| The name "Palestine" may be a literal Greek translation of Israel - and not so much derived from Philistinesnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown), 20 Oct 04: | | I saw this theory in Twitter and I traced it back to an article in Biblical Archaeology Review from 2001 by David Jacobson. He makes a convincing case that the Greek word "Palestine" does not come from the Philistines, as has been largely assumed, but from Palaistís, the Greek translation of "wrestler," a translation of Israel - which means "wrestles with God." Excerpts: Most people assume that the name Palestine derives from "Land of the Philistines" (Peleshetin the Hebrew Bible; see Psalms 60-10; Isaiah 14-29, 31), via the Greek Palaistinê and the Latin Palaestina. But there is evidence, both philological and geographical, that questions this traditional attribution. The name Palestine, surprisingly, may have originated as a Greek pun on the translations of "Israel" and the "Land of the Philistines." Let us first consider the geographical problem. The Greek Palaistinê and the Latin Palaestina appear frequently in ancient literature, but for the most part, they appear to refer not to the Land of the Philistines, but to the Land of Israel! As early as the Histories of Herodotus, written in the second half of the fifth century B.C.E., the term Palaistinê is used to describe not just the geographical area where the Philistines lived, but the entire area between Phoenicia and Egypt—in other words, the Land...Read More |
From Ian: Cary Nelson: Israel on Campus, Post-Truth In the post-truth world, Hamas apparently no longer exists. Thousands of rockets and incendiary balloons no longer fall on Israeli towns and cities, killing people in their apartments, obliterating vehicles, and setting fields ablaze. According to numerous academic departments here and abroad, Israel is no longer under assault. In the post-truth world, Israel and its military have instead become irrational opponents of all that is just and good, carrying out raids on Hamas strongholds in Gaza without cause or justification. No wonder those academic departments have substituted self-congratulatory virtue signaling for academic freedom and open debate. In May of this year, immediately after the most recent war between Hamas and Israel ended, over 100 academic departments representing their colleges and universities, for the first time in history broke with the established academic principle of departmental and university political neutrality, issued statements condemning Israel, and, in effect, joined the BDS movement. Many women's studies programs started the campaign, but some ethnic studies, history, and other departments joined it. Even during the Vietnam War, when by the 1970s most professors opposed the war, their departments stayed out of politics. By the mid-1970s, some voluntary professional associations took an anti-war stand — but...Read More |
This one paragraph from Naharnet sums up Hezbollah beautifully: Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday reassured Lebanon's Christians that his group is not a "threat" to them, as he accused the rival Lebanese Forces party of seeking civil war and warned it that Hizbullah has "100,000 trained and armed fighters." He is saying that no one should fear Hezbollah - and then offhandedly mentions that Hezbollah's illegal army is huge and willing to do whatever it wants without fear. More detail of Nasrallah's threats: Reassuring that "Hizbullah, Amal Movement and Shiite Muslims in Lebanon are not enemies of the Christians" and that their "decision" is "coexistence," Hizbullah's leader charged that "the biggest threat to Christian presence in Lebanon is the Lebanese Forces party." "I advise the LF and its leader to abandon the idea of civil war and internal strife forever," Nasrallah added, telling Geagea that he is "making wrong calculations" as he "has always done." "You are mistaken about Hizbullah's status in the region… You are very mistaken by saying that Hizbullah is weaker than the Palestine Liberation Organization," Nasrallah went on to say, claiming that Geagea had said that in a meeting with former allies in which he encouraged them to fight Hizbullah alongside the LF. Noting that Hizbullah has supporters, various departments and allies...Read More |
The BDS Movement doesn't only boycott Israel. It also boycotts the Dubai Expo!
Yesterday, it issued a statement condemning the Palestinian Authority for opening up a pavilion at the Dubai Expo.
The movement looks even more ridiculous given that there are pavilions from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia - and even Iran and Syria!
The reasons that BDS gives for boycotting the expo include this beauty: There you have it. The reason the expo must be boycotted is because otherwise, Arabs might actually have the opportunity to meet and speak with Israelis - and that is something that BDS cannot condone. After all, they might find out that Jews are human beings and not evil apes and pigs!
The BDSers are also ludicrously claiming that Israel will be marketing military technology used to kill Palestinians at the expo. (They made this claim before Israel even opened their booth.) The insistence that not only Israel be boycotted but also an exposition where Israel participates - along with its enemies - makes BDS look more and more absurd. The more they foam at the mouth at their own impotence, the more entire world - including the Muslim and Arab...Read More |
From Ian: The most important lesson Yitzhak Rabin taught us For me personally, the most profound and enlightening statement former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin ever made about Israel is that it "must fight terror as if there is no peace, and make peace as if there is no terror." In his characteristically laconic way, the war hero and tragic victim of radical politics gave our nation a guiding principle by which to follow. Israel, however, finds itself sandwiched between a corrupt Palestinian Authority administration in Ramallah — masquerading as representatives of the Palestinian people — and the theocratic extremist regime of Hamas, sitting on endless stockpiles of guns, rockets, explosives and bodies to throw into the fray. The aftershock of Rabin's assassination and the subsequent collapse of peace talks between the Jewish state and the Palestinians have put Israeli leaders on the defensive, unwilling to accept even the smallest overture or possibility that one day, God forbid, both parties might sit together in the same room and talk about anything other than security issues. So now that peace is no longer an option, fighting terror is the only thing that matters. But Rabin understood something very fundamental about the two sides of this conflict — without peace, there is only terror. If both sides do not show any willingness to talk, the radicals would rise up and take control. Both Israel and the Palestinians...Read More |
Bassem Eid, the former B'Tselem researcher who has been working tirelessly for Palestinian human rights without the antisemitism, has filed a complaint against Unilever in New York State for its Ben and Jerry's subsidiary illegally boycotting Israel.
Interestingly, he is saying that the boycott affect Palestinians such as himself who like to shop in "settlement" supermarkets and will not be able to get the ice cream! Attorney David Abrams has provided me with a copy of the complaint. Excerpts: I. Background
1. This charge arises from an announcement dated July 19th, 2021, by Ben and
Jerry's of a boycott directed at the area claimed as the "Occupied Palestinian Territory"
("OPT") and subsequent announcement of the Ben and Jerry's Board of Directors of an
intention to boycott the entire State of Israel. As set forth in more detail below, this
charge alleges that the Respondent Conopco, Inc., ("Respondent"), owner of Ben and
Jerry's, has aided and abetted an unlawful discriminatory boycott in violation of the Lisa
Law which is now part of the New York State Human Rights Law. II. The Charging Party 2. I am a Palestinian Arab human rights activist. I was born in Jerusalem and reside
in Jericho.3. I have dedicated my life advocating for peace and reconciliation between Israelis
and Palestinians. In doing so, I firmly reject the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
movement, otherwise known as 'BDS'. I believe BDS is counterproductive to peace and
creates only more hatred, enmity...Read More |
Israel has a severe shortage of doctors, and prospects to improve that are not good. Israel is near the bottom of all developed countries in the number of medical school graduates per 100,000 people. There is fear that things will get much worse as the many doctors who immigrated in the 1990s from the former Soviet Union retire.
Recently, Israel decided to attract Jewish doctors, nurses and other medical professionals worldwide by streamlining the process by which they can move to Israel and get certified: On Sunday, the government approved a plan to aggressively fast-track training and employment opportunities for Jewish doctors, nurses, lab technicians and other paraprofessionals who immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return. The initiative comes as the country's health care system is mired in crisis, with medical interns and residents threatening mass resignations unless their shifts are shortened. The government has said that without the long shifts, hospitals will be understaffed due to lack of personnel. Medical staff shortages in Israel are only expected to intensify in the coming years. "This decision will help bring thousands of doctors, nurses and paramedical professionals who live abroad and want to immigrate to Israel, while also helping to alleviate the workload...Read More |
| | | |
אין תגובות:
הוסף רשומת תגובה