“There’s no use trying” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.”
Alice in Wonderland
Those are the opening words of Joan Peters’ book “From Time Immemorial”. Unlike Alice, who insists on only believing in the possible, Peters exposes how the world believes in the myth of Palestinian refugees, a myth built on a series of false premises. “From Time Immemorial” shatters the axioms of the Palestinian narrative, one after the other.
Shortly after its release in 1984, “From Time Immemorial” became a best seller in the US and in Britain and received various awards. The book is a must for everyone who cares about human rights and historic truth and wants to understand the facts from a scientific and fact-based point of view. The book proves that for the Palestinian struggle in Israel, human rights are just a cover up for the assault on the basic rights of the Jewish people.
“Zionist Horizon- the Center for Zionist leadership” decided to build an easy and accessible website to allow everyone to experience the content of the book at the desired level and depth. For that purpose , with funding from The Israel Independence Fund , the more than 400-page book was summarized into a concise and attractive version. We hereby invite everyone to tour the website and learn the truth about Arab refugees, Jewish-Arab relations in the Land of Israel and in the Arab world, and about the attitude of the world towards Zionism.
Was the Land of Israel inhabited prior to Zionism?
British/Ottoman position on this matter?
Are the Arabs who were in Israel in 1948 a separate, independent nation?
started developing only about a hundred years ago as a reaction to the Zionist movement. Before that
period, the Arab population in the land of Israel was considered an integral part of Syrian and Jordanian
Arabs of today, and not as a separate nation..Read More…
beginning of Zionism?
specifically during WW2?
Zionist movement?
the Land of Israel was abandoned and neglected for centuries before Zionism. The population in the
land included nomads, raiders and immigrants from various places.
British/Ottoman position on this matter?
The economic prosperity that the Zionist movement brought to the land of Israel was the reason behind
the massive immigration of Arabs who came to the region looking for a source of income. The British
and Ottoman authorities enabled, and even encouraged, Arab immigration in order to hurt the chances
of a Jewish state being established in the Land of Israel.
started developing only about a hundred years ago as a reaction to the Zionist movement. Before that
period, the Arab population in the land of Israel was considered an integral part of Syrian and Jordanian
Arabs of today, and not as a separate nation.
established a separate body in charge of dealing with Palestinian refugees. Every other refugee in the
world is assisted by the UN refugee agency. This separation was the result of political reasoning. The
definition of a “Palestinian refugee” is completely different from the definition of any other refugee in
the world. By this definition, every Arab who was in the Land of Israel in 1946 (Only for two years) is
considered a refugee. In contrast with the definition of the usual refugee, that is not inherited, the
Palestinian refugee status goes from generation to generation, intentionally perpetuating it. Thus, the
number of refugees increases almost 20-fold, instead of diminishing. The result is a huge inflation of the
number of actual refugees. Moreover, At least 300,000 of the people considered refugees in 1948 were
in fact immigrants who had just arrived. Many other residents joined the refugee camps hoping to
receive UN assistance. All these are used to politically bash Israel and damage also the Palestinians, who
are robbed of the chance of escaping the refugee state plights.
contrary, the have always tried to perpetuate it. Arab countries have continuously avoided helping
Palestinians escape their refugee status, moreover, they cynically use this status as a tool to attack
Israel. The UN has given “refugee” status to generation after generation of descendants of the original
Palestinian refugees. Instead of helping them resettle (as it successfully has and still does with other
refugees in the world), it has kept them in a perpetual state of poverty and neglect.
beginning of Zionism?
Jewish people in the Land of Israel, and the aspiration of returning to the land in hopes of establishing a
home there for the Jewish people.
always persecuted in every country were Islam ruled. This persecution led to the Jewish refugee
problem: of the 850,000 Jews who lived in Arab lands in 1948, only 10,000 remain as of today (99%
fled).
specifically during WW2?
neighbors. They were the victims of Pogroms that took hundreds of lives and faced harassment in their
communities. During WW2, the Arab leaders joined forces with the Nazis and Haj Amin al-Husseini
became one of the leading supporters of the “Final Solution,” the Nazi plan for the extermination of the
Jews.
Zionist movement?
authorities imposed harsh limitations on Jewish immigration (Aliyah) and the ability to purchase land.
These limitations were a direct result of the incitement by local rulers who feared losing their influence
on the poor inhabitants of the area they exploited.
This was against their legal obligation under the British mandate. Three quarters of the mandate’s
territory was given to the Hashemite Kingdom. Under various pretexts, Jewish immigration (Aliyah) was
prohibited and the territories where land could be purchased were restricted.
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