UNESCO reveals the truth

I freely admit that my view of the Middle East has been shaped by the environment in which I was raised–Jewish, Zionist, Western. I have been conditioned, perhaps indoctrinated, to believe that the Jews are the indigenous people of the Land of Israel. In addition, beyond my religious beliefs, which I acknowledge might not be persuasive to non-believers, I have studied the history of the Jews’ miraculous return to our historic homeland and the juridical basis (Balfour, San Remo, League of Nations, United Nations, and the successive defensive wars) establishing our right to the land.

Nevertheless, as a former academic, I try to be open to new arguments and evidence. I am not so doctrinaire as to dismiss any idea, no matter how seemingly outlandish, without reasonable and fair consideration.

When UNESCO designated Sebastia as a Palestinian World Heritage Site, my initial reaction was a combination of outrage and amusement. Samaria is full of Jewish history and there is a literary and historical record documenting it. “In the thirty-first year of King Asa of Judah, Omri became king over Israel-for twelve years. He reigned in Tirzah six years. Then he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; he built [a town] on the hill and named the town that he built Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of the hill.“ I Kings 16:23-24. Samaria is the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Israel, founded about 880 BCE and renamed Sebastia by Herod the Great in honor of Augustus.

Other than the Jews, there were no Palestinians in the time of Omri and none in the time of Herod.

The question of whether the majority of what are known as today’s Palestinians are descendants of recent immigrants or long-term indigenous populations has become highly contentious, as advocates for the Palestinian cause (notably Wikipedia) attempt to rewrite history. Nevertheless, the........

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