History matters. Facts matter. Identity matters. And when history is rewritten for political purposes, everyone loses.

One of the most successful political rebranding campaigns of the modern era has been the transformation of the word “Palestinian” from a geographic description into an exclusive national identity that, in my view, has often been used to erase the longstanding Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.

Before 1948, “Palestinian” was primarily a geographic identifier within the British Mandate for Palestine. Jewish institutions proudly carried the name. The Palestine Post later became The Jerusalem Post. The Palestine Symphony Orchestra became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Jewish athletes competed internationally under the name Palestine. British-issued passports listed residents as Palestinian because they lived in Mandatory Palestine, not because the term represented a distinct modern national identity.

Many Zionist Jews referred to themselves as Palestinians in that geographic sense while identifying nationally as Jews and supporting the restoration of a Jewish homeland.

At the same time, many Arabic-speaking inhabitants identified themselves primarily as Arabs, Muslims, Christians, members of local families, villages, cities, or as part of the broader Arab world. Historians continue to debate how and when a distinct Palestinian national identity........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)