Long before the world knew the name “Israel”, the land of Palestine was already established as a region with a mature civilization, rich in culture, and inhabited by people living in harmony —both Muslims, Christians, and local Jews who had long lived side by side.
Palestine is not an empty land
While the Zionist movement promoted the propaganda of “a wasteland for a landless people,” historical facts prove otherwise : Palestine is not a wasteland. It is a fertile land filled with rice fields, markets, mosques, churches, and schools. Its inhabitants make a living as farmers, traders, teachers, and scientists.
Even in records from the Ottoman Caliphate to the British Mandate , the Palestinian territories were recorded as having important cities such as Jerusalem (Al-Quds), Jaffa, Hebron, and Haifa, which were bustling with social and economic activity. Source: UNRWA Historical Background
In 1940, Haifa was a key Palestinian city located on the Mediterranean coast. At that time, it was a vital economic and commercial center in the region. Haifa also had a strategic port and was a major industrial center in Palestine.
They Came with a Plea, Not an Invasion… At First
In the early 20th century, as the wave of Jewish immigration to Palestine increased due to Nazi pressure and anti-Semitism in Europe, the Palestinian people showed an open and compassionate attitude . They welcomed Jewish immigrants who arrived by sea in ships carrying banners pleading:
“Let us live among you.”
Visual and archival evidence from the period shows Jewish refugee ships docking at Palestinian ports, greeted unarmed and without violence. Documentation example: Jewish Immigration to Palestine – Yad Vashem Archives
Jerusalem in the 1930s
This article has been published on TribunJogja.com with the title 20 Photos of Jerusalem in the Past, When Three Religions Lived in Harmony Without Conflict, https://jogja.tribunnews.com/2017/12/13/20-foto-yerusalem-tempo-dulu-saat-tiga-agama-hidup-harmonis-tanpa-konflik .
When Kindness is Betrayed
However, after several decades, that kindness was repaid with betrayal . The Zionist movement began claiming Palestinian land as the “promised land,” and then, with financial and logistical support from Western countries—especially Britain and America—founded a new state: Israel in 1948 .
What are the consequences?
- 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes.
- More than 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed.
- This event is known as the Nakba (catastrophe). Source: Al Jazeera Nakba Overview
Palestine Occupied, Then Forced to Silence
To this day, the Palestinian people live under the shadow of military occupation, economic blockade, and human rights violations recognized by international organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch , which have called Israel’s policies a form of apartheid .
References:
The International Criminal Court’s (ICJ) January finding of “plausible genocide” in Gaza, and its subsequent ruling that Israel is responsible for a system of apartheid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, would not have surprised former Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Carter, or even Reagan, who famously condemned Israel’s destruction of West Beirut in 1982 as a ” holocaust .
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https://www-aljazeera-com.translate.goog/opinions/2024/10/11/israels-forgotten-terror?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=imgs
They Resisted Because They Were Oppressed, Not Because They Liked War
We often ask: “Why do Palestinians continue to resist?”
The answer is simple yet painful: because they are denied a decent living space. They fight because they are oppressed, not because they enjoy violence. If today Israel gave Palestinians fair access to education, healthcare, jobs, and their own land , rest assured: there would be no more rockets, no more resistance.
Palestine is not a religious issue, but a matter of justice.
This isn’t a religious conflict. It’s about the right to land, the right to life, and respect for a history that predates the state of Israel . When history is erased and voices silenced, resistance becomes the only language left.
History Cannot Be Erased
![the fact that historical Palestine has always had a healthy indigenous population. Since the early 19th and early 20th centuries,[2] Zionists and their supporters have constantly repeated the myth: "A land without a people, for a people without a land." While this slogan encouraged Jewish emigration to historical Palestine, it also paved the way for one of the greatest dispossessions of an ethnic group in modern history.](https://hilfan.staff.telkomuniversity.ac.id/files/2025/07/pre-1948.jpg)
the fact that historical Palestine has always had a healthy indigenous population. Since the early 19th
and early 20th centuries
, [ 2] Zionists and their supporters have constantly repeated the myth: “A land without a people, for a people without a land.” While this slogan encouraged Jewish emigration to historical Palestine, it also paved the way for one of the greatest dispossessions of an ethnic group in modern history.
Like Native Americans who were colonized in their own land, Palestinians are also victims of kindness betrayed . Their history is not fiction. They once welcomed guests with open arms—and what they received was displacement, colonization, and wounds that continue to fester today.
“The oppressed will always have a voice. If the world doesn’t hear them, history will be the most honest witness of all.”
