What if a Muslim leader said that the Israelis are “invented” people? It would be cause to saber rattle against the said nation or drop bombs on them.
Gingrich calls Palestinians ‘invented’ people
(AlJazeera)
Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich has stirred controversy by calling the Palestinians an “invented” people who could have chosen to live elsewhere.
The former House of Representatives speaker, who is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the 2012 presidential race, made the remarks in an interview with the US Jewish Channel broadcaster released on Friday.
Asked whether he considers himself a Zionist, he answered: “I believe that the Jewish people have the right to a state … Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire” until the early 20th century,
“I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab
community.
“And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it’s tragic.”
Most historians mark the start of Palestinian Arab nationalist sentiment in 1834, when Arab residents of the Palestinian region revolted against Ottoman rule.
Israel, founded amid the 1948 Arab-Israel war, took shape along the lines of a 1947 UN plan for ethnic partition of the
then-British ruled territory of Palestine which Arabs rejected.
More than 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their lands by Zionist armed groups in 1948, in an episode Palestinians refer to as the Nakba or “catastrophe”.
‘Irrational hostility’
Gingrich’s comments drew a swift rebuke from a spokesman for the American Task Force on Palestine, Hussein Ibish, who said: “There was no Israel and no such thing as an “Israeli people” before 1948.
“So the idea that Palestinians are ‘an invented people’ while Israelis somehow are not is historically indefensible and inaccurate.
“Such statements seem to merely reflect deep historical ignorance and an irrational hostility towards Palestinian identity and nationalism.”
Sabri Saidam, adviser to the Palestinian president, told Al Jazeera, “This is a manifestation of extreme racism and this is a reflection of where America stands sad, when Palestinians don’t get their rights…this is sad and America should respond with a firm reaction to such comments that, if let go, more of which will come our way,”
“Let me ask Newt Gingrich if he would ever entertain the thought of addressing Indian Americans by saying that they never existed, that they were the invention of a separate nation, would that be tolerated?”
“Let’s also reverse the statement; let’s put ourselves in “the shoe of Jews who are listening now. Would they ever accept such statements being made about them?”
Saidam said, “I think it’s time that America rejects such statements and closes the door to such horrendous and unacceptable statements.”
Gingrich also sharply criticised US President Barack Obama’s approach to Middle East diplomacy, saying that it was ”so out of touch with reality that it would be like taking your child to the zoo and explaining that a lion was a bunny rabbit.”
He said Obama’s effort to treat the Palestinians the same as the Israelis is actually “favouring the terrorists”.
“If I’m even-handed between a civilian democracy that obeys the rule of law and a group of terrorists that are firing missiles every day, that’s not even-handed, that’s favouring the terrorists,” he said.
He also said the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, share an “enormous desire to destroy Israel”.
The Palestinian Authority, which rules the occupied West Bank, formally recognises Israel’s right to exist.
President Mahmoud Abbas has long forsworn violence against Israel as a means to secure an independent state, pinning his hopes first on negotiations and more recently on a unilateral bid for statehood via the UN.
Gingrich, along with other Republican candidates, are seeking to attract Jewish in the US support by vowing to bolster Washington’s ties with Israel if elected.
He declared his world view was “pretty close” to that of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and vowed to take “a much more tougher-minded, and much more honest approach to the Middle East” if elected.
December 10th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Newt would sell his soul to the devil to become President. Using his logic, I guess we’re all just “invented people”.
December 10th, 2011 at 11:48 am
Dear eye of newt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrkjohctKLA&context=C22d51ADOEgsToPDskJmqzO8-CrC1Gi6iiWaOTCD
that is all
December 10th, 2011 at 11:57 am
We may as well start saying:
“There’s no such thing as Israelis. They’re just Americans/Europeans”
December 10th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
I’m Bangladeshi. There was no People’s Republic of Bangladesh before 1971 and no East Pakistan before 1948. But our culture, our identity has always been there. Does that mean we don’t exist?
Newt Gingrich’s racism and ignorance is shocking. His excuse is that there has never been a Palestinian State? That shouldn’t be an excuse, that should be a cause for alarm, because these people who have long inhabited the land don’t even have their own country.
Free Palestine, end the Occupation, tear down the Wall! There will be a Palestinian State, inshallah!
December 10th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Further proof that the US political establishment are just a bunch of prostitutes. They will say anything for money and power. Not long ago the US congress declared pizza to be a vegetable. As I said, they will say absolutely anything for money and power.
December 10th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
The YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dHWJWJocD6A
So my dad and mom are inventions? What am I then, a ghost writing a comment on loonwatch!?
It’s so shocking how much butt kissing some people might do to win elections!
December 10th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
He really should learn that EVERY people and nation are invented nations. I can recommend a few books on national identity and nationhood from the social construction viewpoint. Benedict Anderson’s “Imagined Communities” comes to mind for starters.
“Nations” and “people” (ethnic) are social constructions created by the people themselves. What is “Dutch” according to Fortuyn and Wilders differs quite a lot from what is really “Dutch” according to Dutch traditions established through history, norms and consensus.
A “nation” also involves legitimacy from other nations and international actors in the international system. This is why we hear that “Kosovo” has been “recognized” by umpteen numbers of nations. The Palestinians should work on other nations’ readiness toward recognizing their existence as a nation and not just sit and wait for the UN to do something. The reality is that the international system has to recognize the Palestinian nation and the more countries then better. Many European countries would be receptive.
December 10th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
@ Robert P
You mean ketchup … but pizza could also be a “vegetable” in the American mind…
December 10th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Emperor,
Here’s another debunking of the claim that the Palestinians were invented out of thin air. Basically Coughlan shows how David Horowtiz is a liar, and Pat Condell either fell for his lies, or knowingly lied along with him.
Pat Condell is both Useless and an Idiot
December 10th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
They are real, we just to have a place for them. As for robert p, that is an insult to all perfectly good hookers out there
December 10th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
Being suprised about gingrich willing to sell his soul to win is like being surprised he’d copy the world view of a fascist (netanyahu)
December 10th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Maybe an ‘invented’ person could JFKjr this particular candidate to demonstrate just how real they are. I’m just joking of course.
December 10th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
As others have said, we are all ‘invented’ people. The concept of ‘nations’ is only a few hundred years old.
To give an example, France before the French Revolution was effectively lots of little squabbling kingdoms and the king handed out to be ruled as such. There were internal boarders, no common tax system, no common laws and about 25% of ‘French’ people didn’t even speak French! This ladies and gentlemen was around the 1780′s, just about 300 years ago.
History Mr Gingrich!
Jack
December 10th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
How ironic is it that one group of invented people, the Americans call another group the same thing they are guilty of? Americans were named after Amerigo Vespucci, a human being and I am sure that the Iroquis or the Cherokee would not have favored the name. More importantly who cares if the term Palestinian is invented, all terms and names have been invented at some point in time by human beings because words are human inventions.
The important thing is that Palestinians are people who have been oppressed. Their houses are demolished, their land shrinks in size day by day due to settlements, they’re tortured and placed in administrative detention, and many innocent Palestinians die due to bombings.
To say that they’re invented people really masks this oppression because their very existence comes into question. But rest assured Mr. Gingrich, Palestinians are people who exist.
December 10th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Either mind-boggling stupidity, pandering, or both.
If Jews, who have not had an independent country for 2,000 years are suddenly a nation by decree, why can’t the Palestinians do the same?
What about the Romani people? They don’t exist, because they have no nation?
It would be a horrendous disaster for Newt to be the President. He is the epitome of everything vile and hypocritical about Washington. I know it’s a tired expression, but I would seriously consider moving to Canada if he was elected.
December 10th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
this guy a vote whore, he will say anything promise anything to get votes. now he is sucking up to jewish votes and donations
December 10th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
I “liked” the official Newt page on Facebook last night and made a comment about his slurs and pointed to the fact that a lot of people supporting him are right wing extremists… Today, I wasn’t a member anymore and the comment had been erased. So much for free speech
December 10th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
The truth
December 10th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
The man is a joke.
December 10th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Since Palestinians are “invented” people may as well give them the “invented” state of Israel.
December 11th, 2011 at 3:06 am
arn’t americans an invented people as well?
December 11th, 2011 at 3:43 am
Jack
sometimes it feels like france has not changed much
December 11th, 2011 at 3:59 am
This is standard Zionist BS. Palestine never existed because there was no country called Palestine in the Bible. People don’t exist because there is no country named after them. Navajo, Apache, Comanche do not exist because there was no country called Native People. There is no country called Greenland because there aren’t any Green people. But Israel existed because the Bible said it did, on a square Earth.
The only invention here is “israel.”
December 11th, 2011 at 5:01 am
GINGRICH FOR PRESIDENT !!!!!!!
December 11th, 2011 at 5:08 am
Newt Gingrich? The man who shut down the government of the US because he was told to sit in the back of Air Force One by Bill Clinton?
December 11th, 2011 at 6:56 am
This is stupid
if Plaestine is an “Invented” nation, then why did Israel need weapons to take control of the land.
and also, If palestine was Invented, then why was there people living in that area, or do these Idiots think that the land was Barren and had nothing.
this supports the Arabophobic sentiments that Arabs are just violent without reason.
December 11th, 2011 at 9:36 am
Americans are an invented people, and that can’t really be argued against.
December 11th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
GINGRICH FOR PRESIDENT !!!!!!!
LOL that’s never gonna happen!
December 11th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
“The extended kingdoms of David and Solomon, on which the Zionists base their territorial demands, endured for only about 73 years… Then it fell apart… [Even] if we allow independence to the entire life of the ancient Jewish kingdoms, from David’s conquest of Canaan in 1000 B.C. to the wiping out of Judah in 586 B.C., we arrive at [only] a 414 year Jewish rule.”
– Illene Beatty, Arab and Jew in the Land of Canaan
“Palestine became a predominately Arab and Islamic country by the end of the seventh century. Almost immediately thereafter its boundaries and its characteristics – including its name in Arabic, Filastin – became known to the entire Islamic world, as much for its fertility and beauty as for its religious significance… In 1516, Palestine became a province of the Ottoman Empire, but this made it no less fertile, no less Arab or Islamic… Sixty percent of the population was in agriculture; the balance was divided between townspeople and a relatively small nomadic group. All these people believed themselves to belong in a land called Palestine, despite their feelings that they were also members of a large Arab nation… Despite the steady arrival in Palestine of Jewish colonists after 1882, it is important to realize that not until the few weeks immediately preceding the establishment of Israel in the spring of 1948 was there ever anything other than a huge Arab majority. For example, the Jewish population in 1931 was 174,606 against a total of 1,033,314.”
– Edward Said, The Question of Palestine
http://www.ilaam.net/Intl/ZionistMyths.html
December 11th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
If we are going to back back to history and give the land back to people who once lived there but got kicked out then that is going to be a long list and most of these country are arab now
Kingdom of Egypt
Hittite
Assyrian
Babylonian
Persian
Macedonian
Rome
Byzantine
Sassanid
The Caliphite
Seljuk
Crusaders
Saladin Empire
Ottoman
EU
December 11th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Its funny how these zionist Christain zionist Isreal firster Mulim haters blame muslims for pushing Taqiyya Jihad muslim stealth conquest push there religion on everyone when there love of israel is based on religion
December 11th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/12/2011121134849161706.html
It is a shame when people make horrible statements, but even more monstrous when they defend those statements.
Gingrich’s statements need to be focused on. He must not be allowed to get away with this. Period.
December 11th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
@Kafir Harby:
Funny you should mention that. I went to his facebook page earlier and liked it so that I could post. I began posting about his hypocrisy (he used to support Shariah Law groups and he flip flopped about U.S. action in Libya), racism (Because he said Palestinians are an invented people, I pointed out that there has been Arab nationalism in Palestine since 1834 and that Arabs have lived in Palestine since the 7th century, and that Palestinian culture -Palestinian Arabic, clothing, food- is different from the culture of other Arabs), bigotry (He claimed that Muslims are spreading Shariah Law in America, so I pointed out that the CIA world factbook says that the U.S. Muslim population is about 2% or less) and I posted my sources as well and a few minutes later, my comments were removed. So much for freedom of speech
December 11th, 2011 at 7:20 pm
It’s truly weird that a foreign country has a strangle hold on the politicians of another.
December 12th, 2011 at 2:38 am
Webdawah,
Don’t be so sure.
Gingrich is toast now. He won’t be getting the GOP nomination and is in fact backtracking and saying he supports the two state solution.
December 12th, 2011 at 2:50 am
Gingrich and Israel: He talks a big game, but is it just empty words?
Joshua Mitnick | The Christian Science Monitor | Dec 11, 2011
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/gingrich-and-israel-he-talks-big-game-it-just-empty-words
Republicans have promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, symbolically recognizing Israel’s claim of the city as its capital. But the remark made by Mr. Gingrich is likely to resonate with many Israelis who still cast doubt on the Palestinians’ national identity.
The Palestinians have condemned Gingrich and likened his comment to former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s 1969 denial of the existence of the Palestinians as a nation.
Gingrich doubled down on the idea in last night’s GOP debate in Iowa, saying “‘Palestinian’ did not become a common term until after 1977″ — a statement contradicted by, among other things, the formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964.
Gingrich’s staff said that he still supports a Palestinian state despite his recent remarks.
Indeed, if the US were perceived as more hardline than the Israeli government it would hurt its already-troubled role as a trusted mediator in any future peace process.
.By questioning the foundation of Palestinian identity, Gingrich is aligning himself with the approach of Israel’s ideological Jewish settlers to the conflict, says Mitchell Barak, a public opinion expert and a former adviser to Mr. Netanyahu.
December 12th, 2011 at 6:09 am
I saw this argument years ago on extremist right wing forums, which hints at where Gingrich is coming from.
It’s a nonsensical argument anyway: even if ‘Palestinian’ were a recently invented word (which it isn’t), so what? These people – called Palestinians or not – have clearly lived in the area now referred to as Israel or Palestine for many generations. Presumably he doesn’t claim Ramallah and its population were fabricated by the Arab League as an elaborate hoax in 1948. Regardless of what national label you attach to them, they have a claim to live in that broad area.
The argument makes no sense. It makes no sense AT ALL. It’s like saying “Cornishness” was invented in 1850, they’re actually just all Celts, and so all Cornish people should get out of England and go to a Celtic country like Wales. It’s ludicrous.
It’s just a dog-whistle to transmit to the Islam-haters in the Republican party that he is one of their fellow haters.
December 12th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Well this will get him the Zionistscum and CHristian Zionist Scum Israel-First traitor vote
December 13th, 2011 at 5:00 am
@ Kafir Harby:I SECOND YOU.There will never ba a state called Palestine.Those Mohammadan Arabs should be settled in Jordan or Syria.The west Bank Judea and Samaria should be settled with Christian Arabs and the Jews only.No room in the Inn for Mohammadans!!!!
December 13th, 2011 at 7:54 am
Sorry truth seeker but the mad dont get a vote .
December 13th, 2011 at 8:07 am
Full of ‘Christian’ spirit today Mr Pork? Or maybe Christmas spirits if you’ll indulge me in a bad pun…
Jack
December 14th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
1) The strip of land currently known as Israel was a part of the Ottoman Empire until the early 20th century. This is a fact. The Palestinian people were historically a part of the wider Arab community. This is also a fact. Same language, same religion. All countries in the world have different provinces in which there are variations in food, music, clothing etc… Language and religion are a very strong component of identity. We are not debating facts here, we are debating meaning, significance and implication.
2) The Palestinian people had a chance to go many places – this sadly to say, is not a fact. The displaced Palestinian people have been refused citizenship, not only by Israel but by all of her Arab nations. This is a tragedy. Of the millions of people displaced during the horrible wars of the early 20th century, only the Palestinians remain in refugee camps. Again, no facts to debate here, only meaning, significance and implication.
3) Throughout history there have been all sorts of bizaare statements made about the Jews. For example, that they control the global financial system, they drink childrens blood in cultic sacrificial rituals, they’re all sexual perverts and communists, and of course they fabricated the holocaust in order to justify the oppression of the Palestinian people. If you tried to tell the Jews that they are an “invented” people, it is unlikely they would be particularly offended – believe me, we’ve heard a lot worse.
4) The Lord of Israel is certainly no bunny rabbit. Like a Lion in Zion, as they say…..
5) Hamas DOES harbour an enormous desire to destroy Israel. Read the covenant. Hamas is not the first group in history who has harboured this enormous desire and we can all rest assured that they won’t be the last.
3) We are indeed all invented people. The Jews invented themselves a long, long time ago, and have a very VERY strong sense of identity. We are extremely proud of our contributions to history, religion, literature, art, science, etc… Indeed, we have been repeatedly accused of harbouring a smug sense of superiority. What are the Palestinian people proud of? Other than your resistance against Israel, what is it that binds you together? It takes more than a common enemy to forge a solid and secure identity.
December 17th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
@Theiving Zionist Bully:
Palestinian culture is different from the culture of other arabs. (Arab readers, please give him the details). Also, Palestinians speak a different dialect of Arabic. As someone pointed out above, the Muslim/Arab rulers of Palestine ruled it for a longer period than the ancient Jewish rulers. Muslims/Arabs have lived in Palestine since the 7th Century. Palestinian Arab nationalism has existed since the 1834 Arab Revolt in which Palestinian Arabs revolted against their Ottoman rulers. The term “Palestinian” has been used to describe Arabs living in Palestine before the State of Israel even.
We are not calling for an end to Israel. We are calling for a change in American and Israeli foreign policy, and for the creation of a country for the people who lived their from before the State of Israel existed. Also, not all Jews are Israeli.