Quote:
Originally Posted by Envitro
People need to get a historical sense of what "Palestine" is and it what is never was. It was never a country, EVER, in the history of mankind. No people called the "Palestinians" ever existed before in recorded history. They are an amalgamation of Arab tribes that lived and worked the land now known as modern Israel and West Bank/Gaza Strip, land which was mostly owned by rich landowners in Damascus and elsewhere in Arab capitals.
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Honestly I've never understood this line of reasoning. Does it matter what we call them? They're people indigenous to the area, and as with all people, deserve self-determination. That it was never a named "country" doesn't negate their existence. If readers think this is a valid argument, then note that it could also rationalize the disenfranchisement of Native Americans. Is that just? Or would we, as a civilization, have preferred to not use such irrelevant measures to decimate and marginalize distinct cultures?
I'm for respecting human dignity, even if a political structure doesn't deem it necessary or appropriate to allow you to trademark the land that you live on. We should do our best to treat everyone with dignity, regardless of provenance.