I did not understand why the serious researcher Prof. Eyal Zisser decided to explain here yesterday, for the umpteenth time, that there is really no Palestinian people, and that if there are - these are "new immigrants" who took a ride on the Six Day War.
The Arabs who lived here under Ottoman rule woke up in the morning and felt like a people, against the backdrop of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago, just as other groups that had hitherto lived under the wings of the empire felt.
They had seen themselves, before, as Arabs living in the southern Syrian province of the empire.
Since then, the Palestinians have been trying to prove to us and the world that the Jewish people are not a people, but a group of people belonging to the Jewish religion (and they are assisted by quite a few Jewish elements in Israel and around the world, especially among the ultra-Orthodox).
Instead of smiling and saying that we do not have to prove to anyone our people, we "avenge" the Palestinians and claim that they themselves are not a people ... I suggest to Zisser not to be dragged after the Palestinian efforts, which have not borne any fruit and will not bear fruit in the future.
Intellectually, it was a bit strange to see that in his article he ignores the first and most important Israeli reference to the Palestinian people, and that is the then Prime Minister Menachem Begin's reference to the Palestinian people in the Camp David Accords signed with Egyptian President Anwar Assadat. Carter Days, on the White House lawn, September 17, 1978.
The Camp David Accords, in their binding form in the English language, refer to the "legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and their just demands."
Begin, who signed this sentence when he did not believe it was happening to him, wrote an official letter to Carter and "clarified" that for him - wherever the Palestinian people are mentioned, the reference is to the "Arabs of the Land of Israel."
Carter, with a bastard smile, sent a reply letter to Begin stating that he was "recording" Begin's comment.
In terms of Israel's commitment to its international agreements, there is, of course, no significance to the exchange of these letters, but there is great significance to the binding wording in English.
But the historical debate over whether there is a Jewish people and whether there is a Palestinian people should not solve any political problem.
Suppose we all agree that the Palestinian people are "Fabrock," as Zisser suggests, and the world will be convinced of that, too.
What is the meaning?
To expel the "Arabs of the Land of Israel" so that they do not disturb the Jews?
To annex all the territory west of Jordan, and become a Jewish minority dominating the Arab majority?
Does not the historian Eyal Zisser believe that this will be the end of Zionism?
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us