The Blogs: Unmasking the Myths of Palestine

Confronting the Lies, Reclaiming the Truth

It’s time to address the increasingly loud chorus of anti-Zionist voices who misrepresent, distort, or outright fabricate history in their attacks on The Palestinian Identity Manifesto. What follows is not just a rebuttal—it’s a call for clarity and courage, a challenge to those who cling to narratives politically constructed to serve the erasure of Israel and Jewish indigeneity.

The main purpose of this article is to record my responses to the most common arguments and to send Ziophobes (Zionophobes) and anti-Zionist critics here — so I don’t have to repeat myself endlessly. For my Zionist friends who find my words hard to swallow, I’ve written a separate piece: The Battle for “Palestine”.

I’m open to expanding this article with responses to original arguments. Unfortunately, originality is rare. More often than not, the same claims resurface, slightly reworded or repackaged, as they bounce around familiar circles.

Let’s begin with the loudest and most misleading myths:

1. “Palestinian always meant everyone in the land—Arabs, Jews, Christians, Muslims… so what’s the issue?”

Yes, under the British Mandate, “Palestinian” was a geographic term that included Jews. That’s the whole point.

Jews proudly used the name “Palestinian” for institutions and identity: The Palestine Post, The Palestine Symphony Orchestra, the Jewish Brigade of Palestine. Arab residents, by contrast, rejected the label because it was so closely associated with the Zionist project. They called themselves Arabs, Southern Syrians, or members of specific clans.

Only after the 1967 Arab defeat, under the influence of Yasser Arafat and his Soviet patrons, was “Palestinian” politicized into a distinct national identity—not inherited, but manufactured.

2. “You’re trying to erase the ‘Palestinian’ identity!”

Let’s be clear: we’re not erasing—we’re reclaiming.

The Manifesto reclaims the name “Palestinian” for all loyal Israeli citizens—Jews, Arabs, Christians, Druze, Bedouins—who live here, build here, and protect this land.

What we reject is the weaponization of “Palestinian” as a symbolic identity, imposed by outsiders on undocumented Arab settlers, and used as a sledgehammer against Israel.

This isn’t erasure. It’s restoration.

3. “Jews are European colonizers.”

This is the most Orwellian inversion of all.

Jews didn’t ‘colonize’ here. They returned.

They never left—spiritually, culturally, or linguistically. They prayed toward Jerusalem in Hebrew for 2,000 years. They passed down their identity through exile and expulsion.

And let’s not forget: Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews—over half of Israel’s Jewish population—came from Arab lands, often as refugees, after being expelled. So no, they’re not Europeans, and no, this isn’t colonialism.

It’s called homecoming.

4. “Palestinians are indigenous — they were there before the Jews, even before Judaism! They are the ancient Philistines or Canaanites.”

Sure. And I’m a direct descendant of King David’s harp teacher.

Let’s get serious: what language did the Philistines speak? What gods did they worship? Where are their rituals, holidays, or oral histories today?

The claim is historical cosplay—usually pushed by Western activists who’ve never been here, let alone traced a Philistine lineage. Even the Arab settlers in Gaza and the West Bank have never heard of this fantasy.

5. “Palestinians are descendants of ancient Israelites who converted to Islam—so they’re the real indigenous people.”

Descent ≠ Identity.

Yes, some may carry distant genetic links to ancient peoples—so do Jews, Syrians, Lebanese, and even Sicilians. The Levant is a crossroads. But indigeneity is more than DNA—it’s language, memory, ritual, and self-definition.

Modern Palestinian identity is Arabic, rooted in Islamic conquest and Byzantine remnants—not Philistine kings or Israelite prophets.

This argument is also often pushed by foreigners, trying to reframe a religiously motivated conflict as a genetic turf war.

6. “But ancient maps say Palestine existed.”

Of course it did. Palestine existed because Israel did. And it still does.

The name “Palestine” was imposed by the Romans in the 2nd century CE, after they crushed Jewish revolts and renamed Judea to erase it from memory.

But here’s the twist: “Palestine” may actually be a Greek translation of “Israel.”

One theory traces the name “Palestine” to the Greek Παλαιστῑ́νη (Palaistī́nē), first used in the 5th century BCE. It may derive from παλαιστής (palaistês)—meaning wrestler, rival, or adversary—a mirror of the Hebrew Yisra’el (יִשְׂרָאֵל), meaning “one who wrestles with God” (Genesis 32:28).

In other words, Palestine may have originally been nothing more than a Greek rendering of Israel—a descriptive echo, not a replacement.

7. “The Palestinian national movement began during the Arab Revolt of 1936–1939, or even earlier.”

Popular talking point—shaky foundation.

Yes, the Arab Revolt happened. But its ideology wasn’t “Palestinian.” It was pan-Arab, sometimes pan-Islamic. Arab leaders saw the territory as part of Greater Syria or a future Arab Caliphate, not an independent Palestinian state.

Even in revolt, they didn’t say “we are Palestinians.” They said “we are Arabs,” resisting the British and the Jews—not defending a distinct national homeland.

8. “Palestine was always there; it was denied statehood. The people became stateless under military rule.”

There was no Palestinian government, flag, or recognized capital. The identity, as promoted today, didn’t exist before 1967. Arab leaders didn’t demand a Palestinian state—they wanted Egyptian Gaza and Jordanian West Bank.

“Palestine = Israel” doesn’t erase anyone’s dream. It restores a historical truth: the name Palestine was historically connected to the Jewish people, not used as an Arab national symbol.

9. “The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded by Arab leaders, not by the KGB.”

Technically true. But politically deceptive.

The PLO was created in 1964—but in an environment heavily shaped by Soviet strategy. Former Eastern Bloc officials, like Ion Mihai Pacepa, detailed how the KGB helped weaponize Palestinian identity as part of Cold War propaganda to delegitimize Israel.

The USSR didn’t just “support” the PLO. It trained, armed, and scripted it—turning a regional dispute into a global revolutionary brand.

So no, the PLO didn’t emerge organically. It was manufactured—with KGB fingerprints all over it.

10. “But look at the immigration statistics! Arabs were always here!”

Yes. And so were Jews. The difference? Jews were returning.

The Arab population exploded during the British Mandate, as Jews began developing the land and creating economic opportunities. Arab migration from Egypt, Syria, and elsewhere is well-documented—in Ottoman, British, and even Arab sources.

If you think spreadsheet snapshots override over 3,000 years of Jewish continuity, you’re not doing history. You’re doing bureaucratic denialism.

11. Why is it mostly foreigners defending the Palestinian identity myth?

Because the fantasy is useful—to them.

The loudest voices promoting “Palestine” often come from Western campuses, NGOs, and influencers who wouldn’t last a week in Ramallah or Gaza. They’ve outsourced their own alienation into a projection war on Jews.

The Arab population here didn’t historically call themselves “Palestinians.” They identified as Egyptians, Jordanians, or simply Arabs. It was only after the world handed them a narrative that they adopted the identity.

This isn’t indigenous struggle. It’s colonized ideology, exported and imposed—ironically—by the very people who claim to oppose colonialism.

A Final Word

The Manifesto doesn’t “erase” anyone. It restores the truth.

It reclaims “Palestinian” for those who actually live here, love here, and build a future here—in a free, diverse, and democratic homeland in Israel–Palestine.

It separates history from propaganda, memory from myth, and identity from ideology.

Palestine is Israel. Palestinians are Israelis.

Read the Manifesto: The Palestinian Identity Manifesto

Sign the Petition: Reclaim the True Palestinian Identity: End the Great Identity Theft!

Learn more: Palestine is Israel: The Truth They Tried to Erase