A very brief history of the region - Column 14

REFLECTIONS Written by Lana Melman for the SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH JOURNAL / SUN SENTINEL. Originally published on August 12, 2024.

The notion of Palestine as an ancient Arab nation is a misconception. The concept of a distinct Palestinian identity is relatively recent, gaining prominence post-1967 due to the PLO led by Yasser Arafat.

Jewish historical ties to the land, however, date back to Abraham around 1800 BCE. Their first king, Saul, began his reign around 1020 BCE, with the kingdom's borders sometimes extending far north and east of today’s.

The Roman Empire conquered the Jewish state in 63 BCE and renamed the province "Palaestina" in the early 2nd century CE, after the Philistines, who were from the Aegean Sea and unrelated to modern Palestinians.

From Roman times until the end of World War I, "Palestine" was a geographical term without precise borders, akin to the "Pacific Northwest," and not a sovereign state. The region included areas on both sides of the Jordan River, encompassing modern-day Jordan and beyond. Various groups, including Jews and Arabs, lived there under different empires but never as citizens of an independent Arab state.

Under Ottoman (Turkish) rule from the 16th century until World War I, the region was called "Greater Palestine." In 1920, after the Ottoman Empire's collapse, the League of Nations granted Britain control over the land to oversee the establishment of a Jewish state.

The Arabs objected, and in response, Winston Churchill reallocated three-fourths of the region for Transjordan (modern Jordan) in 1921, greatly reducing the size of the future Jewish homeland. In 1922, the League of Nations endorsed the creation of a Jewish national home in the remaining area (today’s West Bank, Gaza, and Israel), preserving civil and religious rights for non-Jewish communities but not political or national rights. Israel and Jordan were not the only beneficiaries of post-World War I nation-building; many other states emerged, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

The Arabs, however, protested a Jewish state even in the 1922 boundaries, so the UN proposed another partition of Palestine in 1947. Despite its smaller and noncontiguous territory, the Jews accepted and declared independence on May 14, 1948.

The local Arabs and neighboring Arab states did not accept this partition and went to war against Israel. After the 1948 war, known as the War of Independence, Israel expanded its territory, while Jordan occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip.

The war created approximately the same number of refugees (750,000) on both sides. The Jewish refugees from other Middle Eastern countries became Israeli citizens. The Arabs who remained in Israel were offered citizenship and guaranteed equal rights. The Arabs who fled Israel during the war generally were not offered citizenship in the destination countries (except Jordan in 1954) and remain refugees.

In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel defeated the armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, capturing the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. Between 1948 and 1967, the local Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza did not demand a separate state although they could have under the terms of the last partition. Israel offered to negotiate land for peace, but the Arab states refused, and Jordan abandoned its claim to the West Bank.

In the early 1970s, Israelis began establishing Jewish communities in the West Bank, Gaza, and the Sinai Peninsula, angering the Arabs. In 1979, however, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed a peace agreement removing the settlements and returning Sinai to Egypt. In 1994, Israel signed a peace agreement with Jordan.

Also in 1974, the “right of return” was defined as the "foremost of Palestinian rights" at the 12th Palestine National Council meeting. This would allow the Arab refugees of 1948 and 1967, and their nearly 5 million descendants, to return to Israel and reclaim previous properties. Given that Israel’s total population is 9.26 million with only 7.2 million Jews, such a right would create chaos and eviscerate Israel as the Jewish homeland.

In 1993, the Oslo Accords set criteria for Palestinian independence and the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, requiring the PA to combat terrorism, which it failed to do. Today, the PA governs parts of the West Bank most populated by the Palestinians.

During the 2000–2001 Camp David–Taba negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the Palestinians a state with its capital in Jerusalem, 97% of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (with a land swap for the remaining 3%), and $30 billion (almost $55 billion in today’s dollars) in refugee compensation. Yasser Arafat rejected this offer and ignited the Second Intifada.

In 2005, Israel completely withdrew from Gaza. In 2006, Gaza elected Hamas, leading to conflict with the PA and rocket attacks on Israel.

The 2021 Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. What appeared to be the beginning of true peace in the region was shattered on October 7, 2024, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, murdered 1200 people including children and infants, and took hundreds of hostages.

Israel's counterattacks have significantly damaged Hamas's military infrastructure as well as large swaths of Gazan homes and buildings, disrupting vital services. Iran, Hezbollah, and other groups in the region that are aligned with Tehran have joined the attack against Israel, raising global concerns. 

While the destruction and loss of life are harrowing, the enduring hope for peace drives ongoing efforts for dialogue and resolution. A sustainable and just solution requires the establishment of a Palestinian state and recognition of Israel as the Jewish homeland by its neighbors, with guaranteed security, and a Palestinian "right of return” that exists solely to their new nation-state, not Israel.

Bio: Lana Melman is the CEO of Liberate Art and the author of Artists Under Fire: The BDS War against Celebrities, Jews, and Israel. She is a 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry and has been a leader in the fight against the cultural boycott campaign against Israel since 2011. Learn more or contact: www.liberateart.net

Lana Melman is a contributing columnist for the South Florida Jewish Journal / Sun Sentinel.