r/Palestine 11d ago

Debunked Hasbara the myth of "The “Conflict” is ancient"

119 Upvotes

Please be advised: This content forms a segment of the "What Every Palestinian Should Know" series, presented by Handala on Palestine Today.

A common phenomenon surrounding the question of Palestine is that many seem to be under the impression that the “conflict” is ancient, and has been raging on for thousands of years. This is quite far from the truth, as the Palestinian question is quite modern, relatively speaking. There is virtually unanimous scholarly consensus that it certainly doesn’t extend thousands of years into the past. The roots and causes of the Palestinian question can be traced quite clearly, should you be interested in learning about them in detail, check the article below.

To briefly recap, the beginning of the question of Palestine is rooted in the Zionist movement, and its goal of colonizing Palestine to establish a Zionist settler ethno-state there. The first Zionist conference took place at the very end of the 19th century (1897), hardly ancient history. However, while it’s true that this conference marked a turning point in the organization of Zionist settlement in Palestine, there were earlier attempts by Zionist “pioneers” to settle in Palestine, such as Haim Chisin, but none of these attempts predated the Zionist movement by more than a few decades. It is also worth noting that at the time, the entire concept of nation states was a relatively novel idea, especially so in the Middle East.

control of Jerusalem by religion from 2000BC to today

Zionism recent history in Palestine

Zionism explained

Israel's Zionist Settler-Colonial Project in Palestine Explained | I Got A Story to Tell | S2E8

In some of the more extreme versions of this misconception, some even go further to say that the whole region has been at war since time immemorial, and the question of Palestine is just an extension of that. This is the result of an Orientalist understanding of the Middle East which coalesces various political actors with diverse ideologies, contexts, motivations and goals into one chaotic mass at war with itself, where no differentiations can be discerned. Consequently, the Middle East becomes an exceptional arena for bloodshed and barbarity. Naturally, this same standard is never applied to Europe, for example, which was responsible for some of the most bloody and destructive wars in human history, neither is it applied to the various settler colonies around the globe which built their wealth and power on slavery and genocide.

When viewed in this manner, all grievances and conflicts in the area become ancient, petty, with no logic or context behind them. All actors become irrational; it flattens over struggles and equalizes all parties. Suddenly, there are no oppressors or oppressed, no colonists or colonized. Resistance becomes identical to domination, and everything is dismissed as illogical and undifferentiated violence typical of the backwards peoples inhabiting the region.

This shallow analysis of the question of Palestine serves multiple functions; First, it is an attractive and easy way to comment on the situation without actually saying anything or taking a side. It is convenient, because it spares you the need to do any research or take a stance while simultaneously morally elevating yourself over the backwards, eternally warring people in an attempt to project an image of understanding or nuance.

However, more nefariously, this talking point can serve to justify brutal Israeli practices by appealing to a false historicism; since Israel is in such a “bad neighborhood” which has always been governed by exceptional barbaric violence, Israel is forced to return in kind even if it didn’t want to. After all, Israel must be tough to survive in such a region, and any measure it takes is justified. Indeed, how could we condemn Israel for its domination of Palestinians when Arabs also kill other Arabs on the daily? It’s just how things work in the Middle East, they reason.

The parallels to the racist “Black on Black violence” arguments on Turtle Island are quite apparent. They both rely on a false, decontextualized, shallow and reductive understanding of the struggles at hand to shift blame onto the victims.

Regardless of how and when this “perpetual ancient warfare” talking point is used, it is a sure sign that the person practicing it is either -at best- misinformed or ignorant to the facts, or purposefully being intellectually dishonest in an attempt to absolve Israel of its atrocious human rights record. In either case, it is not a claim that can withstand any scrutiny, especially when it is retroactively employed to analyze a struggle against settler colonialism in an era before these concepts were even invented.

So no, the question of Palestine is not some ancient blood-feud between eternally warring peoples, it is a recent struggle resulting from settler colonialism infused with reactionary ethno-nationalism, both relatively new concepts originating in the last couple of centuries. The analysis of the question of Palestine through any other lens will produce a flawed and misleading understanding of the facts on the ground, and will result in shallow and ahistorical interpretations of the region as the one discussed above.

Further reading:

  • Hjelm, Ingrid, et al., eds. A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine: Palestine History and Heritage Project 1. Routledge, 2019.
  • Masalha, Nur. Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History. Zed Books Ltd., 2018.
  • Zureik, Elia. Israel’s colonial project in Palestine: Brutal pursuit. Routledge, 2015.
  • Khalidi, Rashid. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017. Metropolitan Books, 2020.
  • Nur, Masalha. Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of” transfer” in Zionist Political Thought, 1882-1948. Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992.
  • Flapan, Simha. The birth of Israel: Myths and realities. London: Croom Helm, 1987.
  • Pappe, Ilan. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Simon and Schuster, 2007.
  • Pappe, Ilan. Ten myths about Israel. Verso Books, 2017.

r/Palestine 12d ago

Meta / Announcements Donating to Support Palestinian Causes: Trusted Organizations (UPDATE)

319 Upvotes

Your support for the Palestinian cause is invaluable, especially in these challenging times. Donations play a crucial role in providing essential services to those affected by the ongoing genocide and helping to sustain long-term development efforts. Supporting trusted organizations allows your contributions to have a direct impact, offering humanitarian aid and food, medical assistance, legal support, and more. Below are some reputable organizations dedicated to improving the lives of Palestinians:

Also, please check this list of confirmed Palestinian families in need: https://www.reddit.com/r/Palestine/wiki/fundraise/

Remember to thoroughly research any organization you consider supporting to ensure their values align with your principles. Additionally, reviewing their financial transparency and accountability measures is a wise practice.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your relentless dedication to justice and human rights. Your contributions are a catalyst for change, and your continued support is helping to build a better future for the Palestinian people.


r/Palestine 5h ago

Palestinian Detainees & Hostages Israel in a picture.

Post image
1.9k Upvotes

r/Palestine 5h ago

War Crimes UN is nothing

Post image
1.0k Upvotes

r/Palestine 10h ago

Israeli Fascist Superiority This makes me really scared for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Thumbnail
gallery
1.1k Upvotes

r/Palestine 14h ago

Hasbara Yet another video of a Zionist tourist assaults pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Shibuya Station in Tokyo. What’s their obsession with harassing locals in Japan?

1.8k Upvotes

r/Palestine 8h ago

BREAKING World Health Organization confirmed that Dr. Tedros was in the VIP lounge at Sana'a International Airport the exact moment it was bombed by the Israeli Air Force. Nearly murdering the Director-General of the World Health Organization on Christmas is peak Israel.

Post image
455 Upvotes

r/Palestine 8h ago

Israeli & Settler Terror Israel has launched a series of strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, including the airport. At least 4 are dead, and over a dozen wounded

Post image
322 Upvotes

r/Palestine 12h ago

Israeli & Settler Terror An Israeli tank was seen stealing the welcome sign to the Lebanese Qabrikha village

Post image
594 Upvotes

r/Palestine 9h ago

Life in Palestine Certainly, Allah’s promise he takes lots of children and babies’ happy soul in Gaza to go to beautiful Jannah (Paradise) in next world. Allah is Happy and Smiles at the contentment of palestinian children/babies’ soul is in beautiful Jannah (Paradise)

Post image
255 Upvotes

r/Palestine 7h ago

News & Politics Experts demand BBC apology after pro-Palestine professor thrown off podcast

Thumbnail thenational.scot
180 Upvotes

r/Palestine 19h ago

Israeli Fascist Superiority Can zionists just try to tone it down for just one second?

Post image
1.6k Upvotes

r/Palestine 8h ago

War Crimes Five Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli strike on van in Gaza | Israel-Gaza war

Thumbnail
theguardian.com
136 Upvotes

r/Palestine 18h ago

Genocide Convention Israeli forces targeted a clearly marked press vehicle in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing five Palestinian journalists.

Post image
742 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

War Crimes Palestinian child survives being shot from a drone in gaza

Thumbnail
gallery
3.6k Upvotes

r/Palestine 20h ago

Life in Palestine "For every martyr that falls a new one will rise"

593 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

GAZA Palestinian children under Zionism

Post image
3.2k Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

GAZA All I want...

Post image
897 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

Israeli Fascist Superiority West Bank Settler Says Palestinian Suffering Makes Him Feel Better About Himself and his Life

Post image
747 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

Hasbara Let me get this straight. She moved from Atlanta to Israel while the IDF was carrying out a genocide because of the “food and social atmosphere” and seeing what Israel did to Gaza made her want to move there even more to be with people who “understand her”?

1.2k Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

Call For Action "I am a Christian Clergy man (of the church of Jerusalem) and as far as im concerned this is our fight as well" - father Antonios Hananya

797 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

History & Culture 🇵🇸🎄 - A picture of a Christmas festival in Bethlehem, Palestine on the 25th of December, 1993.

Post image
753 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

Occupation They send drones to hospitals and shoot children in wheelchairs to death. NSFW

335 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

pro-Occupation & Zionist Lobby Why is the UK denying treatment to children from Gaza?

Thumbnail
aljazeera.com
190 Upvotes

The UK denies entry to a four-year-old amputee to receive treatment.


r/Palestine 1d ago

War Crimes Walaa Jumaa, Palestinian artist and owner of “Fashion Room” in Gaza, killed by Israel

Thumbnail
maktoobmedia.com
507 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

Life in Palestine Archbishop Atallah Hanna: We call on the churches of the world to defend Palestine

933 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1d ago

Solidarity & Activism Pal Action today at UAV, Shenstone.

195 Upvotes