British Mandate of Palestine===		===British Mandate of Palestine===
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	===Palestine as a state===		===Palestine as a state===
	Modern usage of the term '''Palestine''' usually refers to a prospective ], incorporating both the ] and the ]. Some who oppose the existence of a ] regard all the land west of the ], including territory of modern ], as the territory of a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea".		Modern usage of the term '''Palestine''' usually refers to a prospective ], incorporating both the ] and the ]. Some who oppose the existence of ] regard all the land west of the ], including territory of modern ], as the territory of a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea".

	The term is also used to convey the sense that Palestine is ''already'' a state, either (a) consisting only of Gaza & West Bank or (b) including as well all land held by Israel (see ]).		The term is also used to convey the sense that Palestine is ''already'' a state, either (a) consisting only of Gaza & West Bank or (b) including as well all land held by Israel (see ]).

Revision as of 12:13, 29 December 2007

The term Palestine and the related term Palestinian have several overlapping (and occasionally contradictory) definitions.

Palestine

Origin of the term

The term Palestine is derived from Template:Lang-gr/Template:Lang-la, which refers to the biblical Philistines, a people of Aegean origin who settled in what is now the Gaza Strip and the southern coastal plains of Israel in the 12th century BCE. After crushing Bar Kochba's revolt in 132-135, the Romans applied the name to the entire region that had formerly included Iudaea Province as a means to erase the region's Jewish identity and add further insult to the Jewish people. The Arabic toponym Filasteen (فلسطين) is also derived from the Latin name and has never been used to refer to any actual state.

Palestine in history and geography

In historical contexts, especially predating the re-establishment of the State of Israel, Palestine was a purely geographical term, particularly used in Greek, Latin, Arabic, and other languages taking their geographical vocabulary from them; it comprised the Roman sub-province of Syria Palaestina, roughly equivalent to ancient Canaan (including the Biblical kingdoms of Israel, Judah, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia) and thus included much of the land on both sides of the Jordan River although with further political sub-divisions along the Jordan River valley .

Jordan as a part of historical Palestine

Before the establishment of the British mandate (see below), most of the area that is today Jordan was part of the Ottoman Vilayet of Syria (previously called the Vilayet of Damascus), the southern part of Jordan was part of the Vilayet of Hejaz. Israel was divided between the Vilayet of Beirut and the Sanjak of Jerusalem. Sometimes the rift valley comprising Wadi Arabah, the Dead Sea and River Jordan has formed a political and administrative frontier, even within empires which controlled both territories and sometimes not. The ancient Kingdom of Israel and the Hasmonean state for example included territories on both sides of the river. During the period of the Caliphate what is today southern Israel and southern Jordan were termed Jund Filasteen (جند فلسطين) and the northern parts of these land as Al Jund al Urdun. In 1920, most of modern Jordan was incorporated into the planned League of Nations mandate territory termed Palestine. Trans-Jordan became a separate political unit on April 11 1921 and the Mandate came into force in September 1923 as the Emirate of Transjordan. 19th Century sources refer to Palestine as extending from the sea to the caravan route, presumably the Hejaz-Damascus route east of the Jordan River valley. Others refer to it as extending from the sea to the desert.

British Mandate of Palestine

Between 1922 and 1948, the term Palestine referred to the portion of the British Mandate of Palestine lying to the west of the Jordan River; that is, all of what is now Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. The Mandate of Palestine also included what is today Jordan. During the period of the British Mandate of Palestine, the term "Palestinian" referred to all people residing there, regardless of religion, and those granted citizenship by the Mandatory authorities were granted "Palestinian citizenship". The term was used without any ethnic connotations. For example, the The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, was called The Palestine Post from its founding in 1932 until 1950.

Palestine Today

Sometimes people use the term Palestine in a limited sense to refer to lands currently under the administrative control of the Palestinian Authority, a quasi-governmental entity which governs but lacks full sovereignty. Since the late 1990s, this has included the Gaza Strip and most of the West Bank, but Palestinians themselves, being residents of (or refugees from) all parts of Palestine, continue using the name for the entire country. Indeed, Palestinian citizens of Israel (who are officially referred to by Israel as "Israeli Arabs") make a distinction between the land (Palestine) and the political structures on it (Israel, Palestinian Authority).

Palestine as a state

Modern usage of the term Palestine usually refers to a prospective Palestinian state, incorporating both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Some who oppose the existence of Jews regard all the land west of the Jordan River, including territory of modern State of Israel, as the territory of a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea".

The term is also used to convey the sense that Palestine is already a state, either (a) consisting only of Gaza & West Bank or (b) including as well all land held by Israel (see views of Palestinian statehood).

Palestinian

This section describes several viewpoints of what makes a person a "Palestinian".

By place of birth

A "Palestinian" can mean a person who is born in the geographical area known prior to 1918 as "Palestine", or a former citizen of the British Mandate territory called Palestine, or an institution related to either of these. Using this definition, both Palestinian Arabs and Palestinian Jews were called "Palestinians".

File:The Palestine Post, ISRAEL IS BORN.jpg

The major English language Zionist newspaper of the Yishuv was called The Palestine Post. Founded in 1932, in 1950 it was renamed into The Jerusalem Post.

Before the establishment of the State of Israel, the meaning of the word "Palestinian" didn't discriminate on ethnic grounds, but rather referred to anything associated with the region. The local newspaper, founded in 1932 by Gershon Agron, was called The Palestine Post. In 1950 its name was changed to The Jerusalem Post.

In 1923, Pinhas Rutenberg founded the Palestine Electric Company, Ltd. (later to become the Israel Electric Corporation, Ltd.) There was a Palestine Symphony Orchestra, the and when in World War II the British assembled a Jewish Brigade, to fight the Axis powers, it was known as the Palestine regiment.

Since the establishment of Israel, its citizens are called Israelis, while the term Palestinians usually refers to the Palestinian Arabs.

Mandate definition

Britain used the term "Palestinian" to refer to all persons legally residing in or born in the boundaries of the British Mandate of Palestine without regard to their ethnicity, religion, or place of origin.

By place of origin

In its common usage today, the term "Palestinian" refers to a person whose ancestors had lived in the territory corresponding to British Mandate Palestine for some length of time prior to 1948. This definition includes the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (including Dom and Samaritans, but excluding Israeli settlers and most Armenians), the Israeli Arabs (including Druze and Bedouin), the Israeli Jews whose families moved there prior to The founding of the State of Israel, and the Non-Jewish Arab refugees and emigrés from 1948 and their descendants (though not the pre-Israeli Independence (1948) non-Bedouin population of Jordan.)

The Jewish Virtual Library uses a similar but slightly narrower definition: "Although anyone with roots in the land that is now Israel, the West Bank and Gaza is technically a Palestinian, the term is now more commonly used to refer to Non-Jew Arabs with such roots ... Most of the world's Palestinian population is concentrated in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jordan, although many Palestinians live in Lebanon, Syria and other Arab countries."

By citizenship

A more specific widespread usage of "Palestinian" sometimes heard is to refer to native residents of British Mandate Palestine who do not have Israeli or Jordanian citizenship, and to institutions outside the Israeli state and territories not incorporated into it.

By ethnic origin

Referring to the Arab subculture of the southern Levant

The word "Palestinian" is occasionally used by ethnographers and linguists to denote the specific Arab subculture of the southern Levant; in that sense, it includes not only the Arabs of British Mandate Palestine, but also those inhabitants of Jordan who are originally from Palestine and the Druze, while excluding both Bedouin (who culturally and linguistically group with Arabia) and ethnic minorities such as the Dom and Samaritans. However, some of this definition is not accepted. The Samaritans of the West Bank are usually referred to as Palestinian.

Referring to Jews in an ethnic rather than religious sense

The term "Palestinian" used to refer to Jews in Europe who were regarded as an alien presence. For example, Immanuel Kant referred to European Jews as "the Palestinians living among us."

References

Government of the United Kingdom (December 31, 1930). "REPORT by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Council of the League of Nations on the Administration of PALESTINE AND TRANS-JORDAN FOR THE YEAR 1930". League of Nations. Retrieved 2007-05-29. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Definition of Palestinian (Jewish Virtual Library)
Amid conflict, Samaritans keep unique identity by Dana Rosenblatt (CNN)
Kant, Immanuel (1974): Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. Translated by Mary J. Gregor. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, cited in Chad Alan Goldberg, Politicide Revisited. University of Wisconsin-Madison

External links

The Cry of the Children in Palestineby Henrietta Szold to the Executive of the Vaad Leumi. September 13, 1936.

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