THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST

Victor Bloom MD

Since the Middle East crisis has worsened in recent weeks, and since Arab terrorism is mounting to an increasingly dangerous degree, endangering our own armed forces and American civilians, we should pause to consider certain historical facts which have been reported by an Arab-American journalist, Joseph Farah, who writes a column, "Between the Lines," on 2000 WorldNetDaily.com.

He predicted this uprising weeks ago since he has had first-hand experience there, dodging more than his share of rocks and mortar shells. He says that the Arab outrage for Sharon's visit to an Arab holy site is just another phony excuse for rioting, trouble-making and land-grabbing.

Prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, there was no serious movement for a Palestinian homeland. But that was before the Israelis seized the West Bank and Old Jerusalem.

In the Six-Day War, Israel captured Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. But they didn't capture these territories from Yasser Arafat. They captured them from Jordan's King Hussein. Why did all these Palestinians suddenly discover their national identity after Israel won the war?

The truth is that there was no Arab "Palestine" till the United Nations established Israel as a Jewish homeland in 1947, hoping that there would be a peaceful co-existing Palestinian state for Arabs choosing to leave the newly established Jewish state of Israel for whatever reason. However, Arab armies fought against the UN decree from the beginning, and were roundly defeated by the Jewish forces. That should have been the end of Arab hopes for yet another Arab country.

The first time the name, Palestine, was used was in 70 A.D. when the Romans committed genocide against the Jews, smashed the Temple and declared the land of Israel would be no more. From then on, the Romans promised, it would be known as Palestine. The name was derived from the Philistines, a Goliathian people

conquered by the Jews centuries earlier. It was a way for the Romans to add insult to injury. They also tried to change the name of Jerusalem to Aelia.

Palestine has never existed -- before or since -- as an autonomous entity. It was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire and, briefly, by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland.

There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian

culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands. Israel represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass.

But that's too much for the Arabs. They want it all. And that is ultimately

what the fighting in Israel is about today. Farah calls it greed, pride, envy and covetousness. No matter how many land concessions the Israelis make, it will never be enough.

What about Islam's holy sites? There are none in Jerusalem. You shouldn't be

shocked. You don't ever hear this brutal truth from anyone else in the international media but Joseph Farah. It's just not politically correct.

Most Americans have been brainwashed by Arab PR to think that the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem represent Islam's third most holy sites. That is simply not true. In fact, the Koran says nothing about Jerusalem. It mentions Mecca hundreds of times. It mentions Medina countless times. It never mentions Jerusalem, and with good reason. There is no historical evidence to suggest Mohammed ever visited Jerusalem.

So how did Jerusalem become the third holiest site of Islam? Muslims today

cite a vague passage in the Koran, the seventeenth Sura, entitled "The Night

Journey." It relates that in a dream or a vision Mohammed was carried by

night "from the sacred temple to the temple that is most remote, whose

precinct we have blessed, that we might show him our signs..." In the

seventh century, some Muslims identified the two temples mentioned in this

verse as being in Mecca and Jerusalem. And that's as close as Islam's connection with Jerusalem gets--- myth, fantasy, wishful thinking. Meanwhile, Jews can trace their roots in Jerusalem back to the days of Abraham.

The latest round of violence in Israel erupted when Likud Party leader Ariel

Sharon tried to visit the Temple Mount, the foundation of the Temple built

by Solomon. It is the holiest site for Jews. Sharon and his entourage were

met with stones and threats. Can you imagine what it is like for Jews to be threatened, stoned and physically kept out of the holiest site in Judaism?

So what's the solution to the Middle East mayhem? If there is one, it needs to begin with truth. Pretending will only lead to more chaos. Treating a 5,000-year-old birthright backed by overwhelming historical and archaeological evidence equally with illegitimate claims, wishes and wants gives diplomacy and peacekeeping a bad name.

Dr Bloom is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and on the editorial board of the Wayne County Medical Society. He welcomes comments at his email address--- vbloom@comcast.net.