Dan Minette wrote: >This deals with the history of the region. I'll try to give a short go at >this history, and will stand to be corrected by people with more details. > >Back a ways, the land in question was part of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). >Turkey backed the wrong side in WWI, and the British got control over the >land. The league of nations gave the British a mandate to establish a >Jewish homeland in 1922. > Of course, the problem really stems back before recorded history - both sides claim to be the rightful heir because they owned the land for thousands of years, hundreds or thousands of years ago. Both the Jewish and Arab nations (I use those words as adjectives, and nations in the loosest sense) have ruled Jerusalem as they waxed and waned in power throughout history. Loosely, the Jews have the oldest title, but they largely scattered all over the globe, so the Arabs have the more continuous title... Certainly, each has defeated the other many times over.
Maybe we should install another country entirely in there, and dispel both their claims... :-) Maybe as coastal Bangladesh disappears, or Polynesia becomes a reef... Or maybe, a more educated and enlightened generation will grow up there in future years, and embrace the teachings of their God in a more meaningful way. Russell C.
